Ever since Wario first appeared in Super Mario 2 as the end boss, he has become the infamous Nintendo anti-hero and protagonist of the Wario Land franchise. Unlike Mario saving princess peach, Wario’s adventures revolve around collecting as much gold and treasures. In Wario Land: Shake Dimension it is no different.
The adventure begins when Captain Syrup breaks into a museum and observes the surface of an ancient globe, which houses the Shake Dimension. When she is about to steal the globe, she sees how the Shake King imprisoned Queen Merelda and her Merfle subjects, claiming the legendary “Bottomless Coin Sack,” which gives an endless supply of coins when shaken. Captain Syrup brings the globe to Wario and tells him that the real treasure is inside. When Wario tries to break the globe open, one of the escaped Merfles emerges and asks for help. Wario becomes interested in the affair only after learning of the Bottomless Coin Sack and follows the Merfle back into the Shake Dimension.
Gameplay:
Wario Land: Shake Dimension is a platform game where your goal is to clear the level, rescue a Merfle and bring him back to the beginning before the time runs out. While forcing your way through the levels you have to collect as much gold and treasures as you can get. Every level comes with different missions, like beating the time, taking no damage… These are not necessary to complete the game but encourage you to replay the levels.
The levels are split up into 5 different continents on the globe. The continents contain 4 levels and after clearing the levels you have to fight the end boss from the continent. Every end boss needs a different approach to defeat and this can be challenging to figure out how to take him down. After you defeat the boss, you are able to buy a map to go to the next continent.
Every level got his own look and awesome music that completely fits the theme of the level. Most levels are pretty easy but fun to play, end bosses can be tricky but still doable but if you ever got stuck in a level you have the option to buy a recovery potion. When you lost all of your health, you recover it again so you can continue the level.
Shake Dimension is the first game in the series that was released on the Wii and adds the Wii Remote’s motion-sensitive features. I never was a fan of the sensitive features in games but in Shake Dimension they did a pretty good job. Wario can pick up stunned enemies and coin bags and shake them using the Wii Remote to make them spit out coins and items. He can also throw enemies and items, tilting the Wii Remote to aim. The feature is not over used but adds a new dimension to the game.
Graphics:
Wario land looks amazing, it got the old school look of older games of the series but with amazing background mixed with anime style drawings for the characters which turned out amazing. There are a few anime cinematic during the game that totally fit the style of this game.
Conclusion:
This game is amazing, it feels like the old Wario Land games but still fresh thanks to the addition of the Wii remote features. Every level feels different and there is enough variety in each level. Wario Land: Shake Dimension is a fun and relaxing game for both people who know and love the series as for people who are new to Wario games.
