System: Nintendo Game Boy
Release date: 1998

Wario Land II on the Nintendo Game Boy is what happens when Nintendo decides the rules don’t apply to their most selfish character – and it turns out that’s absolutely the right call.

This Wario Land II Game Boy title threw out the lives system, binned the time limits, and handed control to a greedy, waddling force of nature who can’t be killed – only inconvenienced. You can’t die in Wario Land II. You can be flattened, frozen, set on fire, and turned into a zombie, and Wario simply gets back up with a face like thunder and carries on. Brilliant. In 2025, does this pint-sized chaos machine still make the grade, or has even Wario’s patience finally run out?

Gameplay: Can’t Kill Him, Can’t Stop Him

Wario Land II on the Nintendo Game Boy sends the big-nosed bandit across 40-plus levels in pursuit of stolen treasure, and the journey is considerably dafter than that description makes it sound. Enemies don’t damage you in the traditional sense – they transform you. Get stung and you float upward as a balloon. Get flattened and you slide under gaps. Get set on fire and you run screaming into things. Each transformation is a gameplay mechanic in its own right, and the best levels lean into this brilliantly.

The world is packed with secrets – hidden doors, alternate routes, treasure chests tucked behind breakable walls that only reveal themselves if you know exactly where to charge. Multiple branching story paths mean a single playthrough doesn’t show you everything, and the lack of a lives system means experimentation is actively encouraged rather than punished.

Boss fights are large, characterful, and require you to use Wario’s moveset rather than just sitting at a distance and chucking things. They’re consistently the highlight of each new area.

The Missing Map? Wario Land II on the Game Boy has a navigation problem it never quite solves. There’s no map, very little signposting, and several levels are sprawling enough that you can spend a frustrating amount of time wandering in completely the wrong direction without any indication that you’ve gone wrong. Completionists hunting every last treasure chest will know the specific misery of combing a level they thought they’d finished only to find they missed something tucked behind a completely unmarked wall three screens back. Some sections also drag longer than they should, and a handful of the transformation sequences feel fiddly rather than fun.

Graphics: One Very Expressive Moustache

Wario Land II on the Nintendo Game Boy looks absolutely the part – especially on the Game Boy Color, where the already characterful sprites burst into proper colour. Wario’s animations are a constant delight. His smug waddle, the way he puffs up with indignation after a hit, the sheer theatrical commitment of every transformation sequence – it’s all brilliantly observed character work crammed into a handful of pixels.

Levels are varied and detailed, each world with its own visual identity that stops the whole thing blurring into one long corridor. The cartoony art style has dated not even slightly.

Sound: Greedy Grunts and Bouncy Beats

Wario Land II on the Game Boy has a soundtrack that commits entirely to the bit. Upbeat, slightly chaotic, occasionally silly – every track matches the energy of whatever Wario is currently barrelling through. Each world gets its own distinct theme that sticks around just long enough to become familiar before the game moves you on.

Sound effects are spot on. The coin clinks, the wall-smashing thud, Wario’s various grunts of effort and displeasure – all of it adds to the sense that you’re following a very grumpy man on a very personal errand. The audio is cheerful, punchy, and doesn’t try to be anything it isn’t.

Replayability: One Playthrough Is Never Enough

Wario Land II on the Nintendo Game Boy is designed from the ground up to be replayed. Branching story paths mean different playthroughs unlock different chapters entirely. Every level has hidden treasure to find, alternate exits to discover, and secrets behind walls you probably didn’t think to smash the first time through.

The completionist route – finding every treasure, clearing every chapter, unlocking the true ending – is a proper undertaking that rewards patience and curiosity in equal measure. Short sessions work just as well as longer ones, and the lack of a lives system means you can pick it up and put it down without losing progress to a badly-timed hit.

The Retro Looney Verdict

Wario Land II on the Nintendo Game Boy is one of the most purely enjoyable platformers the system produced – and it achieves that by doing almost everything differently from its peers. No lives. No deaths. No hand-holding. Just a magnificently stubborn moustached man with a point to prove and more hidden rooms than any sane level designer should have included.

The navigation can leave you wandering and the completionist route will test your patience. But the transformation system is inspired, the level design is consistently inventive, and playing as someone who treats obstacles as a minor inconvenience rather than a threat is genuinely refreshing even now. An absolute gem. Wario deserves better than second billing and this game proves it.

Don’t forget to check out my other Game Boy Reviews!