45. Maze Woods Story 5: Defeat the giant bee!

“Defeat the giant bee!” feels e’en mo’ like a padding level than other boss levels, repeating similar setpieces with the bees introduced in the level preceding this level, — granted they fit better here: they just would’ve had a better effect if they were introduced here — as well as returning the terrible floors you can fall thru to hide the treasure door, as well as yet ’nother down there for some coins.

The bees aren’t fun, either: puffy Wario is ’mong the least fun status effects in the series thanks to how slow it moves & how redundant it feels next to bouncy Wario; & thanks to the camera in this game, which doesn’t move unless you touch a boundary, it’s a guessing game where there are spots high ’bove you can float up to, so you’ll end up getting stung & floating up @ various places just to check e’erywhere if you haven’t already memorized the level or looked it up in a guide. They’re not challenging to get past, either, as you can just stay ducking & they can’t sting you. You’d think they’d put the effort to better differentiate this level from “Escape from Maze Woods” by making you climb up platforms that require you to be standing to reach them to add difficulty, but the bee sections in this level are actually easier & simpler than that earlier level.

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Wario Land II was a transition point from the 1st Wario Land. It introduces the main physics, controls, & moves that define Wario Land for most people: Wario’s invincibility; a greater focus on puzzle platforming than action, which better suits Wario’s still-floaty — but not as floaty as the 1st Wario Land’s — physics; & most importantly, introduces possibly the most famous twist o’ Wario Land games, the status effects where Wario gains special power by being hit by enemies, which in different contexts can be helpful or necessary for reaching places or stifle progress, whether it be springy or puffy Wario making Wario move higher than his jumps can move him, whether he wants it or not, or flat or fat Wario, the former o’ whom can go wider distances & go o’er gaps in thin passageways, the latter o’ whom can break thru ground that regular Wario can’t, but both o’ which have weaker jumps & cannot enter doors.

That said, I don’t think Wario Land II realized the true potential o’ the series, & this mainly comes down to its levels: with the exception o’ a few branching paths to multiple endings, which are basically glorified secret exits like those in Super Mario World, & the treasure doors with their repetitive, tedious minigames you have to find in e’ery level, as well as the also-tedious & repetitive guess-the-# game, which are like the bonus coins in Donkey Kong Country games, but with e’en mo’ repetitive challenges, this game’s levels are still linear &, due to Wario’s invincibility, don’t offer much in terms o’ challenge.

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