The Mezunian

Die Positivität ist das Opium des Volkes, aber der Spott ist das Opium der Verrückten

Worst to Best Levels – Wario Land II, Part 8

2024 August 24

9. SS Tea Cup Story 3: Get in the Tea Cup

The most interesting swimming level in this game, especially with the unique mechanic o’ the eels you have to dodge by quickly swimming in front o’ them & swimming back ’way, & then rushing past them as they pull back. Granted, I’m mixed on the treasure door’s hiding place under the last eel, requiring you to intentionally get grabbed by it down to the small pocket o’ clear water that holds it: on 1 hand, it’s certainly 1 o’ the most memorable treasure door locations; on the other, it’s a bit unfair & counterintuitive to expect the player to intentionally let themself get hit by something the game heavily discourages you from getting hit by, especially when you lose 2 coins whene’er you’re grabbed, e’en by the eel you’re s’posed to be grabbed by.

While not quite unique, the seagull platforms introduced in this level are also a rare mechanic that helps this level stand out, tho they don’t contribute much to this level beyond acting as stepping stones to collecting coins & can be completely ignored for just going from start to level goal.

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Posted in Video Games, Worst to Best Levels

Worst to Best Levels – Wario Land II, Part 7

2024 August 17

15. Go to the Cellar!! Story 2: Avoid the rocks!

The central mechanic o’ falling rocks o’ randomly varying sizes — small rocks, which can be grabbed & thrown, & large boulders that make Wario flat — is unique & clever. Unfortunately, going to the other extreme o’ this game’s most common problem to the greatest extent in this game, this level relies almost entirely on this gimmick thruout the whole level, with the only exceptions being a room with basic enemies & a basic room where you break blocks as fat Wario.

While I’m thankful that there are only 2 places where you’d want to be flat Wario, both just for coins, that leaves catching small rocks & dodging large boulders, usually just so you can throw the small rocks @ throw blocks in the way o’ coins, to hold up this whole level. A bit o’ variety would’ve gone a long way. They do add minor complications like needing to jump o’er gaps while dodging boulders & specially bats who not only risk grabbing you & making you drop the rock you’re holding, but can also make you drop your rock if you jump into it to try avoid being grabbed.

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Posted in Video Games, Worst to Best Levels

Worst to Best Levels – Wario Land II, Part 6

2024 August 10

21. One Noisy Morning Story 2: Turn off the giant faucet!

The better “flooded castle” level, replacing the sluggish swimming round bubbles & Drills with mo’ exciting platforming challenges o’er rapids that threaten to push you back whence you came, including 1 place with furniture that keeps spawning from broken-open holes, only to break ’pon hitting the wall @ the end, where you have to time a jump on it so you can be standing on ground to enter the treasure door — since e’eryone knows it’s scientifically impossible to go thru doorways while in the air.

This level’s ending is also similar but better than its sequel, replacing hitting some random block with shutting off the faucet causing this flooding in the 1st place by elbowing its spigot 3 times, with the extra visual touch o’ having the amount o’ water coming out decrease a bit with each hit.

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Posted in Video Games, Worst to Best Levels

Worst to Best Levels – Wario Land II, Part 5

2024 August 3

27. Maze Woods Story 2: Defeat the giant spear man

Riding the moving turtles, introduced in this level, is refreshingly rare in this game, being used only twice mo’; & tho it is an autoscroll mechanic, a’least this level was laid out in a way that minimizes standing around doing nothing. Nor is it used too much or too li’l, hitting that sweet spot o’ 2 iterations, the 1st a simple tutorial where you just need to jump up a few short platforms & dodge slow-moving Pirate Gooms & a 2nd with mo’ complex layouts where you have to quickly plow thru cracked blocks & dodge much mo’ dangerous fire foxes.

Howe’er, while I get how cool it is to have to time entering a door while on the turtle, it’s lame that you have to redo the 1st half o’ the 1st turtle section when you do so, as leaving the door dunks you right into the currents that push you back to the start, especially since all that door holds is a bunch o’ coins and is the same general o’erused puzzle o’ jumping on an enemy while holding an enemy so you can jump off that enemy while on the 2nd storey to reach the 3rd storey — which is especially uninteresting, since it comes so soon after a very similar puzzle room but with 1 Pirate Goom replaced by a stove. They could’ve avoided this by having a tiny turtle section o’ currentless water where the only need for the turtle is to enter the door, allowing you to just swim onward after leaving.

Continue reading @ Level Rankings.com…

Posted in Video Games, Worst to Best Levels