Introduction
Once again we are going to look at a retro review, this time we will be going to my birth year, the year of 1994 when Wario Woods was released. This is a Tetris like game, however it has Toad as a playable character. It is a quite strange game as Wario was in this time still a full on antagonist instead of helping the gang. It was not soon before he learned that parties with the gang could be awesome, and possible life-threatening with the mini-games they attempt. This time, Wario has just taken over the woods, and Toad needs to save the woods.
What did I think before playing Wario Woods?
This is a game that I have played a long time ago, my wife also enjoyed this game a lot, she loves Tetris and any related game! By a coincidence, she also likes Toad as a playable character. It is your goal in this game to make sure you do not get crushed by a giant wooden block. However, there are many elements in the game that will try to take you down. For more information we are going to check out the Wikipedia page!
The Wikipedia page
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wario%27s_Woods
This page has the plot and the gameplay lined out for you. This is the first game that has Toad has a solo protagonist. They probably did not want Mario to fight Wario again like in the previous game. Wario has another plan to take over this kingdom but this time, he is going to get thwarted by a toad. That has to hurt.
Rating
I rate Wario Woods with a 7.7 before playing.
Who doesn’t want to play as a Toad?
Story
The story is quite simple, Wario comes to the Mushroom Kingdom and enchants the woods, Toad notices this and goes to Wario to blow up his castle, at least, that is the plan!
Rating
I rate the story of Wario Woods with a 6.1.
While the story is okay-ish, it is nothing spectacular.
Gameplay
The gameplay is quite fun for a Tetris like game, normally you have control over the blocks that fall down, and it is your goal to create lines, it is going to be a bit different this time around. You are Toad, in a tree, these trees are invested with monsters. There is only one thing to do when you see monsters, blow them up with bombs as if you are bomberman! This is not as easy as it seems though.
To blow up the enemies, you need to match the right color bomb with the monsters. Then you need to match three of them, one of them can be a bomb. Then they will explode but if you explode a lot of the monsters at the same time you will get a diamond that will wipe them out of existence. While you are trying to clear the tree of monsters, new ones and bombs will appear from the sky. This can be helpful or annoying!
Birdo will try to help you along with her creature called Wanda, however after a timer has run out, Wario will come to make your life difficult. He will spawn a lot of new monsters and give you whole rows of them! You are going to need to move fast through the level to blow them up, you can kick, pick up, throw and wiggle your way through the level to get rid of the monsters! As you clear levels, depending on how fast, you will get coins, collect fifty of them to earn a live, you start with zero lives, this is a SNES game after all!
Rating
I rate the gameplay of Wario Woods with an 8.2!
Holy moly, for a very old game, it still has amazing gameplay but the difficulty is insane!
Sound and Graphics
Graphics
The graphics are very neat, and they actually withstood the test of time. The pixels still look amazing, there are different worlds to visit, and all of them have different monsters. They even have their own weakness! Some monsters change color when hit, giving them a second life, meaning you need to bomb them twice! Wario walking out of the frame is a very smooth transition.
Sound
The soundtracks are very good, and I love listening to them. They are upbeat and keep you on your toes, as for the sound effects, they are superb, this game definitely withstood the test of time!
Rating
I rate the sound and graphics of Wario Woods with an 8.9.
This game is still very fun to look at, it is amazing that Toad looks this good in his first game ever!
What did I think after playing Wario Woods?
This game is very difficult, some of the levels are insane! You need to be fast, react quickly, or you will perish! The fact that you also start with zero lives does not make this game any easier. I dare you to try and fight against a computer controlled opponent, you are going to get crushed in seconds!
The fact that Birdo is around helping is something that I liked a lot, when this game released, she was still very new to Nintendo. It also has been a very long time since we saw Wario in a real antagonist feature, while he is annoying and greedy, he is not really evil anymore. Just, a side villain or pretty annoying.
Rating
I rate Wario Woods with a 7.4 after playing.
I’ve got to blow up them monsters!
What are my personal thoughts about Wario Woods?
I can’t believe, this is one of the first games that I ever played, I have been crushed so many times, and yet I kept trying to complete the levels, ah, the good old days when games did worry a single bit about crushing your every hope to complete a game, zero extra lives, and if you die, you need to restart the whole game.
Rating
My personal Rating of Wario Woods is a 7.5
Its’a me Toad!
Last Words
Pros
- Find many different monsters in all kinds of trees
- Toad is playable!
- Play through many levels as you try to blow up Wario!
- A very interactive Tetris game that keeps you on your toes with upbeat soundtracks
- The graphics have withstood the test of time!
- There is a huge variety of monsters
- You can play against a friend if you want
Cons
- This game has a mediocre story at best
- Wario Woods has a very high difficulty
Everyone knows, you should not mess with Toads, they can get very aggressive!
Final Rating
7.7
Let me know what you think of Wario Woods in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
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Thanks for review 😉
You are Welcome!
Thats quite a high ranking for such a simple game. I’ve never been a fan of games similar to Tetris.
It does have to be your thing!
Great review! I have always dismissed this game assuming it was another cheap puzzle cash-in, simply using characters from the Mario universe where they don’t really belong. Seriously though, this actually looks like quite a bit of fun.
It is more fun than you would expect!
I’m surprised I haven’t heard of this game before, considering how popular Wario’s side series of minigames are! This actually looks very polished and like a lot of fun, and a bit like Dr. Mario and Tetris but with its own quirks.
This used to be a favorite game of mine when I was a child!
Looks like a casual game to play for short time with good ideas
Nice to see some minigames which are not generic puzzles for once.
Interesting game, nice idea!
It is indeed a fun and interesting game!
I didn’t know this game existed. Looks interesting.
You can try it on Retro Arch, it is available on Steam!
I don’t even know about Wario game. Tetris
Tetris has been here for quite some time and in many shapes and sizes!
I had hoped to see Wario as the main protagonist, but I guess Toad is the way to go lol.
Mario games always had dope soundtracks, so I’m glad this one shines there too.
Toad would shine even more later on! Wario is just a misjudged character, it is all Mario’s fault.