Wario World

Hello again, readers! If you couldn't already tell by the image above, I'll be observing the story and game structure of Wario World. In this game, you play as Wario, a greedy, selfish, treasure-hunter in search for nothing else but more treasure. The story starts with Wario sitting in his castle, the room filled with piles, over hoards, over hills of gold, gems, and royal items. Wario is sitting on his throne, laughing in victory, and having a grand old time. But deep in the catacombs of his royal keep lies an evil black jewel. It awakens and begins to destroy his castle from the inside out, and transform his whole treasure load into monsters! The jewel changes his castle into four different worlds and hides Wario's treasure in each one. Wario, angry and bent on revenge, springs into action to save his stolen loot.

In Wario World, you traverse through each level with an onslaught of powerful, and simple to use, abilities. You navigate around by running, jumping, and dashing, and you defeat enemies in close combat with strong fighting moves. The game requires you to platform around to get through the linear areas and every so often there are trap doors. These lead to special puzzle-based rooms that give you treasure as a reward.

Wario World's story leaves much to be desired, as it doesn't explain much at all. In a GameSpot review, he says "You won't find a lot of story sequences driving Wario's adventure. The game gives you a brief text explanation at the outset, claiming that Wario stole an evil black jewel that transformed his treasure horde into monsters." It doesn't say where he gets the evil black jewel, or how it came to be, or any other important clues as to how Wario found himself in that mess. But that doesn't stop it from being a fun game. Taken from a Game Revolution review, "Wario World rises above those past foibles with a simple but fun trek through weird worlds, plenty of bosses and old-school fighting action. A mesh of beat-em up button-mashing and typical action-adventure gameplay, Wario World is a decent if short jaunt through the anti-Mario's wacky life." Wario World is a short game, but big surprises come in small packages. Given its length, Wario World contains more fun in it than most games have to offer, regardless if the plot isn't as deep as it could be. With quirky charm, and memorable phrases like "Have a rotten day", Wario World takes a place in my game shelf for years to come. 

 

Mischief Makers

Good day, all! More video game content for you readers today. This game is called Mischief Makers. As a side-scrolling Platformer, it was released in 1997 for the Nintendo 64, and with it, it carries some of my most treasured memories. The story takes place on the planet Clancer where Cybernetic Robot - G Marina Liteyears and her creator, Professor Theo call home. It was a normal afternoon when suddenly, the normally peaceful and loving Clancer inhabitants kidnapped the Professor! Marina quickly goes off in search to find him. She soon finds out that a lot of the Clancer have been recruited by a so called "Evil Empire" led by none other then the Professor's evil (and jealous) twin brother. Marina then sets out on her quest, along with some of the still good Clancer helping her along the way, to save Prof. Theo, and defeat the Evil Empire.

Mischief Makers doesn't have the deepest plot ever written, but it gets the job done. Even though Mischief Makers is weak in the story department, gameplay is where this game really stands out. The main mechanic of this game is grabbing. You can grab just about anything. Once you've grabbed something, you can use it, throw it, or shake it. The only bad thing I have to say about this game is the controls. They are simple, but can be very confusing in the beginning, and annoying in the future, but you get used to it.

What sets Mischief Makers apart from other games is its unique charm and humor. With that said, I think that makes it okay for the story not to be as deep and compelling as some others are. But that annoys some people. In a GameFAQs review of Mischief Makers, the review states "it's the 'damsel gets kidnapped' scenario that Super Mario has been doing for ages," and goes on to say "while there is a subplot or two it's nothing worth caring for, either." He implies that the game is unoriginal due to its similarities with other existing games, but the "damsel in distress" archetype has existed since the dawn of time, so that is hardly something to be complaining about. About the subplots, though, he makes a valid point. There are times in the game where characters and enemies are introduced, but they are never explained and leaves you wondering, as stated in the review "why on earth am I even fighting this boss?" In IGN's review of Mischief Makers, the reviewer tells us "Gameplay is where Mischief Makers really shines. Unlike many other action/platform titles, the game challenges players to use their heads to overcome the stages' various obstacles." He goes on to say "While some stages focus on straightforward action, others present the player with puzzle elements that must be overcome in order to make it to each stages goal." Variety is one of the most important things in not only games, but all media. Mischief Makers certainly has not introduced any groundbreaking ideas. It walks on familiar grounds but still presents something altogether unique and definitive that sets it apart from other games.

Ikaruga

Hello! Today I will be talking about the story and gameplay structure in a game called Ikaruga. Ikaruga is a shooter arcade game that came out for the Sega Dreamcast and was later ported onto the Nintendo Gamecube. In Ikaruga, the story is about the sole survivor of a freedom organization known as the Tenkaku. Tenkaku was made in order to defeat "The Divine Ones." Led by Tenro Horai, these people from the Horai nation began to take over the other nations one by one. Unfortunately, Tenkaku was completely overpowered by their enemies' onslaught, and only a young man named Shinra survived. He was shot down near a small village named Ikaruga. The elderly people there helped him back onto his feet and they entrusted him with a sacred ship in order to defeat "The Divine Ones." The ship is able to use the two different energy polarities and switch between the two successfully. With this ship, Shinra delves straight into the armada and fights with renewed courage and boundless fury.

Shinra was shot down, and he was brought back from the ashes in order to deliver the final blow against "The Divine Ones." In the game you see Shinra and his entire body is covered with bullet holes and his clothes are tattered. Shinra states in the Japanese version of the game "I will not die until I achieve something. Even though the ideal is high, I never give in. Therefore, I never die with regrets." All this shows that he is willing to give it all in order to save his people, regardless of what happens to him, a true hero's thinking. At the final boss, you find yourself switching polarities so incredibly fast, but perfectly. You reach a state of zen and perfect balance, and nothing else in the world matters.

In my opinion, Ikaruga is a beautifully constructed game with a deep storyline and fantastic gameplay mechanics. Unfortunately, others would disagree with me and say that it is too boring. In a YouTube video (Click here to view) the reviewer states that the game is boring because you don't have to worry about anything since you can "absorb just about everything" and "the enemies are as dumb as a doorknob." Through personal experience, you have to worry about a lot of things such as physical obstructions like walls that fly in and rotate at high speeds, as well as switching polarities at the right time. As for the enemies, they are supposed to be dumb. That is the basic formula for every shooter ever made, otherwise it'd be way too hard. In another review, though, this person says quite the contrary. In this review by Screw Attack, the person states that Ikaruga is "notorious for being incredibly challenging and insanely fun." I couldn't agree with him more, and I hope to see more games with a deep story and phenomenal gameplay such as Ikaruga's in the future.