Wario Land: The Shake Dimension Review

Not stirred.

Version tested: Wii

What a relief. It makes a change to play a 2D platformer these days, rather than a 3D action-adventure set in a post-apocalyptic American city. There are no crumbling skyscrapers and fallen telephone poles here, just pyramids and pirate ships. Everything's pink and yellow, not grey and brown, and when you attack enemies they don't explode, they just get dizzy. The plot isn't about government conspiracies or science experiments gone wrong; it's about the kidnapping of some giggly pixies and a magic bag that never runs out of coins. It's a good, old fashioned run-and-jump-em-up, just like your Miyamoto used to make.

Well, not quite. Wario Land: The Shake Dimension is different from classic Nintendo platformers in several respects, one of them being it isn't as good. Another relates to the control system. As you'd expect Wario can run, jump, disappear down pipes, smash blocks, perform belly flops and crawl through gaps, and all that's done using the D-pad plus buttons 1 and 2. However, some moves can only be performed by shaking or tilting the Wii remote.

That includes emptying the bags full of coins littered around every level. It's highly satisfying to watch the treasure spilling out as you shake away, and this is the best use of the remote's motion sensor in the game. It's also fun to give the remote a short, sharp shake to make Wario punch the ground. This causes the whole environment to shudder, dislodging specially marked and precariously placed blocks, and setting off any bombs lying about.

'Wario Land: The Shake Dimension' Screenshot 1

Yes, there is a lava level too.

They should probably have left it there, though. Tilting the remote to aim throws is fiddly; waggling it to spin round poles is tiresome, especially when you've got a dozen poles in a row to deal with. The tilt mechanism is also used to control vehicles, including a submarine and a mine cart. This works better as the level of sensitivity has been perfectly tuned. But on the whole the motion-sensing elements don't add much to the experience, and in some instances having to waggle the remote about is a chore.

It's a good thing, then, that the levels are well-designed enough to make you push on through - especially when you throw in the fact each one must be navigated twice. The first time round it's traditional platforming stuff; you must collect coins and kill enemies, and work out which of Wario's moves are required to open up new pathways. It's rare to find yourself stuck for a solution, but sometimes it'll take serious precision control and several repeat attempts before you're able to progress.

'Wario Land: The Shake Dimension' Screenshot 2

We all live in etc.

This can make the game feel unbalanced at times; having bounded through the first two-thirds of a level effortlessly, it's frustrating to find yourself repeating the same series of pole swings again and again because you keep missing that tricky last leap. But when you finally pull it off, there's a great sense of relief and reward. It's the same story with the boss levels. They're built to a familiar formula, forcing you to work out an attack method through trial and error, then perfect its execution with practice. Just like in the good old days.

So what of the second time round? At the end of each level there's a metal cage containing one of the kidnapped pixies. Shaking it will free the pixie, but also set off an alarm. An on-screen clock starts ticking and Wario has to make his escape before it hits zero - which involves racing all the way back to the start of the level.

This isn't as tedious as it might have been, thanks to some clever design decisions. The pixie you've just freed floats alongside Wario, carrying an arrow sign which always points towards the correct path - so you don't end up backtracking in the wrong direction. In some levels, there's a machine for super-charging Wario near the pixie's cage. This means that with decent reflexes and an eye for when to jump, you can race back through the the whole level at top speed - effortlessly barging through enemies and obstacles as you go. Which is fun, obviously.

Another plus point is that you don't follow the same route back through levels; new pathways open up and there are different obstacles to overcome. This creates a problem for completists, however. If you're the type who likes to seek out hidden booty (and there's plenty here), you can spend ages trying to work out how to access a particular area or break a certain block - before realising it's only possible on the return journey.

Perhaps you're not a completist, and just want to run through levels at a quick-smart pace without worrying about secret treasure chests and hard-to-reach bags of coins. In which case, you will also end up with a problem. Accessing new sets of levels isn't simply a matter of completing the preceding ones; you must buy a map for each area before you can visit it, and you can only buy maps if you've collected enough coins.

'Wario Land: The Shake Dimension' Screenshot 3

Count Duckula's put on a bit of weight since he's been out of the public eye.

The first one's cheap, and you'll have earned the asking price just by racing around, but later on they get more expensive. You may have finished five levels and beaten the boss, but unless you also made a bit of effort to find hidden goodies, it's a question of repeating levels again to get more coins. Considering you've already been through each of them at least twice, this isn't much fun.

Issues like this prevent Wario Land: The Shake Dimension from crossing the line between good and brilliant. It feels as though the game has been designed to please both hardcore and casual players, but it fails to satisfy the needs of either group.

Fans of classic platformers will find most of the game too easy. Nintendo has tried to make up for this by sticking tons of bonuses in the most fiendish of hiding places, but the dual pathways can lead to confusion. This won't be a problem for those who like a lower difficulty level and faster pace, but they'll likely end up frustrated by the trickier spots and enforced repetition.

'Wario Land: The Shake Dimension' Screenshot 4

Nintendo now has its own magic bag that never runs out of coins, as the last financial report confirmed.

It's a shame, particularly because The Shake Dimension could have been the 2D platformer the Wii's been waiting for. The shake mechanism works well, at least in some instances. The production values are extremely high; the visuals look hand-painted, the animations are superb and the music is great, in a nineties way. There are flashes of retro brilliance such as the Egyptian and submarine missions, clearly inspired by classic Game Boy title Super Mario Land. But they are only flashes.

Does Nintendo still care about hardcore gamers? This title could be used as evidence for the defence; it's a 2D platformer, with hard bits and boss battles and rewards for extra effort. But, as the prosecution might point out, even here there are indications of an attempt to appeal to a wider market. The result is a game which is good, but not great, and certainly not up to the standard of Nintendo's best 2D platformers. They don't make 'em like they used to, that's for sure. Still - at least they make 'em.

7 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy

Comments (27) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • iago71 #1 3 years ago

    Shame.... Come on Miyamoto-Sama....You know youre itching to get back on the horse.
  • JohnnyWashnGo #2 3 years ago

    Wario isn't a particular favourite of mine but the games that he stars in are generally good. Which is one reason why I would be willing to give this title a go. The other reason being that I haven't played a new 2D platformer in a while and have a real hankering to immerse myself once more in spritey goodness.

    But I am forced to question just what benefit all the shaking, twisting, spinning and prodding of the Wiimote brings to the game. Surely it would have been just as fun, if not funnerer, without the motion sensing nonsense?
  • Telepathic.Geometry #3 3 years ago

    Oh God, another Ellie review. :'( For the record, I played the first couple of levels on my mate's copy and, re: "Tilting the remote to aim throws is fiddly"; It is NOT fiddly at all in my experience. The term I'd use is spot on. It's not even difficult. Maybe judging the angle is fiddly, but the controls are tight.
  • DrDamn #4 3 years ago

    @JohnnyWashnGo
    That was my concern looking at the vids. I like 2D platformers and I much prefer Wario to Mario as a character, but the wiimote use seemed largely tacked on and in fact much easier with a button control.
  • don81 #5 3 years ago

    This game is the same principal as Sabre Wolf on the GBA, that was a great game, Rare made that game, i think Nintendo have copied it a little bit! tut tut!
  • DrDamn #6 3 years ago

    Actually the issues Ellie describe on the game structure itself are more of a problem than tacked on controls. The instance which Telepathic.Geometry mentions is actually the one example I thought would work quite well - and by his account does.
  • Stuz359 #7 3 years ago

    That is one beautiful game.
  • Zelos #8 3 years ago

    From the screenshots it looks like this runs in 4:3 with vertical bars, is that right? Strange if so.
  • Sylpharion #9 3 years ago

    7/10? Damn. Nevermind, I'll still get it anyway! Besides, I've read reviews before where Wiimote controls have been criticized yet I never had a problem with 'em.
  • Tonka #10 3 years ago

    Why has the world decided to revive the 2D platformer genre?
    Why oh why? ;_;
  • mikew1985 #11 3 years ago

    Because it's excellent?!
  • DrDamn #12 3 years ago

    @Tonka
    Because it's got it's own set of challenges and can be a lot more focused. 3D isn't simply an obvious progression in this genre, it's a different way of doing things but also introduces its own drawbacks.

    @Sylpharion
    I think the score related more to game design decisions rather than the control issues. They are quite well described though, so if you are ok with those then buy away :)
  • magicpocket #13 3 years ago

    Looks good and will probably pick it up.

    It's all about Mushroom Men for me and being the saviour of 'core' games on the Wii. New play through video on gametrailers http://ww w.gametrailers.com/player/39551...
  • spazmo #14 3 years ago

    The game is good and pretty challenging to 100% each level and find the secret levels, but, the motion controls add nothing. In fact they just get in the way and become rather tiresome and the aiming motion can go a little berserk from time to time. 7 is a good and fair score, but, like most decent Wii games, do the motion controls really add to the enjoyment? I say no although the controller used as a pointer is a different matter. Let's see what Motionplus can do...
  • hulahoops #15 3 years ago

    "Why has the world decided to revive the 2D platformer genre?
    Why oh why? ;_; "

    Because they were always a million times better than 3D platformers?

    I'm not one for rose tinted retro specs, but they really were so much better when you only had two dimensions to worry about.
  • Tonka #16 3 years ago

    But I'm shit at them. ;_;
    Why God WHYYYYY!!!?
  • spazmo #17 3 years ago

    But this isn't made by Nintendo.
  • Ranger101 #18 3 years ago

    Great written review - it flows nicely and doesn't flow off into over-sentimental analogies. Well done Ellie.
  • captainrentboy #19 3 years ago

    Woah, those graphics are bloody lovely, especially the one at a 4:3 ratio, why is that?
    I'm still not 'getting it' with regards to the Wii and it's motion controller. When you have drunken mates over, sure I can see how some of the games would be a laugh. But most of the time you're just sitting there on your own shaking something about (haha), with gestures that don't actually relate to what is going on on screen 95% of the time :/ How in the hell is that the new and exciting way of playing games?
    Hopefully that motion plus attachment will help me see the error of my ways, but at the moment the Wii is still a bit of a joke console to me, a joke that has sold like 45 million units worldwide....
  • FFS #20 3 years ago

    So this game is exactly as I predicted a few months back?

    Fun but easy, short and unnecessary motion gimmicks? Oh, and 7/10. Predicable Nintendo.

    Coin-Op: And Yoshi's Island 2 was a fucking travesty compared to the original. It's what you get when you licence out magical titles to another party. I miss Nintendo of old.
    Edited by 1 at 05/09/08 @ 12:47
  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #21 3 years ago

    Sounds like an old-school platformer.

    YES! :))))
  • DrDamn #22 3 years ago

    @ruggedtoast
    If you read the review you'll find the game has more shortcomings than the control mechanisms. Those were more evident in the scoring than the controls.
  • smelly #23 3 years ago

    But there's no decent games on the wii... etc etc etc..
  • mkreku #24 3 years ago

    Ellie is back reviewing! :D
  • MarioMan50 #25 3 years ago

  • smelly #26 3 years ago

    >I suppose it's down to Disaster: Day of Crisis now to save Christmas

    Erm why?

    I dont get gamers who see a 7/10 score and immediately think it's somehow a shit game?
  • sanduixe #27 3 years ago