Wario Land: The Shake Dimension
Encyclopedia
Wario Land: The Shake Dimension, known as Wario Land: Shake It! in North America
and as in Japan
, is a video game for the Wii
video game console
. It is the sixth game to be released in the Wario Land
series. It is also the first home console Wario Land game and the first new Wario Land game in nearly 7 years, the last one being Wario Land 4
, which was released in 2001. By the same token, it was the first appearance of Wario antagonist Captain Syrup since Wario Land II
.
The game was developed by the Japanese company Good-Feel
, headed by Shigeharu Umezaki
, the former CEO of Konami
's now-defunct Kobe
branch. It includes an animated opening and ending, created by anime studio Production I.G. This is the first game in the series to feature hand-drawn graphics rather than pixelated sprites.
Wario Land: Shake It! follows the graphical style of earlier Wario Land games on the Game Boy
, Game Boy Color
, Virtual Boy
, and Game Boy Advance
. The player holds the Wii Remote
sideways and shakes it to attack enemies and perform special moves. These include grabbing items and enemies and shaking them to produce coins, and spinning on bars to flip upwards.
and uses a similar gameplay style to that of Wario Land 4
. The Shake Dimension (called Yuretopia in the Japanese version) is split into five continents. Each continent holds six stages (4 standard, 2-3 hidden) and a boss. It is Wario's duty to complete the stages and defeat the bosses at the end of the continent: Rollanratl, Hot Roderick, Chortlebot, Bloomsday (called Scumflower in the European version), Large Fry, and the Shake King. Most stages have secret passages and each contains three treasure chests and several sub-missions; i.e. gathering a certain amount of coins, finishing the stage in a certain amount of time, not taking any damage, etc. Wario's main goal is to free the Merfles, a small character who is trapped in every stage. Once Wario has collected him, he must back track through the stage in a limited time (this is not applicable in Subwarine levels). The Merfles hold signs that help you get back to the starting gate.
The main way to progress through the game is to collect as much treasure as possible, generally done by finding sacks of money and shaking the coins out of them. The player can also shake stunned enemies to get health recovery items. When enough money is collected, Wario can purchase maps to unlock new levels, recovery potions to recover his health, and life vessels to extend his maximum health. Wario has a variety of moves ranging from his trademark shoulder charge to a butt stomp. By shaking the Wii Remote he can perform a punch that stuns on-screen enemies and raises certain obstacles. When running into a stunned enemy, he can either shake it to receive items or throw it by aiming with the Wii Remote. Some areas leading to hidden treasure are only accessible by using methods presented on the race back to the start, like using Max Fastostity Dasherators to break through metal barriers and cross long gaps.
to avoid the actual work of stealing it. Wario prepares to raid the kingdom when one of the Merfles escapes to the outside world in hopes of finding help. Beseeched by the Queen to become a hero to the kingdom, Wario sets off to Yuretopia, likely not interested by the rescuing as much as by obtaining the Bottomless Coin Sack. He works his way through the worlds collecting various, yet odd, treasures. Eventually he fights the Shake King and defeats him. When Queen Merelda thanks Wario for saving her kingdom, Wario holds her in his arms, giving the impression that he is going to kiss her. However, he throws her aside instead and takes the Bottomless Coin Sack which he takes home and shakes endlessly to his pleasure. Just then Captain Syrup arrives at his place and takes the bag from his hands. Merfle then nervously reveals that he had promised Captain Syrup the bag as long as she could ask for Wario's help in the first place. The story ends with Wario chasing Merfle around his house.
and a score of 31 out of 40 from Famitsu
. Nintendo Power
gave a score of 8.0. X-Play
gave the game a four out of five, praising the gameplay, but calling the constant shaking of the Wii-remote tedious and repetitive. Gamespot
gave it 7.5/10, praising the beautiful art style and fun gameplay, but criticizing the gimmicky motion controls also stating how the game was a tad too short spanning only fifteen levels but only replay value for the three objects to collect. Hardcore Gamer gave it 4.25/5, saying the highs completely overshadow the lows. It was nominated for multiple Wii-specific awards by IGN in its 2008 video game awards, including Best Platform Game and Best Artistic Design.
Wario Land: Shake It! entered Japanese sales charts as the eighth best-selling game of the release week at 25,000 copies. The game eventually slipped several places on the charts, but climbed back to tenth place for the week ending August 21, 2008. Japanese sales of the game reached approximately 114,263 units by the end of 2008, according to Media Create
. As of December 2008, Wario Land: The Shake Dimension sold about 150,000 copies in the United States.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and as in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, is a video game for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. It is the sixth game to be released in the Wario Land
Wario (series)
The series is a series of video games created by Nintendo starring the character Wario. It started with Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, the first game with Wario as a playable character, and gained many sequels. The Wario series includes mostly platforming video games and minigame compilations,...
series. It is also the first home console Wario Land game and the first new Wario Land game in nearly 7 years, the last one being Wario Land 4
Wario Land 4
Wario Land 4, known as in Japan, is a video game released for the Game Boy Advance system in 2001. In this game, Wario has to gather four treasures to unlock a pyramid and save Princess Shokora from The Golden Diva...
, which was released in 2001. By the same token, it was the first appearance of Wario antagonist Captain Syrup since Wario Land II
Wario Land II
Wario Land II, known as in Japan, is a video game released for the Game Boy in 1998. It was the last first-party title made for the Game Boy and was later remade to take advantage of the Game Boy Color hardware...
.
The game was developed by the Japanese company Good-Feel
Good-Feel
is a Japanese video game developer. Good-Feel began in Hyogo, Japan in 2005 and soon opened a production facility in Tokyo. Their main focus has been educational games for the Nintendo DS, which have solely been released in Japan...
, headed by Shigeharu Umezaki
Shigeharu Umezaki
is a video game producer. He previously worked as a programmer and producer for Konami and was also CEO of the now-defunct Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe branch. His works includes NES versions of Contra and Life Force, the Legend of the Mystical Ninja series, Rakugakids and some titles in the...
, the former CEO of Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's now-defunct Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
branch. It includes an animated opening and ending, created by anime studio Production I.G. This is the first game in the series to feature hand-drawn graphics rather than pixelated sprites.
Wario Land: Shake It! follows the graphical style of earlier Wario Land games on the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
, Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
, Virtual Boy
Virtual Boy
The was a video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was the first video game console that was supposed to be capable of displaying "true 3D graphics" out of the box. Whereas most video games use monocular cues to achieve the illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional...
, and Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. The player holds the Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
sideways and shakes it to attack enemies and perform special moves. These include grabbing items and enemies and shaking them to produce coins, and spinning on bars to flip upwards.
Gameplay
Wario Land: Shake It! is a platform gamePlatform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
and uses a similar gameplay style to that of Wario Land 4
Wario Land 4
Wario Land 4, known as in Japan, is a video game released for the Game Boy Advance system in 2001. In this game, Wario has to gather four treasures to unlock a pyramid and save Princess Shokora from The Golden Diva...
. The Shake Dimension (called Yuretopia in the Japanese version) is split into five continents. Each continent holds six stages (4 standard, 2-3 hidden) and a boss. It is Wario's duty to complete the stages and defeat the bosses at the end of the continent: Rollanratl, Hot Roderick, Chortlebot, Bloomsday (called Scumflower in the European version), Large Fry, and the Shake King. Most stages have secret passages and each contains three treasure chests and several sub-missions; i.e. gathering a certain amount of coins, finishing the stage in a certain amount of time, not taking any damage, etc. Wario's main goal is to free the Merfles, a small character who is trapped in every stage. Once Wario has collected him, he must back track through the stage in a limited time (this is not applicable in Subwarine levels). The Merfles hold signs that help you get back to the starting gate.
The main way to progress through the game is to collect as much treasure as possible, generally done by finding sacks of money and shaking the coins out of them. The player can also shake stunned enemies to get health recovery items. When enough money is collected, Wario can purchase maps to unlock new levels, recovery potions to recover his health, and life vessels to extend his maximum health. Wario has a variety of moves ranging from his trademark shoulder charge to a butt stomp. By shaking the Wii Remote he can perform a punch that stuns on-screen enemies and raises certain obstacles. When running into a stunned enemy, he can either shake it to receive items or throw it by aiming with the Wii Remote. Some areas leading to hidden treasure are only accessible by using methods presented on the race back to the start, like using Max Fastostity Dasherators to break through metal barriers and cross long gaps.
Plot
Within an ancient globe exhibited at a museum, there is another world called The Shake Dimension. The Shake Dimension's peace is shattered by the marauding pirate Shake King. Queen Merelda and her Merfle subjects are imprisoned and Shake King claims the legendary “Bottomless Coin Sack”, which spits out coins when shaken. Female pirate Captain Syrup observes The Shake Dimension's crisis from the outside world. Desiring the legendary treasure, she steals the Ancient Globe and sends it to WarioWario
is a fictional character in Nintendo's Mario series. The character was designed as another antagonist to Mario , and first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy title Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the main antagonist and final boss...
to avoid the actual work of stealing it. Wario prepares to raid the kingdom when one of the Merfles escapes to the outside world in hopes of finding help. Beseeched by the Queen to become a hero to the kingdom, Wario sets off to Yuretopia, likely not interested by the rescuing as much as by obtaining the Bottomless Coin Sack. He works his way through the worlds collecting various, yet odd, treasures. Eventually he fights the Shake King and defeats him. When Queen Merelda thanks Wario for saving her kingdom, Wario holds her in his arms, giving the impression that he is going to kiss her. However, he throws her aside instead and takes the Bottomless Coin Sack which he takes home and shakes endlessly to his pleasure. Just then Captain Syrup arrives at his place and takes the bag from his hands. Merfle then nervously reveals that he had promised Captain Syrup the bag as long as she could ask for Wario's help in the first place. The story ends with Wario chasing Merfle around his house.
Reception
Wario Land: Shake It! received a score of 8.4 out of 10 from IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
and a score of 31 out of 40 from Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
. Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
gave a score of 8.0. X-Play
X-Play
X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits...
gave the game a four out of five, praising the gameplay, but calling the constant shaking of the Wii-remote tedious and repetitive. Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave it 7.5/10, praising the beautiful art style and fun gameplay, but criticizing the gimmicky motion controls also stating how the game was a tad too short spanning only fifteen levels but only replay value for the three objects to collect. Hardcore Gamer gave it 4.25/5, saying the highs completely overshadow the lows. It was nominated for multiple Wii-specific awards by IGN in its 2008 video game awards, including Best Platform Game and Best Artistic Design.
Wario Land: Shake It! entered Japanese sales charts as the eighth best-selling game of the release week at 25,000 copies. The game eventually slipped several places on the charts, but climbed back to tenth place for the week ending August 21, 2008. Japanese sales of the game reached approximately 114,263 units by the end of 2008, according to Media Create
Media Create
is a Japanese company that "gathers and analyzes data from the digital entertainment industry, specifically focusing on the Japanese console gaming market...
. As of December 2008, Wario Land: The Shake Dimension sold about 150,000 copies in the United States.