Wario: Master Of Disguise (Nintendo DS) > Reviews (2)

The Wario series has always been the faction of Nintendo's franchises that hasn't been afraid of a little self parody. Wario himself is a comical evil twin on Nintendo's beloved mascot and the years have seen him move from villainous big bad to greedy anti-hero. The Warioland series on the Gameboy remain the character's highlight, with original gameplay and a story entirely based around exploiting people for loot. A nice change. Since then (When he isn't go-kart racing, playing tennis or cheating at golf) Wario has become somewhat more well known as the face of the Warioware series; A party game based around competing in very short minigames. While these titles have always been fun, it's clear they operate largely independent of the Wario character, a character which could lend itself to some far more interesting games.

And so, Wario has been returned to the platforming genre for Wario: Master of Disguise on the Nintendo DS. The game opens with a somewhat lethargic Wario watching TV, a daytime drama about a master thief pushes his buttons a bit and he decides to travel into his TV using a conveniently available gadget and join in on the fun. Once there, he bumps into the ostentatious Silver Zephyr; jewel thief extraordinaire and liberates a magic wand from him. The magic wand, Goodstyle, (and I can't believe I'm about to say this) is no ordinary magic wand. Rather, he talks and is sporting a rather spiffing moustache. He soon informs Wario that he is the source of the Silver Zephyr's power and as Wario is his new master, he would be happy to grant Wario some better thieving skills. What follows is an intricate, complex puzzle platformer in which Wario takes on the guise of "The Purple Wind" (Wario in a purple bandana) and the motto "Silent but Deadly" one oft repeated fart joke. As you work through the game you will be treated to more costumes, each granting different abilities. Cosmic Wario, for example, is Wario is a spacesuit. He fires lasers and jumps like he's in low gravity, artistic Wario on the other hand can paint blocks to help you overcome obstacles. Each costume is accessed by drawing shapes on Wario's head.

If this all sounds a little strange, I can only tell you that it's even stranger to play. The dialogue seems to have been written with a tongue lodged so firmly in cheek that the writer would have jaw ache and confrontations between Wario and the Silver Zephyr seem to have been stripped right out of an ITV Agatha Christie adaptation; music and all... with a running fart joke.

The gameplay itself is something of a sore spot. The basic concept of allowing Wario to change costumes via shapes drawn on the touch screen is excellent, however, and there is always a however with this game; it doesn't really work. By the end of the game you'll have seven costumes, not including the Purple Wind, many of the shapes involved are similar and if your spaceman Wario bubble helmet comes out a bit wrong then it's pirate Wario for you. Often it feels too much like it would be better served by button presses but then it could have been a Gameboy Advance title.

When you do finally get Wario into the right costume, each set of skills is a nice bit of gameplay but scenarios in which you have to change between different suits are awkward at best. Not only that but you'll often find that rather than using a range of the costumes available, you pick one versatile suit and work through it until the game forces you to use another. A little flexibility would be nice.

The levels themselves aren't great. There are ten in total but each takes between thirty minutes to an hour to complete, this is partly because a lot of it involves walking around identical rooms until you identify the suit needed, hitting a switch and then doubling back. Often five or six times. Each level is essentially a maze with locked doors and switches to hit, unfortunately the game doesn't make this clear to you and passes itself of as a true platformer. About halfway through the second level it dawned on me that this game expects your abstract thinking to be always on, if you don't go through each room with genius Wario turned on then you could very well miss the way out. Unfortunately genius Wario is cannon fodder so you can't just leave him on all the time. The WarioWare influence is also seen here, every time Wario wants to open a treasure chest, which is quite often, he has to a do a small minigame first. Unfortunately these aren't as fun or as varied as Warioware games, there's about 6 repeated over a hundred times throughout. In the end I grew to loath the sight of a treasure chest and all its implications. In its defense, I did complete the game and I completed it because I was enjoying it. Call me masochistic but it is addictive and somewhat compelling once you realise the path it's taking.

Graphically, I'm quite sure this was original designed for the Gameboy Advance and then restructured after the DS' release. The visuals, while not bad, are not like anything we're used to seeing on the DS. I don't intend this as a criticism but they do look like sprites from the 16-bit era. The game is playable and well designed, Wario's costumes all look great, but there has been no use of 3D at all in the creation of this game. Don't let that put you off, it means that the game never looks inferior or awkward. However, it's a pity that this approach wasn't funnelled into some impressive style, most of the levels both feel AND look like puzzles with hard edges, 90 degree angle platforms and a very straight cut look to everything. For all that is pleasant about the character sprites, there is no appeal at all in the levels.

Soundwise, I found myself enjoy Master of Disguise more than I expected to. There's a piece of American soap opera incidental music plays every time Wario and the Silver Zephyr face off that I though was a great touch and Wario's evil laugh made me smile every time. There are a lot of nice touches.

I think what damages Wario: Master of Disguise for me the most is that I was never quite sure what it was aiming for. While the genre is best described as a platformer, it really is more of a puzzle game.

It tries to land it somewhere between the two and never really succeeds at either. Considering the success of the original Wario platformers, it's a surprise and I can't help the decision to structure the game this way was taken on the back of the Warioware franchise's success. It's a poor decision and ultimately weakens the whole experience.

However, I must point out that while Wario: Master of Disguise is hard to describe positively, there was a lot of positive to it. The idea is original enough to entertain you for the first hour or so and while the frustration of other elements kicks in around then, the addictive puzzle elements might keep you playing until the end. Graphically it takes a simple approach but for the most part it works and the corny dialogue and plot is gold.

I have often been accused of being too harsh on a lot of games and it's true, shoddy work often makes me angry. Video games are one of the most expensive forms of entertainment and are subject to almost no creative control and it's a shame to see developers exploit that. Wario: Master of Disguise isn't like that, while it has a lot of flaws they have arisen through the attempt to be new and to entertain. For all it gets wrong it does offer a little originality and some fun. It's not a classic but it's not a failure either.

Due to its very modest sales, Wario: Master of Disguise can be found second hand for around £7 and often cheaper. It isn't an amazing game and I wouldn't fork out the full £30 for it but at £7 there's enough interesting stuff here.

This DS cartridge will play on any DS, DS lite or DSi console.