Nintendo’s ubiquitousplatforming mascotMario has graced video games for more than four decades, and over the years, he has developed into a smiling, enthusiastic, mustachioed beacon of friendly cheer and good-natured determination. People love Mario. And people love his counterpart, Wario - a foul-tempered, noxious, greedy bully who revels in being everything Mario himself is not.
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Wario started as an out-of-nowhere antagonist for Mario in Super Mario Land 2, but he became an equally beloved figure starring in numerous games that split along a few different genres. While he may not have quite as many games to his name as Mario, he has plenty of titles that should be played… and ranked.
10Wario Land: Shake It!
The most recent entry in the Wario Land franchise but sadly from back in 2008, Wario Land: Shake It! sees its protagonist once again in search of riches, this time questing for an endless sack of coins. Its main gimmick is hinted at by its name, as Wario picks up and shakes enemies to acquire items and can throw them as well.
While the control scheme was derided slightly for its gimmicky nature, the game delivers all the fun fans expect from a Wario game, as well as familiar core mechanics. Collect as many coins as possible, clear levels, buy upgrades, and relish the feeling of greed.
9WarioWare: Twisted!
TheWarioWare seriesmade its mark as soon as it was released by being a collection of minigames that players had to figure out and successfully navigate in short order, tiny games just large enough to be interesting (possibly inspired byMario Party’s short minigames). WarioWare: Twisted! was the first sequel, and it introduced a gimmick in the form of a rotation sensor within the cartridge.
While some fans have criticized Nintendo’s reliance on gimmicks in consoles over the years, the WarioWare series makes good use of them, and this first outing demonstrates it. It required a physical cartridge to play, but the need for quick reactions beyond just pressing buttons made it memorable and fun.
8Wario Land 4
Being the weakest entry in a series is hardly a black mark when the series is known for critical acclaim and positive reception, and that’s the case for Wario Land 4. A solid title that changed some elements of its predecessors, like adding a health bar, Wario Land 4 is still a diverse and entertaining romp for fans.
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Similar to its predecessors, the game featured four main routes to conquer, followed by a final level, puzzles to solve, and platforming to manage across a number of levels. Although it does little to deviate from the series formula, that formula was solid and enjoyable.
7WarioWare: D.I.Y.
Who doesn’t want to make their own minigames? WarioWare: D.I.Y. experiments with exactly that by giving players the tools to custom-build tiny games using the basic architecture of WarioWare’s traditional weirdness for everyone to enjoy.
The game itself was solid, but it also relied somewhat on being able to share creations online with other fans. This makes the game a bit more limited today, but fortunately, its core gameplay loop is still fun and memorable, like most of the franchise.
6WarioWare: Get It Together!
The most recent entry to the franchise, WarioWare: Get It Together!, uses a twist on the usual formula by giving players control of a variety of different characters to clear minigames. This roster of characters can make some minigames much easier and some much harder while always keeping things entertaining.
Combined with the addition of couch multiplayer, the title is a solid inheritor to the series' legacy and shows just how far the basic WarioWare formula can still be pushed. Add in unlockable customizations over time, and there’s even more reason to keep playing the game.
5Wario Land 2
In many ways, Wario Land 2 could be considered one of the first puzzle platformers inthe subset of puzzle games. Here Wario has no health bar to contend with, just stages filled with obstacles he must overcome through power-ups and being affected by enemy attacks along the way.
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While the gameplay was a notable departure from its immediate predecessor, Wario Land 2 established a gameplay formula and a new approach to the character in general. Its historical impact and solid gameplay help make it a classic.
4Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
One might not expect the villain of a game to star in that game’s direct sequel, but that’s exactly what happened with the release of Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, promoting the prior title’s antagonist to the protagonist and giving him new mechanics to engage with. And it worked.
The endpoint of the Super Mario Land subseries and the start of Wario Land as a series, this title is much closer to a traditional Mario title but with twists to make it unique such as Wario’s varied hats and his ability to charge and throw opponents freely.
3WarioWare, Inc: Mega Microgames!
The WarioWare series has numerous excellent entries, but the original title is still one of the finest entries, and there’s a good reason why later entries keep revisiting some of its minigames. There were no gimmicks to be had, just a huge collection of strange and esoteric games.
Without hardware or control gimmicks, each game had to find its own way to be distinctive and quickly understood. Fans of the series who have never played the original will find it just as vital as later installments, just as brisk, and just as prone to sudden surprises and laughter.
2Wario Land 3
Consideredone of the best games on the Gameboy Color,Wario Land 3is easily the highlight of the character’s sidescrolling adventures and their general gameplay. There is no health bar to be monitored, just a series of escalating challenges to make it through stages and the ever-present allure of collecting as many coins as possible.
Every feature that was on display in Wario Land 2 was amplified and improved for this title, producing a memorable romp that established Wario as a platform and video game mascot in his own right rather than simply an ersatz copy of Mario. While far from his biggest hit, it remains one of his finest games.
1WarioWare: Smooth Moves
Some games made excellent use of the Wii’s motion controls and varied control styles, and WarioWare: Smooth Moves wasamong the best. Bringing with it not only its assortment of minigames but an equally wide assortment of ways to use the Wiimote, the game was memorable for that alone.
Beneath that surface gimmickry, however, lies a game every bit as inventive as other entries in the franchise and with an added new set of controls to boot. Its control scheme makes it difficult to port anywhere other than the Wii, but it was an outstanding game for that platform.
