Wario World

Wario World is a 3D platformer with an emphasis on exaggerated combat. The player, controlling Wario, attempts to reclaim his treasure trove and newly built castle from an evil sentient gem named Black Jewel. To accomplish this, Wario traverses linear levels containing enemies and obstacles alongside collectibles, such as Spritelings, and coins which can be collected to help further progression. Each level also holds trapdoors which, when found, lead to either a platforming or puzzle-oriented challenge.

: Mega Microgames! which can be played by using the GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable.

The game begins with Wario enjoying his newly built castle, which is filled with treasures that he has collected from earlier adventures. An evil, sentient gem called Black Jewel, hidden amongst Wario's treasure collection, suddenly awakens and takes over the castle. Black Jewel turns Wario's treasure into monsters, and transforms the castle into four worlds. Wario proceeds through the worlds controlled by Black Jewel, recovering his treasure and rescuing Spritelings (the creatures that had sealed Black Jewel away in the past), then engages Black Jewel in a battle to destroy it.

As thanks for his help, the Spritelings build Wario a new castle. Depending on how many Spritelings Wario rescued, his new castle can range from a simple camping tent to a castle that is more majestic than his previous one.

Wario World was shown at E3 2002 as a technical demo. At the next E3 in 2003, it was shown with levels of gameplay polish and tweaking, which the previous E3 demo was lacking. On August 22, 2002, at Nintendo's Gamer's Summit, Wario World's North American release date was set to November 11, 2002. The game's release date was pushed back to May 26, 2003, but was further delayed again by one month until June 23, 2003. The game was released in Europe on June 20, in Australia on July 10, and in Japan the following year on May 27, 2004.

It was uncertain who was developing Wario World, until April 22, 2003, when Nintendo of America revealed that Treasure was developing the game. After the successful development collaboration Treasure and Nintendo shared with the Nintendo 64 title, Sin and Punishment, the two companies wanted to work together again. The R&D1 team wanted to continue their co-development juncture with a 3D installment of the Wario franchise. Wario World's music was composed by Norio Hanzawa and Minako Hamano. Wario was voiced by Charles Martinet, who also voices Mario and Luigi in the Mario series.

Wario World was a commercial success, selling over 142,000 copies in Japan and 256,000 copies in the US. In 2004, the game was re-released alongside Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and F-Zero GX as part of the Player's Choice line, a selection of games with high sales sold for a reduced price.

Wario World received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. The US version of Play magazine gave the game a perfect score, and the reviewer commented that Wario World "pays off every second [he is] holding the controller, and that, to [him], is greatness". Nintendo Power said that the game was "tons of fun". GamePro stated that Wario World "stays addictive by weight of sheer design innovation".