It's rare that Nintendo releases a 2-D adventure game on the Wii, so Wario Land: Shake It! comes as a cool surprise. Simple, pretty and fun, it reminds us more simpler times when we didn't care about polygons, bump mapping and other technical jargon. Instead, all we wanted was to help a fat and mustachioed antihero run through several loot-filled stages. Not only does Nintendo deliver, but it also lets us shake our Wii remotes.
In his latest game, Wario takes a break from his WarioWare schemes and sets his sights on the Shake Dimension and the Bottomless Coin Sack, a bag capable of holding an infinite number of coins. Not only has the nefarious Shake King stolen the sack, but he also nabbed Queen Merelda. Thanks to some skilled convincing by the absurdly named Captain Syrup, Wario agrees to rescue the kidnapped queen with the intention of filling his pockets.
Unlike most Wii games, Shake It! only requires the Wii remote. In fact, all you need is the d-pad and the face buttons, guiding Wario around and jumping to reach platforms and stomp bad guys. You also have the opportunity of finding money, which you'll collect by ramming treasure chests or picking up bags and physically shaking the remote. How hard you shake, of course, is up to you, but we strongly suggest you make it a grand production.
Throughout your journey, you'll explore five distinct continents with multiple stages, all of which were hand drawn and are a joy to behold. Wario will explore forests bursting with greenery, ancient ruins and other locales full of attractive scenery and bothersome enemies. Even Wario, drawn with a neat cartoon appearance, is easy on the eyes, and considering his large belly and propensity to consume cloves of garlic, that's saying a lot.
We're also impressed with the anime-style cut scenes, which are well done and a departure from Nintendo's 3-D sequences. There's also plenty of humor in both the characters' facial expressions and their antics.
If you're in a hurry, you can beat the game in a matter of hours, but that would deprive you of all Shake It! has to offer. Each stage has hidden paths, new goodies to uncover and achievements, such as reaching the goal within a time limit or collecting a certain number of coins, so unless you're on a speed run, slow down and explore the nooks and crannies.
Nevertheless, the game is incredibly short, and unless you care about finishing a stage in 110 seconds, you'll see just about everything in a single play through.
Wario Land: Shake It!, is a welcome edition to the franchise and worth a play. Whether you're a Nintendo fanatic or just searching for something new, Shake It! is good old-fashioned fun.
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