Fans of Wario's platforming adventures, such as the Wario Land games and Wario World, might find themselves intrigued by Nintendo's Wario: Master of Disguisefor the Nintendo DS. The game thrusts Wario into a cash-collecting adventure where he utilizes many disguises, each with their own special powers. Unfortunately, the game's window-dressing idea can't make up for its multiple problems.
While watching television one day, Wario checks out a show featuring the misadventures of a transforming magical thief named the Silver Zephyr. Eager to obtain the Zephyr's power for himself, Wario jumps through the TV screen and steals his magic wand. With it, he transforms into the "Purple Wind", ultimately becoming the show's star. Throughout each episode, Wario collects a huge amount of loot while avoiding Count Cannoli (Zephyr's real-life counterpart) and his minions. The wand, nicknamed Goodstyle, offers him various tips, including how to learn new transformations, which come in handy over the course of the episode.
Master of Disguise had great potential, but developer Suzak made a few bad decisions. First, the game relies too much on the DS' touch-screen. Choosing Wario's disguises through a menu and button system might have proved a good idea. Instead, players must draw around him during in-game action to accomplish a transformation. This not only grows stale, but also grows annoying quickly.
Take one of the game's boss battles for example. Wario must change into three costumes over the course of the fight, using abilities like Cosmic Wario's laser-shooting skills. Avoiding the boss' attacks takes some skill, but drawing precise shapes just doesn't work. Draw the wrong thing, even just the slightest mistake and Wario doesn't change at all.
The irritation doesn't end there. Players must finish various mini-games in order to acquire items from treasure chests. The game includes a mere eight mini-games, each one very simply designed. The first requires the tracing of on-screen items. Another features a connect-the-dots game that somewhat resembles a kid's menu and also a coloring mini-game that forces players to stay inside the lines.
Master of Disguise's episodes (levels) follow a large Metroid-style blueprint, instead of the usual platforming route. The game starts out on a cruise ship, but soon moves into other locations, such as a jungle and a castle. Unfortunately, it runs on a very slow -- and somewhat clumsy -- pace. Only dedicated Wario fans will see it all the way through, and even they may opt for a session of a different Wario game instead (even the Virtual Boy one). Also, the graphics in each of these levels lack appeal, offering bland backgrounds and minimal animations. The diminutive sound fares no better, with very few voice samples and pretty bland music.
Wario: Master of Disguise could have been a huge leap forward for Nintendo's anti-hero. Instead, it ends up as a low-grade, tiresome platformer, knocking the series almost completely off course. Hopefully Wario gets a game worthy of his stature next time.
Final Score: 5 (out of 10)
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