Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3

What happens when you turn a villain into a hero? It's not just the name on the box that changes — the whole philosophy of the game changes. Wario Land took the freshly born villain and built a platformer around him that is the exact opposite of everything you know from Mario.

Mario is about speed, elegance, and smooth forward motion. Wario is about the exact opposite: slow, thorough exploration of every corner. Instead of jumping on enemies' heads, you ram them with your shoulder, smash walls, turn levels inside out, and hunt for secret exits. He's cumbersome but strong, and the whole game is tailored precisely to his stout, coarse personality.

But the heart of it all is loot. Along the way you collect coins and, above all, treasure, and it's the accumulated wealth that determines which ending you'll see — the more money you amass, the better the ending the game grants you. This "loot-driven" mechanic turned Wario's greed into an outright gameplay system and gave the game an entirely different rhythm than classic platformers. Suddenly you're not rushing to the finish but searching every cellar and smashing every suspicious brick.

Wario was thus promoted from a mere antagonist in the previous game to a full-fledged playable antihero with his own identity. He's no cute rescuer of princesses — he's a covetous, selfish looter, and the game has great fun with it. This individuality set it apart from the flood of other platformers of the era and became the cornerstone on which the entire Wario Land series would then stand.

On a handheld console it was a surprisingly extensive and elaborate experience that rewarded curiosity and persistence. Once you get used to Wario's pace, you'll find that searching the levels and chasing hidden coins is unexpectedly addictive.

Why play it: It's a clever, loot-driven counterpart to Mario platformers — slower, craftier, and all the more addictive thanks to the chase for treasure and secret exits.