I’ve always felt some imposter syndrome about being Italian American. Even though most of my family has never even been to Italy, we eat pasta instead of ham on Christmas, and we indulge the loud, boisterous Italian stereotype. As a kid, I clung to Italian characters I saw in TV shows, movies, and, of course, […]
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Virtual Boy Wario Land is a painful, nostalgic experience
The unimaginatively titled Virtual Boy Wario Land could be considered Wario’s first true standalone game. Wario Land released first for the Game Boy in 1994, but it featured the subtitle “Super Mario Land 3” to not scare off anyone unsure about controlling Super Mario Land 2’s antagonist. There are no such qualifiers for Virtual Boy […]
Wario is more relatable than Mario and the reason why is simple
Mario is a dud. He has no personality outside of his career. He takes a green pipe from one world to the next, stealing all the gold while slaughtering every Goomba in his way. He hardly says a thing, but we’re supposed to love him because, what, he’s a white knight wife guy? The man, […]
After Wario and Waluigi, where does Nintendo’s Wa Universe go next?
It’s been more than 20 years since Nintendo introduced a new “Wa” character to the wider Nintendo canon. Waluigi, a character destined to never appear in Super Smash Bros. as a playable character, was the last. It’s time to finally change that. Nintendo struck gold with Wario, the greedy, gluttonous, gassy antithesis to Mario. Since […]
20 years later, Wario Land 4’s sound room still haunts me
Twenty years after its release, the GBA classic Wario Land 4 remains a fascinating artifact. It’s not only an accomplished platformer that could rival any 2D Mario outing from the same era, but also a clear commitment to developing an aesthetic texture for Wario games that has informed many of Wario’s subsequent appearances. There are […]