Wario Land 3 - Gameplay

Gameplay

The gameplay in Wario Land 3 is very similar to that of its predecessor, Wario Land II. Wario is indestructible, and must take advantage of his enemies' attacks to physically change and access new areas. For example, if Wario eats a donut thrown by a certain enemy, he temporarily bulks up to twice his size, giving him extra protection against attacks and the ability to break certain blocks. While Wario will always be affected by his enemies, he must also find new powers and abilities in order to progress through the game.

The world of the music box is divided into four different areas, East, West, North, and South, each containing a number of individual stages. Each stage contains four treasures, each of which is locked in a colored treasure chest that can only be opened with the corresponding key. The colors of the chests are, in the approximate order that they are intended to be opened, Gray, Red, Green, and Blue. This order is not fixed, although the game provides hints as to the next stage to travel to and the next treasure to obtain. Often, when a treasure chest in one stage cannot be reached, Wario must backtrack to retrieve a new item to make it accessible.

Finding new treasures usually grants Wario a new ability or opens the path to a new stage. Whenever Wario obtains a new treasure, he is transported back to the music box overworld. Time has passed while he was in the stage, and it is now either day or night relative to the time of day when Wario entered the stage. Some stages change depending on the time of day; certain enemies may be replaced or different paths may open up. Wario cannot control time initially, but gains this ability when he finds a certain treasure.

Coins can be found in each stage, and are used primarily to play the golfing minigame described below. Wario can carry a maximum of 999 coins. In addition, eight Music Coins are hidden in each level for Wario to find. If all eight are found in each of the twenty-five stages, an extra fourth golf hole will be available for play.

In some stages, Wario will have to play a golfing minigame to progress. He must knock the enemy into the cup without going over par for that hole, while avoiding hazards such as water, bunkers, lava and rough grass. Upon collecting certain items in the game, this golf minigame is available to be played at any time from the overworld map. The only way to die is to get captured by the game's final boss, Rudy the Clown.