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»Wario: Master of Disguise
"You’d think he’d be rich from all the other games, but oh well..."
I’ve been waiting for a DS game like this for awhile. One that would
combine normal movement with touch screen interactivity. It’s finally
here, does it live up to its potential? Contrary to what many seem to
think, I say for the most part, yes!
Wario is watching TV one day, and decides that he wants the life of a
master thief he sees on it, stealing treasure under the cover of a
disguise. So, Wario takes quite possibly the most absurd course of
action possible, inventing the simply miraculous Telmet, a device that
can teleport him inside the TV. Ignoring the billions he could make
with technology like that at his disposal, Wario goes into the TV and
attacks the master thief he saw earlier, the Purple Zephyr. Wario
steals the secret to the Zephyr’s disguises, a magic paintbrush named
Goodstyle. Wario can now put on various disguises with the help of
powerful magic that just happens to correspond perfectly with the touch
screen. Wario sets off to find treasure, with the Zephyr chasing him.
The plot that follows is surprisingly complex for a Wario game, not one
of gaming’s great stories, but interesting.
The gameplay is similar to previous Wario Land games in concept, you go
through large levels looking for treasure and solving puzzles. The
levels are much bigger then before, you get ten levels each with their
own Metroid-style map. The game is surprisingly long; the levels
usually take more then an hour, sometimes significantly more for later
ones. Although you can still run and jump; the main emphasis of the
game is puzzles. You have unlimited use of nine different suits, and
you’ll frequently use several per room to progress and find the many
treasure chests. You find new suits as you go throughout the game, in
addition to upgrades for the suits. The enemies can be practically
ignored early in the game, but they put up a decent fight later. The
levels are well designed with clever puzzles that use all your
abilities frequently. Each treasure chest also has a randomly selected
mini-game you have to complete to open it, eight in all, which get
harder as you advance in levels. Each level has a unique and enjoyable
boss, except for occasional control frustration that I’ll get to later.
The most unique part of Master of Disguise is the control method. You
move Wario with the D-pad, using it not only to walk left and right but
to jump also. This leaves your other hand free to use the stylus (you
can also use the face buttons to move if you’re left handed), and it
gets a lot of use. Instead of switching between powers with buttons,
you draw the symbol for the suit you want. This has been probably the
most controversial feature of the game. It’s true that the symbol
recognition isn’t perfect, but it’s nowhere near game breaking. What
you have to realize is that the way the tutorial shows the symbol being
drawn (which you can thankfully watch whenever you want) is exactly how
you should do it. For example, if the tutorial shows a triangle being
drawn on Wario’s back, you have to draw the sides of it in the order
the tutorial shows. If you remember to draw exactly as shown, there
won’t be many problems. I’m not saying this is ideal, but it will
rarely actually hurt your performance. The exception is the boss
battles, which can be frustrating since you have to switch more
quickly, but once you get the exact drawing memorized it isn’t so bad.
I’m not saying this isn’t a problem or that they shouldn’t have given
you the option of switching powers with L and R, but it really isn’t
worth missing out on an otherwise very well-designed game for.
Once you actually get into your desired costume, the touch screen earns
its stay. Your laser shooting costume isn’t limited to straight
forward, just tap anything on the screen and Wario will shoot in its
exact direction. If you become painter Wario, you can draw your blocks
anywhere on screen without a clunky cursor. The powers are really
enjoyable to use, and are put to great use throughout the game.
Contrary to what you may have read, the touch screen is good for this
game, and does things a traditional control scheme couldn’t. Switching
costumes isn’t handled well, but actually using them is.
The graphics in MoD are good, rendered and colorful. It doesn’t seem
like it would have been impossible to do on GBA, but due to the nature
of rendered graphics, it doesn’t look like something below DS quality
either. The characters show an impressive level of detail and
animation, and each level (except the first two) has a unique and vivid
background setting. The traditional Wario weirdness is present
throughout (one of the mini-games involves dropping what looks like
chocolate soft serve ice cream but isn’t into a toilet). The music is
upbeat, but not particularly catchy. Typical platformer music and sound
effects, nothing that really stands out.
The replay in MoD is high; you have a very large amount of treasure
chests to find in each level, as well as a large array of bonus levels
that are unlocked after you complete the game. The powers make
exploration fun and the levels worth replaying, although as far as I
can tell there isn’t anything to let you know when you’ve found every
treasure in a level. There is an ordered list of all the treasures in
the game though, so that becomes a medium size annoyance instead of a
debilitating one.
Overall, I was very impressed with Master of Disguise compared to what
reviews of it lead me to expect before playing it. Changing disguises
could have been handled better, there’s no denying that. But if I can
drive one point home with this review, it’s this: don’t let that one
flaw ruin the game for you. Everything else in the gameplay works well
and the game is often very clever with puzzles and level design. The
powers are a joy to use once you actually access them, and the replay
is sizable. The game is both innovative and can compare to the prime
Wario Land games, if you want a new play style for a classic formula
and are willing to put some time into mastering the controls, I
strongly recommend this game.
Article by: KI Simpson
Posted on: Mar. 22nd, 2007 |
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Review Recap |
| Gameplay |
| Switching disguises is annoying, but everything else is fun and innovative. |
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Graphics |
| Well rendered graphics with noticeable Wario touches. |
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Sound |
| Just what you’d expect from this type of game, but it does its job well enough. |
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Replay Value |
| Lots to do, I just wish the game was a little more helpful in letting you know when you’ve done it. |
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Comments |
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April 30, 2007 |
Chris |
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This game is truly horrible, and by you massively over-rating it, I know to never trust reviews from this site. Thank you.
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May 1, 2007 |
KI Simpson |
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I did not ignore any of the game's flaws when I wrote the review, and made it clear that my opinion wasn't the most common. You should read the review instead of just looking at the score, the score is an opinion.
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June 1, 2007 |
Maurice |
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It is just a your opinion... I think the game is really good, and I'm agree with the review!
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