I look at the Game Boy Color as a bit of an unsung hero in the history of Nintendo's handheld gaming market.While it brought color to the game boy, it also just felt more like a stop gap while Nintendo was refining the much better Game Boy Advance a few years later. That's not to say there isn't great content for the GBC, but fewer and further between than either the original GB or the GBA. Usually if it's Nintendo at the helm, then the game is at least for the most part assuredly going to be great. Hell, maybe a few of them might even be games that are so great they stand the test of time. And no better example of that is that of Wario Land III.
The third game in the Wario Land series, and technically the fifth in the Super Mario Land series, Wario Land III was released in 2000. The plot sees Wario, the more rotund and foul doppleganger of Mario crashing his plane into a forest. He finds a mysterious music box, which upon activation traps him inside it. In order to find escape, he must aid a mysterious villain that totally isn't the game's final boss in finding five smaller music boxes to awaken him. And of course, being the greedy Wario, he can take any other treasures he finds.
The game is broken into 25 levels with the goal of each level to find the key inside and open its corresponding treasure chest. Each level has four keys and four chests. However, you'll never be able to simply collect all four chests in one go of a level, as sometimes it's required to learn a certain move with Wario, or to find a different chest in another area that will cause an effect on the world, which will make collecting treasures easier in other stages There's even a day and night mechanic which will matter in finding certain treasure.. You'll have to back track through every level at least four times each to get every item and ability in the game.
When you start with Wario he only has a basic jump and charge, but with the more chests you open, the more abilities he'll learn. He'll be able to swim, cause butt stomps, get a stronger charge, and throw enemies. And all these tools will be needed to complete the levels and find the missing chests. However Wario also earns abilities through the enemies he encounters. Wario can't technically die or lose health in the game, as certain enemies will trigger abilities if he's touched. A cluster of bats will turn Wario into a vampire bat, allowing him to fly higher, while fire will cause him to burn up, and Zombies will turn him into a slimy zombie beast. How to use each ability is paramount in collecting the keys and chests.
There is also a mini-game which is integral to finding keys as well. Wario will play a round of golf by bumping an enemy into a hole. You have to time your shots, and try to get the enemy in the hole in a number of turns, avoiding lava pits, sand dunes, and water hazards. Doing so will open new areas to help Wario advance further to find certain keys and chests needed to succeed.
The boss battles are also quite fun, if not at times challenging. From besting a giant earthworm, to a battle of soccer with a rabbit, there's plenty of variety in who and what you'll face. And since you can't die in the game, you'll have multiple shots to take them on without much fear of having to back track all the way back to them.
On a graphical level, this is one of the best looking games on the Game Boy color, the sprites are extremely well detailed, especially the many different looks and shapes that Wario goes through. The game also makes good use of the somewhat limited color palette of the Game Boy Color to create a very vibrant and colorful game. Levels are all well designed, and have plenty of variety. From forests, to city scapes and the classic fire and ice levels. The audio is also very solid. though nothing incredibly memorable it fits for the game and never feels distracting.
Overall, this is easily one of the best platformers that I've ever played, It's the perfect romance of Mario-esque platforming and Metroid-esque backtracking. It's hard, but not too hard that you'll have too many problems figuring out how to complete certain puzzles and tasks. It's the perfect puzzle platformer for both kids and adults. The physical cartridge usually runs about 10 bucks, so it's not hard to pick up, but you can get it for mildly cheaper on the 3DS for 5.99. It's a definite must buy in my eyes, and worth the price.