As a child of the NES generation, few things make me happier than a good old-fashioned 2D platformer. Unfortunately, these games seem to have gone the way of the dodo as of late, confined to handhelds or downloadable titles, while 3D titles have gone on to take the spotlight. No offense to games like Super Mario Galaxy, but once in awhile, it’s nice to play something as comforting and familiar as a side-scrolling platformer. As these kinds of games put Nintendo on the map, it’s very appropriate that they’re giving the genre a Wii revival with Wario Land: Shake It!

To be honest, Wario has never been my favorite character in the Mario cast, but I forgot that almost as soon as I picked up the controller. The Wii remote is held sideways for this game, with the D-pad and 1 and 2 buttons being used for most actions, like running and jumping. Because of the game’s title, I was afraid that Shake It! would have a lot of tacked-on motion controls, but they are actually used naturally, akin to Mario Galaxy. For example, shaking the remote causes Wario to punch the ground, causing a small earthquake, while tilting it is used to aim cannons out of which our hero will blast.

Graphically, the look is not as impressive as some of the Wii’s first-party counterparts, like Twilight Princess or Super Smash Bros Brawl. However, the more simplistic art style fits the game and is still aesthetically pleasing. I hadn’t given Wario Land: Shake It! much thought before, but after playing through a level, I feel like this is probably a game I could enjoy from start to finish. I’ll find out for sure later this month. Wario Land: Shake It! ships on September 22, exclusively for the Wii.

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