Wario Land 4 on GBA, platformer masterpiece featuring the rotten plumber. Inventive Wario transformations, brilliant level design, memorable bosses. One of the best platformers across all consoles.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer1 player3+
Description
Action-platform game developed by Nintendo R&D1 and published by Nintendo in the USA and Europe in November 2001. Wario explores pyramids, jungles and factories across four kingdoms to accumulate stolen treasures by defeating enemies. Exploration levels with rich mechanics using Wario's transformable abilities based on button input, spectacular world-end bosses and high replayability in hunting all gems. One of the best GBA games.
Wario Land 4 review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
Bold colours, angular shapes and delirious worlds: Wario's adventure overflows with an unabashed cartoon whimsy. Every zone flaunts a zany theme and expressive, humour-filled animation. This graphic exuberance, lively and inventive, gives the game an irresistible personality.
Zany and unclassifiable, the music of Wario Land 4 piles up oddball atmospheres, from lounge jazz to tribal rhythms and surreal jingles. Each level surprises with an unexpected sonic colour, perfectly in tune with Wario's offbeat spirit. This musical daring, funny and inventive, makes it a sonic object apart.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Bashing, charging and transforming to comb every level for treasure puts exploration and observation front and centre. Puzzles woven into the scenery and a final race against the clock break the routine of standard platforming. Inventive and generous, this stylish entry remains a surprisingly fresh delight today.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
Compare prices
Loading eBay listings…
Alert active — budget
$
Collector interest
Worldwide English edition of Wario Land 4, regarded by many enthusiasts as the peak of the Wario platform sub franchise, with direction by Hirofumi Matsuoka at Nintendo R&D1 and an exploded sound palette signed Ryoji Yoshitomi. That creative density makes it for collectors a cultural archive object, and the broad Nintendo USA and Europe run leaves loose accessible but clearly values a clean cardboard box with intact manual.
Is Wario Land 4 still worth playing in 2026?
Wario Land 4 is probably the 2D peak of the subseries and one of the most finely chiseled Nintendo R&D1 platformers. The two pass level structure, namely a descent followed by a timed climb back triggered by a switch, turns every stage into both an observation puzzle and an execution challenge. Wario's transformations, the bestiary and the musical staging stay inventive right up to the final minute. An absolute classic to recommend to any fan of demanding, colorful 2D platforming.
