Even though Wario Land 2 didn't gain enough votes for the January Retro Game Club, I figure that many of us have either just played it, or are playing it now. I "beat" the game last night, though in true Nintendo fashion, this apparently doesn't tell the whole story. Time will tell if I stick with it to the game's full completion. Is anyone else playing the game right now? The game DID get the NW Handheld VC GOTY, so I'm interested to hear what you guys think about it.

I love this game series (except for 4) I have all of them. :D

I guess it's safe for me to talk about the game's "ending", no? I had a question -

The secret exits within the game - could I have accessed them at any time? I think I just took the straightest route to the end of the game, and it looks like I missed so much. Could I have accessed these secret endings initially, or are they only available after reaching the game's credits? If not, I think I would've preferred more of a map system similar to the original, though I guess it would've impeded the game's objectives (where Wario is pursuing Captain Syrup's crew, adding a sense of urgency to the game).

@SirKevin Does that mean you can wind up getting credits super early? It looks like there are multiple endings? I wound up getting, what I think, is the very final ending. Was that by design, or coincidence?

This will probably be my next game purchase. I missed it the first time around so now's my chance (once I'm done with a few other games).

How does it compare to the first Wario Land?

@PogueSquadron

Looks like you can. I actually really like that semi-unconventional design--it makes the ending itself kind of a knockout, like..."Whoa, there's so much more to this game than I thought!"

@canonj

Very favorably. It's a little less platformery and more explore-y, but it's really well-designed, fun, and has lots of little surprises. Get it!

@Mop it up The first one baffled me. I don't know how I would've ever figured that out, at least on purpose. That kind of stuff kind of bothers me, haha. I mean it's fun, but I really don't know how I would've figured it out if I didn't look it up. Are the rest of them that out of the box?

@PogueSquadron Nah, that's the only obscure one. The others are more traditional methods of finding secrets.

I downloaded this game around Christmas, but I think I'm a little Wario-ed out at the moment from having played both Wario Land IV and Wario Land I earlier this year. I'll come back to this someday!

@PogueSquadron

I know what you mean, but the game does a pretty good job of making it less obscure than it first seems.

Apparently, upon first playing the game, you only get that alternate path if you wait for 30 seconds while Wario sleeps. After beating the game once and returning to that stage, it takes much less time--something like 3 seconds. It's still missable, but much easier to find it accidentally.

I think that's a pretty neat little addition--I like when games go outside the box like that.

I finished the game last week, and yes, you can reach the end credits without technically beating the proper path (25 stages). I was surprised when I accidentally found the secret exit in 1-1 by not pushing a button from the get-go. Clever!

I remember loving this game back when I owned it on my GBC. After I finish playing through WL1 on my 3DS, I'm going to have to pick this game up as well!

@PogueSquadron, you might want to edit the OP to make it relevant to the discussion thread.
Also, editing the OP is the only way this thread changes from -1 to a public 99 thread.

I thought this was the RGC game so I downloaded it, even though I haven't touched Metroid II which I just got from Club Nintendo.

Ah well.

I played through the first stage, good stuff. I like the colour, especially, which already makes this a better game than Wario Land. So many coins! The bonus games were fair.

I "beat" the game, and I'm impressed with how much it really opens up at the end. I mean, I figured I'd get the opportunity to replay stages, but not so many secret exits and alternate endings and stuff. Unfortunately I had the secret in 1-1 spoiled for me, but being that it is pretty damn obscure, I'm not too bothered by it.

Don't judge me for cheating at the mini game. (I tap the touch screen to "pause" the game when the icons appear so that I can always play on the quickest difficulty.)

@rebonack

It's okay, I did the same thing and I used save states at the end of levels so that I would save coins.

It seems this game has been discussed before. Interesting.