Wario Land: Shake It!

 Wii
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 75 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 75
  3. Negative: 1 out of 75
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  1. oldmanyounger
    Apr 14, 2011
    7
    Just got this game via Goozex. Yeah, it's kinda fun, and the art style is definitely interesting, but I'm only on the second "world" and I'm already bored. Maybe I'm tired of Wii games, or maybe this game just doesn't hold up over the long run.
  2. Exogenesis
    Nov 13, 2011
    7
    Although the gameplay is smooth, the story is quirky and the design in colourful, I cant shake (hehe) the fact that Shake it! just bores me, i found no motivation to finish the game as I was wondering the whole time why I wasn't playing a better game.
  3. Captain_Chaos
    Oct 12, 2018
    6
    While by all means a competently executed platformer with great hand-drawn artwork, this Wii iteration of Wario Land lacks a certain charm compared to Wario Land 4, and simply isn't as fun to play as that, or Wario World. The level challenges offered no draw for me, and I simply puttered on through the levels to the end of the story without wishing to strain myself unlocking all theWhile by all means a competently executed platformer with great hand-drawn artwork, this Wii iteration of Wario Land lacks a certain charm compared to Wario Land 4, and simply isn't as fun to play as that, or Wario World. The level challenges offered no draw for me, and I simply puttered on through the levels to the end of the story without wishing to strain myself unlocking all the extras, an admittedly common sentiment from me. I can't call it a bad game, but it's not a great one.… Expand
  4. ND-Bringer
    May 22, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Up there with New Super Mario Bros Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns, Wario Land 5 is among the greatest side-scroller plat-formers on the Wii. And while in my opinion, it carries the bronze medal of the three...it's still a really underrated adventure. The adventure has you guide Wario across the Shake Dimension, defeating baddies and save the queen from the evil Shake King! But we all know Wario is doing this to find his real love...money! I've got to say, the fact that this is a full-on anime-visual style game makes my heart soar. Dude, these enemy designs were the inspiration for most of my monster artwork! The plot may be simple, the adventure may be short, but thematically...this game is utterly fantastic! The music I dare say... is incredibly! I swear...Mt. Lava Lava defines this game! Wario dashing and smashing everything around him to the tune of some sweet jams...yeah, one could say it's spectacular. This art style plus the fully animated cutscenes, it fits Wario like a glove especially since that theming was also used in the Wario Ware games. Also, I would fully support a Wario Land anime...we have the blueprints! And then their's the level design, it's the same puzzle platforming old players know and love from the classic games. With a strong level theme variety to boot, you're in for a grand time! Every level has unique or returning mechanics from the classic games. It put a smile on my face to see Flaming Wario from Land 2. Captain Syrup even makes a cameo, who I hope uses the bottomless-coin sack to fund the development of a Wario Land sequel on the Switch .All these mechanics are really good, but I wouldn't go as far and say this game is a perfect world. The submarine levels are a little tricky to control, its a good thing their's no "Don't take any Damage Challenges" in those stages. Because it's somewhat impossible to avoid enemies and hazards in these cramped caverns. And some of the boss fights share some of the same characteristics. During the Large Fry fight, get greedy with the Earthquake Punch, and you'll accidentally spawn this regenerating skeleton that can't be destroyed. And it's tricky to pay attention to the boss' attack patterns when there is so many things happening on the screen. Same thing goes for the final battle against the Shake King. During his final attack phase, he summons three electric pong balls that are really hard to avoid. Still a pretty well-designed final boss fight though. He mimics all of Wario's special attacks as you duel him on his pirate-ship palace. I swear, I thought I was watching a One Piece DVD for a moment. This game is really something else, but I think the developers over at Good-Feel should prepare another Wario Land game in the future, that's hopefully a much longer adventure. The level variety is excellent, but some mechanics are only designated to a single stage. And looking back at the enemies that only appeared in the final world, I think the developers had the power to add more substance to the game, but I can understand why they didn't have time to add a set of levels to go with the Shake King's Boss Stage. Overall, this game is a pretty good rush. I remember when I was younger my uncle gave me this game as a Birthday present. I was doing pretty well at the game at the time, but my anxiety would always get the best of me...and the pressure to avoid failure overwhelmed me. Now returning to this game years, it feels good to conquer my old phobias and look back on a really wild adventure.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Best Wii Game of 2008
26
#26 Most Discussed Wii Game of 2008
28
#28 Most Shared Wii Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 46 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 46
  3. Negative: 0 out of 46
  1. Destructoid
    75
    I can wholeheartedly recommend the full-price purchase of Wario Land: Shake It to only three groups of people: kids between 5-10 years old, die-hard fans of hand-drawn animation, and people who love "easy but smart" 2D platformers.
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  2. Hardcore Gamer
    85
    It really hits the sweet spot that few games do: it’s forgiving enough for people who like simple, easygoing games to finish, but challenging enough for completionists to work at for days, even weeks on end.
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  3. Cheat Code Central
    78
    Even with its minor faults, Wario Land: Shake It! still manages to be a great platforming experience. Shaking your controller gets old very quickly, but the tried and true platforming goodness that is Wario Land, thankfully, remains intact.
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