[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wario_land_3.png]]

''Wario Land 3'' (subtitled ''The Mysterious Music Box'' in Japan) is the third game in the ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series (not counting ''VideoGame/VirtualBoyWarioLand''), released in 2000 for the Platform/GameBoyColor.

While Wario is riding in his airplane over a forest, its engine randomly explodes, causing him to crash in the middle of said woods. While looking through the first cave he sees for help he finds a music box just lying about, only to be warped inside when he picks it up. There he wakes up inside a temple and meets a hidden figure, who tells him that he was once the god of the world within the device--until the day an evil being arrived, stole his power, and sealed it away in five smaller music boxes. The figure asks that Wario track down these relics and restore them to the temple; in exchange, he will not only help Wario return to his own world, but also let the antihero keep any extra treasure he finds along the way. The greedy Wario agrees and immediately sets off in search for them.

''Wario Land 3'' borrows a lot of its gameplay from ''VideoGame/WarioLandII''—being impossible to kill[[note]]with ''one'' exception[[/note]], using enemy attacks as abilities, and sharing a lot of the normal abilities. However, ''Wario Land 3'' takes an even less linear route: Instead of challenging you to reach the end of each level, some of which have alternate routes, ''Wario Land 3'' challenges you to find the four keys and chests of every level. However, the vast majority of chests (and levels) are inaccessible at the beginning, forcing you to collect treasures to unlock more. Thus, ''Wario Land 3'' is less about figuring out how to beat levels and more about exploring through levels, searching for treasures you can collect.

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!!'''Tropes featured in this game:'''
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Averted. The sewer underneath the town in ''N2: The Peaceful Village'' is just one room.
* AccidentalHero: Wario just wanted to leave the music box; he wasn't planning to defeat any villains wanting to TakeOverTheWorld until [[spoiler:the hidden figure was freed and attacked him]].
* AllThereInTheManual: The English manual contained character profiles for some of the enemies... that turn out to be highly questionable in light of the game's ending.
* AlwaysNight: The East side of the Music Box World, [[spoiler:at least until you collect the two halves of the Sun Medallion]].
* ArtShift: The cutscenes, which are in much greater detail.
* ArtworkAndGameGraphicsSegregation:
** Wario is depicted in official artwork with his usual yellow hat and shirt and purple overalls. In-game, however, he wears black overalls over white clothes due to palette limitations. The sole exception is his close-up on the results screen, which features him in his typical color scheme.
** The official art for Vampire Wario shows him with yellow sclerae and black pupils; his sprite, meanwhile, depicts him with black sclerae and yellow pupils.
* AsianFoxSpirit: Wolfenboss, a flying fox in a sorcerer's robe who attacks with magic. His Japanese name is Kezune, a corruption of Kitsune.
* AquaticMook: Pufferflounders, Tadpounces and Octopinches (the latter transform into Octopushes after grabbing a certain treasure).
* BackgroundBoss: The FinalBoss looms over Wario, who can only interact with his fists and face.
* {{Backtracking}}: The crucial aspect of ''Wario Land 3''. Despite having only 25 levels, each of these levels can be revisited ''at least'' 4 times in order to collect every single Treasure.
* BagOfSpilling: The game begins with Wario unable to do most of his Wario things, such as shaking the stage with his GroundPound, performing high jumps or even the series staple of his bull charge. Said abilities are recovered progressively by finding certain treasures. To sweeten the deal, Wario also claims power-ups that boost him beyond some of his original abilities, like the Prince Frog's Glove, which allow Wario to swim against currents.
* BalloonBelly:
** The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Fat Wario]] status effect: if the hero eats an apple or a doughnut, his already-large gut bloats to a much bigger size.
** Pesce's boss battle. You win by feeding him so much cheese that he sinks to the bottom of his pool. He'll become stuck in a tunnel, giving you access to a treasure chest.
* BearsAreBadNews: Brrr Bears, who repeatedly push you back with their icy breath, are some of the most annoying enemies in the game.
* BeTheBall: Shoot, a sportshare [[{{Expy}} almost exactly like]] Dunk from ''Wario Land II''; Shoot, however, prefers soccer to basketball. Like Dunk, Wario must bounce on Shoot to make him curl into a ball and then cast him into the net with a DashAttack. Unlike Dunk, Shoot's battle has [[Literature/AesopsFables a tortoise]] goalie whom Wario must also knock down to get a better shot at the net; the turtle will block most of Wario's shots (though it '''is''' possible for Wario to score without stunning him), [[GangUpOnTheHuman but will let Shoot score for free]].
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: You must beat Shoot at soccer/football by how he tries to eliminate you--stomp the opponent into a ball and shoot three times.
* BigBad: [[spoiler:Turns out to be the hidden figure himself — later known as Rudy in ''VideoGame/DrMario 64'' — when you deliver the five music boxes to him.]]
* BigBoosHaunt: ''E3: Castle of Illusions'', ''N2: The Peaceful Village'' (at night), and ''E7: The Forest of Fear''.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Though this is one of the few rare instances where Wario is actually a ''hero'', even if he didn't really intend to be one.
* BombardierMook: Applebys - red monsters in patches of dirt - drop apples from above to turn Wario into Fat Wario.
* BonusFeatureFailure: Getting every Musical Coin in each level is much harder than getting all of the treasures. And what is your reward? You get one extra course in the extended minigolf game.
* BonusLevel: ''E7: The Forest of Fear'', ''E5: The Warped Void'', and ''S6: Above the Clouds'' are totally optional levels; players will only enter them if they go out of their way to find non-story treasures in the main game. Fittingly, most of their included treasures only affect each other; this is most notable in the Forest of Fear - the Gray Treasure (a Compact Mirror) unlocks The Warped Void, and every other item from the Forest opens new paths in that level. This is the ''only'' level in the game with this feature.
* BossOnlyLevel: [[spoiler:The Temple, upon obtaining all five music boxes, is made up only battling the final boss.]]
* BrokenBridge: You collect diverse {{MacGuffin}}s that open new levels or areas in other levels.
* BubblegloopSwamp: ''E1: The Stagnant Swamp'' is a swamp area with a decrepit [[GangplankGalleon sunken ship]]. Its become infested with critters and home to two different bosses (The only level in the game to feature this).
* BuildLikeAnEgyptian: ''W1: Desert Ruins''.
* BusmansHoliday: The game begins with Wario taking his plane out for a joy ride, only for it to suffer engine failure mid-flight and crash-land in the woods. There Wario finds the mysterious music box and get sucked in, kick-starting another exciting treasure-hunting adventure.
* {{Cap}}: Oddly for a Wario game, Wario can only hold 999 coins, whereas normally he can hold much more than that.
* ChainOfDeals: The whole game is this. You can't just search directly for the music boxes; first you have to cut down the tree blocking your way to two other levels, find overalls so you can ground pound to reach certain treasures, collect a seed so you can make beanstalks to reach higher areas, and so on...
* CollectionSidequest:
** Zig-zagged regarding the main plot. Wario's [[ExcusePlot primary quest]] is to collect five {{Magic Music}} Boxes at the behest of a hidden figure, with the promise that he may keep all the treasure he finds on the way. Wario's treasure hunt is therefore both completely incidental to the story and completely necessary to the gameplay.
** Played straight with the Musical Coins. There are eight of these in every level, and collecting them will fill in an uncolored part of the picture of a golf course. Unfortunately, these are especially vexing: the game does not record the Musical Coins you collect during a visit to a level, so you must collect all eight in a single run; many of these coins are only available to you once Wario obtains specific abilities, so you have to remember where they all can be found; three, the ''prize'', as mentioned under BonusFeatureFailure, is underwhelming.
* CollisionDamage: Unlike in ''Wario Land II'', Wario doesn't get penalized with Coins if he touches the enemies in certain scenarios - he only gets knocked back.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience:
** Each level has four chests that serve as objectives, as well as four keys to unlock the chests, colored gray, red, green, and blue. You'll also occasionally find coins in those colors that are worth 10 coins each - whichever color coin you find is whichever chest you're closest to, making navigation a bit easier.
** A completely optional level ''E5: The Warped Void'' has backgrounds marked in respective colors for each treasure chest.
* ConsoleCameo: One of the treasures in ''S2: The Big Bridge'' is based on a Toys/PokemonPikachu.
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: [[spoiler:Rudy]] to Captain Syrup from the first two ''Wario Land'' games. The latter was a human pirate queen who was affably evil at best and just a greedy selfish brat at worse. The former, on the other hand, is a terrifying eldritch being who has terrorized and enslaved an entire world.
* ContrastingSequelSetting: Wario is transported inside the magical music box, [[VideoGame/WarioLandII instead of exploring outskirts of his own castle and beyond]].
* CraniumRide: Used on one occasion to get to a Musical Coin.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Treasures can only be used to automatically change or unlock new levels; so, sadly, Wario cannot use that axe he found in N1: Out of the Woods to attack enemies.
* DarumaDoll: Doll Boy is giant Daruma doll miniboss who attacks Wario with hammers, which turn him springy.
* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: The only point in the game where you can die is [[spoiler:during the final boss fight against Rudy]]. Your penalty for it? A ''Game Over'' screen and being sent back to the map so you can simply try it again.
* DeathMountain: ''W2: The Volcano's Base'' is a mountainous area with lots of caves and a minecart track. ''S4: The Steep Canyon'' has also has shades of this, being a large ravine with a watery current at the bottom.
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The large hill that leads Wario from North to West side of the Music Box World. Collecting specific Crayons colors the respective parts on the transition screen. If all 7 Crayons are collected, the hill in question gets colored on the overworld map, as well as 3 courses of Mini-Golf game become unlocked.
* DevelopersForesight: When you collect the upgrade that lets you carry heavy enemies, the game will only tell you to revisit ''E7: Forest of Fear'' if A) it's available, and B) you got the gray treasure in ''E5: The Warped Void''.
* EldritchLocation: ''E5: The Warped Void'' takes place in a weird dimension with portals that send Wario to different places.
* EvilLaugh: The final boss, if he [[spoiler:grabs Wario, crushing him to death.]]
* ExcusePlot: The whole story about the music boxes is pretty much an excuse to have Wario roam around collecting treasures.
* FatBastard:
** Brrr Bears - polar bears who try to freeze Wario solid have bellies that bounce when they walk.
** Wario himself upon becoming Fat Wario. In this state, he can demolish certain blocks and crush enemies, but his jumping and speed are toned down for its duration.
* TheFaceOfTheSun: Taiyō is a small sun with a face.
* FalseInnocenceTrick: [[spoiler:At the end of the game, you learn that the hidden figure was sealed within the five music boxes to prevent him from conquering the world outside the music box. Your goal in the game is to deliver them to him after he tricked you into thinking he was good.]]
* FloatingLimbs: [[spoiler:Rudy's hands. In fact, performing a ground pound on one stuns it, allowing it to be picked up and thrown freely.]]
* ForcedTransformation:
** [[spoiler:The entire population of the music box world was turned into the monsters Wario beats up throughout the game by the hidden figure.]]
** Wario himself also goes through this when hit by certain enemies. Almost all of the transformations from the previous game return, plus a few new ones. Among the possibilities are Fat Wario, Snowman Wario, Bouncy Wario, Vampire Wario, Zombie Wario, and Flat Wario, just to name a few.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Wario can be killed by the final boss, rendering him NotSoInvincibleAfterAll. Come ''Wario Land 4'', Wario's invincibility is gone completely.]]
* FlyingSeafoodSpecial: Tadpounces jump out of the water in ''N2: The Peaceful Village'' and ''S2: The Big Bridge''. If Wario touches them, he'll roll backwards.
* GameBreakingBug: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with a glitch that can occur in ''W3: The Pool of Rain'' (it won't ruin the whole game, but it'll force you to reset); for some reason, if you play the game on an emulator and use save states, you won't able to climb all the way up the beanstalk into another area once it pops up. Resetting the game and not using save states before you finish the level remedies it, thankfully.
* GiantHandsOfDoom:
** These appear in ''W1: Desert Ruins''[[note]]during the day only; they and the quicksand are gone at night[[/note]] and ''S4: The Steep Canyon''. They reach out in an attempt to grab Wario and pull him into the quicksand/rapids.
** This is also [[spoiler:The Hidden Figure/Rudy]]'s preferred method of combat during the final boss fight.
* GoodAllAlong: [[spoiler:Every enemy and boss except Mad Scienstein and the final boss. They are actually the citizens of the music box world who sealed the hidden figure away using the Music Boxes sometime before your arrival, but got cursed into monstrous forms just before he was sealed. The reason they attack you is because they fear his revival and didn't think you were strong enough to defeat him, but once he is defeated for good and they are returned to normal, they have no problem letting you keep all the treasure you collected and sending you back to your own world.]]
* TheGoomba: Spearheads and Para-Gooms replace Pirate Gooms from previous ''Wario Land'' games.
* GoombaSpringboard: Possible once you get the High Jump Boots.
* GottaCatchThemAll:
** The treasures. You only need to collect 48 of them to reach the final boss. Collecting all 100 gives you a bonus end screen and unlocks the Time Attack mode.
** The Music Coins, of which there are 8 in each level. They are entirely optional.
* GreenHillZone: Though ''N1: Out of the Woods'' might count in the aspect of being a simple first level, it falls more into the realm of TheLostWoods. ''N3: The Vast Plain'' and ''S1: The Grasslands'' are much straighter examples, taking place in grassy flatlands.
* GroundPound: Possible once you get the Lead Overalls. The Steel Overalls strengthen the Ground Pound, allowing Wario to create tremors.
* GuideDangIt: While few of the treasures are that hard to figure out, some of the Musical Coins can be well hidden. The worst example is one in ''S1: The Grasslands''. It is way up on a platform above the screen -- and thus [[BehindTheBlack invisible until you reach it]] -- which is above a cliff over the Blue Chest. So, not only do you have to jump off a Spearhead to reach to top of a seemingly empty cliff, you also have to find a rather small hole to jump through upward to reach the platform, which is only reachable by throwing another Spearhead onto the cliff and jumping off the thrown enemy to reach the hidden area.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: One mook can split Wario in half ''vertically''. However, because Wario is [[spoiler:mostly]] invincible, it's little more than a minor inconvenience.
* HatOfPower: Getting the Head Smash Helmet allows you to break blocks with your head.
* HelpfulMook: You often need to use the enemies to get some treasures, mainly by using their attacks to get certain abilities (such as being set on fire thanks to Burn-bots).
* HellHotel: ''W4: A Town in Chaos''.
* HumanSnowball: An ability Wario can gain in ''E2: The Frigid Sea''. It can be used to break Snowman Blocks.
* InflatingBodyGag: Yellow Belly/Helio's battle. He has an air pump inside him, and you defeat him by making him cough it up and pumping it until he pops. Appropriately, Yellow Belly looks like a literal balloon.
* InformedEquipment: None of the Power-ups have any effect on Wario's visual appearance when collected.
* InstructiveLevelDesign: Complimented by cutscenes showing the after-effects of certain Treasures (for example, Rust Spray makes metal blocks fragile and breakable, Night Vision Goggles light up a certain room in ''N6: Sea Turtle Rocks'', etc.), as well as showing Power-up effects that help Wario explore new paths.
* InterfaceScrew: Wario can become dizzy if hit by an orange bird in ''S1: The Grasslands''.
* JourneyToTheSky: Collecting the Blue treasure of ''S3: Tower of Revival'' continues Wario's ascent by unlocking ''S6: Above the Clouds''.
* KungFuProofMook:
** Among the "enemies" that can't be taken out with Wario's shoulder bash or ground pound are Prickly Platforms - basically Spinies reimagined as platforms. Enhanced Ground Pound is all it takes to make them leap up, giving Wario a safe place to stand on and additional height.
** Robo-Mouse - which is encountered only in certain areas of ''N2: The Peaceful Village'' and ''E1: The Stagnant Swamp''. It can't be harmed either way; if it touches Wario, it warps him out of the room.
* LethalLavaLand: ''S5: Cave of Flames''. ''W6: The West Crater'' and ''E6: The East Crater'' could arguably count as well.
* LevelInTheClouds: ''S6: Above the Clouds'' takes place on top of the ''S3: Tower of Revival'' and takes Wario into... well... the clouds. After collecting a certain treasure, Wario can climb the clouds and enter the Moon itself.
* LighterAndSofter: ''Wario Land 3'' is a much brighter game in aesthetic and tone compared to the rest of the series and especially its successor, falling more in line of being a ''Mario'' title than the ''Wario Land'' series. The graphics are brighter and more colorful, the soundtrack is simplistic and lighthearted, the enemy lineup is much more friendly, cutesy and silly. [[spoiler:The "enemies" are GoodAllAlong, being the cursed citizens of the music box world]], and Wario for the first time, takes on a more heroic role rather than the greedy AntiHero and VillainProtagonist he was in prior entries.
* ALighterShadeOfGrey: This game is Wario's most heroic role to date. Yeah, there's treasure in it, but the guy still goes out of his way to help a mysterious person he doesn't even know, and in turn [[spoiler:he saves the world twice over.]]
* LoneWolfBoss: [[spoiler:All of the bosses except the final boss]], as they are [[spoiler:revealed to be the citizens of the music box world who have been cursed into monster forms by the BigBad, and are attacking you to try to stop you from getting the music boxes to revive him. In fact, the only enemy in the game who is actually working for the Big Bad is Mad Scienstein, who is also the only uncursed human you encounter]].
* LongSongShortScene: The FinalBoss features a BossRemix of the main theme, but as a matter of fact, the fight itself outpaces the music. If Wario is on top of the battle, the final boss will Turn Red and have a change in music before the refrain kicks in.
* TheLostWoods: ''N1: Out of the Woods'' and ''E7: Forest of Fear''. The former is definitely more friendly than the latter, which is also a BigBoosHaunt.
* MagicalFlutist: Wario temporarily becomes this after getting the flute, just to make the Fire Snakes pop out of their pots.
* MagicMusic: A large part of the plot is the powers held in the five music boxes, and the need to retrieve them.
* MalevolentArchitecture: Most notably ''E7: Forest of Fear'', which is full of spikes.
* MarketBasedTitle: In Japan, this game had the subtitle "''Fushigi na Orgel"'' (meaning “Mysterious Orgel” or “Mysterious Music Box”).
* MacGuffin: 5 Music Boxes required to release the hidden figure.
* MacGuffinDeliveryService: [[spoiler:Wario learns he fell for this when he delivers the music boxes to the hidden figure.]]
* MacGuffinTitle: Only the Japanese version (See MarketBasedTitle).
* MeaningfulName: [[DubNameChange Localized names for regular mooks]] in a nutshell. Doughnuteers carry donuts on their forks. Applebys drop apples from their holes. Brrr Bears launch ice from their mouths to freeze Wario and make him slide. Tadpounces are typical tadpoles jumping out of the water. Octopinches are little octopus-like enemies that later transform into bigger Octopushes - which are capable of charging at Wario and sending him to the nearest wall upon hitting him, etc.
* MechaMooks: Tentatively-named Burn-bots, Spear-bots, Grab-bots, Beam-bots, Hammer-bots and Robo-Mouse.
* {{Metroidvania}}: Certain treasures obtained give you powerups in order to access new areas in previous levels. For instance: The Super Jump Slam Overalls found in ''W2: The Volcano's Base'' let you stomp on a frog with a platform on its head in ''N1: Out of the Woods''.
* {{Minigame}}: There is a Mini-Golf game you have to beat many times to make a block move to access certain treasures.
* MonsterClown: [[spoiler:The hidden figure turns out to be one of these.]]
* MusicalNod: Getting a Musical Coin plays a sped up version of the sound effect heard when Wario obtains a treasure in ''VideoGame/WarioLandSuperMarioLand3''.
* NiceDayDeadlyNight: ''N2: The Peaceful Village'' has shades of this. By day, Wario encounters Doughnuteers (mooks that feed Wario donuts and transform him into Fat Wario) at the starting area - and the whole level is accompanied by cheerful music. By night, Zombies replace Doughnuteers - and the music shifts into haunting tune.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Your goal of delivering the five music boxes to the hidden figure. It turns out he's a monster clown who took over the world and turned the townsfolk into the monsters who acted as your enemies. They were really just trying to stop you from reviving him.]]
* NighInvulnerability: No matter how much he gets hit by enemies, Wario can never die. ([[spoiler:Except for when he gets crushed by final boss's hands.]])
* NoNameGiven: The final boss is later given a name in ''VideoGame/DrMario 64''; he's only referred to as "[[spoiler:a hidden figure]]" in this game.
* NonStandardGameOver: [[spoiler:{{Inverted|Trope}} in the battle against Rudy, as it's the ''only'' way to reach the GameOver screen. It's PlayedForLaughs more than anything, though, as you just return to the world map afterwards.]]
* NoticeThis: Whenever you acquire a new ability or unlock an event that affects earlier levels, the game shows you which levels to revisit to get new treasures.
** It's also easy to guess which of the various obstacles will be transformed once the player has located the correct treasures. Be it a locked door, a suspiciously out-of-place boulder, or a wall with a passage behind it, the basic rule is this: if it doesn't blend in with the rest of the level and you can't interact with it, chances are you'll be back later.
* NotInThisForYourRevolution: Wario only agrees to find the music boxes and free the hidden figure when offered freedom and any treasure he finds along the way. [[spoiler:Played twice over when the hidden figure is freed, reveals his plan to take over both the music box world and the outer world, and tries to kill Wario. Wario defeats him in self-defense, not only saving both worlds, but also lifting Rudy's curse on the music box world's inhabitants, who give Wario the rewards the hidden figure originally promised him.]]
* NotSoInvincibleAfterAll: [[spoiler:The final boss can "kill" Wario by grabbing him.]]
* OneHitKill: There is exactly ''one'' example of this in the game: [[spoiler:Rudy's hands.]] In this case, it's because the final boss stage is a BossOnlyLevel, so the game can't send Wario off to another room upon taking a hit as with other bosses.
* OneHundredPercentCompletion: Collecting all 100 treasures and all 8 Musical Coins in every level.
* PalmtreePanic: ''N4: Bank of the Wild River'', ''N5: The Tidal Coast'', and ''N6: Sea Turtle Rocks''.
* PlotCoupon: The vast majority of treasures are this.
** PlotCouponThatDoesSomething: The treasures that give Wario new abilities.
* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler:With the exception of Mad Scienstein, all of the enemies in the game are cursed townsfolk trying to stop Wario from releasing the hidden figure. Wario doesn't know that the hidden figure is evil, whereas the townsfolk think he does; they could have saved themselves and Wario a lot of trouble by telling him who -- and what -- he was really working for. They end up giving him the same reward the hidden figure promised him in the beginning, anyway, so his greed wouldn't be an issue. Possibly justified in that it's unclear whether any of the townsfolk can speak while cursed, though the manual suggests they can.]]
* PostEndGameContent: A rare case of "played with" trope. If the player decides to collect only mandatory Treasures along with 5 Music Boxes ''and'' fight the final boss, then the remaining optional Treasures become this. Corresponding locations become marked on the overworld map. [[spoiler:Despite being clearly defeated, [[StoryOverwrite the hidden figure continues to guide Wario as if nothing happened]].]]
* PowerFloats: Wolfenboss, complete with MidairBobbing when he moves.
* PowerUp: 10 out of 100 available treasures enhance Wario's abilities. All of them are mandarory to expand his moveset and open new paths.
* PowerUpFood: One of the treasures you get beefs up both Wario's DashAttack and RollingAttack. That treasure? None other than [[TrademarkFavoriteFood garlic]]!
* RainbowMotif: 7 out of 100 available treasures reference this in the form of Crayons (which are completely optional). Crayons with specific colors add respective shades to the transition screen between North and West sides of Music Box World.
* ReachingTowardsTheAudience: In this case, to form a "W" with Wario's hand.
* RemixedLevel: Every level. Certain treasures change a certain level's landscape, granting access to treasures previously inaccessible.
* RespawningEnemies: By re-entering a room. Necessary to prevent a level from becoming {{Unwinnable}} without restarting.
* RingOutBoss: Inverted like its predecessor. Like in ''Wario Land II'', Wario can only be defeated by the boss kicking ''him'' out of the room instead.
* RiverOfInsanity: ''N4: Bank of the Wild River'' and ''S4: The Steep Canyon''.
* RuinsForRuinsSake: ''W1: Desert Ruins''.
* SaveBothWorlds: [[spoiler: When revealing himself to be EvilAllAlong, the BigBad boasts that he can "rule this world and the outer one as well!!" So naturally Wario ends up doing this.]]
* SchizophrenicDifficulty: To an extent. While a lot of the harder treasures are most likely to be encountered near the end, the game has rather bumpy difficulty near the middle. Most notably in terms of bosses: The first boss, Doll Boy, is much harder than most bosses, and the third boss, Wolfenboss, is harder than any other boss in the game -- including the final battle.
* SecondHourSuperPower: The GroundPound, which is granted by the sixth treasure of the game, which in turn is protected by the first boss of the game, who resides in the fifth level you can visit in the game.
* SecretLevel: Arguably ''S6: Above the Clouds'', ''E5: The Warped Void'', and ''E7: Forest of Fear'', since it's unlikely you'll find these levels before beating the game.
* ShiftingSandLand: ''W1: Desert Ruins''.
* SinisterSentientSun: In ''N3: The Vast Plain'' and ''E4: The Colossal Hole'' lives Taiyō, a small but mean sun enemy that flies around the sky during daytime, trying to set Wario on fire. Its name even means "Sun" in Japanese.
* SlidingScaleOfLinearityVsOpenness: Around the fourth mandatory level - ''W1: Desert Ruins''. Though the game starts out rather linear, treasure and level choices gradually widen as the game goes on.
* SlippySlideyIceWorld: ''E2: The Frigid Sea''.
* SoundStone: The music boxes.
* SpringJump: Bouncy Wario, which you become if you're hit by a Hammer-bot or certain bosses.
* {{Sting}}: When the hidden figure is revealed upon being freed.
* StoryOverwrite: The game saves after beating the final boss; but when you resume your save, Wario is back in the music box, despite leaving before. [[spoiler:Rudy is also back in his {{seal|edEvilInACan}}, and you cannot fight him again until all the treasures are collected. Until then, he can only tell you where to find the next treasure to collect.]]
* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Played with. Before you get the Swimming Flippers, Wario cannot go below the surface, constantly paddling above the water. When you do get them, he can swim underwater fine.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: A lot of the enemies act pretty much just like ''Wario Land II'' enemies, but look different:
** Yarimaru/Spearhead = Yarikuri/Pirate Goom
** Aisubea/Brrr Bear = Yukimaru
** Fire Robota/Burn-bot = Flame (Kitsune)
** Pneumo/Jellybob = Bee
** Cookun/Doughnuteer = Cook
** Omodonmeka/Grab-bot = D-Bat
** Haridama/Pufferflounder = Sawfish
* TacticalSuicideBoss: A few bosses. But the most notable is Yellow Belly (renamed "Helio" in ''VideoGame/DrMario 64''), who for some reason just so happens to drop the pump that fills him with air and causes him to blow up.
** The final boss would be invulnerable if he kept trying to grab Wario [[spoiler:(Which is the only thing in the ''entire game'' that can kill him)]] instead of trying to punch him.
* TemporaryPlatform: Disappearing-reappearing clouds in ''S6: Above the Clouds''.
* TeruTeruBozu: The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Teruteru]] enemies, who appear in ''N3: The Vast Plain'' and ''W5: Beneath the Waves''.
* ThemeAndVariationsSoundtrack: Many variations of ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJzbFrym7ak N1: Out Of The Woods]]'' are used throughout the game, including the title screen.
* ThemeNaming: All 25 levels are named by the formula of "Direction - Number - Subtitle", unlike the conventional separation into "courses" or "stories" from prior ''Wario Land'' games. For example, ''W4: A Town in Chaos'' is the fourth available level on the western side of Music Box World which takes place in a small town.
* TheNightThatNeverEnds: Initially, the East side of the Music Box World has this. After collecting two halves of the Sun Medallion, the daylight returns.
* TheSpiny: An interesting take in the form of Prickly Platforms. Normally, Wario can't touch them or even ground pound them from the top. The solution? Use the enhanced ground pound in their vicinity - they leap up and retract spikes, allowing Wario to stand on them safely and reach higher areas.
* TrappedInAnotherWorld: Wario gets transported inside the music box.
* TreasureMap: Wario finds one at one point near the end. The treasure it leads to? His last upgrade, which allows him to carry heavy enemies!
* TripToTheMoonPlot: Wario can travel to the Moon in the level ''S6: Above The Clouds'', where he can enter it through a doorway and collect the treasure inside.
* UndergroundLevel: ''E4: The Colossal Hole'', ''N6: Sea Turtle Rock'', ''W6: The West Crater'', and ''E6: The East Crater''. ''S5: Cave of Flames'' is this mixed with Lethal Lava Land.
* UnderTheSea: ''W5: Beneath the Waves''.
* UnexpectedArtUpgradeMoment: As opposed to the white-only representation of his clothes and peach-tone skin during gameplay, [[spoiler:a full-color image of Wario [[AWinnerIsYou congratulating the player]] is used for when the player finds all of the treasures within the game.]]
* UnitsNotToScale: On the map screen, ''E4: The Colossal Hole'' and the volcano crater appear to be several times larger than most other landmarks, such as ''S2: The Big Bridge''. When you go inside the levels, however, the opposite happens.
* UniqueEnemy: The Red Lump in ''N2: The Peaceful Village'', the pink-and-blue umbrella Para-Goom in ''W4: A Town in Chaos'', and the red Omodonmeka in ''E5: The Warped Void'', all of which there is only one in the entire game (With said Para-Goom also appearing in the tutorial cutscenes for certain moves).
* UnlockableContent: Includes...
** [[TimeTrial Time Attack]], after beating the game and collecting all 100 treasures. In this mode, your goal is to collect the four keys and reach a level exit as quickly as possible.
** A room with longer Mini-Golf courses, unlocked after collecting all 7 Crayon treasures.
** An extra course in the aforementioned Mini-Golf game after collecting all 8 Musical Coins in all 25 levels.
* UnnaturallyLoopingLocation: The cave area right below Wario's starting position in ''N6: Sea Turtle Rocks''. To grab both the Green key and corresponding treasure, Wario has to repeatedly roll through the pipes in certain directions.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Wario. Rudy was sealed away by the power of the music boxes, which had to be used together again to release him. Wario was told instead that these would bring him back to his world.]]
* VampiresHateGarlic: Wario loses his Vampire Wario transformation if he touches the hanging cloves of garlic in the ''E7: Forest of Fear''.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Not even a potential, but a guarantee: The game's programmed so that all sprites literally explode when opening a chest. Well, to get to the Red Chest in ''E1: The Stagnant Swamp'', you have to ride a turtle to get to the chest, and he's pretty much guaranteed to stay there when you open it, [[WhatTheHellHero meaning you pretty much have to blow up the poor turtle who took the time to help you get there in the first place.]]
* WhereItAllBegan: The last of the five music boxes is hidden in ''N1: Out of the Woods'', the very first level. [[spoiler:And the FinalBoss fight takes place in The Temple, the starting point for Wario's quest.]]
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:Rudy's first order of business when Wario frees him? Try to kill Wario, of course.]]
* YouHaveResearchedBreathing: Wario needs to collect certain treasures in order to reclaim his abilities from ''VideoGame/WarioLandII''. These include swimming, ground pounds, and picking up enemies.
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