Slumped on his sofa with the remote control nearby, all that's missing is his hand in his pants for us to be mistaken. It is not Al Bundy, but indeed Wario who is jealous of a certain White Blizzard, interpreted on screen by Count Cannelloni. The adventures of this professional burglar will arouse the greed of our anti-hero who dreams of earning more without working more. With the class and the bad faith that we know him, Wario will teleport directly into the television program via a helmet made from scratch. Once there, he will waste no time and steal his Bonchic scepter from Cannelloni, a living encyclopedia whose powers allow him to dress up his master in any disguise. While Wario will steal the show by breaking into the coffers of the whole world, the Count will hatch plans to try to recover his magic staff, even if it means enslaving himself to a third power. Finally, the two protagonists will learn of the existence of the Wishing Stone, a pebble capable of making anyone who possesses it all powerful. A dozen chapters and about fifteen hours of play, that's basically what Wario has to fill his pockets and get his hands on the coveted artifact.
Silent but deadly
As you will have understood, the concept of Wario : Master of Disguise is essentially based on the different costumes that our friend can wear, each of them containing very specific powers. And to make things a little more difficult, you will first have to draw a small symbol before putting it on, provided you have found the corresponding gem. In these cases, the tutorial is never too much to memorize the pictograms to be executed. A small circle above the head and hop, here is Wario transformed into a cosmonaut with his laser beam. A triangle that points backwards like a tail, and he is a fire-breathing dragon. A scientist's magnifying glass, and Wario turns into a mad scientist capable of revealing invisible objects. Each metamorphosis is obviously upgradeable through master gems that significantly improve abilities. As a level 2 painter, for example, Wario can create up to three blocks in a row, and even hearts to heal his life gauge. The discovery of the different costumes is done at high speed, which breaks the interest of the game a little since we already have seven disguises at the end of the fourth chapter. We even grab two at once - Wario Foudre and Wario Matelot - in the third. Not smart at the time.
Like Mario Slam Basketball, Master of Disguise features ambidextrous gameplay. Whether you are right-handed or left-handed, you always fall on your fingers because the multidirectional cross and the four buttons on the front allow you to direct the character. It's exhilarating, borderline confusing at first to be able to hold Wario with one hand, which certainly forced Suzak not to design passages that usually require two. So don't expect knuckle twists as is the case in New Super Mario Bros. to name only him, Wario : Master of Disguise takes the player for a moron by flashing driving school headlights. The game clearly indicates the costumes to be used against the bosses, and the map displays by orange sectors the parts where mechanisms remain to be activated. We can always take refuge behind the sequence of transformations to find a semblance of dynamism, but difficult to be ecstatic in front of innumerable round trips which quickly become asphyxiating. No way either to exercise his gray matter on the mini-games ultra accessible and worthy of the WarioWare franchise. Kindergarten coloring, connecting the right objects together, sliding a marble from point A to point B, these are basically the exciting challenges of Wario : Master of Disguise. That said, respect for the well-crafted puzzles of the Sphynx, one of the main satisfactions of the game.
The Italian Job
Tactile recognition is the other black point of the game. Indeed, it is not uncommon to have to repeat the maneuver for the symbol to be taken into account. The reverse is also valid. In Wario Artiste for example, a diamond can materialize a block whereas it is necessary to fight hours to create a heart, even by putting all its health there. Ditto when you want to change your costume, the dragon-sailor imbroglio has happened more than once. Instinct sometimes takes over, and you have to recognize that in the heat of the moment - especially against bosses - you scratch awkwardly out of Wario, even though it's the No. 1 rule in the process. Graphically, Wario : Master of Disguise don't break bricks. If the obese mustachioed has some fine and detailed animations when he changes sap, it is not the same for the monsters which are more like basic sprites. No differential scrolling, or even pyrotechnic effects, we swim in the middle of elementary school. Good go, we still fell for one of the main themes of the game, the one where Wario and Cannelloni exchange some well-felt valves. It is also what saves a little Master of Disguise total rout, a humor not very fine but light enough to be digested. Once completed, you can always improve your stats by revisiting levels with all bagged disguises. Yeah.
