Which 1994 Game Boy game first made Wario the main playable character?

Which 1994 Game Boy game first made Wario the main playable character? Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, commonly shortened to Wario Land. It was released for the Game Boy in 1994 and made Wario the protagonist of his own platform adventure.

Wario had previously appeared as an antagonist in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. In the follow-up, he becomes the character players control as he searches for treasure on Kitchen Island. His abilities differ from Mario’s: Wario can ram enemies, smash blocks, and use power-ups that alter his movement and attacks.

The game established Wario Land as a spin-off series rather than simply another Mario-branded platformer. Captain Syrup and the Brown Sugar Pirates also debuted as Wario’s recurring enemies. Later entries appeared on systems including the Virtual Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Wii.

A common mix-up is calling it simply “Wario Land,” which is acceptable shorthand, or confusing it with WarioWare, a later series of rapid-fire minigame collections. The full original title is Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.