Wario’s one and only 3D platformer is now playable on Switch 2

Nintendo has been slowly drip-feeding us games since the console joined its Nintendo Classics offering when the launched in June, and we just got another one. Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers can now play Wario’s one and only 3D platformer on the service.

Wario World launched in 2003 and was developed by Treasure (Gunstar Heroes, Ikaruga). You play as Wario, the flatulent antithesis of Nintendo’s primary mascot, in what is a combat-heavy platformer. Wario’s castle has been overthrown by an evil piece of sentient jewellery called Black Jewel, and it’s up to the garlic-loving antihero to punch and piledrive everything in sight in order to reclaim it.

Wario World was a relative commercial hit for Nintendo, but while many reviewers praised its chaotic gameplay, the game’s short length pulled the scores down. Interestingly, the same criticism was leveled at the similarly brief Luigi’s Mansion, which the Nintendo Classics app just ahead of Halloween.

Wario World becomes the seventh GameCube game that can be played on the Switch 2 via NSO. The service launched with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX and Soulcalibur II. Since then Nintendo has added , , Luigi’s Mansion and now Wario World. The likes of Super Mario Sunshine and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance will arrive at some point.

It’s been a good week for NSO subscribers who enjoy retro 3D platformers. Yesterday Nintendo that Rayman 2: The Great Escape and Tonic Trouble are coming to its N64 emulator on December 17.