Wagyan Land


As a Japan-exclusive Famicom title, Wagyan Land was a strange discovery for me. Combining platforming levels with word-puzzle-centered bosses, this game is truly unique amongst its 8-bit peers. The platforming sections were also pretty fun, as the player can only stun enemies in the beginning, meaning dodging is everything. Unfortunately, my Japanese is still extremely limited, making the boss battles impossible without the rewind feature.

The boss battles were also only ever one of two similar mini-games, making them stale in a way that the platforming segments never were. When adventuring through the levels, Wagyan Land did a great job of providing variety in environment, enemies, and structure. The addition of collectibles that make you temporarily invincible during a level and special upgrades at the end of certain stages mixed up the gameplay even more.

Ultimately, Wagyan Land is actually a pretty short game, but it provides a unique experience that I haven't seen from anything else in the 8-bit era. Unfortunately, I can't fully enjoy it, as I don't speak the language that the mini-games are based around. However, if you do speak Japanese, please give it a try!
Although the game is not available outside of Japan, more information can be found here (as of 9/11/20): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagan_Land

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