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Wario's not happy! Apparently a band of cut-throat pirates called the Black Sugar Gang and led by Captain Syrup (ooh, they sound dangerous - not!) have broken into his castle, trashed the place, and stolen all his treasure. And guess what, it's up to you to sort things out!

Wario Land II is a platform adventure in the same vein as Marioland and the original Wario Land. Starting in Wario's castle, you must guide the rotund moustachioed despot himself through a labyrinth of huge levels as he attempts to get his treasure back.

Of course, being Wario, he's not exactly what you would call defenceless. Wario can bottom bounce, shoulder barge and even pick up and throw his enemies (providing they've been stunned first) and it's a good job too, because there's an awful lot of them to deal with!

The first order of business is to find and silence Wario's poor alarm clock which has been got at by the gold-seeking invaders. Along the way Wario must overcome the first of the many enemies that have been left in the castle to attack him, as well as negotiating the range of hazards that were already present before the robbery, such as the piranha-infested waterways.

On his travels, Wario can collect a great many coins which are hidden all over the place. Some are out in the open, some are hidden within items. Yet others are concealed in secret rooms behind walls which look much like any other wall, and the only way to locate these is by shoulder barging all the walls you come across.

Get enough coins, and you are able to try one of the different sub-games. These range from a pretty tricky mix 'n' match game where you must find a picture of a character from a whole load of others after only a brief glimpse, to a game where part of a number is revealed, and you must guess which number - kind of like the bonus game in the TV show Catchphrase.

The enemies in Wario Land II are wide and varied and attack Wario in all sorts of different ways. Now Wario has one over on his old adversary Mario - he can't actually be killed. He can however be 'changed', and although some of these transformations are a pain, often you find they are useful too.

Take fire for example. Wario gets hit by a little dragon and suddenly begins running around uncontrollably, flapping his arms at the fire which is burning his bottom. Whilst this is awkward because you lose control of Wario while he's burning, on his rampage he destroys some previously impervious blocks giving you access to a new area. And he has a whole range of different transformations like this such as fat Wario - if he gets fed too much, zombie Wario and tiny Wario.

Wario Land II is a joy to play. The range of moves the fat fellow has available is surprising considering that the game designers only had two buttons and a D-pad to work with and the graphics are beautifully done, giving real life all the characters in the game, even the smallest ones.

The fact that Wario can't be killed means that you can take all the risks you like without ruining your game, and this, rather than making the game too easy - which by the way it isn't - makes it a lot more fun than most of the platform games currently on the market. Great for experienced gamers and beginners alike!