Coins in this game don't go towards extra lives. He just wants money - enough to purchase a residence that makes Mario's old castle look like a pauper's abode. You see, Wario's not going after these pirates for anything resembling an altruistic reason. A number of levels contain treasures hidden beyond locked doors.
Most important to Wario are the hidden keys and the doors they open. And that's only the beginning, as far as secrets go. Several stages have secret exits leading to hidden stages or, in one case, a complete collection of additional levels. A handful of levels are either auto-scrolling or might as well be, as you'll be tasked with keeping ahead of something lethal such as a wall of lava. You have time limits to complete stages and will have to get past a lot of the same obstacles, such as bridges that collapse as you step on them and indestructible creatures that at least look like Thwomps, even if they don't share that name. However, this game still feels like a standard Super Mario game, which is no small feat when all of the changes are considered. The power-ups are somewhat different from what Mario is given and, with a couple of exceptions, the enemies aren't identical to what he hops on game after game. It's the perfect way to dispose of enemies without worrying about impaling yourself on them. Find the dragon hat and you'll lose all ability to charge, but can unleash a gout of fire that stretches a fair distance in front of Wario. The jet hat takes away those two powers, but allows the wearer to float in mid-air for quite the distance (a godsend in more platforming-intensive levels). The bull horns are a more powerful version of the hard hat that also grant the ability to cling to ceilings, as well as to perform a butt slam that's quite effective in disposing of foes. It allows him to execute a charge attack that eliminates weak foes and stuns stronger ones. However, he can collect a number of power-ups to increase his size and allow him to take a hit at the cost of losing that power-up and becoming small and weak again.
If Wario is small, taking damage equals the loss of a life. The power-up system works similarly to the average Mario game. Whether it be the beak of a bird, the spears held by this game's version of Goombas or the swords wielded by pirate ducks, those protruding points are all hazards to be avoided. However, every foe has some sort of pointy thing attached to them that will cause the hefty scoundrel damage. Simply running into enemies will damage them instead of him. To make up for that, he's also more powerful. Wario is larger than Mario, and a bit slower and more unwieldy to control. It's a quest that sets him against a horde of equally greedy pirates over the course of 40 stages. Licking his wounds after losing the previous game's climactic battle for Mario's castle, the greedy dude is not out for revenge, but riches instead. After serving as the villain in the second Super Mario Land offering, Wario grabbed himself a starring role in the follow-up. Warioland is a different breed altogether, however. 2, a game featuring four different characters with their own quirks. Sure, one could say the company already did that on the NES with Super Mario Bros. Playing Warioland: Super Mario Land 3 makes one thing clear: by 1994, Nintendo had mastered its formula to the degree that it could make an excellent Super Mario game featuring a character other than Mario, a character whose powers felt familiar and yet were noticeably different. "Crush your enemies and become rich: When video games and real life collide!" Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (Game Boy) review