Hello and welcome to another entry in Lost Gems, the series where I cover games that have been lost, forgotten or straight up abandoned. This week we will be taking a look at an arcade style platformer released for the SEGA Mega Drive, which never officially left Japan. So it is time to dive into Wani Wani World, developed by Kaneko and released in 1992, being a reworked port of the arcade game The Berlin Wall from 1991.
Disclaimer: while the title discussed here is no longer officially on sale, there are still ways to obtain the game. This can be via the secondary market, or through unofficial digital roms/rips. I do not condone or promote piracy, so there won’t be any links to roms or rips of the game being covered.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get started. I will be covering the general game experience, then give my personal thoughts on the title.
About the game
Wani Wani World is an arcade style platform action game, where up to two players can take control of the crocodile heroes of the game. As the crocodile, players must make their way through five worlds, comprised of a set of main action stages and a boss at the end. The main stages are similar to games like Bubble Bobble and Parasol Stars, with the players spawning at the bottom of the stage. All of the stage enemies will also spawn in at the start of the level.
While in the stage, the player can move their character left and right across the ground, as well as use ladders to reach other platforms. The crocodiles are unable to jump, but they can drop from edges and use springs to get across gaps, as well as use moving platforms. This means players cannot jump past enemies on the ground, but that doesn’t stop the player from fighting back. The two crocodiles are armed with hammers that can be used to take enemies down.
The hammers don’t function like regular weapons, as they won’t be able to destroy the monsters, but parts of the ground itself. By hitting the soft ground, the blocks will be destroyed and monsters can fall into the gaps, getting trapped for a short time. When the monsters are trapped, the player can use their tail to knock them down and kill them. After successfully killing the enemies, they will drop point gaining items when they are defeated alone.
If the enemy falls and hits one or more enemies, there will be the chance of special items appearing for players to collect. There are several special items that can be collected, with the most common being the hammer upgrades. At the start of the game and each time the player dies, they will be reset to the starter hammer, which can only destroy one block at a time. But with upgrades, it is possible to remove blocks from both ends of the stage.
Then there are the special weapons, with the Bomb and the Cannonball, which can be used to destroy enemies and clear a stage quickly. These are single use, appearing next to the player Icon with the ability to carry a few of them at once. Players can also collect support items, with speed boots that let players move faster until death and the star, which grants invincibility from all forms of enemy damage for a limited time when collected.
There is one item that is more powerful than any other in the game, and that is the slot machine which can drop randomly during play. When collected the three reels at the top of the stage will spin, with different effects that will occur based on the result. If the player gets a winning spin, they will be awarded special bonuses. These bonuses include wiping all enemies out, dropping an abundance of power-up items and even a flood of point items.
Once all of the enemies have been defeated and any residual items have been collected, the player will move onto the next stage for the game. After clearing the main action stages, the player will be sent to the boss stage. These stages play out in a unique way compared to the other stages, as they have scrolling sections going either up or down the screen. At the end of the journey, the player will reach the arena where the boss will appear.
Boss battles are the most challenging part of the game, as the boss monsters are significantly larger than other monsters. This means holes need to be larger to trap and damage them, and they will have dangerous attacks that have a large reach. When the boss has been defeated, the world will be cleared, and the player will get a bonus game. In this bonus, an anime girl face will be generated and bonuses for the next world will be awarded, based on the face generated.
As this is an arcade style game, there are limited lives and credits for play. There is a maximum of 5 credits and 5 lives that can be set before playing. If the player loses all their lives, they must use a credit to continue and if all credits run out, players get a game over. For those who may struggle with the game, there are some special codes and tricks that can be used. These will allow for level select, the ability to freely spin the slots and an infinite lives trick.
Personal Thoughts
Wani Wani World is an odd little game, as I cannot remember where I first saw it. It seems to have always been around in one form or another. I haven’t owned an official version of the game myself, only a reproduction, but I remember my dad having the cartridge at some point. I have also played the game via emulation across many devices, with the earliest I remember being on Windows 98 on a disc that my dad got from a Computer Fair.
This is one of those games that I can always boot up and I know I will have a good time, as it is just so simple and fun to play. It has the elements of other arcade games, like Bubble Bobble, Fairyland Story and Don Doko Don, with the single screen action and point focused mechanics. Then you have the boss stages, using the scrolling screen to add tension to the action before the big battle. This is likely due to the fact they started as Taito developers in 1982.
All of these elements make for a game with worldwide appeal. It is really odd that Wani Wani World never left Japan officially, only being available as an import. There is little in terms of localisation or translation needed, as the only Japanese text in the game is the main title. Everything else in the game is presented in English, so I am unsure of what held back an international release. We may never know as Kaneko seemingly disappeared in 2007.
I have a deep appreciation for this game, as there is a lot of fun to be had with either alone or with a partner. For an arcade game, there is a lot of depth to it, with a total of 50 stages to take on. Unfortunately, the game is not very affordable on the secondary market, as it only released in Japan, there are a limited number of copies out there, so they command a high price. But if you really want to play it, you can find reproductions out there for a reasonable cost.
The existence of this game is an unusual one, as it came out around a year after their arcade game The Berlin Wall. That game used the most of the game mechanics, and some of the monster sprites, with that game having a port to the Game Gear. It also had real photographs related to the Berlin Wall itself throughout the game. Given the theming of the original dating the game, it is unsurprising that they reworked the game with the Crocodile sprites and colorful backgrounds.
It is unknown who owns the licenses or properties related to Kaneko, as the company ceased operation there has been no public word on who owns the library. The loss of Kaneko as a company was sad, as they released several interesting games during their time, with the Gals Panic series, the Jackie Chan fighting games and Wani Wani World. Until someone is able to get the rights to the Kaneko properties or a license to them, we are unlikely to see them again anytime soon.
If you have enjoyed this feature, then please stick around and see what else catches your eye. I cover a wide range of games in reviews, get special previews and put out regular features. I have Lost Gems, Retro Revival where I discuss re-releases and the occasional Gaming Oddities piece, where I cover weird and wacky titles. So stay a while and have a look around.
