Poor, poor Kirby. I remember back in the day when console games like Kirby Super Star and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards slotted you firmly into the number four spot of the Nintendo mascot character hierarchy behind Mario, Link and Samus. Since then your handheld games have been great, even if one of them was just a port of your previous NES outing. But what happened on the consoles? Kirby Air Ride for GameCube was met with a so-so reaction. Was it because it was a mascot racing game instead of the adventure game people really wanted? Maybe. Air Ride was one of many other Kirby games hit with delays and cancellations, only further adding to the frustration of Kirby fans. Meanwhile, Nintendo released a Kirby classic in the form of Canvas Curse for the DS, further solidifying the pink puff's portable priority.

So Nintendo, here's a question for you: Where the hell are our Kirby console adventure games? It's somewhat disheartening to think that it's been seven years since the last true Kirby home game. There have been multiple times during that period where we were promised something new, only to have those projects disappear in a cloud of pink smoke. During this time Nintendo thought it was a better idea to whore out Mario into different sporting disciplines instead of taking one of its Kirby projects and turning it into something worthy of being a Kirby game.

Kirby was strong enough star in his own string of console games, but now it seems as if he's lost that warp star power and has been relegated back to the handheld leagues. There's no good reason for that. Kirby needs to jump back to the consoles and show us what kind of game he's capable of. Nintendo needs to do it too, because if the Wii audience is as broad as Nintendo is making it out to be, it's going to take a wide variety of personalities to attract players to the system. Kirby's cute/tough personality has wide appeal. He just needs a game to show that off to Wii owners. - Steven Rodriguez

Once upon a time, up until Game Boy first became Advanced, there was an enchanting series known as Wario Land. The successor to the Mario Land series and created by some of Nintendo's best (including many Metroid veterans), the Wario Land series has been rendered dormant by Wario Ware and other outsourced Wario pseudo-platformers.

Although Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 introduced Wario's lust for treasure hunting, the portable series really hit its stride with its second outing. Branching level design, wacky transformations, and a keen sense of cause-and-effect make Wario Land 2 and Wario Land 3 two of Nintendo's best and most unique games ever. Wario is invincible in these games, with baddies often mangling Wario with their attacks into odd shapes that are either a nuisance or vital to completing a task, depending on the level design. For example, Pancake Wario (where he is squished almost flat) can barely jump but can squeeze through tiny places and float through the air. Sometimes the player must be careful to avoid a transformation; sometimes he must struggle to maintain one. In Wario Land 3 completing a task in one level could affect the layout of another, and (much like in Metroid) Wario learns new moves exposing previously inaccessible areas.

It is unfortunate that the series has faded in recent years. Wario Land 4 on GBA reintroduced a more linear level design and, more significantly, focused on a life and time meter more than enemy and ability exploitation. Master of Disguise was an outsourced, low-budget title with more text than gameplay. Wario World, the only attempt at bringing Wario's action games to consoles, had its moments but was a Treasure brawler at heart.

Indeed, Wario Land has yet to make a true console appearance—and Wii would make the perfect stage for its revival. Whether 2D or 3D, a Wario Land game would benefit from the Wii controller. Pancake Wario could be controlled with the tilt sensor when floating through the air. Flying as Vampire Wario could require flapping your "wings." And surely Nintendo could think up some new, motion-sensitive butt-whopping moves for Wario in his normal state.

Even if the controls were unchanged for the Wii entry, Wario Land could benefit from the home console's power. The larger screen resolution would allow for more detailed butt-wagging animations and, more importantly, a larger visible area. For 2D games, a larger viewing area and more storage space allows for more intricate traps, more baddies, and larger levels. Wario Land 3 fought hard to overcome the Game Boy Color's limitations, but its non-linear levels could undeniably have been more expansive and varied on a more powerful system. A third dimension done properly could add as much to Wario Land as with any other series—more complex environments and more areas to explore (and the Wario Land series definitely encourages exploration). However, Wario World already partially explored 3D with mixed results, and a side-scrolling Wario sequel could still work well on Wii.

Finally, immortal Wario presents a casual style perfect for Wii's larger audience. Many players complained about Super Mario Sunshine's difficulty on the GameCube—Wario Land 2 and Wario Land 3 provided challenge without ostracizing inexperienced players. Mistakes merely led to backtracking—fumble on a boss and Wario is sent to an earlier room. Get hit while climbing and you must climb back up. Inexperienced players are thereby allowed to fully recover from any misstep.

Wario Land's crazy yet approachable platforming screams Wii. Bring back the greedy whacks!
- Michael Cole