I went to update Red Viper after Anon in the 3DS thread reminded me of its existence, apparently a dynamic recompiler was merged so it can finally, finally run Virtual Boy games at full speed on an o3DS.
Naturally the first thing I did after installing was plop in VB Wario Land, and holy fuck what a fucken game.
This is the objectively true direct sequel to SML3, Wario Land II is a meme by comparison.
Gameplay follows directly from SML3, albeit with a few physics changes.
Wario walks perceptively slower than in SML3, but his tackle is faster and he can jump a little farther with the added speed.
He only tackles when walking though, holding B while standing still makes him extend his shoulder for some reason.
Powerups are the same as SML3 with greater flight speed for the wing/crocodile helm, it was a little disorienting at first compared to SML3 but the VB's widescreen aspect ratio helps a lot so getting used to it was easy, also while you can't pick up a powerup that you already have powerups don't disappear on their own, which can be quite useful in stages with scarce powerups or lots of hazards on the way to secrets.
The horned helm has lost its ability to attach itself to the bottom of solid blocks, I do not yet know the significance of it as in spite of the game's limited vertical resolution there's a fair share of stages with vertically orientied level design.
Wario can still pick up and throw enemies, though from what I've played so far there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of emphasis on that feature compared to SML3 and WLII.
Exclusive to VB Wario Land are arrow blocks that make Wario jump to the background layer of the stage and a variety of enemies capable of moving between the fore and background, obviously done to showcase muh 3D but even so they're well-presented and integrated.
Stages can be very large with plenty of secret passages hidden behind unmarked destructible walls or gated by certain powerups, like the first game the objective of each stage is to find a key in order to unlock the elevator at the end.
Upon completing a stage there's an optional minigame for shekels or hearts, followed by a tally of Wario's total shekel and treasure hoard and a small world map, though given that each level is entered and exited via linear elevators I don't know if there's a way to freely traverse between them for a 100% completion ratio.
Overall the game is fun to play and a worthy sequel to an already great GB game, too bad it came out on a failed abortion of a console.