Pizza Tower and AntonBlast: The Wariolike War

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if a major company won’t do anything with an IP or idea then the fans will. Of all the companies this could apply to, Nintendo is the one who gets it the most. They have a large back catalogue of fan favourite games that they’ve abandoned or simply ignored. Which has led to various indie developers to make their own spin on them.

This is nothing new. It’s hard to know exactly where this started, but the idea of an indie developer taking classic games that are being left to rot and doing something new with the idea behind them has been popular for a few years now. It’s a practice that really took off during the PS4/XBONE era but has gone into overdrive in the current one.

The Switch E-Shop is littered with dozens of games inspired by Nintendo properties of varying quality. Some are good, some are horrendous, and some you see once and think it looks interesting, but you decide to skip it for now and then it gets buried and forgotten because the E-Shop is still horribly designed.

You get my point. There’s a lot of retro throwbacks out there for almost any series you can think off. Want some Castlevania, there’s Bloodstained. Want some Mega Man, hello there Gravity Circuit. Want some Metroid style games, throw a dart. But recently we’ve seen two independent games released that are both inspired by the same game.

That game being Wario Land. I love Wario Land; in my opinion it’s one of the best platforming series Nintendo ever made. It was a very strange and creative series that showed Nintendo’s experimental side in the best way, and each game offered a unique experience with wildly different structures.

All the games are great. I’ve seen conflicting opinions on which Wario Land is the best, which should tell you how good the series is, though Wario Land 4 is the one I see crop up the most in discussions about the series. It’s also the most relevant here since our subjects of discussion are based on it. Pizza Tower and AntonBlast.

When I first saw Pizza Tower, I immediately fell in love with it. The art style alone was enough to hook me; taking inspiration from late 90’s animation like SpongeBob and Courage the Cowardly Dog, it was a style that I immediately recognised as someone who grew up with and adored those cartoons. Forget the 2010’s, late 90’s and early 2000’s was the true golden age of tv animation.

The obvious Wario inspiration was also apparent and as a long time fan of the series I was pretty much sold immediately. The game could have kicked me in the nuts with a spiky cleat and I’d still buy it I was that sold.

However, that wasn’t the only Kickstarter game with Wario Land inspired gameplay. Another one I became aware of at around the same time was AntonBlast. A sequel of sorts to AntonBall, this game looked even more Wario Landesque in its approach, sporting a punky art style that mixed the GBA aesthetics with… 90’s style animation?

Wait, so we have two games inspired by Wario Land 4 and 90’s animation? Two games based on my favourite things ever, both releasing on Switch within months of each other. First Mario RPG’s come back and now this, I’m eating better than Lizza at an all you can eat buffet.

And I figured, why not compare the two. I liked doing it with Mario Wonder and Sonic Superstars so why not do the same here. It’s something a little different than just doing a straight forward review of both of them.

I’m not going to bother doing categories like I did in the Mario and Sonic. I’m just going to go through and talk about each game and see how they compare and contrast. Because while both are inspired by the same game, they go about it in remarkably different ways.

That’s partly why I wanted to do this comparison. Because both games are both very similar and yet also radically different at the same time. It’s kind of fascinating.

Also, full disclosure, both these games are excellent. While I will say which one I think is better at the end I think both are high quality and are equally worthy of your time. This is purely for fun and in no way meant to decide which is worth playing over the other. Got it? Good, let’s get comparing.

Neither game have much of a story. Pizza Tower is about a pizzeria owner called Peppino Spaghetti trying to stop a giant floating pizza face from blowing up his place for no fucking reason. Meanwhile in AntonBlast, our hero Dynamite Anton is trying to get back his special spirits from Satan who wants to use them to become the reddest thing on/in the planet.

Weird as hell premises aren’t they. But that perfectly fits with the absurd natures each is going for. Though based on my description you can spot a major difference in how the stories are conveyed.

In AntonBlast you’re given more of an explanation in what is going on. You know the protagonist’s goals, the antagonist’s goals and there’s a bit more character given to the cast. With more dialogue between them that better establishes their personalities.

In Pizza Tower they don’t explain shit. You know what’s going on, Peppino is in debt and Pizza Face wants to blow up his restaurant, but why these events are happening is never elaborated on. It leaves a lot of it up to interpretation.

And a lot of it isn’t easy to interpret since everything about Pizza Tower is so bizarre. While a lot of character personalities are easy enough to grasp through their animations, but where they come from and why they do what they do is entirely open to the imagination.

Then there’s the world. The levels in Pizza Tower are so varied and surreal that it’s hard to tell where exactly you are or how the world even works. It’s a lot like Courage the Cowardly Dog in this specific aspect. That shows world was also very off kilter and hard to fully grasp at times, something done intentionally to give the series an unsettling vibe.

AntonBlast has moments like this too. There’s an entire level based on the liminal spaces game Pools that plays with perspective in a creative and slightly unnerving way, and several strange characters and moments you’ll encounter.

But Anton’s world is a bit more defined. There’s a more established location with Boiler City with each level being a place that can easily fit into that place, and while there some strange NPC’s most of them are characters that do fit in with the world the game creates.

So Anton’s world never feels as surreal as Peppino’s. Which can get so out there it becomes disturbing. Like it becomes a full-on horror game in one level, that’s how disturbing it gets. In AntonBlast I felt comfortable with the world it created despite how weird it got, I never felt comfortable with the one in Pizza Tower.

Which one you prefer will be down to personal tastes. AntonBlast has a lot more character and, in my opinion, is funnier. The humour is a bit crass at times, like I’m one to talk, but it fits the vibe, and Satan is a fun villain with some really funny pre-level lines.

Pizza Tower is a lot more surreal and open to interpretation. It’s a game that’s more about establishing a mood and atmosphere than trying to tell a coherent narrative. With most of it’s humour coming from the art and animations than verbal jokes.

In a way it’s a lot like the comparison of 90’s cartoons themselves. Those varied wildly in style, tone and genre and each had an audience. Some liked Hey Arnold, others liked Ren and Stimpy. Some preferred Johhny Bravo and some liked Courage the Cowardly Dog.

Both have a punky, very off beat tone that is representative of their 90’s inspiration. It’s just one is more on the surreal side while the other is more focused on the in your face attitude of the period. Personally I love both approaches, but I’m also a raging fanboy for that era of animation. So your mileage might vary in which one you prefer.

Visually, Jesus where do I even begin. I say without exaggeration that these are some of the best looking 2D platformers I’ve seen in recent memory. At least as far as the indie scene is concerned. It’s obviously hard to compare them to things Mario Wonder since they have much smaller budgets and teams.

But good style can take you far and these games are proof of that. Not only is the animation in both top notch, but they capture the spirit of their 90’s animation inspirations down so perfectly you’d think they’d had it down to an exact science.

The 90’s was a period where a lot of animators were given a lot more creative freedom. In contrast to the more corporate toy advertising vehicles of the 80’s and early 90’s, mid to late 90’s animation was defined by original works created by the animators themselves.

Because of that a lot of the shows made in this period were a lot more zany, expressive, wild and very over the top. Not all of them, there was variety after all, but a good chunk of them were. It was a time when going off model was less a mistake and more a deliberate artistic choice to help the comedy.

Both games understand this. The sprite work and animation are so wild and expressive; so over the top you wonder if they bothered to even create actual animation references to keep characters on model at all.

Not only are they both impressive to look at, they’re also funny. The expressions on the characters lead to some hilarious imagery; like 90’s animation, hell even the golden age of the 30’s and 40’s had this, both games understand that for animation to be funny the actual drawings have to be funny.

While both have clear inspirations from 90’s animation, both also took inspiration from other sources. AntonBlast took a lot of influence from GBA games. It has a similar vibe to the games on that console especially the Wario games. You can see this influence most in the special effects and menu design.

It’s hard to describe it. It’s one of those styles where you’ll know it when you see it. I grew up with the GBA so I recognised it right away. It was very nostalgic for me. That early 2000’s style, the punky side and the YIIK side never got a chance to flourish. But that’s a rant for another day.

Meanwhile, Pizza Towers art style takes a lot from French comic books. Which, yeah, I can see it. I’m not too knowledgeable about French comic books but from what I have seen it does have some artistic similarities to them. Although it looks more to me like it was inspired by Canadian animation.

Specifically the ones from Danny Antonucci of Ed, Edd and Eddy fame. It has a similar look to that. And Canadian animation does have some overlap with French animation, which does take a lot from the comics so there you go.

I do think Pizza Tower wins overall in terms of its animation. It’s a bit smoother and much more over the top. AntonBlast is certainly a wild looking game with a very punky look, but it is a bit more restrained compared to Pizza Tower which often shows its characters in radically different ways. Even it’s opening briefly depicts Peppino as a buff action hero.

But there are ways in which AntonBlast is superior visually. Its sprites are much larger than Pizza Tower’s, which has smaller sprites to allow for a larger view of the levels. AntonBlast’s backgrounds are also a lot nicer and have a bit more going on.

There are more visual effects going on in AntonBlast as well as some really impressive uses of sprite scaling in the boss fights. In general, I’d say Pizza Tower is better more often thanks to its animation quality, but AntonBlast has visually spectacular set pieces that put Pizza Tower to shame. So one is more consistent, but the others high points are higher but don’t appear as often.

But there is one clear way Pizza Tower is better and it’s in performance. AntonBlast looks great but it has some very noticeable frame rate issues when a lot is happening on screen. And considering how chaotic the game is that happens a lot.

The game did receive a patch that did make the performance better, and it never gets so bad it ruins the game, but it is noticeable and does impact playability slightly in a few select areas.

This is primarily a Switch issue. The PC version runs perfectly, and the developers are still working on the Switch version to improve performance. By the time you’re reading this it might not be an issue, but it’s worth noting it was an issue at the time of writing.

At the end of the day though both look fantastic. They both excel when it comes to the sprite work, animation and even the colour work. These are some very colourful and vibrant looking games, although AntonBlast does seem a bit more vibrant overall while Pizza Tower has a stronger atmosphere.

Audibly both are exceptional too. And I’m not just talking about the music, the sound design in both is great. They both have punchy sound effects which really adds to the intensity of the action, as well as great use of atmospheric sound in certain sections.

But yeah, the soundtracks for both are phenomenal. Not only are they catchy as hell, but both capture the distinct sound that Wario Land 4 had. Anyone who’s played that game will tell you it had one of the most unique and eclectic soundtracks ever. There are people out there making remixes in Wario Land 4’s sound font because it’s so unique.

Of the two, I think AntonBlast sounds the most Warioish. It sounds much closer to how Wario Land 4 did. Although I do find that Pizza Tower’s music is more memorable overall, especially the final chase music which is some of the most intense and energised music you’ll ever hear in a game.

AntonBlast also has voice acting while Pizza Tower only has grunts and screams for its characters. Again tying into Pizza Tower being more open to interpretation. It’s good voice acting, it sounds like the kind of acting you’d see in a Cartoon Network show back in the day which must have been intentional.

I’ve been comparing these two to Wario Land a lot, and for good reason. Both were heavily inspired by the series after all. Something which only becomes more apparent when you actually start playing the game.

They are very much built in the Wario Land 4 mould, but I should probably explain Wario Land 4 a little for those who haven’t played it. The three big things to understand about Wario Land 4, the things that set it apart, are the following.

1.      Every level had hidden collectables with some required for progression.

2.      The game had transformations that changed how Wario controlled and let him access different areas.

3.      The games levels were laid out in a unique way. You moved through the level normally until you found a switch, then you had to hurry back to the start of the level under a time limit.

There’s more to Wario Land 4, but these are the major elements these games took from it.

Let’s start with the last one since it ties into the overall level structure. Both games are designed in an almost circular manner, the idea is that you’ll run through a level until you reach a switch, or in Pizza Towers case destroy a main support pillar, which activates a timer after which you must run back to the entrance before it runs out.

That doesn’t mean you’ll need to run through the same level twice forward and backwards. The levels change when you get to the end level chase, creating new pathways and routes you couldn’t get to earlier, and in some cases putting you on an entirely new path altogether.

It’s an interesting way of structuring the levels. The first half is calmer as you go through the levels finding secrets and collectables, while the second half is a mad dash to get to the exit on time. Thing is though, some of the collectables are only obtainable after you activate the timer. If you’re trying to get everything it can get intense.

Both games do this structure well, and the level design in both is superb. Each of the levels across both games are different’ each possessing their own challenges and ideas that keep the game fresh and interesting.

In Pizza Tower there’s a level where you use Mort the Chicken, an obscure platforming mascot from the PlayStation, to get through it, there’s another where you have to sneak through a spooky pizza restaurant avoiding spotlights that summon creepy mascots that jump scare you, huh that sounds familiar, and a level where you have to rush to deliver pizza’s in a fantasy forest.

Meanwhile in AntonBlast there’s a level in a bath house that twists and turns around you in a way that you’re never sure what’s going on, basically that liminal spaces pool level mentioned earlier, a level where you explore a mine via pinball, and a level set in an abandoned mall where you have to break into a safe before a goblin does.

It’s all very strange, in a good way, and you never know what you’re going to see next. It doesn’t always work, some of the level gimmicks aren’t that interesting or can be a little annoying. I wouldn’t call any of them outright bad though, it’s just that some levels are weaker than otherwise.

In terms of level design both games do a great job of copying Wario Land 4’s basic structure. But where this comparison gets interesting is in what each game takes, or rather doesn’t take from Wario Land.

Let’s start with the character move sets. Both characters have some similarities like a slide or a ground pound that’s more powerful at higher elevations, like Wario’s, and a dash, but the dashes are where the big differences lie.

Antons’s dash is very similar to Wario’s shoulder tackle. He rams into enemies and obstacles to break through them. Peppino’s dash is more akin to Wario’s dash in Wario Land 4, Pepino starts off running before he shoots off like a rocket becoming invincible to everything and everyone.

It’s funny how Wario’s move set is a split up between the two games. Even Wario’s grab is only in Pizza Tower as Peppino’s main attack, while AntonBlast doesn’t have it at all. But, Anton can slide down steeper slopes to roll as a ball, while Peppino can’t.

Instead of copying everything from Wario Land 4, the developers instead picked and chose which moves that best fit the kind of games they were making. It’s weird because while you’re playing one of them you don’t notice what’s missing until after you play you the other, after which you don’t notice what’s missing there either.

The move sets are so perfectly matched for both games that you don’t notice or care what’s missing. I didn’t even notice myself until I sat down to write this. and the reason for that is because both games have a very different philosophies and approach to the gameplay.

The reason I highlighted the dash attacks earlier is because it is one of the best examples of the different approaches each game takes. Pizza is built around the dash. The whole conceit around Pizza Tower is it takes the speedy elements of Wario Land 4 but takes them to their logical extreme.

See Pizza Tower is built around its ranking system. Peppino can’t die in Pizza Tower, instead whenever he gets hit or falls in a pit, he just loses points. You gain points by picking up little collectables scattered about or getting high combo’s by defeating enemies fast enough.

That’s why the dash is designed the way it is, so you can run through everything and increase your combo. After you finish a level your point total is added up and your given a ranking from D to S, and at the end of the game you’re given an overall ranking of how well you did.

This is the main drive in Pizza Tower. It’s all about getting those higher rankings. Because of that, levels in Pizza Tower are sort of designed like a skateboarding game. In that it’s all about setting up lines to better increase your combo, with much of the challenge being trying to hit those lines and get a high score.

There are still secret areas to find, and those do help increase your score, but they aren’t too difficult to find. They’re mostly tucked away is small side areas and it’s just a matter of getting to them. Granted if you’re going super-fast they can be easy to miss, but you’re first time through you’ll be stopping and starting all the time as you learn the level layouts so they won’t be that difficult to spot.

If you’re worried this approach leads to a high skill floor, don’t. The skill ceiling is certainly high, especially when going for the S ranks and even the P rank you get from a perfect run, but getting an A rank which is all you need for a good final ranking isn’t too difficult. You’ll be able to get one quite easily if you just explore the levels and find the secrets.

But the main focus is on that combo system. The secret hunting is secondary to getting a good run. AntonBlast is the complete opposite. Its levels are much more focused on the secret hunting, with larger winding levels with lots of secret rooms to find.

Because of that AntonBlasts gameplay is a little slower and more exploration focused. That isn’t to say there isn’t a speed-based element it’s just that it would rather focus more on making you explore the levels rather than run through them at lightning speeds.

There’s no ranking system in AntonBlast, but there is still a scoring system. No combo system, unless you count the dash being able to be chained for faster speeds but that’s not connected to scoring, instead the score system is tied entirely to the collectable poker chips you can find everywhere. With bigger, more valuable chips found in more difficult spots or require tackling a trickier platforming challenge.

Thinking about it, AntonBlast is a lot more of an actual Platformer than Pizza Tower. That game had platforming yes, but it focused less on platforming challenges, of jumping gaps and dodging obstacles, and more on creating levels where you could get a high combo chain going.

To put it bluntly, if Pizza Tower was focused on the speedy elements of Wario Land 4, then AntonBlast is focused on the exploration part of it. They each have both, but the focus is clearly on one side of the equation.

At the very least they don’t overly focus on it. The games do cater to different players. If you don’t like going fast in Pizza Tower you’ll still be able to get a high ranking by finding the secrets and collecting the treasures, and AntonBlast does have a time trial and combo mode for each level for those looking to push themselves and show off.

They don’t leave anyone out from enjoying the game on their own terms. I will say that I think Pizza Tower does a better job of pushing people into its ranking system by building levels in a way where basic combos are easy to make, thereby showing how satisfying they are and it makes you want to get good at it from there. It smartly edges you into pursuing more skilful play.

AntonBlast does not. It keeps the more skill-based s separate from the main game, which means it doesn’t incentivise you as hard to pursue them. The option is there for those interested, but it won’t convert people who aren’t.

I should note that the level of challenge is going to depend on how much you want to get out of the games. Simply finishing the games is not difficult at all, especially in Pizza Tower where you can’t even die. The real challenge comes from trying to get 1005; getting the high rankings or finding all the secrets.

It’s very accessible in that regard. Anyone can pick up and play these games regardless of skill level and that’s awesome. The problem is that if you’re the kind of gamer who wants a good challenge but doesn’t go for completion runs, there isn’t much here that will actually challenge you.

I know going for completion is where a lot of the challenge in platformers lie. Super Mario Wonder kept its most challenging levels behind getting all the collectables for example, but it still had some degree of challenge prior to that. Or look at Donkey Kong Country, those games are tough as balls even without going for completion.

The games could have provided more of a challenge outside of 100% is all I’m saying. But, I’ll admit, this is in keeping with Wario Land. Which also weren’t that difficult unless you were trying to complete them. So I can’t complain too much.

But since we went over completion, let’s go over how each game handles collectables. This is also an interesting comparison in a very weird way.

Keep in mind I’m not talking about completely optional collectables here. Both have them, Pizza Tower has its hidden treasures, and AntonBlast has the junk, cassette tape and spray can hidden in each level, but no that’s not what I’m on about. I’m talking about the collectibles needed for progression.

Wario Land 4 had two main items you needed to progress. The first was a key ghost that would unlock the next level in that world, and the other was four pieces of a diamond that would unlock that worlds boss. Neither were difficult to find; they were on the main path, and it was just a matter of getting them, but you needed to get them to continue through the game.

Pizza Tower and AntonBlast have things similar to these, but once again they’re split between games, though it’s not in the way you would think. AntonBlast has a Spirit in every level that you need to finish it, though you’ll get them simply by playing through the level. Meanwhile Pizza Tower has five toppings hidden in its levels that you use to unlock the boss of that floor of the tower.

You’d think it would be the opposite. Since AntonBlast is the exploration focused game you’d think it would have the hidden five collectibles and the speedier Pizza Tower the one collectable gotten by just running through it, but no. if anything it’s the opposite.

To be clear, it’s not like the toppings are that well hidden. You’ll get most of them by just running through the levels, you just need to make sure to get them since you can potentially run past them. Like the spirits they’re very hard to miss and there’s only a few levels where you need to go out of your way to get them.

It sounds like a weird decision for both. But when you look at the structure of each game closely it does start to make more sense.

AntonBlast is a far more linear game. You do every level in the order the game tells you and cannot deviate from the path set before you. Pizza Tower is more open. You’re free to do the levels in any order you want, and you don’t even have to do them all as you only need a few toppings to reach the boss.

Considering AntonBlasts slower more methodical approach, and Pizza towers fast paced kinetic one this does make sense. Pizza Tower does encourage you to play through all the levels for a higher rank, but it also has a rank for finishing it quickly and it has a big speed running emphasis. AntonBlast is more about taking your time and taking everything in, and blowing it up. In a strange way splitting the way collectables work in the way they did makes perfect sense.

It's also, again, something taken from Wario Land 4 that got split between games. Well, sort of. In Wario Land 4 you could only play levels in a linear order, but you could play the four worlds in any order you wanted. So AntonBlast’s structure is more akin to the former, while Pizza Tower is closer to the latter, only swapped since the levels can be played in any order but the worlds are done linearly.

And we aren’t even done talking about the level design. We also have the transformations to talk about. But before we do let’s quickly go over the control and game feel since it ties into the transformations somewhat.

Both games control very well, but both feel different. Pizza Tower is a bit looser; Peppino is a bit lighter and sprier overall with a bit more aerial mobility thanks to his grab also acting as a makeshift double jump if you hold up while doing it.

AntonBlast is heavier and a bit more restrictive. Anton has a lot more weight to his jumps, his attacks feel heavier, and while he can go fast it requires a bit more skill and nuance to do reliably.

Neither approach is bad. If anything they both work perfectly for each, and the controls are snappy and responsive. But neither are perfect. In both games there are instances where it can be easy to lose control.

This is mostly due to how the dashes work in both games. In Pizza Tower Peppino will constantly dash so long as you hold the button down, and if you aren’t careful, it can be very easy to run into a wall. It’s especially bad when running up walls since Peppino will hit the ceiling, fall off, latch onto the wall again and the cycle repeats until you let go of the button.

In AntonBlast the dash button is also used to perform the bounce attack while in the air. Which isn’t too bad most of the time, but when you consider you need to press the dash button repeatedly to build up speed, and the fact it’s very common to dash over ledges, there will be times when you bounce when you never wanted too.

I’m not saying either of these are the fault of the game. When I made these mistakes it was my fault. I never raged at the game being unfair or anything like that, but I will say that they do make it easy to make these mistakes. Rare though they are it can still be annoying when they occur.

I’d say AntonBlast is better in this regard due to its slower pace. Pizza Tower is so fast paced you get lost in the chaos a tad more often. But in terms of the controls both are excellent. They are some of the most satisfying to control platformers I’ve played in a while.

But let’s talk about those transformations. These were a major highlight of the Wario Land games. See in the second and third games Wario couldn’t die, so enemies would instead transform Wario into different states. Some simply got in the way, while others would help you to traverse the levels.

Wario Land 4 kept this idea, but it also brought back the life bar. So transformations were entirely based on getting Wario to places he couldn’t normally reach. This is the approach Pizza Tower and AntonBlast take.

Although Pizza Tower has a much larger emphasis on them. AntonBlast has transformations, but they’re very rare. They’re only in select levels, and even then, are only available in brief segments of those levels. It makes them feel more like a set piece than anything else.

Pizza Tower has them far more regularly. In fact, many of the levels are often cantered around, or at least heavily include a transformation as its core gimmick. It’s a large part of the game’s variety. There’s a lot of them too, from spicy Peppino who can air dash, knight Peppino who is invincible and can double jump and slide down slopes, and shotgun Peppino who just has a fucking gun.

They’re a lot of fun, but the control varies between them. Some are a little trickier than others, but it is intentional. A lot of transformations are Peppino losing control or being hampered in some way, so it makes sense the controls would be a little different.

They take a little getting used to, but the game is smart in how it introduces them to the player. Giving you a brief introduction to let you get used to how it controls. Like any good platformer it naturally introduces it’s mechanics to the player by letting you test them out in a safe easy section, before it then starts testing you on them.

In certain stages you’ll even swap out control of Peppino for another character entirely, Gustavo and his rat friend Brick. These two have a different playstyle than Peppino but have a similar feel. They don’t change the core gameplay; they just give you another way of engaging with it. They’re a fun change of pace and again add to the games variety.

AntonBlast doesn’t have anything like that. There is a second playable character in Annie, but she’s purely a skin and plays the same as Anton. While that might seem like AntonBlast is lacking in variety, at least in comparison, that’s not the case.

It still has transformations to add variety, which are enjoyable if a little gimmickier, but most of its variety comes from the levels themselves. With each having some unique mechanic to interact with.

The levels in AntonBlast do feel a lot more varied because of that. I remember them a lot more vividly because each one brought something new to the table in terms of the level layouts. While Pizza Tower I remember the transformations more than the levels the transformations were in.

You could make the argument that AntonBlast does variety better because of this. But at the same time it isn’t like Pizza Tower is lacking in that regard, and a similar argument could be made that Pizza Tower has better variety because of the transformations, and the Gustav segments.

I can’t say which game has better variety because they both do it well in their own way. Pizza Tower is better when it comes to the transformations, but AntonBlast is better when it comes to the actual levels. Yet again though neither skimps out in the other category, they’re just better in one area.

That’s the thing with this comparison; neither game is really better than the other. They both may focus on certain elements more, but never at the expense of the rest of the game. It’s not like Pizza Tower focuses entirely on speedy skill-based gameplay and skimps out on secrets, or that AntonBlast is so focused on secrets it has no skill based gameplay.

No, they each do both, it’s just that they have a larger focus on one over the other. They understand that different players have different preferences, and they made the game appeal to those different sensibilities. They cater to any fan of platformers.

If you’re a fan of Wario Land in particular, these games will absolutely appeal to you. From their level design, transformations, art styles, and game feel, they have pretty everything a fan of that series could want.

It is strange though isn’t it. How both games are inspired by the same source and yet take different paths from it. The Wario Land 4 influences are apparent but neither game fully encapsulates the entirety of it either.

This isn’t a case where a retro inspired indie game takes direct influence from a classic to the point it borders on plagiarism. This isn’t a Bloodstained situation where it’s so much like Castlevania it doesn’t have much of an identity of its own.

It’s more like the games feel familiar to their influence but know to differentiate themselves from their inspiration. Giving each their own identity. I liken it to the game Gravity Circuit, which is greatly inspired by Mega Man, the Zeros series to be specific, but does something different with the formula to make it its own thing.

These are the kinds of indie retro throwbacks I like. I don’t mind when a game is inspired by something else, everything is let’s be honest, but when a game is so much like it’s inspiration that it’s all I can think of? I’d rather just play the original.

I will say that in terms of which one feels the most Wario like, it’s AntonBlast. In terms of tone, vibe, style, music and even the gameplay it feels the closest to the Wario Land series. Even in small ways like the way the music player looks are taken directly from Wario Land 4.

It also has references and throwbacks to other Wario Land games. There are unlockable colours referencing them, and one of the major mechanics involves jumping into and out of the backgrounds. Something taken from Wario Land on Virtual Boy. The fucking Virtual Boy got a reference in 2024, that’s amazing.

Pizza Tower clearly took inspiration from the gameplay of the Wario Land series, but stylistically it’s a very different beast. There are some traces of Wario in the music, but tone wise and artistically it’s more akin to its other inspirations.

What’s funny again though is how Pizza Tower takes things from other Wario Land too. Its health system is taken from Wario Land 2 and 3, in that it doesn’t have one. As we went over, Peppino cannot die or get hurt, he just loses points. This is identical to how Land 2/3 did it, just replace points with coins.

Meanwhile AntonBlast’s system is a traditional one. Lose all your hit points and start from a checkpoint. Which is how Wario Land 4 handled it, only that one didn’t have checkpoints. AntonBlast improved on that area thank god.

If you were to combine the two it would be the ultimate Wario Land entry, but by splitting up the different elements you end up with two games that embody specific elements of it very well. Fans of Wario Land will likely love both, but depending on your own tastes you might prefer one over the other.

With All that being said, there are areas where one game is clearly superior. For AntonBlast it’s the boss fights. Pizza Tower’s bosses aren’t necessarily bad, but they are the weakest part of the game in my opinion.

Mainly because they don’t play to the game’s strengths. Pizza Tower is at it’s best when you’re blasting through levels at high speeds and destroying everything in your path. Having the bosses be in an enclosed space and having it be more about dodging and waiting for an opening runs counter to that.

The best fights are the second and final bosses, specifically the second form of the final boss, because you get a gun and are allowed to be a bit more offensive. For most of these you need to be defensive, and I don’t think the game works as well when doing that.

I also think the games ranking system doesn’t translate as well to the bosses. To get a high rank you need to defeat the bosses without taking too much damage. It becomes a memory game on learning the enemy patterns. Pizza tower does require you to learn the levels to a degree to get a high ranking, but there is some leniency there. No such lenience exists for the bosses.

You need to learn to dodge them semi-perfectly to get that A rank. Granted you could make an argument that this is a throwback to Wario Land 2 and 3. In those games the boss fights got most of their challenge from avoiding getting hit at all lest you have to return to the fight and start over again.

The problem is I hate the bosses in those games. I thought the design philosophy behind them sucked and they were frustrating to fight. So yeah, even if it’s meant to be a throwback it still sucks.

As I said though, they aren’t bad. They have fun designs and are very creative. I do at least like the character of the bosses and fighting them is fun once you learn the patterns. But a boss should be enjoyable even while you’re learning them, and these ones aren’t in my opinion. They’re the low point of the game.

The bosses in AntonBlast are the high point of it. These guys are great, visually spectacular and a provide a decent challenge without being too frustrating. Each boss is also very different with some having unique mechanics exclusive to that boss.

Theres also more bosses too. 8 overall with four main bosses and four sub bosses. The sub bosses are a bit more focused on dodging the enemy and waiting for an opening, as well as where you’ll see the more unique fights of the game.

I know I just ragged on Pizza tower for having bosses where you had to wait around for an opening, but that was only because that design went against the kind of game it was. In a slower paced game like AntonBlast it works a lot better.

This is also counter acted by the main bosses. Which, while still having a good deal of pattern recognition and dodging, allow you to be a lot more proactive in how you fight them. Leading to a better variety of fights.

It also doesn’t help that the main bosses feel like genuinely epic battles. These guys are huge and are some of the games most visually striking moments. They also have multiple forms too that only increase the insanity.

The final boss fight against Satan though, chef’s kiss, one of the most epic final bosses I’ve seen in a platformer. It uses every one of your abilities, gives you a brand new transformation to play with, let’s you one shot all of the other bosses during it, and provides a great final challenge. It’s absolutely bonkers and I adored every second of it.

The final boss in Pizza Tower was good too and acted as a satisfying conclusion, assuming you don’t count the race in the level right after as a separate level, but Satan just felt like a truly epic, explosive conclusion. Which considering how explosive the rest of the game is, yeah that fits.

The one downside to the bosses is that they do go on longer than necessary. With each one having multiple phases, and each phase can take a while to finish off.

This is the case in both games though, and Pizza Tower once again is weaker. Mainly because the two phases for each boss are practically identical in terms of the attacks. The only difference being the second phase is slightly harder than the first.

I wouldn’t mind this except each boss takes six hits to kill, in both phases. They could have at least shortened it to four to make them a bit snappier. The final boss is at least better in this regard because it’s phases are very different, but it’s the only boss like this.

AntonBlast has each phase of the bosses feel substantially different. And while they are long, they also have a great sense of escalation; getting more and more insane as they go on. I still think they drag a bit but never to the point they never outstay they’re welcome.

But while Pizza Tower is weaker in terms of the boss fights, it is much stronger when it comes to replay value. That much should be obvious; the game is built around a ranking system and any game with that is also going to have stronger replayability. Even if you don’t care for it, a well implemented ranking system can encourage players to try again to get a better ranking. Just ask Devil May Cry.

But I’m not just talking about the ranking system. Even outside of that Pizza Tower is a more replayable. For one the shorter levels make it easier to jump back into. I find shorter games have a higher replay value due to their faster pacing. It’s why Sonic always had a higher replay value than Mario.

There are also additional challenges you can do in each level. These are essentially achievements, but they are required for 100%. They’re difficult to do, and thankfully you don’t need them to get a high percentage ranking, but they provide an additional challenge for those who want to do it.

The way you unlock costumes is also more interesting in Pizza Tower. AntonBlast has a ton of unlockable colours, on top of some other cool toys to play with. The colours are gotten either by finding a spray can in a level or buying them in the games store with the poker chips you collect.

I don’t mind the collecting aspect of this. As a matter of fact, going back and finding the collectables is one of the better ways that game adds replayability. The problem is trying to get all the colours require a lot of chips, which means one thing and thing alone. Grinding, copious amounts of grinding.

Granted the colours are optional, but it’s still a tedious process to get them all. You could try doing the optional combo and time trials to help with this, except you don’t get as much out of them since you’re encouraged to avoid going for the big caches in those since they’re hidden in out of the way rooms.

I just don’t find going for the colours that fun after a while. Meanwhile Pizza Tower has you unlock things simply by playing the game. By completing certain quota’s you’ll unlock a new costume for Peppino. Yes, there’s fewer of them than in AntonBlast, but the process of getting them is far more engaging.

Then there’s the fact that Pizza Tower has an entire second campaign to play through. When you beat the game, you unlock an entire new with The Noise, one of the games more memorable bosses, who has a different playstyle and way of getting through the levels.

He’s like the Luigi of the game and he’s really fun. I haven’t played through the whole game with him yet, but what I have played was enjoyable and offered a different experience than the main game.

AntonBlast doesn’t have a similar equivalent. It does have two characters to play as, but they both play the same and are essentially just skins. There is a third character named Paul that you can unlock that is a little different though.

You get him by finding him in all the levels. It sounds simple enough, but he is ridiculously well hidden. The only way you’ll find some of these is through a guide or dumb luck they’re that hard to find. I haven’t even gotten him yet because the last one is a massive pain in the ass! Hate that one it’s so frustrating.

To be fair, AntonBlast does have the optional time trials and combo challenges to do. Which do give the game more content, but unless you’re into those already I doubt you’ll give them a shot. Beyond an initial run out of curiosity.

I should note that the Noise campaign was not originally in Pizza Tower. It was added in later in a free update, while AntonBlast has only just released with more content planned for later down the line. I have no clue as of this writing whether that content will change that, so this part might be outdated by the time you read this.

Even if it does though, I’d still say Pizza Tower takes replay value. Not only does it have that ranking system to encourage you to get better, but I also don’t find it as exhausting to play. AntonBlast is a great time, but its long levels do wear me out after a bit. I could usually get through 2-3 levels before I had to check out. It’s exhausting, and that does diminish my want to go back to it.

Make no mistake I will go back to it one day, just not for a while. But Pizza Tower is one I already want to jump back into. Which is probably why, while both games are excellent, I do think overall Pizza Tower is the better game.

AntonBlast is phenomenal. Its level design is top notch and it’s got style for days. I don’t deny it’s a great game with a lot to offer, but replay value is important to me and I don’t think AntonBlast is all that replayable in comparison.

Pizza Tower on the other hand does everything I just mentioned but has way better replayability. The shorter levels, the ranking system and the additional campaign make it a game that’s fun to go back to. A quick snappy experience I can fire up and blast through every now and then.

Yes, there are places where it isn’t as good like the bosses, but those are relatively minor things and even those aren’t that bad. These two games are so good and embody everything I loved about Wario Land while doing their own unique thing, but because of its higher replay value I have to give the edge to Pizza Tower.

It’s a slim victory though. Both games are so close to each other in terms of quality that I can easily recommend them both. Neither are perfect, beyond the individual faults I went over I think both games end with their weakest level. They’re a massive difficulty spike and not as strong as what came before them. Also, that final Paul is dumb, like stupidly difficult to get and I hate him.

But if you’re a platformer fan these are an easy recommendation. For Wario Land fans especially they’re a must buy. There’s a lot of great indie platformers out there, but these two stand out with they’re tight design, fun gameplay and manic stylistic senses.

If you haven’t picked them up yet, do it now. They’re only on Switch and PC right now, and I will say get the PC versions if you can, if only for the mods and better performance. The Switch ports aren’t bad at all though, so if you can only play it on that or you just want them on there then go for it.

What’s great is that both games are already super popular. Anton blast has already recouped its cost, and Pizza Tower has several more games that take inspiration from it. So, we have a game inspired by Wario Land that is itself inspiring others. Considering Wario’s origin that’s probably the most fitting way this could end.