Wario Land II

Wario Land II made a radical, brave game design choice: Wario couldn't die. Every hit transformed him into something useful: fire made him run aflame (to break walls), a bee sting inflated him (to float upward), being crushed flattened him (to pass under low passages). Transformations were key to solving environmental puzzles. The non-linear structure with secret paths and multiple endings (5 different endings) guaranteed enormous replayability. One of the last great original Game Boy games and among the first also available in Game Boy Color version.