Wario Land: Shake It! is a side-scrolling platformer starring the greedy antihero Wario. The adventure begins when the treasure hunter Captain Syrup breaks into a museum and examines an ancient globe that holds a hidden realm known as the Shake Dimension. Peering inside, she witnesses a crisis unfolding: the tyrannical Shake King has seized power, imprisoning the benevolent Queen Merelda and her tiny Merfle subjects, and claiming the legendary Bottomless Coin Sack, a magical pouch that pours out an endless stream of coins when shaken. Scheming to profit, Syrup steals the globe and mails it to Wario, insisting the real treasure lies within. When one of the escaped Merfles emerges and pleads for help, Wario shows no interest until he hears of the Bottomless Coin Sack. Lured by the promise of infinite riches, the money-obsessed Wario follows the Merfle into the Shake Dimension to seize the prize and, almost incidentally, confront the Shake King's reign.