Well I got a DSi last weekend, and as a big fan of the WarioWare series, one of the first things I did was use my free points to download WarioWare Snapped. So in honor of this occasion, here’s a tribute blog of all things WarioWare. I think I probably did this kind of blog before when the Wii WarioWare game was released, but that was more than two years ago so we’ll revisit this again.

The ‘story’ in most WarioWare games is that Wario wants to make quick cash making video games. So he ‘hires’ (cons) a few of his buddies to make games for him. And since Wario’s also lazy, these games are just a few seconds long, and require you to do something simple in that time, like push a button or move somewhere. The trick is to figure out what to do in the short time before quickly moving on to the next game. It’s a pretty ingenious style of gameplay, and in my opinion, besides Animal Crossing, the WarioWare games are some of Nintendo’s best new properties. So let’s take a quick look at each game in the series.

WarioWare: Mega Microgame$
The very first game came out on the Game Boy Advance in 2003, and created the basic groundwork for the series. You just used the D-pad and buttons in the first game, so the control wasn’t as creative as in later installments. But it was the first game so the core gameplay was the creative part. I loved this game so much that I think I named it my Game of the Year for 2003. I loved the extra games you could unlock, especially the ones based on classic Nintendo games like Wario Sherriff (from the old black & white arcade game Sherriff), and Dr. Wario, a full-fledged Dr. Mario puzzle game!

WarioWare: Mega Party Game$
Shortly after, they made a WarioWare game on the GameCube. It was just a repackaged version of the GBA game, so it got a lot of bad reviews for that. But I still really liked it because the new multiplayer games based on the WarioWare micro games were so much fun! Way better than the multiplayer games in Smooth Moves! When my little brothers played this game together, I never heard them laugh so hard and so long! The other thing I liked about the GameCube version was it was very inexpensive. Only 30 bucks at launch and the price came down even lower soon after. So I don’t think it’s a bad game at all!

WarioWare: Touched!
Starting with this game, every WarioWare game after that used some kind of new play control scheme or gimmick to play mini games with. And Touched came out soon after the DS launched, so it showed off the capabilities of the DS with mini games using the stylus and touch screen, and blowing into the microphone. Touched also had a bunch of unlockable ‘toys’ that used the DS’ touch screen and microphone to show what the DS could do. It was pretty creative and one of the first really good DS games.

WarioWare: Twisted!
In Japan, Twisted actually came out before Touched, but in the US, we got Touched first to promote the new DS system. But Twisted was on the GBA again, and came with a special motion sensor in the cartridge, so you would twist the GBA around like a dial to play the mini games. It makes me wonder if this was a testing ground for the upcoming Wii system?

WarioWare: Smooth Moves
And speaking of which, the next WarioWare game was on the Wii, and used the Wii remote to play mini games. They used the motion controls and pointer. I liked the ones that used the Wii remote speaker and you would have to pick up the remote like a phone! WarioWare: Smooth Moves was one of the first Wii games I was looking forward to.

WarioWare: Snapped!
And this is the newest in the series, and it shows off what the DSi can do. Wario has just opened a theme park with four roller coasters, and he’s out to make cash on them! Four of his friends come to help: Mona, Jimmy T. and Kat & Ana. WarioWare Snapped is a lot like the Eye Toy games for the PS2. In fact, it even has the same disadvantages in that you have to be in proper lighting for it to work. Luckily with a portable system, you can MOVE to better lighting, whereas in the PS2 Eye Toy, you had to move the camera, PS2, AND TV to a better spot.

Anyway, the game first takes a snapshot of your head and hand for recognition, and in the mini games you must move your hand and hands around to play. You may have to catch falling hats with your head, or lean left and right to get kissed on the cheek. The funny thing is what happens after you play a set of games. It shows you pictures of what you looked like while you were playing! It kind of ties in the roller coaster theme because you know how they take your pictures while on a roller coaster and then you can see yourself when you get off?

The only big problem with WarioWare: Snapped is it’s not much of a game. There’s no penalty if you lose a game, it just doesn’t show your picture at the end. It’s really more of a toy to play with and show your friends and laugh at everybody and move on. Normally I would mark off points for that, but you know, the game is only 500 points to download, and if you bought a DSi and got the free 1,000 Nintendo Points, you’re basically getting it for free. And as a fun little thing to play on your new DSi, that’s not a bad price. It’s too bad that 9-Volt isn’t in the game, though. I would’ve loved to have camera versions of classic NES games!

WarioWare Weirdness
There are some other games out there that feature some WarioWare love. One is Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Wario is a playable character, and dons his WarioWare biker garb (he also has his original clothes as an alternate outfit). His attacks are pretty crazy, too, and he even rides his Wario Bike from the game (also in Wii Mario Kart). There’s even a WarioWare stage to battle on in Brawl, and it captures the spirit of the WarioWare games perfectly. Every so often, a command pops up on screen, and you are warped to one of the mini games from the original WarioWare. And if you successfully complete the game while battling, you’ll get an advantage like invincibility for a while. Songs from the games play in the background of that stage, too. It’s one of my favorite Brawl levels.

Coming soon in Japan is a new WarioWare game that lets you design your own mini games! I think it’ll be fore WiiWare and DSiWare. Sounds pretty interesting. I wonder if it’ll come out over here in the US?

Rhythm Heaven
This new DS game that just came out isn’t part of the WarioWare series, but it’s made by the same people and has a lot of similarities. The quirky cartoon art style, the short mini-games, etc. But this is a rhythm game where you have to tap and flick the stylus with the beat of the music. And unfortunately, I think I’m the only person in the world (or at least on the Internet) who DOESN’T like this game. I just don’t like the controls. Mainly the flicking motion you have to do. It never works for me. You have to flick too fast and too hard. I’ve played DS games before with flicking motions that work so much better. So yeah, in my opinion, Rhythm Heaven kind of sucks.

WarioWare Characters
Aside from the great mini games, the other big thing I like about WarioWare games are the characters. They’re a lot of fun. I think it would be neat if there were a WarioWare TV cartoon with all the cast. Granted, the cartoon probably wouldn’t make any SENSE, but it would be fun. What do you think? Anyway, here are all the characters in the games.

Wario
Well we all know him, so no need for an introduction. I will say that one of the reasons why Wario is cooler than Mario is because Wario can pull off wearing a biker outfit and still be Wario. I bet that wouldn’t work for Mario! In some games, Wario turns into Wario Man for the last level, a superhero version of himself. He usually turns into Wario Man by eating garlic.

Mona
She’s a cute girl who has a different part-time job in each game! I think she may have more jobs than Mario! Let’s see if I can name all the jobs she’s had: ice cream store clerk, pizza delivery, rock band player, cheerleader, dumpling stand clerk, roller coaster operator, and game maker. She’s always in a hurry, probably because she has too many jobs! Nintendo also can’t decide what age she is. Some games say she’s a college student, other games say she’s a high school student. I think college fits her character better, though. In a couple of the games, they’ve also hinted that she’s got a crush on Wario, which is pretty disgusting! Oh well, Mona’s still one of my favorite WarioWare characters.

Jimmy T.
Awww, yeah. He’s a disco dancing, afro wearing dude who looks like he’s stuck in the 70’s. Jimmy loves to hang out at the dance club and in one game, his whole family joined him. Jimmy T. also has a twin double named Jimmy P.

Dribble and Spitz
Dribble is a big, tough and gruff bulldog taxi driver and Spitz is his little yellow feline pal taxi partner. They drive a taxi in Diamond City (where the WarioWare games take place). They usually have pretty weird customers, and they almost always forget to collect their fare! Their taxi can go just about anywhere, even outer space! Dribble and Spitz are little brother Jeff’s favorite WarioWare characters. I sometimes play as Spitz in the multiplayer games on Mega Party Game$.

Kat & Ana
Can you get the joke in their names? They’re kindergarten ninja girls, and they love plants and animals and nature. They kind of remind me of the PowerPuff Girls. They’re an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and can help you fight. They’re also one of my favorite characters, too.

Ashley & Red
Ashley is a little girl witch who is a lot like Wednesday from the Addams family. She lives in a haunted mansion and has her own theme song with lyrics! She’s not afraid of anything, but her hapless little devil pal Red is scared of everything and is usually the guinea pig in Ashley’s latest spells.

Dr. Crygor
He’s a cyborg mad scientist who comes up with crazy inventions. He even merged himself with an apple one time. He also invented a washing machine that turned Wario into Wario Man in one game.

Mike
He’s one of Dr. Crygor’s inventions, a karaoke robot. He hosts the microphone mini games on the DS Wario Ware Touched game. He also has his own theme song.

Penny
She’s a cute girl who is Dr. Crygor’s granddaughter. She’s an accomplished inventor, too, but not as crazy as her granddad. She’s a pretty new character, first appearing in the Wii game.

Young Cricket and Master Mantis
These are also new characters from the Wii game. Young Cricket is a kung fu martial artist and Master Mantis is his elderly sensei. They don’t seem very interesting, but they’ve only been in one game, so we’ll see if we hear from them again.

Orbulon
He’s an alien with a head shaped like a bowling pin. He’s pretty weird, as aliens go. And that’s about all there is to it.

9-Volt
He’s my favorite WarioWare character. He’s an elementary school kid who loves Nintendo games. In fact, his mini games he hosts are my favorite because they’re based on classic Nintendo properties. I’m always looking forward to seeing which Nintendo games they spoof in his section of each WarioWare game. I also like 9-Volt because he character is making fun of Nintendo fanboys in general. Which means, in a way, his character is making fun of me! But hey, I can take a joke, too!

18-Volt
He’s 9-Volt’s best friend and they like to play Nintendo together. 18-Volt reminds me of one of my best friends because when we were kids, we liked to do that, too. 18-Volt also reminds me of my friend because he’s much bigger than 9-Volt, and my friend was much bigger than me!

Fronks and Pyoro
Fronks are these little blockhead guys who appear in some of the mini-games. Pyoro is a bird with a long tongue who gets his own game to unlock in each WarioWare game.

And that’s all I feel like talking about regarding WarioWare right now. What are your favorite WarioWare games and characters? –Cary

Tags: Misc