Back in 2003, Nintendo released the first Wario Ware microgame compilation. It was so odd – sometimes gross and always a lot of fun. Since then, we have seen Wario Ware games on every Nintendo platform, and now the Wii is no exception. While on the GBA you were just hitting a button here or a d-pad there, we moved onto the DS where we could use the stylus and ‘touch’. Needless to say, this was one of the more anticipated games to come out – the big questions were how would the Wii mote be used in the game and would it be fun? We’re here to answer those questions for you today.
The premise of the game is that Wario’s breakfast was taken from him and Wario decides to go after the thief, which leads to an old shack on the “other side of town.” The shack was apparently some sort of special temple with a treasure called a form baton – which looks very much like a Wii mote. Go figure. Once Wario picks up the baton, he has to run, Raiders of the Lost Ark style, out of that place.
At this time, the microgames begin in story mode. While everyone has heard of mini-games, which are pseudo-side quests that don’t really change the outcome of the main game – microgames are a little different. They are over in seconds and you either pass or fail the microgame. You have four chances to fail in each level in story mode before the game ends.
The difference between the older microgame collections and this collection in the Wii is that you’re holding the controller differently for each microgame. The voiceover introduction is hysterical for each mode. He is reminiscent of the “Deep Thoughts” guy. The first way to hold the “form baton” (as the Wiimote is called) is “Remote Control” which is probably what you would consider the ‘normal’ position. As you progress through the game, you’ll see “the Umbrella” in which you hold the controller vertically, “The Waiter” in which you hold the wiimote like you are serving a plate at a restaurant, The Elephant where you need to hold the controller off your nose, and many more. The names are laugh out loud funny, especially when you see how you have to hold the controller.
The game levels start out rather slow, giving you time to readjust the controller (they’ll tell you how to hold the controller before each microgame). You’ll then receive a one or two word instruction “shave,” “pick (as in your nose),” “shoot” and so forth. Most of the games are pretty straight forward. You can figure out that you have to shave the guy with the razor by using the Wiimote as your razor. After 10 or 15 microgames, depending on the level, you’ll then face a boss stage which usually lasts a little longer than a regular game. After you clear the boss stage, you’ll then unlock another few levels which you then play and so forth.
Each level is nicely done with an introduction – although the intros can be a little weird. Take the disco dancing guy who is a pied piper for cats and dogs apparently. Fun to watch and fun to look at – the kids will love it.
My personal favorite level is of course the video game level where there are two characters that break an old school Game & Watch console. So the guy that broke it goes to the classic video game store, and you have to play classic video game microgames in order to get a new Game & Watch to give to your friend. The games start at the Game Cube (fishing in Animal Crossing, landing on a pad from Zelda), and go back to old NES classics like the original Super Mario games. The microgames are so much fun, you almost wish they would have allowed you to unlock the original games as a bonus feature!
