Wario, having discovered that videogames are profitable, has started a company and made a game of his own, and this is the result: 200 very short, very unusual microgames. I've never seen a game quite like this one, it's really out there. Is it still within the realm of playability, or has Nintendo gone too far? Read on and find out!
Now, if you're thinking this is kind of like Mario Party only portable and with nearly as many mini-games as all four Parties combined, think again. In fact, Wario Ware has very little in common with Mario Party. Both titles center around arrays of smaller games, but that's as far as the similarities go. Wario Ware has no board, its games are much shorter than Mario Party's, and those games are just not the kind you'd expect to find in Mario Party. In fact, I've toyed with the notion that the games in Wario Ware were originally rejects from Mario Party brainstorming sessions. These differences are not necessary bad, unless of course you want to play Mario Party.
In any case, I'll be scoring each field on a scale of 1-10, 10 being best. Let's see how Wario Ware fares, shall we?
Graphics: 6
Sort of a mixed bag here. Some of the microgames, as well as the cutscenes, have very nice graphics. For example, one game features a realistic-looking cat, while another features a delicious-looking cake. Some games don't look so good, but aren't supposed to. For example, there is a microgame based on Super Mario Bros., and the graphics look just like you remember them, not updated for the GBA. Some other games, however, look bad for no particular reason. One game consists of nothing more than a vertex (two lines connected at a point) and some weird character that looks vaguely like a duck. The graphics are never terrible, I'd say, because many of the outdated graphics either serve a point (old-school) or look funny. Nevertheless, this game is certainly not the best as far as visuals are concerned. I give it a slightly above average score overall.
Music: 9
This is a difficult category to judge because you only hear a few seconds worth of music in each microgame, hardly enough to really get into it. But most of the music is cute or fitting, and tunes don't seem to be shared between two many games; Nintendo didn't skimp on the music just because you don't hear it much. The music between games is also rather nice, no complaints there.
One thing I dislike about the music is that, in some stages (I'll explain stages later), the stage music plays through the microgames as well. That means you don't get to hear those microgames' music while playing in those stages. The music in these stages tends to be especially good, but even so I prefer the microgames' music.
Another problem is that, the faster the games get, the faster and higher the music gets. At first this is perfectly fine, but eventually the music gets so high as to be unrecognizable, and annoyingly fast as well. True, the faster music does add to the faster microgames, but I think there should be some sort of cap on the music speed and pitch so it remains enjoyable.
Story: 4
There's some background given for why Wario has made a game, but there's no obvious reason why you're trying to play through his microgames. You don't seem to be Wario's enemy, and it doesn't look as though you stand to gain anything. You don't even get a salary for testing his games.
Although the overall story is weak, each stage has a little story of its own. For example, in one stage one of Wario's programmers is speeding to work to avoid being late, and is now being chased by the police. Each time you complete a microgame in this stage, you'll throw a banana peel at the patrol cars. Fail too many games, however, and you'll run out of bananas and get caught. Not the best story by any means, but it's humorous and decent enough for this kind of game.
Characters: 1
Ok, so I know who Wario is, but who are these so-called friends of his? Since when does Wario have friends anyway? Wario is the only familiar character aside from a few that make cameos in the NES microgames, such as Mario, Link, and Samus. Actually, Mario does make a few appearances in some other games. Still, it's not like the characters make much difference, seeing as how there are only a few cut scenes and those have nothing to do with the microgames.
Control: 10
I've never had a problem with the control in this game, but that's probably because no microgame requires more than the control pad and A button. Seriously, the games are that simple.
Microgames: 8
The heart of the game's right here, even moreso than in Mario Party since there's no boardgame or anything like that. It's hard to lump them all into the same category, however, because there are so many different kinds of games.
Some games are so simple that, with
a little luck, you can win without pressing any buttons.
Some games are complicated enough that
it will take you several tries to figure out what you're supposed to be
doing. (Execution, however, is rarely a problem on low difficulty and speed.)
Some games will make you wonder what
Nintendo was thinking.
Some games will make you want to dig
out the ol' NES.
Some games will make you think of normal
household activities in a new way.
Some games are bordering on disgusting.
And some games are in a category of
their own.
The games do, however, share several factors in common. First, nearly every game lasts for five seconds or less; the holdouts are a few mental challenges that provide some more time and the nine boss games found at the end of each stage, which are longer and have no time limit. Second, the objective of each game can be described in two words at most, and you will need only the control pad and A button to achieve it. Third, each game has three levels of difficulty, in addition to the difficulty added by increases in speed. Finally, none of these games can really be called normal.
Frankly, I found myself amused by all these games. Nintendo really came up with a ton of crazy ideas... or 200, at least. The difficulty levels add a lot because they can really change how you'll need to go about the game. One thing I don't like is that the games are so simple that many of them are almost identical. For example, a huge number of games boil down to pressing a button at the right time, say when an onscreen bar is in the red zone or just as the duck is flying past. This can make it feel as though there are far less than 200 games. Still, there's only so much you can do with the control pad and A button, and if you add in more buttons you'll be making the games much more complicated. This wouldn't mesh well with Wario Ware's formula of simplicity and speed.
Gameplay: I will divide the game into its various modes and judge each one. Some of these categories must be unlocked and could be called secret, but they're not hard to find so hopefully you won't think I'm spoiling anything.
Stage Mode: 9
You'll start with this mode, in which you advance through stages, clearing the games made by Wario's programmers and finally those of Wario Ware's president himself. In each stage you'll have to get through a certain number of microgames, be it 10, 15, 20, or 25 (depending on the stage), randomly ordered. The more games you clear, the faster they become, meaning you'll have less time to complete each game and everything in the game (including you) will move more quickly. If you fail a microgame you'll move on to the next, but not without losing one of your four continues: lose all four and the game is over and you'll need to start that stage again. If you make it to the end of the stage you'll face a longer, non-random boss game, which you must pass to clear the stage. Then you can move on to the next one!
After you've cleared a stage, you can challenge it again whenever you like. This time, however, the stage won't stop after you've completed a certain number of games. For example, if the stage previously required that you pass 10 microgames, after you pass the 10th you'll get a level up, meaning the games will become more difficult. You'll also get an extra continue each time you pass the boss game, though Wario Ware won't let you have more than four. The idea is to get through as many games as you can.
Stage Mode can probably be considered the most important mode because it's the one you must play first and unlocks many of the other modes. Stage Mode is also the only way to unlock new microgames; games become unlocked for use in other modes when they come up randomly in Stage Mode. This is also the mode in which the games are the best themed. For example, Jimmy's stage features sport games while Crygor's stage features realistic games (sorta). Not all games fit in with their supposed theme, though, and the boss games often stand out for some reason. Why is the boss game for the NES stage about hammering a nail while the mental boss game looks like some kind of old RPG? I can't say. Still, this is my favorite mode in the game, especially the two remix stages. The best thing would be if there was a mode just like Stage Mode but with all the games included, sort of like a mega remix stage. Sorry, no such luck, at least as far as I've unlocked.
Grid Mode: 3
You can practice the microgames you've unlocked here. You can finally find out each game's real name, and you can also read the instructions. That's quite useful because there are a few games that I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to be doing. You can also try to beat the game's target score by beating that microgame however many times before failing four times. If you reach the target I guess you can consider yourself a master of that microgame, but so far I haven't earned anything for mastering games.
The instructions can be useful, and I don't mind the option of seeing how far you can go on invididual games, but as the modes go this is fairly boring, in part because it lacks the spontaneity involved in not knowing what the next game will be. It's also not a great practice mode because it cycles through the game's three difficulty levels. When you select the game, you'll first play it on level one, then, win or lose, it will go to level two, then level three, and then back to level one. But whenever it returns to level one, the speed increases, so it's harder than before. If you failed the first game, you'll probably fail all the rest because they'll be harder and faster. A better practice mode would let you choose the level and speed you want, or at the least wouldn't get harder until you pass at the current difficulty.
Easy Mode: 7
You unlock this by clearing Wario's stage. All games here are at level one difficulty and the speed is the lowest it can get, so this is the easiest mode in the game. You've got four continues and the goal is to clear as many games as you can. There's no way to get extra tries, however, so you must guard each continue carefully. How far can you get? Right now my best score is 116.
I like this mode because it doesn't add any difficulty on top of that offered by the microgames already, but it's less exciting than some of the other modes because the speed doesn't increase. As a result, I prefer Stage Mode's remix stages.
Total Boss Mode: 2
This gets unlocked along with Easy Mode. As the name suggests, you'll only be seeing the nine boss games here. You have four continues, and the speed picks up with each success. If you fail a game, you'll have to play it again, just like when you fail a boss game in Stage Mode. Some of the boss games are fun, but they're much longer than the other microgames and so there tends to be less excitement in this mode. There's also less spontaneity because the order is fixed, so you'll know what's coming next. So far as I can tell, there's nothing for you to unlock here either. Therefore, when I feel the need for boss games, I prefer Grid Mode.
Thrilling Mode: 6
You'll be able to play this once you've cleared 15 games in Easy Mode. This time around, all the games will be at their hardest level of difficulty. Even worse, you have no continues, and no way to earn any. Needless to say, your game is likely to be shortlived when you're playing this mode. It's an excellent challenge, though, and has a lot of excitement. You might want to use Grid Mode to master a bunch of games before playing here if you wish to pass more than three at a time.
Hard Mode: 4
But if you thought Thrilling Mode was hard, think again. You'll unlock Hard Mode if you can get through 15 Thrilling games, not an easy feat, mind you. This time, the games are back on their easiest level of difficulty, but the speed is at the highest it can go. The result is this frantic mode which, believe it or not, is more difficult than Thrilling. You'll probably get further along since you have four continues, but each individual microgame will be a challenge. Good luck! But with nothing to be earned through this mode, so far as I can tell, it's not worth the headache of trying to clear those super-fast games...
Overall Gameplay: 9
Before buying this game, I was concerned that playing it would have the same result as slamming my head into a wall. In other words, I figured the fast pace would be certain to give me a headache. Well, you'll still get one if you play too long, but just about any game has that problem. Anyway, if you've been playing long enough to get a headache then you're probably hooked and won't care.
I didn't care much for several of the modes, as you can see above, but the fact you can play any mode of your choice once you've cleared Stage Mode (which does not take long) raises the gameplay score considerably. Basically, you'll be able to choose the kind of games you want, the difficulty you want, and the speed you want. Not too shabby. Really all that's missing is a mega remix stage just like the two smaller ones in Stage Mode, and maybe some other mode where you can handpick the games you'd like to appear. Of course, it would take a while to go through all the games, so maybe that's not really a great idea after all.
Difficulty: 10
At the lowest speed and difficulty, the microgames are so simple that just about everyone ought to be able to pass them once they figure out the rules. Grid Mode can be used to help figure out the rules, if necessary. At the same time, the games become quite difficult on higher difficulties and speeds, enough to be a challenge no matter how skilled you are. The result is that somewhere in here you should find the challenge is just right for you. No complaints here.
Lastability: 2
There are 200 games in here, but most last five seconds or fewer. This means that you could have played nearly all the games in just two or three hours, barring some that won't have come up in Stage Mode yet and probably are not worth agonizing over. The game has several modes, as previously discussed, but they all include the same games, all of which you'll have played many times before too long. This game is essentially one-player; the handful of two-player games are likely to add little (think of how much the two-player games add to Yoshi's Island). The longer, unlockable one-player games also add little, though Dr. Wario is just like the NES version of Dr. Mario and is quite enjoyable if you haven't played the original.
Soon, however, the novelty of these strange microgames will ware off, and you'll be left with little reason to play except for an occassional bout of excitement. This isn't really Nintendo's fault, though, it's just part of the package when you have lots of really short, really funny games. Probably the best solution is to make Mario Party Advance instead.
Fun Factor!: 9
This is an excellent game in the short term. You've got excitement, thrills, humor, and an experience like none other. Really, I feel this game should not be missed if you have a Gameboy Advance. However, because the game can be completed so quickly and doesn't have a lot of staying power, I don't think it's worth 30 bucks. Instead, a weekend rent ought to be enough for you to get through the game and experience just about everything it has to offer. You'll miss a few things, sure, but unless you still love the game after a few days of playing the rest probably isn't worth the difference in price.
I would like to offer one precaution, however. If you're a fan of Mario Party and plan to be in the future (Mario Party 5 is coming out by the end of the year), you may want to hold off playing Wario Ware. Wario Ware's pace may cause Mario Party to seem painfully long and slow. After all, a Mario Party game often takes up a whole minute, or even more! You could have played a dozen microgames by then, and that doesn't even take into consideration how long each round of the boardgame lasts...
In short, I think this is a great game to rent once or twice, as it is great in the first few days. It doesn't take long for Wario Ware to sour, however, so beware of purchasing this unusual title. Whoever at Nintendo thought this up either needs to be promoted or sacked. You decide which.
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