Jacob Nash
Warioware? Wario Anywhere!
Warioware Gold and Warioware: Get It Together!
There are video games, there are minigames, which are smaller games within games, but what would happen if we went even smaller? The Warioware series is built around a strangely brilliant concept: microgames. While minigames can last anywhere from twenty seconds to a minute, microgames give players five seconds to figure out the objective and complete it. The gameplay is simple, as you’ll only need to use the + control pad and the A button for most of the microgames. Warioware games feature dozens of different microgames ranging from “move an umbrella to shield a cat from the rain” to “catch a glass before it slides off of the table” to the series mainstay, “stick the finger in the nose.”
If you run out of time or outright fail the objective, you lose a life. You have four lives to get the highest score possible, and the more microgames you successfully beat, the harder and faster they get. Each game in the series tries a different approach to this formula, and I’ll be looking at the two most recent entries today.
Warioware Gold
Why I Bought It: I started playing the Warioware series with Warioware Smooth Moves on the Wii. I missed out on prior Warioware games, so I was excited to find that the 3DS had a Warioware game that served as a compilation of the best microgames from the series.
What Took Me So Long: Warioware is a game that one needs to be in the mood for. It’s fast-paced, zany, and requires more careful thinking than you’d expect. It’s not always something I can just pick up and play, and that goes for Get It Together as well.
My Experience: With over 300 microgames, Warioware Gold is a celebration of more than a decade’s worth of chaos. There are three tutorial levels to show off the game’s three main control schemes. The Mash League has standard microgames which use the + control pad, the A button, or both. The Twist League is full of microgames that are controlled by tilting the 3DS left and right. This league also has some reworked microgames from Warioware Smooth Moves, which used the Wii’s motion controls for its gameplay. Last but not least is the Touch League; the microgames found here are played using the 3DS’s touch screen.
The story of Warioware Gold has you going through a video game tournament hosted by Wario. This is a thinly-veiled get-rich-quick scheme, as Wario takes the credit for the effort his friends put into making the microgames. You’ll get to meet this game’s cast of eclectic characters as you play through their games. These guys have appeared in past Warioware titles, but this game’s inclusion of cutscenes with full voice acting gives all of the characters much more charm. After clearing the main stages, you’ll unlock the Ultra League, which scrambles old and new microgame types together. There are microgames which use the 3DS’s microphone to control, as well as pop-up microgames, which only last a mere three seconds! Warioware Gold throws everything, even the kitchen sink, into the gold standard of microgame action. If this was the last Warioware game ever made, then it would be a spectacular sendoff. Thankfully it isn’t, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Warioware: Get It Together!
Why I Bought It: Warioware: Get It Together was a Christmas gift. Other Switch games I got around the same time took priority.
My Experience: The most recent game in the Warioware series provides a shake-up to the gameplay. Instead of playing each microgame directly, you take control of three characters. One of the three is randomly selected for each microgame. Every microgame in Get It Together is designed so that any of the twenty playable characters can beat it.
Progressing through the game yields more characters. Some characters run and jump while others can fly around anywhere on the screen. Some characters move automatically while others can’t move at all, instead using projectiles. This means that while microgame objectives stay the same, the way to complete them may vary depending on your character. On top of that, this game allows two players to work together to complete microgames.
Summary: Warioware is loads of fun in short bursts. The main story for each game can be completed in a day, but competing for high scores is where the replayability comes in. Handhelds are where the Warioware series thrives, making the 3DS a perfect fit for Gold, the ultimate collection of classic microgames. The Switch’s hybrid model ensures that Get It Together is fun in the same way. You can play it on the tv or on the go, alone or with a friend. I couldn’t recommend these games enough, especially if you fancy wacky scenarios and fast-paced gameplay. Both of these games are available to buy physically, but Gold requires some searching on the secondhand market. Get It Together can also be purchased digitally.
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