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WarioWare, Inc: Minigame Mania Review Mini

by Daan Koopman - April 10, 2014, 6:42 am EDT
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Join Wario and crew for their first ever collection of hilarious microgames!

WarioWare is one of those franchises I always liked, despite the array of weird directions they have taken. Every series does have its humble beginnings though and for WarioWare that was May 2003. I spent many hours over the summer playing WarioWare, Inc.: Minigame Mania and tried every time to improve my high scores. Now, 11 years later, I played the title to its conclusion once more and was not disappointed with my findings.

If you never played a WarioWare game before, you are in for a surprisingly fun ride. You tackle various stages and filled with wacky microgames, which each take only a few moments to complete. Screw it up four times and it is all over for you and the final tally will be shown. The microgames are controlled with either the Control Stick or the D-Pad together with the A-button. It works quite fine on the Wii U GamePad and the Pro Controller, which alleviated some of my early fears of this version.

The rows of minigames are not the only fun found to be found, as there are a bunch of endless games too. These will unlock when certain conditions are met and it is here where the true high score challenge starts. There are also four two player minigames and in the original you would be both holding onto on the shoulder buttons of the GBA. While you can still do that with the GamePad, each player can also use their own controller and play the game on the TV.

WarioWare is somewhat short. You can easily see everything in just a few hours and never return to it ever again. The game requires replaying content to see the true value of it, which was a formula that worked better on a handheld. You had the game always with you and made it easy to boot it up for a few short, cheerful moments. Some slight charm is lost in that transition from handheld to console game. That being, it is hard to not to smile at the weird situations you are presented with. The characters each have their themes and are bold and colorfully represented. WarioWare looks sharp on the Wii U due to added lighting, which developer M2 cleverly implemented.

WarioWare, Inc: Minigame Mania is still a fun game through and through, but it is quite limited in what it has to offer. For players don't enjoy going for high scores and challenging themselves, the game will provide around three hours of entertainment. Endless games like Paper Plane and Skating Board are quite addictive, even if they were meant for on-the-go action. Despite some fun being lost in translation, I found pleasure in WarioWare and it brought constant smiles to my face while it lasted. It may not be enough to win every gamer over, but that’s fine by me.

Summary

Pros
  • Crazy microgame madness
  • Looks sharp on the Wii U
  • Plays quite nicely
  • Some neat unlockables
Cons
  • Just a few hours of content
  • Not as charming on a big screen

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Genre Party/Parlor
Developer Nintendo
Players1

Worldwide Releases

na: WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!
Release Apr 10, 2014
PublisherNintendo
RatingEveryone
jpn: Made in Wario
Release Apr 03, 2014
PublisherNintendo
RatingAll Ages
eu: WarioWare, Inc.: Minigame Mania
Release Apr 10, 2014
PublisherNintendo
Rating7+
aus: Wario Ware, Inc: Minigame Mania
Release Apr 10, 2014
PublisherNintendo
RatingGeneral
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