Wario has been all over the place. He originated in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins on the original Gameboy. After that, he took on a very similar role to Yoshi. Wario starred in Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land, and spun off into his own franchise from there. Much like Yoshi and Donkey Kong, Wario kept up his regular appearances when the cast went karting, golfing, or even just out to party. Wario remained a platforming icon for quite some time. In 2003 Nintendo release WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$. WarioWare set out to create a minigame collection that completely redefined the Wario IP. This single game also became Indie Gamer Chick’s, a good friend of mine, favorite video game of all time. I wonder how many of you noticed the date of publication.
After stealing, what he believes to be, a precious artifact, Wario realizes he has absolutely no cash in the bank. Wario decided that he’ll scam all of his friends into developing games for a video game tournament. He’s charging $10,000 to enter, but $10,000,000 to the winner. Considering that it’s Wario, I wouldn’t put too much faith into that promise. WarioWare Gold features a ton of cutscenes within its story mode. These all gave me a great laugh.
WarioWare focuses on 3-6 second minigames. What you have to do varies from minigame to minigame. Each way of control is intuitive and easy to understand. In some minigames you’ll mash A, others use the D-Pad, twist the system, or use the stylus and bottom screen. That isn’t all either! At the end of the campaign, the game introduces 2-second minigames and minigames that use the 3DS microphone.
It wouldn’t be a WarioWare review if I didn’t bring up the fanservice. There are tons of minigames centered around Nintendo IP! Pet a Nintendog, defeat an enemy as Chrom, Shatter barrels Donkey Kong has thrown before they hit Mario, and even some references to the mii maker and Tomodachi Life! Every single Nintendo minigame brought a giddy sense of joy. I can see them being unfair or uninteresting for those unfamiliar with Nintendo’s larger catalog.
The story mode is incredibly short. I ran through it in under 2 hours. All of the cutscenes were a nice reward, but I left dissatisfied with the lack of content for me. After a number of regular minigames, you’ll challenge a boss minigame to complete the levels. Boss minigames stretch from 30 seconds to a minute and follow a set pattern. Some of them, including the final one with Wario, felt very annoying. Just to strict timing alone.
I really enjoyed WarioWare Gold. I can definitely understand the demand the series gets for new entries, and all the love its base shares for it. I found my experience a little underwhelming. I just wish there was more for me to do, more variants of minigames, and more boss minigames. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend checking out a WarioWare game sometime. You’re definitely in for the classic Nintendo charm.
The Wario in Smash Bros. definitely feels like he was created for Smash Bros. Wario takes most of his content from the WarioWare series. Wario even ditches the signature overalls for his biker look. Wario brings 15 of his iconic friends as spirits, and a stage-based off of the Gamer minigame from Game & Wario.
Wario’s moveset is an interesting one. He has a few hints and nods to his appearances in the Wario Land series, but is mostly based off of early WarioWare. Wario focuses on being a harder hitting, heavier, and trickier version of Mario. Wario can still dish out pain incredibly quickly, but has to wait for his farts to charge to be the most lethal. Silent isn’t so deadly when Wario’s at the helm. This wacky interpretation of Wario is representative of my favorite aspect of Smash. You can design a Wario moveset that feels exactly like he does in his games, but cutting out the odd characters like this cuts out a lot of what gives Smash Bros. its charm.
Supiror Soapbox 