poormojo
CAGiversary!
Last night I hooked up my GameBoy Player into my Gamecube and broke out my brand new copy of Wario Ware, Inc MegaMicrogame$$$. I thought, "I'll just try it out for a few minutes and see what it's like before going back to Mario Kart."
Half an hour later my girlfriend came in to get something off of the couch, sat down and watched the game.
Three hours later I had to wrench the controller away from her as it was too late and we had to get up early the next day.
***
This is only a partial review, as I haven't even come close to beating the game, but my initial impressions are very favorable.
What it is: Wario likes money. He wants more money. He sees a reporter on TV talk about how much a certain video game sold, so he decides to make video games. He gathers up a bunch of genre specialists who also make games. You are, I guess, a tester who is playing these games for Wario. Or whatever. Each developer has their own personality, their own genre, and their own story.
For example: there is 9 volt, a little sci-fi looking kid who is also a DJ who mixes it up with the help of an enormous classic Gameboy. All of his games are classic NES games: scenes from Zelda, Metroid, Super Mario Bros., etc.
Or, there is Mona, who is a scooter driving employee at a gelato shop. All of her games are of the "weird" variety. You have to: catch toast; drop eyedrops; crack an egg into a moving frying pan; suck snot up into a nose; pick a nose; and so on.
Apparently, all of the Microgames are real. These were all games at one point in Japan, many of them produced by Nintendo. The mind boggles.
Here are some numbers, for those who like that kind of thing.
Gameplay 8/10. In most cases you just hit A, or use the control stick. Very easy to learn, very tough to master. Like someone else said before, Wario Ware takes standard games and boils them down to the one crucial moment, the one button click that will determine your fate.
Sound 9/10. I didn't know my GBA could sound so good. The game uses different genres of music for each of the different Game types you play. Brilliant.
Story 6/10. Is there a story? Are there a dozen stories? I can't tell yet, so I'm being conservative.
Replay Value 10/10. It's fun. It's weird. It's everything I loved about the Atari 2600, Colecovision, Activision, and the NES. It's a time traveller from your childhood showing up in your GBA today.
Overall 9/10. Does the math add up? I don't know. The game is great. Easy to learn, hard to play. And extremely charming.
If you have a GBA, do yourself a favor and pick it up.
Half an hour later my girlfriend came in to get something off of the couch, sat down and watched the game.
Three hours later I had to wrench the controller away from her as it was too late and we had to get up early the next day.
***
This is only a partial review, as I haven't even come close to beating the game, but my initial impressions are very favorable.
What it is: Wario likes money. He wants more money. He sees a reporter on TV talk about how much a certain video game sold, so he decides to make video games. He gathers up a bunch of genre specialists who also make games. You are, I guess, a tester who is playing these games for Wario. Or whatever. Each developer has their own personality, their own genre, and their own story.
For example: there is 9 volt, a little sci-fi looking kid who is also a DJ who mixes it up with the help of an enormous classic Gameboy. All of his games are classic NES games: scenes from Zelda, Metroid, Super Mario Bros., etc.
Or, there is Mona, who is a scooter driving employee at a gelato shop. All of her games are of the "weird" variety. You have to: catch toast; drop eyedrops; crack an egg into a moving frying pan; suck snot up into a nose; pick a nose; and so on.
Apparently, all of the Microgames are real. These were all games at one point in Japan, many of them produced by Nintendo. The mind boggles.
Here are some numbers, for those who like that kind of thing.
Gameplay 8/10. In most cases you just hit A, or use the control stick. Very easy to learn, very tough to master. Like someone else said before, Wario Ware takes standard games and boils them down to the one crucial moment, the one button click that will determine your fate.
Sound 9/10. I didn't know my GBA could sound so good. The game uses different genres of music for each of the different Game types you play. Brilliant.
Story 6/10. Is there a story? Are there a dozen stories? I can't tell yet, so I'm being conservative.
Replay Value 10/10. It's fun. It's weird. It's everything I loved about the Atari 2600, Colecovision, Activision, and the NES. It's a time traveller from your childhood showing up in your GBA today.
Overall 9/10. Does the math add up? I don't know. The game is great. Easy to learn, hard to play. And extremely charming.
If you have a GBA, do yourself a favor and pick it up.
