WarioWare: Get It Together! - Review

WarioWare is one of several games that holds a place near and dear to my heart. Its quirky presentation and silly characters with a stack of wild minigames won me over instantly. It also helped that Wario was there! It’s been nearly 20 years since the original and the series continues, with every Nintendo console and handheld having at least one WarioWare game. It’s about time Nintendo got it together and put one out on the Switch. 

Wario, the ever money-hungry entrepreneur, with the help of his crew has put together a handheld game to sell to the masses. When it’s time to show it off it breaks and sucks them into the console. Bugs and glitches have taken over, and Wario needs to help rescue the crew and debug the game. To get rid of the bugs you’re going to have to get it together and play a lot of microgames.

If you haven’t played a WarioWare game before, in short it’s a mini-game collection, microgames even. Single screen (outside of boss rounds)  microgames that only last for a few seconds, then followed by another and another. As you complete the microgames the speed ramps up and you’re bombarded with game after game until you lose your lives. Eventually, the speed gets so fast you can barely see what’s happening, building up until it’s impossible.

WarioWare is a series that even at its most average is still a ridiculously silly kind of fun. Every time they’ve found ways to make interesting uses of the inputs of the system they’re made for. With the Switch there is no built-in microphone, although I’m not complaining because it was always so unreliable. With the GBA and Wii there were motion controls, but with the Switch Lite it’s not guaranteed there’s Joy Cons to use.

The key difference from previous WarioWare games is that this time you’re controlling characters. Previously you were using the different console/handheld inputs to achieve the minigames goal. Now you’re controlling Wario around the screen to squeeze out toothpaste, redirect urinating statues and plug noses. Each character has a different way of moving around the screen and interacting with the mini-game. Wario has his jet pack and shoulder barge, 18-Volt fires discs and can only move by latching onto floating hoops. Some characters control very similar to one another, Kat & Ana and Dribble & Spitz essentially control the same except one of the duo can only fire right and the other fires left.

While it’s all still very enjoyable, it feels like it’s missing a little bit of what makes the series so unique and quirky. At the same time, it goes and makes every character's way to play the puzzles different from one another. It means every single puzzle has multiple ways to play it, and some ways won’t seem obvious. As you unlock more of Wario’s acquaintances (I’m not going to assume Wario considers anyone anything more than a rube), the more move sets are added into the mix. One thing you’ll find out very quickly is that not all of the characters are equal. Some rely on much more limited ways of interacting with the microgames, while there’ll be a small group where you can breeze through. Besides the main character whose micro games you’re playing, you can keep the crew you like.

Variety Pack is where you need to get it together, as in getting your friends together. Admittedly that’s a bit difficult at the moment, given lockdowns are still a thing in Australia. If you have at least one other person around you can still play everything in the pack. The Variety Pack is a collection of mini-games that are extensions of microgames or include them. While you do have to unlock the mode, you don’t have to unlock the individual games. 

WarioWare manages to have less to unlock, but still makes you have to unlock a lot. Older games in the series had you unlocking extra modes and micro/mini-games when you hit goals. Here you’re unlocking characters as you progress through the Story Mode, the other modes unlock along the way too. In the past, there used to be fun little toys to unlock and play around with. Now it’s collecting coins and spending them on ‘prezzies’ to give to the characters to level them up. Doing this unlocks colour schemes and gallery art, and higher levels help for the Wario Cup.

Wario Cup eventually unlocks, giving you something to keep coming back to once you’ve unlocked all of the microgames. Wario Cup is a time-limited challenge ranking mode. With a themed challenge to try and get the best score, where you can get bragging rights and some rewards. Having only been out for so long it’s hard to know how varied the challenges will be. I did spend some time with the 9-Volt theme, zipping around on his skateboard playing microgames at high speeds. He’s definitely not my choice in characters, but for a challenge it does encourage you to get used to all of the roster. I don’t know how far Nintendo will support this mode or if it’s just going to be a bunch of challenges on a rotating roster. At least once a challenge has passed you can still access it, only there are no rankings. Given how fast it can be to get through the story mode, the Wario Cup will hopefully provide enough to keep you playing.

WarioWare: Get it Together is a new spin on classic WarioWare, with the biggest change the series has seen. For better or worse it shakes things up (but not like WarioWare Twisted), I’m just happy to have more of this fun quirky series. There’s plenty of microgames and mini-games to keep you entertained, WarioWare’s Got it Together.

The Score

7.5

Review code provided by Nintendo

The Pros

+Classic WarioWare Microgames

+Wario Cup can keep the game going after the Story Mode

+Each character mixes up the micro games in inventive ways

The Cons

-It still feels like it’s lacking post Story

-Some characters just suck

-Misses out making the most of the Switch’s unique controls