WarioWare is Mario Party for cool kids. As chaotic as Mario’s shindigs get, they are positively tame compared with the microgame mayhem that Wario's delivered for 20 years. A spiritual sequel to the motion-based Wii title WarioWare: Smooth Moves, the upcoming WarioWare: Move It ($49.99, coming out November 3) leans in a more casual direction. However, the brief demo we played of this Nintendo Switch game left us wanting more of Wario’s shaky shenanigans.
(Credit: Nintendo)Do the Locomotion
For a series all about confusion, the core WarioWare formula remains remarkably consistent. You tackle a gauntlet of “microgames,” bewildering five-second-long gameplay snippets. You receive a single clue to interpret and overcome the challenge. In addition, you have a limited number of chances to screw up, keeping tensions pretty high for a breezy Nintendo game.
Move It tasks you with completing microgames by using motion controls that pair well with WarioWare’s sensibilities. Discovering how the game wants you to move your body adds to the wackiness and leads to many funny moments. A microgame about ringing bells on beat sounds simple enough, but how about a microgame where you draw shapes with your butt?
(Credit: Nintendo)However, the motion controls have drawbacks, too. To stop you from gesturing wildly (and potentially sending your Joy-Con hurling into your TV), Move It gives you a clue where you should hold the controllers. For example, you may need to hold your hands on your thighs and squat, or adopt the “Choo Choo” pose and hold your bent arms out in front of you. This also slows things down, especially compared with WarioWare: Get It Together, a game with a much more breakneck pace because it only uses buttons and control sticks. Those traditional inputs are also more reliable, if less creative, than Move It’s motion controls. Plus, motion controls make Move It less ideal for single-player handheld play. Like Nintendo Switch Sports, this game is best enjoyed with lots of local friends getting up off the couch.
(Credit: Nintendo)It’s Wario’s Party, and I’ll Cry If I Want To
WarioWare is more than just microgames. Move It features multiple modes to play those microgames in new contexts. In The Museum, you practice tougher microgame variations. In Story Mode, you and a friend team up to tackle as many microgames as possible, including boss fights. And Party Mode lets four players compete in a Mario Party-esque board game. Despite my dominant performance, random luck still held me back. This mode also only requires one Joy-Con per player instead of two.
Move It appears to retain WarioWare’s typical presentation, with Wario being his usual vulgar self, eating garlic and hanging out with his weird friends. Compared with most safe and nice Nintendo games, WarioWare: Move It features a madcap array of graphical styles, from hyperrealism to stylish 2D animation, that conveys an anarchic sense of humor. As with Super Mario Wonder, Charles Martinet is no longer the lead voice actor, but I didn’t get to hear much of Wario’s new performer in action during brief cutscenes.
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Like Wario himself, WarioWare can be many things. The series’ second outing on Nintendo Switch may not be exactly what all fans are looking for, but with its madcap motion controls and many multiplayer modes, WarioWare: Move It looks to be a worthy entry in Nintendo’s strangest canon. We’ll find out when the game is released on November 3. Check back then for a full review.
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