One of the weirdest games I've ever played. At first, I thought this was a bad idea. Boy, was I wrong! It's great
It's like someone took a fragment from every type of 8-bit game ever made (some 16-bit) and put those fragments into one cartridge to play on the GBA. At first, this game looks and sounds incredibly stupid, but it's actually quite entertaining. It's really easy to get the hang of, but the challenge is always there, ready to match your skill level.
Gameplay 8: First off, you select a stage which is themed after a certain character, along with their preferred genre, and if you're doing this for the first time, you'll watch a short introduction to that character's story. After that, the micro-sized series minigames will begin. Let's call them "microgames", as they are too small to be called "minigames".The game gives you a short time to complete each microgame, and these challenges are randomly thrown at you. For example, there are microgames like: "Avoid!", where you are a car which must avoid the rolling balls which can crush you. If you are still alive when time runs out, you win. (each microgame is timed for about 4 seconds) Another is "Hide", where you must press down on the D-pad to pull down Wario's shirt to cover his exposed belly. Don't hold down too much, though! Or Wario's shirt will rip, and you'll automatically fail.
There's ALOT of different microgames, and most of them can vary in design, shape, or difficultly level. Therefore, going through the same stage a second time may feel alot different than it did the first time. Now, after advancing through a high enough number of micro games in a stage, you'll come to the "Boss" microgame, which lasts longer than a few seconds, and might even be big enough to be called a "Minigame". Once the boss is defeated, new stages will be opened, just waiting for you to complete them. And every now and then, actual minigames, based on the microgames will be unlocked. Once you've beaten all the stages once, you will have completed the story, but when you can go back to any previous stage, and it will never end. The stage will get harder, and then keep getting faster and faster until you lose all your lives. That combined with randomized microgame order, and variables within the microgames themselves gives this game more than enough replay value to keep most people entertained for a long while. The only buttons you ever really use is "A", and the D-pad. Yes, the games are that simple!
Graphics 7: Alot of the graphics are very simple and undetailed, (usually the games with small sprites in them) but some are as photo-realistic as the GBA can get. This is what you'd call a "mixed bag", but overall, the graphics are interesting enough, since the micogames are so short. Alot of good graphics can be found in Dr. Crygor's toilet bowl stage, while old-school games (along with old-school graphics) are found in 9-Volt's Game Boy stage. I was pleased for the most part, but I do wish some microgames, or Boss games had nicer graphics. But I always keep in mind that this game is in no way trying to focus on impressive graphics, although some of the graphical effects are cool.
Sound 9: The sound is great, especially when you hear the tunes speed up or slow down, depending on how you're playing the game. There are some cool voice effects, too. But they sound very unrealistic and distorted, which is fine, since it goes well with those catchy tunes.
Value 8: The variations of the microgames and quantity of them will most likely have you coming back for more.
Result 8.3: Warioware is a surprisingly satisfying game which will keep you coming back for more. I love the silly randomness this game has to offer. This game also delivers a few laughs, due to its goofy style and interesting scenerios. If you want something off-the-wall, wacky, and of good-quality, this is a good choice! It's a game that's worth your time and money.