| WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! WarioWare, Inc.: Minigame Mania |
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North American box art |
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| Developer(s) | Nintendo R&D1 |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Hirofumi Matsuoka |
| Producer(s) | Takehiro Izushi |
| Artist(s) | Ko Takeuchi |
| Composer(s) | Ryoji Yoshitomi Kyoko Miyamoto |
| Series | Wario |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, Virtual Console |
| Release date(s) | Game Boy Advance Virtual Console |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | |
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! (stylised as WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!), known in PAL regions as WarioWare, Inc.: Minigame Mania and in Japan as Made in Wario (メイド イン ワリオ), is a video game for the Game Boy Advance. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2003 and in North America on May 26, 2003. The game consists of many minigames known as "microgames" that, on average, reach a 5-second length. It is the first game in the WarioWare series.
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While at home one evening, Wario turns on his TV to see a special report on video game sales going up, all due to popular games like Pyoro (shown by the reporter). After thinking for a few seconds, Wario realizes that video games may be a potential gold mine for him. The next morning, he rushes out and buys a laptop computer and immediately gets to work. He starts making games, but realizes that it's hard work, so he calls his friends to come and make games. Thus, WarioWare, Inc. is formed, with Wario as President of the company.
Eventually, the company produces a game: Warioware Inc. It makes a large amount of money, and Wario takes it all for himself. He escapes the company building in a rocket, only for Dr. Crygor to crash into it, causing it to crash into the sea, along with all the company profits. Wario is later shown making his way back to dry land, with Crygor in tow, saying "Either way, I'm still a cad! I hate everybody!".
The player clears stages of "microgames" of a certain category, programmed by one of Wario's friends.
Gameplay consists entirely of "microgames": short activities that last for only a few seconds, during which time the player is to figure out what he is supposed to do and complete that before time is up, aided by a word or phrase that appears as the micro game begins. Control is very simple - the only buttons used are the directional pad and A button. Failing to complete the microgame means the loss of a life, and losing four lives requires the player to start the level over.
After clearing a set number of microgames (10, 15, 20 or 25 depending on the category) the player must win a "boss" game, which is generally more challenging, in order to clear the category. On the first play of the levels, beating the boss immediately clears the category and shows the epilogue (which then becomes viewable in the options menu). The category can then be played again for a high score (i.e. how many games the player can get through before running out of lives).
Upon defeating a boss stage on repeat plays, the player gains an extra life if he/she has less than four. For a few seconds, a screen that the player can interact with using the A button is displayed (this is not part of the gameplay itself). Play of the microgames then continues, at an increased level of difficulty. After the third difficulty level is reached, only the speed progressively increases.
On the first play, upon losing a boss game, the player must replay the boss game until he/she defeats it or runs out of lives. On repeat plays, gameplay continues, but the player misses the opportunity to earn an extra life.
After attaining certain scores in certain categories, bonus games such as rope-jumping or Dr. Wario (a remake of Dr. Mario) become available to the player. Some of these games are two-player and require the use of the "L" and "R" buttons. Individual microgames can also be accessed for the player to practice, provided that they have been played at least once in the normal mode. After all the microgame categories are cleared, different modes of play are available, like Thrilling, in which the player only has one life, or Easy, where the game speed increases very slowly.
Many of the sound effects in the game originated from Wario Land 4.
Wario, Jimmy (T), Dribble & Spitz, Mona, 9-Volt, Orbulon, Dr. Crygor, Kat & Ana and Pyoro are featured in this game.
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 89%[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| GameSpot | 9.1/10[4] |
| IGN | 9/10[5] |
Wario Ware, Inc.: Mega Microgames has won numerous awards. It was voted the winner of the Edge Award at the Edinburgh International Games Festival in 2004 by a panel of videogames industry members, academics, and journalists.[6]
At GameSpot, it was awarded the Editor's Choice Award[7] and was nominated for its "Best and Worst" of 2003 in the "Most Innovative Game" category.[8]
Mega Microgames currently has an aggregate score of 89% at GameRankings.[3] Reviewers wrote enthusiastically about the game. Jeff Gerstmann from GameSpot gave it a 9.1 and praised the game for its portability, being able to play it in "short bursts" and being able to return to it again and again.[4] Craig Harris from IGN said that the sheer number of minigames, its simplicity, and replay value made the game original and great, and gave it a 9.0.[5]
In 2008, Game Informer named the game one of the top ten weirdest of all time.[9]
WarioWare, Inc. was remade for the Nintendo GameCube as WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Games!, known in Japan as Atsumare!! Made in Wario (あつまれ!!メイド イン ワリオ, lit. "Gather!! Made in Wario"). It was released in Japan on October 17, 2003 in North America on April 5, 2004 and on September 3 that year in Europe. This title features all the microgames found in Mega Microgames!, but also features multiple multiplayer games. It came out half a year after the original Game Boy Advance game. Satoru Iwata commented that it was overdoing it to come out with this title this quickly, but was also the one who requested its release. He said to the developers of the Game Boy Advance title to remake it for the GameCube and fast, and when asked how fast, he said "as fast as possible."[10] WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Games! was directed by Goro Abe, a developer of the first game, and it was his first experience being at the head of the team.[11] It is also the first game in the series co-developed by Intelligent Systems. Goro Abe told Iwata about a talented programmer at Intelligent Systems, Taku Sugioka, who joined the project. Sugioka stated that this video game turned out to be a good experience, and helped make his next development project.[10]
Two unlockable mini-games from this title, Paper Plane and Pyoro, have been released for the Nintendo DSi's DSiWare digital distribution service.[12] Neither title uses the touch screen.[12]
Paper Plane (紙ヒコーキ Kami Hikōki), known in North America as Paper Airplane Chase, plays the same as the original title. There are three modes - the first is Endless, which places the player in a randomly-generated course, requiring he or she to guide a paper airplane through it as it descends, attempting to get as far down as possible; Time Attack, which places the player in pre-created tracks, requiring them to get down to a certain point as fast as possible; and Race Mode, a two-player competition that is played on one DSi, with one player using the d-pad and the other using the face buttons. There are a total of eight courses in the game.[12]
Bird & Beans (鳥とマメ Tori to Mame), known in PAL regions as Pyoro, features both Pyoro and Pyoro 2 from the original GBA version. Both play mostly the same as the original versions, although the play area is now wider. The first requires the player to eat falling beans by shooting Pyoro's tongue in an upward diagonal direction. If a bean lands on the ground, it destroys part of the floor, limiting how much the player can move Pyoro. If the player eats a differently-colored bean, it will restore one of the blocks, and eating a flashing bean restores many, if not all, lost blocks and destroys all on-screen beans. The further Pyoro's tongue is extended, the more points are awarded. If a seed lands on Pyoro, the game ends. In the second game, the player must shoot seeds at the falling beans. More points are awarded when two or more are taken out at the same time. Bird & Beans does not have any additional modes.[12]
Anoop Gantayat, writer for IGN.com, commented that both titles, especially Bird & Beans, felt like Game & Watch titles, both lacking in frills. He also commented that they were great to play for a few minutes, and that he liked how quickly the game would load up, not having to wait for the game to go through various company logos. He commented that he would have preferred if the games weren't one-hit-kill games, saying that it hampers their replay values.[12]
In December 2011, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! and nine other Game Boy Advance games were released to Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors, which were users who purchased and registered their 3DS systems prior to a specific date in their home markets. Nintendo has stated that there are no plans to release the game to other 3DS users through the Virtual Console service.[13]
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