WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$!

"The first GBA to GC port?"

When I first picked up Wario Ware for the Game Boy Advance, I was simply stunned. The presentation was, for lack of a better explination, bizzare. Over two hundred games were available, none lasting over five SECONDS in the main game.

I beat the game in six hours.

Yep, you read right. As soon as I started playing, I would spend four HOURS on that Game Boy Advance (henceforth referred to as GBA) cart after buying it, and would beat it tne next day.

This is not to say it is bad, as the stunning beauty of the graphics, the hilarious music, and the absurd plot and characters made for an enjoyable game.

''But wait a second, is this a review of the Game Cube Wario Ware or the GBA Wario Ware?''

Good question. If you've noticed, I have not said a THING about the Game Cube Wario Ware. Why have I not?

Because they are dreadfully simmilar.

''What do you mean?''

When you start playing the one-player mode, a GBA will appear, power up, and you'll start playing a grand rehash of the GBA's ''main'' mode. As with the GBA, you start with the basic games that Wario tosses at you, then you go to Jimmy's sports. From there, you go to 9-Volts's Old-school games (my favorites, for those who care), Kat and Ana's Nature, Mona's strange and wierd, Dribble and Spitz's science fiction extraveganza, Dr. Crygor's ''reality'' games, Orbulon's IQ games, and finally a rematch with Wario, with the most difficult games.

''WHAT?!''

Yes, that's how it goes, though not neccessarily in that order. However, unlike the GBA version, this...remix, if you will, increases the speed of the games more frequently as you progress, and mid-way through the character roster your games ''level up,'' or become more challenging with extra goodies (like Rinka's to eat your missiles while playing the Metroid game). The final two areas are, to say the least, quite challenging. In fact, I can honestly state that, upon reaching the final boss game, I actually died - the second time that I have EVER done that.

Once you accomplish these ''missions,'' you are thrust into other odd-ball game options, though most, though not all, are rehash options from the GBA. Time Attack, Easy, Hard, Thrilling - these are virtually strait from the GBA, with minor changes.

One interesting addition is the Movie Theatre, which houses little movies that are shown at the beginning of the game, should you not hit start. Oddly enough, there are two movies that I have NOT unlocked. Though the movies are nothing spectacular, they are worth looking at at least once.

''So why did your rating say 8?''

Well, for starters, the game IS based off of a great game. While the modes aren't fun, most, if not all, of the sound and graphics were retained for this remix, and sound as good as the GBA version.

But the real treat here is not the fact that the one player mode is a port, but rather the multiplayer mode.

As many Wario Ware GBA veterens will recall, virtually ALL of the two-player games required you to both use the GBA at the same time. Using an SP for this is absurd, and the ''classic'' GBA has to be shifted to get the right ammount of light. Only the Game Boy Player does an adequate job, but a blah one at that.

Instead of rehashing the already boring mini-games from the GBA, numerous modes are presented for the player. The first game ''controller'' (ie - the character that ''hosts'' the game) is Jimmy, who has a small ''dancing arena'' for the players. A spotlight moves around, eventually landing on one player, who has to play a mini-game. Should the player win, they do a victory pose and they stay in the game. Should a player lose the mini-game, they loose one of three groups of fans. Loose all three, you loose. Simple, eh?

''Don't tell me that's it...''

Oh, far from it. There are other options as well
- the One Controller Survival (where you have to pass a single controller around while playing).
- Wario's arena where one player plays fifteen mini-games while the other participants can run around the screen, blocking the action.
- 9-Volt's E-reader game, where you draw mini-game cards, and the player that draws an E-Reader for a card has to play the games. Should the player win, they get the cards, though the other players can steal cards that are already won. Whoever has the most at the end wins.
- Dr. Crygor's Balloon Bomb (might as well be, should you see where you end up upon loosing) has one player playing a mini-game while the others pump a balloon. The person playing the mini-game when the balloon pops looses...
- Kat and Ana's Turtle Balance is one of the more complex multiplayer games, mostly because there are several new mini-games to decide who goes next. Once a player wins their game, the player plays a mini-game. Winning adds a turtle on top of the other player's turtle. Losing grants the losing player a turtle on their own stack. Once this is done, ''Patience'' mode starts, where you try to keep your stack balanced so that you don't fall down and become a turtle. Then you repeat until a winner is declared.
- Dribble and Spitz Meteor Attack has a familiar feeling to it, though what game it is copying eludes my knowlege. Basically, a 5X5 formation of asteroids are present, each with a number. One player chooses an asteroid, and proceeds to shoot it. This reduces the asteroid's number by one, then whatever the number that remains is the number of mini-games the player plays. Combos can be played to take over your opponents ''spheres'' (combos occur when you have two spheres on either side of an opponents, and can go as high as capturing three enemy spheres). The winning player (who has the most spheres) has to fight another mini-game to defeat a massive robot, and winning brings the spoils.
- Mona presents us with Wacky Doc, who, for lack of a better description (again), is wacky. A player's character enters the doc's room, and we get to see the doc talking to the screen, issuing instructions to do while playing the mini-game that follows. Winning sends you to a screen where the doc asks the other players if the patient followed Doc's instructions. The players then mash the A button to gague this. Loosing to the doc's game results with nothing, which can make a serious dent, since you are not able to aquire the Clap Points that are neccessary to determine the victor (do I really need to say what determins the winner? I thought not). One note of interest - if nothing else with this game, at least win and loose once - the Wacky Doc makes it worthwile. ^_^;;
- Orbulon's game is yet another rehash of the GBA mode, with a twist - the players who are not playing the mini-game have to shine flashlights around the screen, which is dark from a powerout (guess these guys never thought of buying an SP, eh?). The game is over after three errors.

There are other mini-games, though they are barely worth meantioning. (Three are remixes of two Wario Ware GBA games - the Jumping Rope comes in two varieties, and the Paper Plane returns in a race format.

''Are these games fun?''

Try playing these games with all the available players you can. Two players is fun, but, like any party game, things go crazy with more than two gamers.

''Is the music good?''

Most of the music is slightly remixed audio from the GBA, which is a perk. One option available in this version that was not avalable was a Sound Test mode that plays ALL musical tracks and sounds, though short they may be.

''How does she handle?''

If you can handle a GBA, you can handle this. The Game Cube controller is VERY friendly with this game.

''How many player stats can you keep?''

I don't know. There appears to be over fifteen slots, though I only use two for me and my sis. Suffice it to say that there are plenty.

''Is this game worth replaying in one-player?''

That's up to the gamer. Some options are available ONLY if you play the one-player games, though the one-player is virtually the same as the GBA game. If you have the GBA game, get this for parties and whatnot. If you don't, get this.

''Is it worth the purchase if you already have the GBA game?''

Yes it is, thanks to Nintendo's wise decision to price the game at US$30, the same price as the GBA game. And given how much time can be wasted on the mini-games, it's worth every cent.

''Are the mini-games hard?''

Well, when you play the one-player mode, it gets challenging rather quickly. Fortunately, the Practice Mode returns, and you can set up the speed, level, and a couple other options for the game while playing it. Beating all the Practice games limits (like thirty wins for one game, ten for another, five for each boss level) earns you ribbons for those games. Should you have the time to replay these like on the GBA, another mode pops up. Of course, if you can see, read, and tie your shoes, then you can win at these games.

In the end, this game is well worth the rather low cost. Those expecting an all-new game (like me) will be rather dissapointed, but the muli-player modes make up for it. And if nothing else, seeing the wacky antics of the characters is worth renting, if nothing else at all.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/19/04