WarioWare: Touched!

"Excellent, fast paced game. Addicting as crack, too."

WarioWare: Touched! is a great addition to the ever-classic WarioWare series of rapid, high-paced minigames. However, this time, Wario's got something different in store involving the new DS technology.

GRAPHICS - (9 / 10)
Now, of course, the graphics in the entire series of Wario games in general have never been great, but they've always been very stylised and fun looking. You'll immediately notice that the graphics look like they were made by someone quite experienced with MSPaint. Yes, below average for something of the DS, but still, very good. Some of the animations in here didn't quite work for me, such as how there were some parts that followed classic Wario style with minimized style of animation, and others that were full and very fluid. They should have picked one form to go with and stayed with it, and to be honest, I would have preferred they stay with the minimalistic style. However, in general, the graphics followed suit with the Wario games and worked well, no major flaws, just the one minor mentioned above.

CONTROL - (10 / 10)
With the entire game controlled by touch and microphone alone, you'd expect some problems. None. Not a one. Everything here is done perfectly and, after a short while of playing, the controls are very very easy to understand. You simply use the stylus to execute whatever command you've been given for the quick minigame you happen to be playing. Even in the lackluster section of Mike, the controls integrating the microphone are still decent and very easy to use. Even though Intelligent Systems was most likely trying to show off what the DS can do in the way of new technology, I think they did a great job innovating new ideas to use with said new technology.

STORY- (What Story? / 10)
Admittedly, this is where the game pretty much fails, but this doesn't bring anything down too much, in my opinion. There is, in reality, absolutely no running plot through the entire game. Instead, you have small collections themed on some form of using the touch screen (or in Mike's case, the microphone). For instance, before Wario's collection, there is a small intro movie, and a very short, non-timed minigame in this intro (and in other collections, the minigame is usually related to what will be done in the collection). After you finish the collection, you're treated to an epilogue movie (available later in the options menu) that wraps up whatever small story there was in the intro movie. What's there is there, and what's there is decent. I'm not going to complain here anyways, though, because, seriously, why mess with a good formula?

SOUND - (9 / 10)
Okay, wow. While it's not the best you'll ever hear (In fact, most of the music and sounds are early midi quality), the sound design in itself is genius. As usual, there is a continual sound loop playing during the collection, and as you speed up and level up, tempo and pitch will change respectively. A lot of work was very obviously put into this section of the game, as nearly all of the 180 individual microgames in Touched! have their own little tune. Every piece of music and every sound effect fits, there are no complaints in that department. And come on, Ashley's theme song, man. No doubt about it, that is hands down the greatest song ever created for a video game ever.

LONGEVITY - (8 / 10)
I'll be honest with you, the average player can beat this game in maybe 45 minutes tops. However, the replay value is what keeps this game's longevity up. There are a total of 33 unlockables, about 16 of which I believe you unlock throughout the course of the game, and the rest are unlocked through beating collection scores, mini game (which are, themselves, unlockables) high scores, and finally receiving gold crowns on all 9 collections. And this is no easy task. I've had Touched for maybe a month, and I've only gotten three gold crowns. Call me slow, but I'd still say this is quite a lot of gameplay time. This is a game that, even after beating it, you will come back over and over again to play, and it's probably great for long car trips... this comment hasn't been proven as of yet though, please don't kill me.

OVERALL (10 / 10)
If you've ever played any of the WarioWare games before, you know how they are. Faced paced microgames one after one until you hit your doom, and in fact, this series is probably one of the most replayable and most addicting series out there. Without a doubt, the WarioWare series will go places, and this addition does not disappoint. Easily playable, fun, and come on, who doesn't love a game where a demonic little girl with a demon has one of the cutest themes in the world? A must have if you own a DS.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/29/05