"You say bizarre, I say give me more."

GameBoy Advance. The cream of the handheld crop. A system like this spawns many rehashes of classic games and deals out more average games than you can count; but among these games shines one brighter than all the others. Wario Ware Inc: Mega Microgames is not your ordinary game and by no way conforms to the other games that ''set the standard''. Dubbed simply Wario Ware by many, this game proves that originality can truly go along way. Not only is it highly addictive, but it also provides a learning experience that many people just easily overlook. I don't often give games 10, but this one deserves everything it has coming to it and could quite possibly be my favorite handheld game of all time. Now to break the game down for you...

Gameplay - This game was simply overwhelming to me at first. I felt like I was having a seizure, but in a good way. I'll do my best to explain the gameplay now even though experiencing it is all you can do for justice. This is a fast paced game in which you must do extremely simply tasks while a 3 second timer goes on the bottom. Succeed and you get another task. Fail and you lose one of your four lives (in most cases). After a predetermined amount of levels, the game kicks it in to overdrive and speeds up. Most of these tasks are extremely simple, such ones that come to mind early on are from everything to catching sticks to hitting baseballs and progresses on to some full fledged games either. Now parents thinking if this game is right for their kids; I would have to say this game is much better for your kids then other handhelds since this one has its rewards such as learning things such as trajectory and reflex skills, not to mention the entire IQ category of games. There really is a mini-game in here for everyone. All you old school Nintendo buffs, this game packs in more nostalgia then you can possibly imagine. With games spoofing such hits as Donkey Kong, Metroid and many many more, you will be doing yourself a favor at least playing this game once.

Sound - Many other people consider this game to have less than average sound and make it the major weakness of the game, but I for one became emerged with it even mentioning to some people how much I enjoyed the sound. The music provides a fast paced feel getting you in to the game even more than the addictive gameplay. Truly, it's what brings the entire game together. Some of the mini-games are even sound based such as one where you must repeat back sounds played in order, but they have made it so even with sound off you will still be able to pass the game off on more of a Simon style basis. This doesn't come without its minor flaws though. Some of these songs seem a little lack luster and almost rehashed. I swore that while playing in one of the many levels the music sounded much like that of Yoshi's Island.

Visuals - Merely stunning. The world of Wario Ware is bright and colorful and fits perfectly in the game, even though you will only notice these visuals while watching the bizarre storyline since the rest of the game is speeding so fast. The graphics in the mini-games each are unique, but not extremely detailed as much as some of your other GBA collection. The graphics from the console mocking games offer a great experience as many of them are nearly identical to their console/arcade counterparts. You will even feel home when you and Wario replace some of your favorite console characters such as Dr. Mario and Link. For the most, the visuals are perfect for the game, but don't come in here expecting to be dazzled or anything.

Controls - Anyone could jump straight in to this game with the control scheme. Naturally with the fast paced action you'll be asking yourself occasionally what exactly you should be doing, but in most cases it's easily sorted out almost immediately. The triggers are rarely used other than in the multiplayer games, and you'll find yourself only using the arrows and one of the buttons in the gameplay itself. The menus are about all that require the other face button. Overall, the controls are simple to the point that they fit the gameplay flawlessly.

Replayability - I became submerged and almost became more addicted to this than solitaire and tetris combined. I found myself many times saying I was going to stop after a game, but ended up continuously playing to the point of insanity. If you have friends, which I'm sure the majority of you do, this game actually allows for multiplayer using only one GBA system. While I only got a chance to try one of these games (which is not avaliable from start and needs to be unlocked), the left player used the L trigger and the right player used the R trigger to see who could suck up the trash faster. Quite honestly, I don't see how two players on one GBA is really comfortable, but if you only have one GBA, it's perfect. Once you actually finish the game and get all the unlockables, which by the way does take quite a while itself, you have a whole bunch of records the game handles. There are probably hundreds of records the player can go around trying to break in hopes of becoming the best. Eventually these games do reach a point where it gets hard to break records as the game kicks in to Superman speed, but maybe you can become Superman with enough practice.

Overall
Positives
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1) Addictive gameplay.
2) High replayability.
3) Can teach skills such as reflex and trajectory plus many more.

Lows
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1) It costs money.
2) I couldn't give it an 11.

Players? - 1-2 Players
Save option? - Battery save
Buy or Rent - If you're still unsure after this crazy review, currently most stores do have this game on display allowing you to try

it out. If you have a rental place that offers up GBA games, be my guest and pick it up. I suggest just buying it right away though and saving that rental money for something you really should be unsure about.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/18/03, Updated 06/18/03