WarioWare: Touched! Review

Nintendo, always known to make unique games, hit a high note in originality when it released the original Wario Ware on the Game Boy Advance two years ago. Soon enough, there was a GameCube version. Now, with the capabilities of the new Nintendo DS handheld, Nintendo has had more than enough open space for innovation. The product is one of the DS’ most anticipated titles – Wario Ware: Touched!.

All of the Wario Ware games test your endurance and your ability to think quickly with dozens and dozens of quick mini-games. Wario Ware: Touched! goes a step further with a new means of control: the DS’ stylus and microphone. This time around, you will face up against 180 microgames, each with a different type of action you will need to perform. The microgames are truly unique, simple, and hilarious. Some of them are almost disturbing, but they are all, for the most part, a blast. However, not one of them lasts more than five to ten seconds, so you will never get stuck for an extended period of time on a certain game.

I personally enjoyed most of the microgames, although some are certainly more fun than others. One that I thought was hilarious involved a little fire burning on the side of a mountain. To put the fire out, you are instructed to use an angel that is dangling from the sky, armed with a hose located in a certain place. Another that I enjoyed was one of the last games you play, where you guide an explorer through a cave of traps by cutting down bushes and breaking rocks by tapping them with the stylus.

As fun as individual games are, you are hardly given time to notice. As you play Wario Ware: Touched!, you unlock more and more characters with their own unique premise behind each game. You will use your stylus-tapping skills as Wario, your scribbling abilities as the ninja twins Ana and Kat, and even blow or sing into the microphone as the karaoke robot Mike. As you run through their quick little “stories”, you play microgame after microgame, with each one getting faster then the next until you reach a “Boss Stage”. These stages are actually quite simple in comparison to some of the other games. You are given much more time, even if the ultimate goal is a little tougher.

Another perk to Wario Ware: Touched! is the simple production value. The graphics are never a steady quality. Some microgames use simple sprites, others use real-life images, and a select few use the 3D capabilities of the Nintendo DS. Even though this might come off as a fault, it actually adds points to the originality of the title. Also, the music is fast, cheery, and very upbeat. It always keeps you glued to your handheld, ready for the next quick round of microgames.

Wario Ware: Touched! does have its share of problems, though. The biggest issue, and one that you will quickly notice if you purchase the game, is the fact that the fun only lasts a few hours. It literally only takes two to three hours to unlock every microgame and every toy (which range from a calculator to an advice simulator). As quirky as the two or three hours might be, a game should not cost so much for such a short ride. The price of admission is $34.99, meaning each hour of gameplay is worth $17.50. The only positive note is that the game does not end when you have unlocked everything. The fast-paced games and the strange charm will keep you coming back.

Although there are a lot of good things about Wario Ware: Touched!, the basic flaw still remains: it is a tough choice to throw down so much cash for such a short experience. The game can easily be replayed for hours and hours, but you are basically paying for 180 hits of attention deficit medicine rather than a full-length game. The only ending comment I can say is that if you were a fan of Sega’s Feel the Magic XY/XX or past Wario Ware games, you will definitely eat up the addictive microgames in Wario Ware: Touched!. Otherwise, you will most likely be disappointed with the super-short length and the nearly-pointless gameplay.