WarioWare: Move It! Review: Perfect For Holiday Parties
By Jonathan Bilski
WarioWare: Move It! is a direct sequel from the beloved WarioWare: Smooth Moves on the Wii. Let's go over what the games or micro-games are about and how it plays below, which is really well. It's like the Wii days of the past. Getting to the point, it's perfect for any gathering of friends. Be it Bat Mitzvah, wedding, baby shower or holiday party. And, of writing this, those holiday parties already happened or are about to.
The premise of the game is to beat odd and silly micro-games, that last but a few seconds. You might fail at first and that's the fun, because you might be laughing so much at what you've seen on screen. What might be whack-a-mole or a sword fight can easily be changed into a silly situation. The humor here is you might not know what's coming next or go, "Who even thought of this game?" The answer, the Japanese, who in the credits list their favorite foods alongside their names.
How's Wario and his "friends" or as he puts it, chumps involved. For fans of the series you'll know that Wario somehow has friends and that they have helped him make games and had their own weird adventures throughout the series. Oddly, no Waluigi. Anyway, Wario wins a trip for him and all his friends to tropical island and they all get into misadventures. How those adventures go depends on you and playing micro-games and at 200 of them, you'll have plenty to try...and fail a few times at.
I just beat the main game with friends to laughs, claps and high-fives. So, it's doable if you have at least two ta' three game nights.
Just like the form baton (Wiimote) from WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Wii), the form stones (joycons) have you up and active playing micro-game after micro-game. This game we'll make you stand-up, no couch WarioWaring. You'll learn on screen how to hold or let go of joycons (you'll need the straps) just like you did in the game from the Wii. There's a multitude of wacky positions or stances that you'll be in and see family, friends and strangers who you've just met get into while holding the joycons.
And the thing is, it's fun. It's fun to get up and have a game really use the joycons. You'll be pretending to be a train, trying to balance objects, plunge, dig, race and so much more. At the same time the visuals we'll just tickle you. You'll just burst with a laugh or two over what appears on screen. You'll be getting a little workout and might want to stretch before getting up.
The game is both punishing and fun, you might lose quite a bit, but just get back on that horse...even if it's face has Wario's nose and mustache. Many things do in this game.
The game was built for co-op as two people can conquer the main story mode or up to four people can play party games together. Co-Op in the main story has you taking turns on micro-games, but sometimes you'd have to work together on some. And with co-op you get a second chance on micro-games with the other player trying the one you lost.
The few complaints, if any would be why WarioWare: Get It Together! came out in 2021 and not this. It was a new concept with sprites and nowhere near as fun. The other might be the camera joycon stance or Hand Model. You use the IR camera to try and get the silhouette of your other hand and no matter who tried no one could get that one to work.
For a game you can just get straight into and make a party oh, so much more fun I am so glad Nintendo brought the series back. I'm also saddened Nintendo didn't think to make this a launch title and instead went with the 1-2-Switch and it's recent sequel, Everybody 1-2-Switch! instead to appeal to a broader audience. Those games lack a sense of style and memorable characters that the Warioware series has so much more of. I missed Ashley, Mona, 9-Volt and his Mom, 5-Volt, everybody really. And heck, Wario is a perfect protagonist for the series and that the games are about hims because he's selfish work so well. It's just that, if Nintendo cared more there might be more games in the series for the Switch at this point. It just came out, but I want another sequel to it on Swtich or at least more micro-games DLC!
