WarioWare: Move It! is destined to become an instant party classic. Ready to bombard you with its lightning-fast microgames, Mario’s greedy-natured rival is back in what many see as a spiritual successor to Wii’s hilarity-packed WarioWare: Smooth Moves. It’s hard to believe that it has been 16 years since that game came out, but WarioWare: Move It! is exactly what we’ve all been waiting for.
Wario may not be overjoyed that he had to hitch a boat ride with the “chumps” that have starred alongside him in this wacky series, but, as seen in September’s Nintendo Direct, the tropical resort that they are welcomed to is crammed with laugh-a-minute microgames at every turn.
I was able to spend time tackling character-based microgame runs in the game’s Story Mode (1-2 players), take on Galactic Conquest to compete on a Mario Party-style board game that’s just as unexpectedly punishing in Party Mode (up to 4 players) and peruse the microgames we had unlocked in The Museum (up to four players).
With a Joy-Con controller in each hand, your reaction speed and bodily motion will determine whether you can successfully overcome whichever crazily concocted challenge is thrown in your direction. That also comes from “perfecting your form,” which is not only the pose that you strike before the microgame starts but the only clue that you will get about what you will be confronted with.
From bending your knees and holding the Joy-Con firmly on your thighs in the Squat form to the unforgettably-named Ba-KAW that sees you pretend one Joy-Con is your beak and the other a tail, the forms and resulting actions that you must perform are inevitably absurd but never fail to raise a smile.
With more than 200 to tackle, it’s hard to be sure that every microgame will be a surefire hit but those that I was able to play were a strong start. Diamond City’s video game addict 9-Volt remains to be a fan-favourite, and makes a return with his retro-inspired microgames. I was able to shake a Joy-Con to wag Mario’s raccoon tail in the Super Mario Bros. 3 microgame, and there are others that we’ve all glimpsed in recent Nintendo Directs based on Super Mario 64 DS and Pikmin. I’m excited to see what else is hidden away in the final game.
Not knowing what’s coming up next is what makes the experience hard to put down, and, even given the longevity of the series, there’s still nothing else that matches its mischievous creativity. That you can ramp the pace of the microgames from their “Normal” speed all the way up to “Super Fast” only heightened its frantic nature – never failing to produce laughter, even if it felt impossible to react quickly enough at such a ridiculous speed.
WarioWare: Move It! is yet another game that strengthens Nintendo Switch’s position as the must-have console when looking for accessible friends and family to get involved with. Coming little more than a week after Super Mario Bros. Wonder, make sure that you don’t miss out on its laughter-inducing antics.
WarioWare: Move It! will be released at retail and digitally on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch worldwide on 3 November 2023.
