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The Lowdown
Pros: Innovative gameplay, great to play with friends, lots of games to
choose from
Cons: Microgames are often confusing for the first time, same as the GBA
version
 Purchase
at Play-Asia
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Honestly, if you haven't heard
of Made in Wario or the American version, Wario Ware: Mega Microgames
,and you own a Game Boy Advance you're missing out. Wario Ware was one
of the more innovative games that came out in 2003. Instead of relying
on detailed graphics or heavy gameplay, Wario Ware is one of the
simplest games to learn. The concept of Wario Ware is what makes it so
unique. Instead of playing one game you play a series of "microgames".
These games last for a few seconds and have you do simple tasks like
catching an object or dodging enemies. Most of the games are played by
using a single button or the directional pad. If you can achieve the
task you'll pass to the next level, if you fail you lose a life.
The simplicity of the games is what makes Wario Ware so accessible.
Each of the games have their own little quirks and some are quite
humorous. One game has you mashing the A button to keep a booger from
falling out of a person's nose. Another game has a moving finger and you
have to press A at the right time to successfully, pick the nose. Some
of the games are based of classic Nintendo games. There's a Zelda
inspired game where you command a NES styled Link to move into a dungeon
and there is a Donkey Kong based game where you have to jump over
barrels. After playing through so many regular games you get a chance to
play a boss game. Boss games aren't any more difficult than regular
games, they normally take a little more time to play. An example of a
boss game is a Punchout style game where you have to dodge attacks and
press A to punch back. Most of the games don't require instructions, if
you've ever played video games you'll be able to figure out what to do.
However, it may take a play or two to learn the controls of the game.
This part can be a little frustrating because, in your mind you
understand the goal, but you don't have any idea of what the controls
are. While, this can be a little frustrating during multiplayer matches,
any player can learn the rules after playing a microgame a few times.
Unlike the Game Boy Advance version you have a choice from the start.
You can play the games in the standard arcade style form where you're
blasted with game after game until you lose your four lives or you can
entire the library and select what microgame you want to play.
Initially, all the microgames are playable in the library and if you
choose this mode you're given harder and harder versions of the same
game until you can't complete the goal.
However, the best part about the Gamecube version is it's multiplayer
support. Instead of just mashing buttons by yourself you can do it with
up to four players. The default multiplayer mode is similar to the
arcade mode of play. Players can select which quirky character they want
to play. You can be evil Wario, dance master Jimmy, and even the
intelligent Orbulon. After everyone chooses games are randomly given to
players. If they complete the game they don't lose any lives, if they
fail to complete it they lose a life. After three lives are gone that
player is out and the other players continue to engage games until one
is left. Made in Wario easily rivals the Mario Party series as a better
"party game". The best part about Mario Party and other "board games"
were the mini games. Instead of having to wait around for dice to be
rolled and characters to move this game gets right to the mini games.
Best of all, the games are so simple to learn that even non gamers can
pick it up and play right away. There are other multiplayer modes that
can be unlocked by completing the basic multiplayer mode. These include
a mode with a set number of games to play, a card game mode and even a
board game mode. With so many different options Made in Wario caters to
a large audience, gamer and non gamer alike.
One of the criticisms on Made in Wario is its graphics. Made in Wario
didn't look spectacular on the Game Boy Advance and doesn't look great
on the Gamecube either. Many microgames have simple graphics, that look
like elementary school scribbles. Some of the microgames that are based
off of other Nintendo games like the F-Zero microgame and the Zelda
microgame lift sprites directly from their respective game. While there
isn't exactly a graphic marvel here, the presentation has a certain
style to it. The old original NES graphics being mixed with colorful
sprites from other games gives each microgame its own unique feel. Since
the graphics vary so much with the game, each microgame feels
graphically fresh, even though it doesn't look pretty. There are some
updates to the graphics for the Gamecube version. For instance all of
the new menus look like crisp Gamecube menus and all of the sprites are
clearly more colorful than their Game Boy Advance versions.
Made in Wario is a game that anyone can pick up and almost anyone
will enjoy. The Gamecube version is great for parties and may even be
the ultimate "party" style game to date. To boot Made in Wario even has
its own unique (some might say strange) sense of humor, which matches
its originality in gameplay.
Import Friendly?
The menus and all of the text are in Japanese. For the most part you
won't need to understand Japanese to enjoy and play through the game.
However, there is a boss level and a few microgames that are lexicon
based, which require an understanding of Japanese to complete.
US Bound?
Wario Ware is slated for a 2004 release in North America, but no
exact date is confirmed yet.
Overall
If you haven't got a copy of this yet you owe it to yourself to pick
this game up. Even if you own the Game Boy Advance version its worth it
to fork over another $40 to play against your buddies.
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