WarioWare: Smooth Moves

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WarioWare: Smooth Moves

Developer(s)	Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release date(s)	December 2, 2006 January 12, 2007 January 15, 2007 January 25, 2007
Genre(s)	Action, Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single player Multiplayer (2-12 alternating)
Rating(s)	CERO : All ages. ESRB : E10+ PEGI : 7+ OFLC : G
Platform(s)	Wii
Media	1 x Wii Optical Disc
Input	Wii Remote and Nunchuk

WarioWare: Smooth Moves (おどるメイドインワリオ, Odoru Meido in Wario^?, Odoru Made in Wario in Japan, translating to "Dancing Made in Wario") is a video game produced by Nintendo for its Wii video game system. It is part of the the WarioWare series of games.

Like its predecessors, WarioWare: Smooth Moves is a collection of "microgames" based on simple actions which usually last fewer than five seconds each. The microgames are played in rapid succession, presenting the player with the gameplay screen and a short instruction hinting at the action that must be accomplished. Once the microgame is complete, the next one begins. If a player makes four mistakes over the course of one set of microgames, they must start over from the beginning of the set.

1 Gameplay
2 Stages
3 Characters
4 Elephant Stages
5 Multiplayer Games
6 About Posecards
7 History
8 Reception
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links

[edit] Gameplay

WarioWare: Smooth Moves requires the player to hold the Wii Remote (called the "Form Baton" within the game's story) in a variety of different ways, which the game calls "forms". Examples of such forms include "The Umbrella" (holding the Wii Remote vertically like one would hold an umbrella handle) or "The Elephant" (holding the bottom end of the Wii Remote against the nose, emulating an elephant's trunk). One special stage also incorporates the Nunchuck extension controller (called the "Balance Stone" within the game), held in conjunction with the Wii Remote in 3 different orientations. Each microgame is associated with a specific form and performing an action starting from that form, and the player must frequently switch between forms in order to keep up with the pace of the gameplay. The form that is required for each minigame is shown to the player to allow the player some time to position the Wii Remote correctly, though as with the microgames themselves, this amount of time decreases as the difficulty of the game increases.

The game's presentation is very similar to past games in the series. Each stage is represented by a specific member of the WarioWare cast, and the various individual microgames are divided between them. A stage begins with an introductory story sequence featuring the character and concludes with a boss stage (a longer, more complex microgame), followed by the second part of the story. Once a character's story has been completed once, the stage becomes an endurance stage that lasts as long as the player does not run out of lives. Once all story mode stages have been cleared, an all-encompassing endurance stage is unlocked that presents the entire catalog of microgames. Scoring in the game returns to the traditional WarioWare style of scoring by games played, instead of games cleared as in WarioWare: Twisted!.

The non-simultaneous multiplayer mode uses only one remote which is shared by up to 12 players. Multiplayer is unlocked after completing all of the single-player stages. The game can support 12 profiles that can be chosen when the player enters the single player screen. Each profile can be associated with a Mii avatar, which is used to indicate which player is next up during multiplayer, and is also used as a character within several of the microgames, similar to Wii Sports and Wii Play. A single Wii Remote is used and transferred to a new player after the completion of each game.

[edit] Stages

[edit] Characters

Wario - Wario stumbles upon the Form Baton at an ancient temple, notes its inspiration for a new set of microgames, and tries to escape with it. All of Wario's games use The Remote Control form.

Mona - Mona is leading a cheerleading squad for Diamond City High's football team, though the star player has a crush on her. Mona's games introduce The Handlebar and The Umbrella forms.

Kat and Ana - The duo must defend their master from an evil demon that's come to harm him. The Sketch Artist, The Chauffeur, and The Samurai forms are used in Kat and Ana's games.

Young Cricket - Young Cricket aims to get some buns (likely baozi) for he and his master from Mona's stall despite the long line of customers in front of them. Young Cricket's games introduce The Tug-of-War, The Waiter, and The Elephant forms.

Jimmy T. - Jimmy T. sees a stray kitten during a rainstorm, and leaves his umbrella with the kitten to keep it dry. Suddenly he finds himself being followed by a bunch of kittens, and leads them to a discotheque to dance the night away. A mix of the forms learned to that point is used, particularly from Mona, Kat and Ana, and Young Cricket.

Ashley - Ashley is attempting to unlock the secrets of a new magic book. The Thumb Wrestler, The Discard, and The Big Cheese forms are introduced in this stage.

Dribble and Spitz - The taxi-driving duo pick up a strange woman who seems to be in a hurry to get somewhere. The games in this stage introduce The Janitor, The Mohawk, and The Dumbbell forms.

Penny Crygor- A new character, Penny is Dr. Crygor's granddaughter trying to invent the next greatest revolution. Her microgames introduce The Finger Food, The Boxer, and The Mortar and Pestle forms.

9-Volt - 9-Volt shows 18-Volt his Game & Watch but in the scuffle to play it, 18-Volt accidentally breaks it and tries to go to the local gaming store, where the clerk simply has trouble keeping it on the shelves. As it is in all WarioWare games to date, 9-Volt's microgames use any and all types of control and revolve around Nintendo games. This time, however, not all are retro--the inspiration for the games can range from back when Nintendo manufactured playing cards to more current Nintendo games, such as Brain Age or Nintendogs for the Nintendo DS.

Jimmy P. - A duplication of the early Jimmy T. stage, only this time he finds a stray puppy during a sunny day, and after leaving the puppy a bone, he is followed by a bunch of puppies to a different discotheque. This level chiefly includes forms learned from Ashley, Penny Crygor, 9-Volt, and Dribble and Spitz.

Tiny Wario - Instead of Wario transforming into Wario-Man again, he receives a small motorcycle invented by Penny. When he rides it, he begins to shrink and falls inside. Out of the tailpipe bursts dozens upon dozens of Tiny Warios. All forms except The Diner are used in Tiny Wario's games, and all involve Wario in some way.

Orbulon - Orbulon's ship spins out of control and lands in the same temple that Wario found the Form Baton in, only this time, Orbulon has stumbled across the Balance Stone that works in harmony with the Form Baton. Orbulon's microgames solely use The Diner form, which requires the player to attach a Nunchuk to the Wii Remote. There are three variations of The Diner. In The Diner A, the player begins the game with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk pointing upward, in The Diner B, they are pointed at the screen, and in The Diner C, inward towards one another.

Dr. Crygor and Mike - The doctor and karaoke robot both make appearances in Penny's stage, and later get a "Diet Mode" which is always 20 microgames long, no matter how many the player wins or loses. In this stage, the player tries to complete the microgame as quickly as possible in order to burn more "kelories" (word-play on "calories"). Instead of a boss stage, every tenth stage is extra-long.

[edit] Elephant Stages

Like other titles in the series before it, Smooth Moves has several stages where players have to tackle a random mix of all the microgames they have unlocked thus far, which are this time represented by differing color elephants.

Blue: This set moves at a normal speed and gets slightly faster every few games. The games start at the Easy level and get level-up in difficulty every twenty microgames.
Red: These microgames move at a super-fast speed, though are all on the Easy level.
Yellow: You have only one "life" in this set, so losing a microgame means an immediate game over. Plus, the microgames are all on the Hard level.
Green: In this final set, the game doesn't tell you how to hold the Wii Remote before each microgame. All the microgames are on the Medium level and increase in speed after every ten.

[edit] Multiplayer Games

Like Mega Party Game$, Smooth Moves features a multiplayer mode, where several players can take turns playing games in different scenarios. All games are played by sharing one remote. To unlock multiplayer, you must beat the Tiny Wario stage.

Survival: Playable with up to 12 players (The maximum number of registrable players) The player's Miis are represented as angels flying in the sky. The game will randomly pick a player, and that player will then play a random microgame. If they fail, they are removed from the game. This continues until there is only one player left.
Lifeline: Playable with up to 5 players, the player's Miis are represented as racers. Set in a specific order, the players take turns playing several rounds of microgames each worth increasing amounts of points. Once it is all over, the players are taken to a jungle where they are suspended by 1-3 ropes (Dependant on what place they got in the previous section). The players then take turns cutting the ropes. The trick here is that the player can't tell which rope is connected to which player. The player remaining after the ropes are cut wins. Sometimes in 5 player games, the ropes will come in two colours.
Balloon: Playable with up to 5 players, Games are played on a TV with a balloon on the top. When a player's turn comes, they will have the option to blow as much air into it as they want. After that, the microgame starts, and the player plays until they win one. While that player is playing, the other players are filling the balloon with air. Whoever is playing when the Balloon bursts is the loser. A similar game was found in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$.
Bomb: Playable with up to 5 players, the Wii remote is represented as a bomb, A player plays a microgame, and upon completion can choose the next player and what form they will use (given 3 seconds to make each decision). The bomb will explode if a player fails a minigame or takes too long with their next player/microgame decision. Each time a form is played, the next time it is played a game of a higher level will be chosen.

There are also three games that are unlockable, and playable on a smaller scale:

Darts: Playable with up to 4 players, the players flick the Wii remote so they throw a dart. The Wii remote produces a target to throw at on the screen. Just like regulation Darts, the first player to 301 exactly wins.
Star Nose: Playable with two players only, the Nunchuk must be attached. One player holds the Wii remote, while the other holds the Nunchuk. Each player uses their attachment to guide a nose-like shape. A player wins either by collecting three fruits, or by making the other player crash.
Bungee Buddies: Playable with two players only, the Nunchuck must be attached. One player holds the Wii remote, while the other holds the Nunchuck. The goal is for both to jump over obstacles to get as far up the board as possible in 60 seconds. There is a piece of cake that acts as a power-up.

[edit] About Posecards

In the game, Posecards appear after you clear a boss - if you are successful. These have the use of the Remote, and pose as it appears in the screen. Some of them need the Nunchuk, so you also can clear the bosses from Orbulon, and get newer posecards.

[edit] History

WarioWare: Smooth Moves was first revealed in May 2006.^[1] The game was shown first shown in a video form at Nintendo's pre-E3 press conference in 2006, with a playable demo introduced at the E3 conference itself. Nintendo also showed it during its Nintendo Fusion Tour.

Smooth Moves is the first WarioWare game to feature almost completely 3D graphics that are rendered to appear 2D. Although Touched! featured some 3D graphics (such as character intros), Smooth Moves utilizes 3D in nearly all of its microgames.

[edit] Reception

WarioWare: Smooth Moves has received favorable reviews from the gaming community. As of January 19, 2007, Smooth Moves has an average ranking of 80% from 20 collective reviews.^[2] GameSpot rated the game 9.1 out of 10, and that "it's a terrific use of the Wii's unique control features, it looks amazing...".^[3] IGN gives the game a 8.2 out of 10, that while "it's not perfect [nor] best in the series", it is "an essential piece of the Wii collection."^[4] NGamer rates this game at 83%, and GamesMaster gave it 85%.

[edit] Notes

Unlike previous WarioWare titles, there is no "meeting place" in Smooth Moves, where all the characters go after they finish their stories.
In the flashlight game in Mona's stage, the little person will make a noise similar to the ooccoo from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.^{[citation needed]}
In the third stage, on the game were you shake champagne, the men you spray it at have suits on, in the Japanese version, they were naked.^{[citation needed]}
The title screen can be seen as a mini-game in itself: The player can mess with Wario's moustache and also make different images appear by holding the Wii Remote straight up-and-down and moving it like a windshield wiper.
When starting the game, Wario shouts "It's a Wii! Wario!". This is a reference to Mario's catchphrase "Its'a me, Mario!"