WarioWare, Inc.

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WarioWare, Inc. (Made In Wario in Japan) is a fictional game company owned by the Nintendo character, Wario. The franchise was established in 2003 with the release of Mega Microgame$! for the Game Boy Advance. WarioWare's employees are friends and companions of Wario. Wario's greedy attitude is embedded in his company; the cover of WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$!, for instance, shows him saying "Hey! Buy my game!" He also happens never to share his money with his employees.

The distinctive feature of all WarioWare games is that they are collections of short, simple microgames in quick succession. Each of these microgames last about five seconds and must be completed, or else a life will be lost. For example, there is a microgame where the player must zap a spaceship; in another, Wario must collect coins in a Pac-Man-like maze. The numerous microgames are linked together randomly and steadily increase in speed and difficulty as the player progresses.

1 Microgames
2 Characters
3 WarioWare, Inc. games
4 Appearances in other games
5 External links

[edit] Microgames

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Microgames are simple video games created by the fictional company WarioWare, Inc.. Nintendo's line of WarioWare games each feature these Microgames, which are generally less than 5 seconds long. Microgames are even simpler and shorter than the minigames found in other games such as Mario Party.

Gameplay in all WarioWare games is distinct from most other games, as they involve the player or players trying to beat as many Microgames as possible as each is presented, one by one, at increasing speed.

[edit] Gameplay

All Microgames are strung together randomly within different "stages", each hosted by a different character. First the player is presented with a quick one or two word instruction such as "Eat!" or "Get Blue!". Then, the microgame will appear and the player will have to complete the game according the instruction.

For example, in one Microgame, the player is told to "Enter!", and is presented with a scene from The Legend of Zelda. The player must use the directional buttons to move Link to a cave entrance before the time runs out. In another game, the player must drive a car, "Avoid!"ing oncoming traffic.

[edit] Classification

Microgames come in three main types, classified by the condition required to clear them, as follows:

"Accomplish" Microgames, where the player must do something within a limited amount of time. The Legend of Zelda example above is an Accomplish Microgame, since Link must be guided to the cave before the timer runs out. The sound bite will usually be played before the timer runs out if the task is accomplished (and may continue through the return to the score screen).

"Survival" Microgames, where the player must prevent something from happening until the timer runs out. The traffic example is a Survival Microgame, where the car must avoid being hit until the timer runs out. The sound bite will play after the score screen returns.

Boss Microgames, which always occur at a set point in a channel, are usually more challenging, have no time limit (as described below), and give chances back upon successful clearing. They are also required to be passed in order to pass a channel for the first time. The sound bite will usually play after the task is fulfilled, and then the score screen will return.

In addition to these main classifications, there are several deviations from the normal microgames:

IQ-Genre microgames, which last twice as long to fit their brain-stretching contents.

Multiplayer microgames, found in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$ and WarioWare: Smooth Moves, are not beat-based, and are used to determine who goes first in a multiplayer game, or to settle a tie. The Wobbly Bobbly multiplayer game features multiplayer microgames most commonly, as one is played at the start of each round.

Fronk's microgames, found only in WarioWare: Twisted!, last a record breaking short 4 beats, and appear randomly during story mode.

A Microphone minigame, found only when doing Mike's story mode, or one of the minigame collections, simply tells you to "Shhhhhhhhh!" as some "Fronks" cross a tight rope.

[edit] Time

The unit of time for all Microgames is beats. In Mega Microgame$, a standard Microgame is 8 beats, but Microgames in the IQ genre (hosted by Orbulon) last 16 beats. In most games, the beats per minute (BPM) will start out relatively slow (about 140 BPM) and will increase as the player or players complete Microgames. Similarly, in WarioWare: Twisted!, most microgames are 8 beats but Orbulon's are 16.

At the slowest, a standard 8-beat Microgame will last: 8 beats / 140 beats per minute * 60 seconds per minute = 3.4 seconds. This means that, although many sources official and not claim microgames last five seconds long, only IQ games could possibly reach this length.

In WarioWare: Touched!, the 8-beat standard and IQ Microgames have been merged into one, so many games last longer than 8 beats. This is perhaps because the interface of the DS is relatively new, and microgames would be too hard otherwise. To its credit, the game cuts off the standard length of a microgame, if cleared before a measure (multiple of 4 beats) is met.

[edit] Difficulty

Some Microgames are intrinsically harder than others, and an increased BPM (i.e increased speed) will make any Microgame more difficult to complete than the same Microgame at a slower BPM. This is usually reflected in Microgames' "clear scores" - the score one must reach while playing the microgame in the practice modes in order to obtain credit for "clearing" it. (Smooth Moves lacks this feature, however, as do the exclusive multiplayer microgames from Mega Party Game$.)

Each Microgame is also featured in three different versions: Blue, Yellow, and Red. Blue presents the task in an easier way while Red presents it in a much harder way. Not all modes of all Wario Ware games will actually show a colour to denote the current level, but most modes start with Blue games and work up from there.

From the above the Legend of Zelda example: the Blue version of this Microgame usually places Link very close to the cave entrance that he must get to. The Yellow version will place the entrance further away and will place an enemy that will block Link. The Red version will place the entrance yet further, and has a second enemy that shoots at Link from a lake.

[edit] Characters

There are two major types of characters. The first are the WarioWare developers who both create and host the games. Each one has a unique theme or twist, depending on the game. For instanace, Mona's theme in Twisted! was small spins, while in Touched! her games involve small lines drawn with the stylus. The second type is minor characters who often show up within the introduction cut scenes - the most notable being Frank, who is the default character for 'weird' games and pops up in the most unlikely places. In Twisted! he had his own set of six games that appeared randomly no matter what mode you were playing.

[edit] WarioWare, Inc. games

The following WarioWare, Inc. games have been released for Nintendo gaming consoles and handheld systems:

Title	Year	Platform	Feature
1. WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!	2003	Game Boy Advance	First Game
2. WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$!	2004	Nintendo GameCube	Multiplayer
3. WarioWare: Touched!	2005	Nintendo DS	Touch Screen
4. WarioWare: Twisted!	2005	Game Boy Advance	Motion Sensor Card
5. WarioWare: Smooth Moves	2007	Wii	Wii Remote

Each sequel has had its own variation, or gimmick. Mega Party Game$ was the first multiplayer game; Twisted! had a gyro sensor; Touched! used the Nintendo DS touchscreen; and Smooth Moves uses the Wii Remote.

[edit] Appearances in other games

The WarioWare factory appears as a court in Mario Power Tennis and Mario Hoops 3-on-3.
The WarioWare symbol appears on a poster in the Yoshi Theater in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.
WarioWare Inc. was mentioned in Wario's profile in Mario Superstar Baseball.
Wario is shown wearing his WarioWare motorcycle outfit in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii in the first E3 trailer, as he will be a playable character in the game.