WarioWare: Get It Together! (2021)

There is a 2012 Nintendo Direct where Iwata (RIP to a real one) spoke about the idea of Dokusou (独創). He explains that in English it means "to make something new or unique" and talks about how that idea drives Nintendo.

WarioWare as a series is Dokusou. It feels bombastic and exciting and unique; Unique even among Nintendo games which often stray away from the mainest-of-streams. Really, how many games from Nintendo or otherwise are this forward with their potty humor? Partner that with twitchy mini-games testing your reflexes and the punk rock gonzo-Richard-Linklater's-Slacker vibes, you're really playing something special. Sure, if the five second mini-games aren't your thing, you just aren't gunna like this game. But if it hits, Wario Ware hits.

However, WarioWare: Get It Together really feels like it has the edges sanded down. Perhaps Nintendo knows that Wario is a known property, and maybe they should go a bit broader this time around since their Switch console is such a hit, but this decision makes Get It Together to be one of the duller entries in the shining series.

Here's some examples of what I mean.

1. Every mini-game is controlled with just the control stick and the click of one button. This is because the gimmick in Get It Together is you are playing as Wario and his friends. While I like Wario and his friends (more on them later), this hampers the mini-games' opportunities to really go bonkers mode. Yes, the game mixes up who you are playing as, and yes, there are almost twenty unique characters to play as. But in old WarioWare games, you wouldn't have almost twenty unique play experiences- you would have roughly two hundred. Every mini-game included a meta mini-game of "what the heck am I doing in this one?" Get It Together instead asks a much less interesting question- "Who am I playing as again in this one?"
2. Touched is perhaps my favorite game in the franchise. I haven't played them all (including the much loved Smooth Moves), but Touched felt like a generous game. You don't expect a series about microgames to be so packed with content. I kid you not, I think I put 50+ hours into Touched... Get It Together I beat in under two hours. I don't want to overstate my discontent. It was a fun two hours, and I will be going back to unlock what little is left (basically just costumes), but this feels paltry. Especially when WarioWare was overwhelmingly a handheld franchise with a handheld price. Paying $50 for a smaller version of this mostly inexpensive series left a sour taste in my mouth. Maybe that stuff doesn't matter to you. It does to me.
3. Wario and his friends feel more marketable/sanitized. When Mona was first introduced, she was escaping the cops on her Vespa. Now she is a teenager concerned about her dirty room. Jimmy T used to have these wonderfully odd elements to his fascination with disco and the disco aesthetic. Now he is the sports guy. Wario used to screw over his friends as he was only interested in himself. Now he is less maniacal, and more just interested in money. At least 9-Volt still disobeys his mom.

I am being very harsh toward this game, but only because I know how good this series can be. I think Get It Together is a fun game, and I do recommend it. I just also think it could be better. It could be more WarioWare. It could be more Dokusou.

WarioWare on Nintendon selkeästi pienemmän panostuksen pelisarjoja. Vaikka tuotantoarvot ja skaala ovat paljon esim. Mariota ja Zeldaa alhaisemmat, hulluutta ja hupia niistä voi irrota silti todella paljon. Sama pätee myös uusimpaan osaan.

WarioWare: Get It Together! on hauska hulluttelupeli, jonka parissa viihtyy yksin pelatessa sen lyhyen keston ajan ja jonkin verran päälle. Sopivalla moninpeliporukalla siitä voi taas irrota paljon enemmän tunteja. Yksinkertaisesti pelin ideana on pelata muutaman sekunnin mikropelejä ja koittaa selvitä niistä lävitse. Lahopäisen tarinamoodin lisäksi pelissä on melko köykäinen nettipeli, vaihtelevantasoisia minipelejä ja moninpelimoodeja sekä jonkin verran erilaista kepoista unlockattavaa. Eri tavoin ohjattavat hahmot tuovat peliin uuden kaoottisen elementin ja pääosin pelattavuus on napakkaa. Hieman peliä pelatessa kuitenkin kaipaa aiempien WarioWarejen malliin, jossa minipelejä pelattiin "suoraan" eikä joka kerta erillisen hahmon liikuttelun kautta.

Pelin ehdoton kohokohta on sen käsittämätön audiovisuaalinen anti. Pelissä vilisee niin outoja, huonosti yhteen istuvia tai sekopäisiä graffatyylejä ja ääniä, että välillä ei voi muuta kuin nauraa. Yllättävää tämä on etenkin Nintendolta, joka on koomisen tarkka esim. Mario-hahmojen persoonattomuuden ja ympäripyöreyden varmistamisessa.

WarioWare: Get It Together! on mukava muttei mahtava lisä Switchin pelikattaukseen, ja on hieno nähdä Nintendon muistavan myös (edes joitain) pienempiä sarjojaan.

One of my favorite parts of WarioWare is its unique and colorful cast, and being able to finally play as all of the characters is an evolution to the WarioWare series I didn't know it needed. It adds a ridiculous amount of replay-ability as there are 20 characters with unique properties that will solve the 200 microgames differently. It also adds an incredible amount of difficulty since there is a higher learning curve for this entry. The story mode is essentially a 3-4 hour tutorial on all the characters. While this may sound overwhelming, this game brings the microgames back to their roots by using one simple control scheme, moving and pressing one button. No tilting the controller, no touch screen, no blowing into the mic, no tech-demo gimmicks are being used here, just fast paced, high-score action.

Being able to play through the whole story with a second player makes the game so much better too. In previous WarioWare games, multiplayer was only for the side modes, in Get It Together you can play through everything but two modes with a player two. I think this WarioWare is an essential Switch game for those looking for a two player game. I do think there is enough content here for single player buyers too, the weekly Wario Cup with online rankings has been bringing me back and leveling up my characters on my own.

I have a soft spot for this franchise, and I hope this entry leads to Nintendo using these characters in different ways in the future. It was so refreshing buying a first party Nintendo Switch game that was complete on release and filled with a ton of charm. Don't know the last time I said that

PROS

• New character powers gimmick adds a flexible puzzle-y element to the micro-games
• Snappy controls
• There is something undeniably fun about high-score chasing in WarioWare games, and that's no different here

CONS

• Focus on multiplayer and party modes leaves the single-player options a bit bare
• The purity of directly interacting with the goofy game environments via touch controls or whatever else strips a lot of the charm out of the experience

Just completed the story mode. I'm a huge WarioWare fan and enjoyed this game but I don't feel it was better than the GBA or Wii entries. Gameplay is tight, responsive, and fun which is par for the course with the series. Each character has a unique feel and helps add a bit of variety to each minigame but there aren't many minigames that truly cater to the skills they offer. It does seem like there's a good amount of post-game stuff to check out at least! Hopefully more minigames become available that can really challenge the player.

The story itself is amusing and the art style is great but it's over before you know it, clocking in at roughly two hours and change (probably less depending on your skill). I'm interested in the co-op modes, which I'm hoping to check out tomorrow since that Wii one was a riot with friends back in the day!

Played Demo (High Score - 25)

Thoughts:

I mean... it's just WarioWare, except the gimmick of this one is that you play as the WarioWare cast which has different ways to clear each microgame. Pretty funny how the intro sequence introduction of "Diamond City" is all clearly photoshopped backgrounds of Los Angeles too.

Very likely to not pick this title up personally especially at the launch price of $50, but hey if you enjoyed WarioWare titles in the past this one's probably fine too.