WarioWare: Move it Hands-On Preview
The WarioWare series has been available on most Nintendo systems since its initial release on the Gameboy Advance with WarioWare, Inc.: Micromega Games. The series has often taken advantage of the unique features of the hardware it was being made for and the latest instalment, WarioWare: Move it, is no different. In a weird way, it mirrors a previously released WarioWare GBA game, WarioWare Twisted, as they both use a gyroscope. But unlike the GBA version where players were limited to moving the device in their hands, the switch’s joy-cons are different. It’s thanks to this that Move It is more like a successor to WarioWare: Smooth Moves.
The main difference in the two is that the pair of joy-cons are held in grip mode, which is where the players hold the controllers in their fists with their thumbs resting on the ZL or ZR buttons. This is because the new game has various forms, like the aforementioned WarioWare: Smooth Moves and holding the joy-cons in this way makes it easier for players to perform the various forms requested of them. The game will ask players whether they are righthanded or lefthanded before they play so the correct form will be displayed.
Like past entries, Warioware: Move It consists of microgames which are like Mario Party’s mini-games but shorter, all with only five seconds to complete the assigned task. Move It has two modes, story and party. Story mode follows the stories of each of the Warioware Inc. Characters during their time vacationing on the island. To proceed through the story, nine micro-games and a boss need to be completed with a four life safety net. Story mode can be played solo or with two people, and will give players access to the museum; which allows any played micro-game to be played again at any time up to level 3 for one or two players.
Each of the micro-games will require a specific form including the Choo choo, Ba-kaw, Squat and Fashionista forms. Story mode helpfully explains each of these forms before throwing players into the micro-games, but due to the frenetic nature of the game it may take a few goes to complete it. Luckily, there is a second chance feature. The game will show a form on screen, and the player must imitate it to get another chance to complete that section. I managed to fail twice in the preview and received the Second chance form twice, but at this point in time, it’s unclear if this is something that will always happen or if there’s just a chance for it to happen.
The other mode, Party mode, is designed to allow up to four people to play together. It differs from the main game mode because players only need one joy-con to play – unlike the story mode which requires each player to have a pair of joy-cons each. The party mode features a board game element but like how it changed the Mario Party mini-games into micro-games, the game board is like a micro-game board. How it works is players face off in a random micro-game. The winner gets to roll the dice first and move with each player getting to roll next based on their micro-game score. Once each person has moved their piece, it’s time for another micro-game to decide the turn order again. The one to the goal first is the winner.
I got to play a variety of micro-games, but was only able to experience a few of the poses. One micro-game, Locomotive, sees players moving their arms like a train, but with both arms in sync. I made the mistake of doing the locomotion the first time and it is not how it is done. This used the Choo Choo form where I had to keep my arms at my side, but bend them 90 degrees at the elbow, like a train. Once I got the movement down, the game then told me to stop at the station. Flustered, the train crashed straight into the bollard. The Squat stance was the form I was the most rubbish at. It requires you to squat similar to a sumo with the joy-con/s resting on the thighs. This pose had two of the weirder micro-games like Thigh fishing and Buttograph. Thigh fishing required two people to catch fish between their thighs, closing them tightly. Buttograph required writing with ones buttocks. I’m not sure how it works, but it did. Another fun form was Fashionista, which has one hand on the hip and the other near the face. The micro-game Shell Shine ultilises this form to clean a turtle’s back. Thankfully, the micro-games are still as wacky as they’ve always been.
WarioWare: Move It is shaping up to be another great WarioWare game. It’s not the type of game that lets you play seated and depending on how well the person plays, they could end up with sore arms or legs as well. Move over Ring Fit, this is the real workout. I’m glad that WarioWare: Move It hasn’t lost any of the charm which only a WarioWare game can bring. As I said earlier, if you enjoyed previous WarioWare games, then this game is absolutely more of the same formula we all know and love but just with new micro-games, features and the inclusion of strange forms to tie it all together.
