WarioWare Get It Together is the newest entry in the WarioWare series and changes things up in a big way. The characters take the spotlight as this time around; players control them. The humor of the series is in full effect, and the characters all can be fun in their way. It’s a change that works, and playing with a friend in the local co-op is an advantage.
Wario and his friends are sitting around one day when Wario announces his game console is complete. He jams his pudgy finger onto a certain button, and in a twist, the console eats him and his friends. They are now stuck inside the game and the only way out is to gather all the crew and beat microgames. It might not be easy all the time, but they will pull through.
WarioWare Get It Together holds another solid collection of microgames within it. These games all fall into a different category, and each main character governs a section. As players play through the game, they will unlock the games one by one. It’s a pretty painless process, collecting them all, and that’s okay.
Players will select at least three characters to play through the stages. The roster slowly fills up as the player plays the game. Each character has their way of doing things, but the commands are pretty simple. It’s fun to figure out how each character can take down a microgame too. There’s a nice batch of characters to play as, and I appreciate the thought put into how each plays.
For instance, Wario can dash in any direction, while 9-Volt skateboards back and forth constantly. Orbulon can suck up just about anything, making him a character anyone can play. Penny can fly and shoot water in any direction but will fly in reverse. Some characters like Kat and Ana will continue to jump while Mona will continue to move back and forth. It’s necessary to figure out which characters the player plays best.
Get It Together is great; because of the multiplayer element. Players can play through the whole story with a friend. It’s local co-op only, but playing through this story with different friends could be fun. Players select characters and have their teams, so there is double the potential for victory.
The game has a whole host of multiplayer games too. Checking out the variety pack is great because that is where the fun can begins. While players can play the story cooperatively, fighting against friends is also a lot of fun. Gotta Bounce tasks players to keep a ball up in the air, while Daily Grind is about getting business and earning money. Friendless Battle is an unlimited fight against shadowy versions of the Wario Ware gang.
High Five is a game of volleyball, while Duelius Maximus is a fight against two friends. Rising Star is similar to Duelius, but there is a deity guiding it. Beat microgames to win, and take down the other player. Balloon Bang has players alternating between blowing up a balloon and playing a microgame, make the balloon burst, and you might disrupt your opponent. Sly Angle is a game of making triangles and taking up space. Players will complete microgames each round.
Puck’er up is a game about scoring goals; when the puck slides home, the victor plays a microgame. It’s up to their rival to take them down before they complete the game to earn a point. Frenemy Frenzy, is the last of the games, and it’s similar to Super Smash Brothers in a way. Players select their favorite character and battle it out for supremacy powerups abound, with four arenas to choose from.
The Wario Cup is one of the most challenging modes in the game. Players will play through different challenges every week for gold and glory. Some challenges are based around a single character, while others allow players to choose their team. The challenges reward the player with trophies, and they level up as they complete the challenges. It’s a fight for glory, and if the player isn’t ready, they aren’t likely to win them. It’s best to keep at it until the score is good enough for the player.
Players can check out the Play-o-Pedia to play any of the microgames. With over two hundred games to play, it’s great to sit down and play a game over and over again. There are even rewards to be earned if players can play to goals. Players will have a lot to play, playing these games for a while, so it’s worth it to jump in and go the distance.
The Crew page is simple enough at first; it’s just a place to see the characters. As the game progresses, players can use the coins they earn to buy presents for the characters. Giving characters presents not only levels them up but also gives the player new color options and concept art, and it’s great to customize the characters!
Missions are another challenge for players to play through. Players can take on a variety of missions, from maxing out a character’s level to beating a microgame a certain way. It’s challenging, but players will get plenty of coins while they complete these tasks. They help change up the microgames
Jon’s thoughts
WarioWare has been a beloved series since the first entry on the GBA, but all subsequent entries struggled to capture the beauty of that first title. The games subsequently became more experimental and tech demo focused, and each iteration moved further away from what made that first game work. WarioWare: Get It Together, however, is the first game since the original that manages to capture what made the series so amazing.
The different worlds that are selectable, each come with a large number of microgames or remixes of other microgames that will change up as players progress, giving a proper challenge. By having each character be playable in the microgames and allowing fully customizable teams after the story mode is complete, there is a large amount of freedom in how the game is played. Each character plays differently, and this creates an endless variety with the microgames being experienced in new ways constantly.
But the bad points need to be addressed and they are an issue. The controls feel somewhat off in certain microgames, and some characters are just poorly suited for a game. Players will constantly try to create a perfect team, but there will always be that one character that throws everything off. 9 Volt is constantly moving, Kat and Anna are always bouncing, and Penny is just awkward to control, all of which makes things difficult when they are a character players need to use at some points in the game.
The good parts, however, are a highlight for sure as not only is there a good selection of Microgames, but there is a lot more content to unlock in the game. Wario Cup brings endless replayability by constantly giving more and more challenges to players on a weekly basis, while the variety pack brings excellent multiplayer fun for many friends. The multiplayer in the main game is not very well implemented, but the variety pack more than makes up for it with games that can be played with one to four players and leave gamers feeling satisfied.
WarioWare: Get It Together is not perfect and doesn’t quite beat out the original game, but it does come close to that legendary title. There is so much to do here that players will want to keep gaming for hours, just to try one more time. Be mindful of your time, as Wario and friends will steal it away.
Disclaimer: Nintendo provided us with review keys for this review
Images were taken from Nintendo.co.uk