The Strangest Minigame Collection I Have Ever Played, But Also One of the Best

User Rating: 9.2 | WarioWare: Smooth Moves WII
By seasponge2004 | Review Date:
WarioWare: Smooth Moves for the Nintendo Wii is the most bizarre game on the Wii to date. It features 200 5-second "microgames" that are normally played with one fast, decisive action (Swing, chop, jump). WarioWare has different positions to hold the WIimote, or forms. These include: The handlebar, waiter, remote control, etc. Some are used a lot (Remote control, umbrella) while others are used for maybe only 5 games (Elephant, tug-of-war). The games in WarioWare are a lot and fun and, with some omissions, are easy to use. While the game does have easy controls, you are not told the controls because of how the minigame is just shoved in your face right after the other. There is one minigame where you have to perform in a duel but it doesn't tell you that you have to hit the B button to shoot. While there are only a few other examples, a large majority of the games are high quality.

The visual style of the WarioWare games has always been bizarre. First you may be playing a game in a Crayola-drawn child's picture, then thrust into a minigame with a 2D, arcade style monster that you have to shoot down. The minigames go from crayons, to cut outs, to paint, to 2D, 3D and everything in between. But, as awkward as these seem, they fit right in with the frantic playstyle of WarioWare.

Sound in WarioWare is a bit more difficult to describe. While the small voice overs do get annoying, the music that speeds up with the minigames that gets your heart pumping is a nice addition and has always been one of my favorite parts of the games. Multiplayer in WarioWare: Smooth Moves is way different than other party games. Instead of having 4 players with a separate Wiimote each, the players use 1 single remote that is passed between the different people in 4 different game types. My personal favorite is Lifeline, where 2-6 people play a series of minigames to see how many points you can get. All the players are then strung up to a pipe and, depending on how many points you have, have a certain number of ropes holding you up. If you lose all your ropes, you lose and whoever is the last one standing (Or I guess it would be hanging) wins. It is especially funny when you see your friend cut himself down when it was just you and him left up.

Another one of the gametypes is Survival which is a classic elimination match but the main difference is how, instead of Lifeline's 2-6, Survival has 2-16. I have yet to be able to get 15 other people to simultaneously play this game, but I bet it is a lot of fun. Another important thing to note about WarioWare is its use of the Miis. In multiplayer, each of the players selects a Mii that is their personal character in a game. These Miis are seen hanging from the ropes in Lifeline, soaring through the sky in Survival and also seen in some minigames.

WarioWare: Smooth Moves is one of the best games that I have seen on the Wii. While the single player is extremely short (It only takes a few hours to unlock all the minigames), the multiplayer is where this game shines. Having a group of friends huddled around the TV as one of them tries to hula hoop a doughnut is a site to behold. To all Wii owners: Buy this game!

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