N-Philes

Wario Ware Touched!

Posted by Ben Wood.

Cut! Print! Save! Open!

Those are commands printed on the side of keys on my keyboard, as a reminder to which keys perform what functions in conjunction with the control button. And in the time that it has taken you to read this far, you could have played four minigames with those exact same instructions.

Alright, so Wario Ware Touched! does not feature a game where you print something, but it certainly has a minigame where you have to trace a Japanese character. This one, and all of the other 189 microgames, as Nintendo describes them, allows the player to tap, slice, circle, and blow their way to success.

Wario Ware Touched! starts off with a bit of humor on Nintendo's part, paralleling the reactions of many when they first announced a new portable platform. Wario accidentally comes across a new fancy gaming system, which he pilfers from an angelic man in no time. The dual-screened device has no buttons and is quickly dismissed as lame, until a stylus is discovered and the touch sensitive screen is revealed. "This isn't lame... It's fun!" Wario exclaims just before realizing the device's moneymaking potential.

In the main mode, there are ten characters to unlock, each with their own sets of microgames based on particular stylus motions, be it tapping, pulling, rotating, etc, and microphone interaction. While most of the games could be pulled off on one screen, they all use the mic and touch screen exclusively. Eventually, five other characters are unlocked that allow the player to play compilations of other character's games. Included in these are a hardcore mix that gives just one life to start with, and a gnarly mix that speeds everything up. Once you've played a microgame, you can access it in the album at any time.

The microgames themselves, while similar in execution, are diverse in their presentation. Some like Sugar Rush, Pipe Dream, and What's Your Sign have the player follow specific paths on the touch screen while others will have you rubbing and tapping frantically until the screen wears out. All the microphone-based games require either simple blowing, or total silence, to complete. Several minigames from Wario Ware: Mega Microgame$ do make an appearance, but most of the games are brand new. Some of the highlights include games where you tickle hairy men under their arms, cause a nose to sneeze, and put a fire out with the Manekin Pis statue (as seen in Animal Crossing). For good measure, Nintendo has included 21 games inspired form its catalog, including Donkey Kong 3, clay shooting from Duck Hunt, several Game & Watch scenarios, and a microgame that makes you insert a game into a Gamecube and a controller into its control port.

The boss battles are a bit disappointing in Touched!. Aside from a bowling-inspired game, they are all get-to-the-finish-style. The only thing that separates the boss rounds from the regular rounds is that the boss rounds have no time limit.

Wario Ware needs simple graphics for two reasons. Firstly, complicated graphics take longer to interpret by the player, and thus the time from when the game is presented to the time when the player begins completing it takes longer. Secondly, simplified graphics take less time to load and have less opportunity to slow down. Both these components are crucial to the style of game that Wario Ware is: fast minigames in rapid succession. That said, Touched! is a step up, using more color, and more detail than its predecessor. The main elements of the microgames tend to be highlighted with more intense color, outlines, and directional arrows so that the objective of the microgame is easy to identify. A few games like Character Development and Scrambled Egg pull off some 3D elements, which were pretty much non-existent before this iteration of the franchise.

Wario Ware: Touched! does make some use of the DS' more capable sound capabilities by using more voice samples than ever. Some of the new music features full lyrics, like in Ashley's slightly creepy Saturday Morning cartoon-style theme. Some Asian- and Indian-inspired sounds work their way into some microgames, while classic Nintendo beats find their way into others. All the music is appropriate for the situation that they're played in, but is also largely forgettable. Sounds let the player know that they are in fact playing the minigames, and can heighten the reaction that the player gets to the ridiculously fun games. The sneeze noise made when Sneeze Please is completed is just priceless. Its moments like that where the charm of Wario Ware really shines through.

The game has 30 toys, from a yo-yo to a grandma simulator, to unlock and collect. They're nice little bonuses, but offer no more than a minute or two of entertainment. Touched! probably would have benefited more from another set of microgames. The most fleshed out toy is a ping-pong game for two players. Each player has his or her own screen and shoulder button used to hit the ball. Unfortunately this is the only type of multiplayer support in the game, as a multiplayer mode would have stretched the title's lasting appeal. Wario Ware Mega Party Game$ for the Gamecube showed the series' potential for multiplayer elements, and because each game is small, single cart support for multiple systems wouldn't have been an issue. Also, because each player has his or her own screen, everyone can play at once, which makes it more interesting to all participants.

Wario Ware Touched! is a perfect title for a handheld system. You can play it for any period of time, both long and short, and still make progress. It makes full use of the integrated sleep mode so that you can stop for extended periods of time without having to start over. The options menu lets you choose between a right-handed and a left-handed setup, which actually affects how a few of the microgames are played.

This game gets an N-Philes score of B+.

Ultimately, Wario Ware Touched! requires only a few hours to unlock and play all the microgames, but it's like no other gaming experience. Much of the appeal to keep playing the title lies in its high score system, trying to better your previous attempts and playing a microgame a certain number of rounds in order to ‘pass' it. Its simplistic, but addictive gameplay will have you playing long after everything is unlocked. Despite a missed opportunity for multiplayer, Wario Ware Touched! beautifully shows off the potential of the Nintendo DS.

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