(You can't imagine the amount of work it was to make this title card. Hell, I didn't think I was going to run out of place on it! Seriously look at the full picture.)
One of the advantages of Nintendo is that they love to innovate. Touch screen; movement detection; the various features of the 3DS; the additional screen of the Wii U (You can say that it didn't turn out so well, but you can’t deny that it was an innovation); and now the Nintendo Switch that is practically three or four different consoles in one… They have always had this edge against competitors. Honestly, I love the concept of the Switch, I just hope they fill the roster of games quickly, with a lot of titles that make people want to buy the console.
And it’s inevitable: Since the Game Boy Advance, every new Nintendo console had its accompanying WarioWare title. The GBA had Mega
Microgames and Twisted! (this one innovated with a tilt sensor); The GameCube
had Mega Party Games; The Nintendo DS gave us Touched!; For the DSi (and 3DS?), we had
WarioWare: Do It Yourself as well as Snapped!; The Wii U had Game & Wario;
The original Wii had D.I.Y. Showcase, and Smooth Moves.
Applying the formula of the WarioWare series to the
Nintendo Wii must not have been a simple task. Yet, they managed it rather
well, by setting up Forms (positions the player must take with the Wii remote
in order to play a certain category of microgames). Before every microgame,
you’re told which form to use and you’re given enough time to switch
accordingly. That way, even in the most randomized levels, you’re not left
alone to figure out what you have to do next. That’s a good thing, because some
of those poses are simply silly and you wouldn’t think of using them. Alright,
so what’s the idea they found to connect all those things together? Let’s look
at the plot!
It's like a parable. "And then the game dev looked to the skies and prayed to his deity, the Random Number God, for an idea. And the RNG replied, 'here, have this weird-shaped game controller'." |
In Wario's world, the Wii Remote was praised in the distant past as a fantastic item of
legend known as the Form Baton. The years passed, and the legend was forgotten…
UNTIL TODAY! An unlikely hero is about to bring the Form Baton to its former
glory and share its secrets with the world!
"Hey! Those were the leftovers of my sixth meal of the day!" |
This level, as a tutorial of sorts, used nothing but
the Remote Control form. Just point, move the Wii remote around a bit, press A
if needed. Simple. As with every WarioWare game, you won’t get every single
microgame in the level on your first playthrough, hence why you’re encouraged
to go back to play it – and try to rack up a good score.
From there, we peek into the lives of other Diamond
Citizens we’ve come to know and love from this franchise – and still a rare few
more that are making their first appearance.
Shake me those pom-poms! Go nondescript sports team, go! |
Already, you can see that the cutscenes and the
microgames all contain a lot of comedy, as per WarioWare tradition. It’s awesome. It doesn’t stop there,
either; the Narrator describing each form as they appear to you for the first
time must keep a relaxed and monotone voice throughout, despite each form
description containing a joke. Gotta love the WarioWare series for that. That poor guy must have been cracking up in the recording studio.
Kat and Ana will probably grow up to become part of a group of heroes in a shonen series. |
From there, we get two more levels. Kat and Ana are defending a pagoda against a giant oni looking for its kid. In this level, we discover three more forms: The Sketch Artist, where you hold the Wii remote like a pencil; the Chauffeur, where you hold the Wii remote sideways like a steering wheel; and the Samurai, one of the worse forms in the game, where you keep the Wii remote to your side like a Samurai about to strike, only to swing wildly as soon as the time comes to act.
We also meet new faces! Well, we’ve seen them on this
blog in the review of WarioWare: Do It Yourself, but in Smooth Moves, they were
new: Young Cricket and Master Mantis. After a day of training, the sensei and
his apprentice stop by Mona’s stand to get something to eat. Wait, Mona has yet
another job? On top of being a microgame developer? Methinks she’s a Mary Sue…
although, of the fun kind, at least. Young Cricket oversteps his bounds by
stepping over the line of clients (literally; running on their heads) to get to
the stand first, only to realize he's hurt every person waiting in line by
stepping on their heads… so he goes back to the end of the line, by running on
the clients’ heads again.
And thus, we get the Tug-O-War, a self-explanatory
form; the Waiter, my most hated form in the game where you must keep the Wii
remote balanced in your hand like a meal on a plate, and that form’s microgames
involve a lot of balance; and the Elephant, one of the funniest forms, where
you hold the Wii Remote to your nose and just wave the tip around, like a
trunk.
Once again, Jimmy T. is heading to Club Sugar. It’s
raining and he sees a lonely kitten in the alley, so he gives it his umbrella.
Soon, some kittens start following him, and more kittens… so he busts out the
moves and they follow. You could call this level “Dances With Kittens”. His
level combines micro-games from the previous three levels, starting on the
second difficulty.
"Your offering to the feline deity has been received. You shall now obtain protection from the cat army." |
To be fair though, Jimmy and his kittens are more
synchronized than a lot of professional dance groups.
Aww yeah! Shake me those fleas!
Yes, that's a nose. There's always a boss nose in these games. |
We learn more forms through these levels:
Form: The Big Cheese. Jump! That is all. |
-The Discard; for those who hate to hold remotes! Keep
it face-down on a table and pick it up only once you need to!
-The Big Cheese, where you keep the remote on your hip
and shake some booty to play the games.
-The Janitor, in which you sweep your cares away
holding the Wii remote like a broom. And if you hate cleaning up, well, tough!
-The Mohawk, resting the Wii remote on top of your
head with both arms. Big movements! Just don’t headbang too much.
-The dumbbell, because even gamers need to exercise,
even though a Wii remote is apparently the heaviest thing some of us can lift.
-The finger food, in which you hold the remote between
thumb and index on its side. Because, all I want to think about when I’m
“exercising” is the next serving of fries I’ll be wolfing down, right?
-Mortar and Pestle, holding the Wii remote vertically, resting its bottom on your other hand. Not the most solid of forms. Needs more mortar. Dunno if it
needs more pestle.
-The Boxer, which doesn’t mean holding your remote
over your midsection, it means holding it so that it’s clutched in your fist, not
pointing at the screen. I don’t consider this form to be fun, but not a total knock-out.
Beating these three stages unlocks 9-Volt’s stage. In
it, we meet again 9-Volt and his vocabulary-impaired friend 18-Volt, who has
just recently learned to say something else than “Word!”. The two get in a
fight over a Game and Watch retro console and break it, so 9-Volt kicks him
out. Desperate, 18-Volt heads to the nearest video game store to correct his
mistake and buy a replacement one. As usual, 9-Volt’s stage is among the last
because it encompasses most features seen so far, serving as the first “final
exam” of sorts. Other than that, you know what to expect: All microgames based
on Nintendo titles, topped with a very nice mini-version of a StarFox level.
Best. Thing. Ever. 18-Volt finds a Game and Watch, courtesy of a jovial
employee…
…an employee that turns out to be none other than
Satoru Iwata! Aww, I’m feeling sad now. 18-Volt rushes for it… and meets
9-Volt! With the young one realizing that his friend was trying to pay back for
his mistake, the two make up and 18-Volt goes back to being his friend’s Player
2. Yup, never Player one. 18-Volt is the Luigi of that relationship.
We get another Jimmy T. stage, except it’s helmed by
his doppleganer Jimmy P., who… dances with pups. Yup. It contains microgames
from the previous four stages. After which, we unlock the final level.
Another staple of WarioWare: The final stage, helmed by Wario or a Wario form, with every single microgame containing a Wario element, like his arm, or mustache. |
Orbulon's stage; finally some use for that seemingly- useless left hand. |
Then, as usual, we get the bonus Tower levels, this
time with an elephant theme. A tower that mixes most microgames (only omitting
Orbulon’s due to the Nunchuk being required for those), a second tower that
starts off at an insane speed, a third one that starts at difficulty level 3
for all microgames, and a final tower that, *gasp*!, doesn’t reveal the form
required before a microgame starts!
The heaviest sets of microgames in this collection. |
Looks like me when I'm exercising. |
To compensate, Smooth Moves is probably the most
multiplayer-friendly WarioWare game.
Oh! I mean… second most multiplayer-friendly! There’s
a neat collection of multiplayer games, like Dart Club (who needs a dart game
when you can get a crappy one in WarioWare?), Bungee Buddies (help each other
jump over pits, go as far as possible!), Star Nose (still that nose
obsession!), and a few others. So if you want to play with friends, that’s
fine! Just pass around the remote to each other. Pretty fun stuff indeed,
though some are pretty difficult – you need to know the microgames because
you’re not given a lot of time to adapt to the situation.
And that’s about everything in the game. I love it! It
must have been tricky to find so many forms to invent for the game, but they’ve
done a very great job. Many forms are creative. Some forms feel like other forms,
just slightly modified (like the Thumb Wrestler being almost identical to the
Umbrella). Some require simple or basic movements, like the Remote Control or
the Umbrella, while others need more complex moves, like the Mohawk or the Big
Cheese. However, all forms have their pretty unique microgames, and that’s
awesome. Once again, creativity shines through.
Hm. I didn't know Shia LaBeouf did game cameos. |
Adding to this are the various mini-games to unlock,
both in single-player and multiplayer modes, which don’t quite make up for the
lack of bonus rewards, but at least fill the game with more things to do.
The final boss. Hm, is it me or Wario likes to dance? |
Well, at least there is some focus on a multiplayer
aspect with no less than 7 multiplayer mini-games and the possibility of
playing with friends in the regular stages, to see who goes the farthest.
“Leave your inhibitions at the door”, indeed.
Wonderful game, you have to try it at least once. Hell,
you should look for it if you own a Wii. It’s a great time to be had.
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