WarioWare Gold is undoubtedly my favorite WarioWare game and I think a lot of it is the nostalgia factor for me that came with seeing all the old microgames remade, especially as a longtime an of the series. But not only that, but you can absolutely tell that Nintendo wanted to make up for the series being absent for so long (outside of some nice Rhythm Heaven Megamix cameos) by going out of their way to give the entire series a fresh coat of paint, this of course referring to the new voice actors and art direction. It really is interesting to see how Ko Takeuchi's art has evolved, and I do not mind the new designs but I hope they keep evolving. Each game having its own, unique identity is what makes the series so worthwhile. The voice actors definitely took some time to get used to for me, but they definitely grew on me, I think that everyone was casted wonderfully, and hearing Charles fully was incredible. The dubs are great too, Dr. Crygor's Latin American Spanish VA sounds closer to his original voice, and it is incredible what the team did with such little voice actors. The game even lets you dub over the hilarious cutscenes yourself!
Having a unique plot to the entire game is such a great addition, I was truly hyped to "let the Wario Bowl games begin!", and Lulu's introduction is so cool. The game gets you hyped right from the intro, and I love the ending cutscene with Wario being a greedy punk as usual. The game would've been boring if all the microgames looked the same but they were all updated and some even given some mix ups to keep it interesting, but they all had to be reduced to 120 BPM, and I kinda didn't like how they changed the character's voice clip to always play after the game, and not directly after you win/lose. It is like the only way to definitively tell if you did it right or not, but not a big deal. The quality of life updates like each character having their own boombox, and their voice playing for their respective microgame during the towers was incredible, same with the collectibles, each with their own charm.
Even though there were certain 3DS capabilities that were not taken advantage of (such as doing something with the camera a la Tomodachi Life, using 3D although it was retired by then), they still truly made a game using the wonderful features of the system, switching from mashing to twisting to touching to blowing is a blast. Bringing back Fronk games and designating a couple to Mike is genius too - every character gets the spotlight this time (even 5-Volt)! I love it! It really feels like no one is left out of this one, not like the previous games, although this is of course in part due to the staggering number of microgames. Especially waking up with those incredible alarm clocks, lol. All of this is why it is my favorite. The game is a love letter to me. Wario Deluxe's stage is the ultimate celebration of the entire franchise, between Wario finally getting his own theme, every game themed around him, and the controls being flipped on their head.
WarioWare: Get It Together! is definitely the game that sticks out the most from the other main titles because of the character mechanic, which definitely makes the game less friendly to beginners compared to virtually any other game in the franchise and removes the simplicity, but it can work to its advantage. It is definitely the most ambitious because of the risks it takes, and modes such as Wario Cup can only be done with that particular concept, I am still trying to get gud with that mode. Makes you wish there were more time attack modes with the franchise, and it is incredibly creative. The whole game oozes creativity, I love how they brought back the unique character microgame genres and they are impressive this time. I can only imagine how long it took to come up with ideas for the microgames because they had to be fit around 18 unique characters with their own abilities, no two characters alike. 9-Volt can make things harder but he does not really suck in my opinion, Penny's Theme is a bop (but they really could not fit the Spanish version into the game?) and it makes sense they gave her her own stage because of how unique she is.
There are a great number of extra modes for multiplayer (Balloon Bang being brought back, bananas) and it makes you love how the WarioWare cast is so cool, they get their own Endless Smash mode. Coins were used great here once again, with the awesome character customization feature, I can treat all of the characters with their own little treats, you get to guess what they like! The story is an interesting one and it is so cool to see the physical location of WarioWare Inc. again, especially with how the towers are part of the main story this time, and Pyoro's unexpected boss battle. But the lack of voice acting and cutscenes after the levels was such a huge loss, after the incredible cutscenes in the previous game. Covid, perhaps? Overall, the black sheep of the franchise but in the best way possible that opens up so many hilarious possibilities, and co-op for the first time since Snapped!
WarioWare: Move It!, however... what an incredible game for the series!! It rocks!! My first game that I played is Smooth Moves so to have a worthy successor is incredible. Very cool Nintendo! I was hooked from the first trailer, I think one of the main reasons why is because finally, after all these years, we have another title with all sorts of goofy 3D models in the microgames, the gross looking ones in Smooth Moves were my favorite. You gotta hand it to art directors, each game in the franchise has a unique aesthetic. Even though this is the first direct sequel game in the franchise, it has so much of its own personality that I adore, particularly with the tropical theme of the whole game even if we do not see much of the island. The fully voiced cutscenes are back, and it is great to have Mona with a little resemblance to her action-based cutscenes in the first games. What happened to those? The biggest loss is Charles as Wario, but the new voice actor, Kevin Afghani, is not the worse, gives him a pirate vibe which would sound interesting in a potential future Wario Land title. Just wish the game had more voice acting, the ending is awesome and it is interesting that Wario is not overly antagonizing in this one. That final boss game brings back tears to the eyes, pretty much all the bosses are amazing, I even adore Jimmy's even though it is time consuming. And to see Young Cricket with his own level again is awesome, the Rhythm Heaven and Wario Land callbacks in the endings in awesome, and gives me hope for those franchises!
I just adore how they finally continued the series tradition of using the system's capabilities to the game's advantage, makes you wonder why more games didn't use the Hand Model. The controls sometimes are inaccurate, but they still work out fine. The biggest problem with the game, ultimately is the lack of content. What is there in the game is incredible, but it really feels like the most bare bones experience between the 7 mainline games. It kinda is give and take for me as a result, GIT! has a weaker mechanic for me but more content, then this game has a better mechanic but less content. I think I like this game more though. Thankfully this is saved in part by the tag-in multiplayer function, genius idea that I hope they keep using and using two forms at once is even more genius. Implementing voice acting in the Listen to the Doctor mode was the best decision possible, the Latin American Spanish version has this incredibly exaggerated voice that I wish the other languages had. I love playing that mode with friends, and the other ones are great too. Definitely better than the ones in Smooth Moves. Love the callback with the Megagame Muscles mode and the Body Rock on crack vocal theme too. Overall, what can I say? This game is a true return to form for the series, even if it is shorter than all the other games.