4Gamers – Review | WarioWare: Move it! Makes you move crazy

Does the title WarioWare: Smooth Moves sound familiar to you? In this crazy Wii game, well-known minigames from the WarioWare series are reviewed one by one, with the unique touch of not leaving the motion-sensitive controls on the Wii Remotes unused. Even though the Wii era is several years behind us, Nintendo continues to regularly stick to the motion sensors found in the little Joy-Con controllers with the Switch. As a result, the latest addition to the WarioWare series, WarioWare: Move It!, feels like a nostalgic step back in time, breathing new life into the concept of moving minigames.

Wario has luck on his side again! By ordering a delicious garlic(?) burger he wins a trip to the relaxing island of Relaxia. Coincidentally, the prize is for at least twenty people, so the entire WarioWare crew is back at it with some ridiculous excuses to play equally ridiculous minigames. Remarkably, Wario’s voice is recorded entirely in Dutch for the first time during the colorful scenes, and this takes some getting used to when playing in Dutch settings.

However, the crazy and fluffy story is little more than a way to connect no fewer than 200 different minigames. In this regard, WarioWare: Move It! Classic WarioWare game. Very short games follow a quick sequence, where you as the player only have a few seconds to figure out your task and then carry out that task as quickly as possible. These tasks are as hackneyed and crazy as you can imagine, from stopping a locomotive to simply cutting a carrot.

The minigames have one thing in common: they all use motion controls where it is recommended to stand and move. Before starting each mini-game, an exciting voice tells you which position you need to adopt to play the game. An example of this is “Train”, which is the first situation the game teaches you. You hold a Joy-Con controller with both hands while making a 90-degree angle with your arms and imitating a locomotive. The game is quite creative in the different modes, from imitating a chicken to a sumo wrestler, and even using the infrared action camera located on the right Joy-Con.

In terms of design, WarioWare: Move It! Very similar to the previously released WarioWare game: Smooth Moves on the Wii, with the difference that motion sensor technology has not stood still in recent years. The Nintendo Switch’s tiny Joy-Con controllers know how to register the smallest movements, so the game always responds correctly to players’ movements. Almost always, that is. No matter how small the margin of error between movements and recording by the system, it always feels very unfair and frustrating when one of the four lives is clumsily lost due to imposed movement controls. Not to mention, you’re about to hit the highest score, and there’s already a whole series of mini-games behind you. In this regard, the old control buttons feel more honest and solid.

In addition to playing classic minigames with a friend, there’s a new “Party” multiplayer mode. This mode is reminiscent of a simpler, smaller version of Mario Party, where up to four players compete against each other on the game board. In this mode, the mini-games consist of three rounds, where after playing a mini-game you roll a dice to land on one of the eighteen spaces. Each chest has its own function, such as donating half your points to a fellow player. For this reason, party events often revolve around chaos and randomness, two components of WarioWare: Move It! Also make a crazy party game.