REVIEW - WarioWare: Twisted! (2004)

GENRE(S): Compilation
RELEASED: October 2004
AVAILABLE ON: GBA
DEVELOPER(S): Nintendo, Intelligent Systems
PUBLISHER(S): Nintendo
PLAYERS: 1

Nintendo hasn't been my favourite company in the world in 15 years, but I've never denied the simple fact; out of all three major players in the modern console war, Nintendo is the most creative one. They've always been creative; ever since the company moved to electronics in 1974, they've strived for innovation. We have had the pleasure of witnessing remarkable products of their creativity such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo, the Game Boy, and of course, the Wii, which revolutionized standard gameplay with motion-based control. Nintendo has also been known to create innovative peripherals and software for existing platforms for decades, with varying success. In 2004, Nintendo published WarioWare: Twisted!, a sequel to the hit game WarioWare: Mega Microgame$! - a seemingly normal Game Boy Advance cartridge... with a built-in motion detector. The game put a whole new ring to handheld gameplay, and it was more than well received by critics. It is one of Nintendo's most innovative games throughout history, that's for sure, but is it really that good? Well, yes, but I preferred the first one.

Twisted Mister

Wario breaks his Game Boy Advance in a fit of rage, and takes it to Dr. Crygor for repair. Instead of simply fixing it, Crygor uses the broken GBA to test out his new invention, the Gravitator. The machine spits out dozens of handheld consoles that look exactly like the Game Boy Advance, but in order to play it, players need to spin and twist the GBA itself. Seeing his friends' positive reaction towards the surprise invention, Wario asks them once again to develop games with him.

Mr. Miyagi's new training program.

This review, as short as it is, took a while to transpire, because you need a real Game Boy Advance unit to get an authentic feel of the game. There are patches for GBA emulators which allow you to map the gyro sensor to regular buttons, but I probably won't need to explain that it simply isn't fun to play the game without the real thing. So, I borrowed a friend's Game Boy Advance, I didn't need it for more than half a day to get a feel of the game. Then, I switched to the emulated game to get screenshots done. This friend then asked me what it was like to play Twisted! on an emulator. "Boring, huh?" I didn't see a concrete difference. Twisted! is a weaker game than Mega Microgame$!. OK, it's fun to kill time with it, and it's certainly innovative but it's just not interesting - and it's even harder to understand than its predecessor, even if there's not a lot of button pressing involved, and there's still one single action button you need to use in addition to rotating, shaking and jerking your GBA like crazy.

Let's start with the graphics, they're pretty much exactly the same as they were before. Not extraordinarily pretty, but certainly diverse. The music and sound effects - including the voice samples - are simply horrible, no surprise there. Nothing new on these fronts.

More toilet humour. Excellent!

The game is another collection of microgames, with different characters offering you an array of games from different genres, plus a "boss fight", but indeed, the gameplay differs much from Mega Microgame$!. The digital pad isn't used at all. All forms of movement are executed by tilting the Game Boy Advance itself to a certain direction, and the A button works as a confirmation button. In the later stages, the A button becomes more of a part of the game, as Kat and Ana's collection of games needs you to work on your tap, press 'n' mash skills. Different characters have some sort of threads connecting their games - yes, 9-Volt is still in with his old-school Nintendo shite, which manifests into the best round in the whole game - but they also have different instructions for you. For example, Mona's games require you to tilt the GBA just slightly, while Jimmy T.'s games require some serious rotation and abuse of the console. 

Twisted! recycles many ideas already exploited in Mega Microgame$!, and not only that, but it also recycles itself. I firmly believe it was just the amazing idea of a motion-detecting GBA cartridge that got the critics so fired up about this game. After just a few rounds into the game, I was already starting to get fed up with spinning the GBA. I had worked a long shift that day, and my arms, hands and shoulders were already hurting. I personally don't think making handheld games based on motion detection for standard handhelds was or is such a great idea.

You're some dude that resembles a Crash Test
Dummy, and your mission is to pick a giant
nose. Normal enough for you?

Twisted! is a very hard game, much harder than its very simple concept would make you believe. It's also way more hectic than Mega Microgame$! ever was, even in the end. I believe, and know for a fact, that there are many people who find Twisted! an absolute masterpiece, one of the most revolutionary Mario-related titles there ever was, and extremely replayable. Well, there are all these collectible "souvenirs" to consider, but I can't see myself being attached to this game for an extended period. I'm with the first game, all the way.

After all this, Twisted! is still a decent game, I won't deny that; I would be a fool if I did. I just expected so much more out of it, after a game that I consider one of the Game Boy Advance's true gems, and by first reading about the gyro feature. It's amazing on paper, but not such a great way out when it comes to actual gameplay.

GRAPHICS : 8.0
SOUND : 5.2
PLAYABILITY : 7.5
LIFESPAN : 7.0
CONCLUSION : 7.2

TRIVIA

a.k.a. Mawaru Made in Wario (JAP)

GameRankings: 87.47%

Nintendo Power ranks WarioWare: Twisted! #55 on their list of the Top 200 Nintendo Games of All Time.