WarioWare: Touched! (DS)

WarioWare: Touched!: copyright Nintendo

Always looking for new ways for game industry, Nintendo games are references in two key aspects: innovation and fun. Among the many games that fit these two features, “WarioWare: Touched!” stands out for being one of the best games that use the features of the Nintendo DS.

WarioWare Touched! Game Box

Family Tradition

Despite not having a lot of famous games such as Mario, Zelda and Pokemon, for example, the WarioWare family has become tradition on Nintendo consoles. And all the games share the same concept: they are full of mini fun and innovative micro games, which use the maximum power of the systems for which they are released.

The series began with WarioWare, Inc .: Mega Microgame$!, released for the Game Boy Advance late in 2003. But the newest member of the family game is Game & Wario, released for the Wii U in 2013. Both games have the well-known unusual gameplay, challenging the player in each mini game.

WarioWare: Touched!, released in 2005, masterfully takes the Nintendo DS through funny mini games that make use of the touch screen and the microphone.

A great game made of small games

The purpose of the game, as said before, is to offer a large range of mini and micro games, which have easy gameplay and simple goals. But those who think this game is just a bunch of small games. Everything is perfectly embedded with the quality that only Nintendo knows how to offer.

The mini games are categorized according to their operation. Each category corresponds to a character in the WarioWare series, which has a story between the mini games. At the end, all stories converge towards one end. Nothing too elaborated, but it's cool to see how they fit into the same way.

Let's dance everybody

The game consists of 14 categories and 7 "mixes" of the other categories. And you don’t need to worry thinking about how you will be able to learn all this game styles. WarioWare: Touched! always offers short tutorials for you to adapt to different modes of play. There are 180 different games, and each new game released can be revisited when you want, adding an extra-large life to the game, as its “story mode” can be completed in about 6 hours.

The categories that have a mix of different styles of play are the most difficult, because you never know if you'll have to draw, blow or scratch. The sequences change every time, avoiding you to get used to the correct movements.

The category 9-Volt & 18 Volt is remarkable, because all the mini games are based on old Nintendo games, like Super Mario Bros., Metroid, Duck Hunt and Game & Watch. For me they are the best mini games (although it may be because all the Classic Big N games are present).

Have you seen this scene before?

Enjoy your time

Most of the mini games consist of challenges that must be completed within a certain time. But the most addictive ones are the little games with score, which lead you to play without stopping, aiming to break your own records (or your friend’s records). Do you have any application or Android game that is simple, fun and addictive, which challenges you to increasingly want to break the record, like Doodle Jump or Flappy Bird? After WarioWare: Touched!, you will find them all expendable, and will want to carry the DS everywhere.

As you play the mini games, you release the so-called "toys". They are (again) small games with simple play, but addictive. They do not have proper challenges, but are just as fun as the other mini games, allowing matches with "unlimited" time.

In my opinion, the best of them is the "Play by Ear", which lets you use the microphone of the Nintendo DS to play a funny harmonica. Another very interesting mini game is the "Ping Pong", which as the name says, is a ping pong game for two players on the same device!

In fact, I think the only negative point of this game is the lack of a multiplayer to have fun with friends. The way is to divide the game with your friends (or not, if you are like Wario), and challenge them to see who can have the best records.

A classic for the Nintendo DS

If you have the Nintendo DS and does not have the WarioWare: Touched !, run behind this game that worth’s every penny. If you have the Nintendo DS and already have the game, congratulations on your choice.

Wario also appreciates your choice...

Now if you don’t have the game or even a DS, and want to try it, visit the link below:

http://ms.nintendo-europe.com/wariowaretouched/enGB/touchingisgood.html

Made by Nintendo Europe at the release, this site offers some mini games for you to try on your computer, besides a lot of stuff on the WarioWare series. It is worthwhile to understand the mechanics, and enjoy a little more of the characters of the craziest "franchise" Nintendo.