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| In 2004, when Nintendo's WarioWare, Inc Mega Party
Game$ hit the shelves in the US, there was nothing quite like it.
What made it unique, and what still sets its franchise apart, is its
micro games. They are miniature games of 4 seconds or less, that
ask you to quickly and accurately complete tasks ranging from the
sports-based to the truly bizarre (Mario Wiki). The game has both a single player
mode, requires defeating sets of 25 micro games (including a boss
level) and a multi-player level, which is equipped to handle up to 16
players at a time in some instances.. | |
I loved this game as a young teen and
recently pulled it back out to test it, wondering if I'd still enjoy
it. I wasn't disappointed. It's fun and I highly recommend for four
reasons, that I explain below. |
It upends what we think of as worth
making a video game about.
Very often, games
are about things that seem “important” or exciting - saving
princesses, winning races, building cities, winning wars, obtaining
money or glory. That is not the case with WarioWare. The bulk of
the focus is on those micro games, which are not long enough for
performing the traditional tasks, and so, instead depict the mundane
or even bizarre. They ask you to a pick nose, brush teeth, shave a
head, drive a nail, and many other things that you probably never
expected to do in a video game. This is fun, because it's different,
and also because it's a bit philosophical. It begs us to consider if
the small things deserve more attention. Should I be pondering the
significance of my morning cereal bowl? When was the last time I
actually paid attention to a head of lettuce?
