WarioWare, also called WarioWare, Inc., is known in Japan as Made in Wario (Japanese: メイド イン ワリオ, Hepburn: Meido in Wario). It is a series of video games that feature the Nintendo character Wario. The series began in 2003 with the release of Mega Microgames! for the Game Boy Advance. The first two games were created by Nintendo R&D1, while later games were developed in partnership with Intelligent Systems.

A special feature of all WarioWare games is that they include many short, simple games called "microgames." These microgames are played one after another. Players start with four lives. Each microgame lasts about three to five seconds, and players must complete it to keep their lives. If a player fails, they lose a life. For example, one microgame might require the player to zap a spaceship, while another might ask Wario to collect coins in a maze similar to Pac-Man. The microgames are linked together randomly and become faster and harder as the player progresses. If a player loses all four lives in a level, the game ends. After playing a certain number of microgames, players face a boss microgame that is specific to that level. Completing these boss microgames allows players to regain a lost life, up to a maximum of four lives. Boss microgames are longer and more difficult than regular microgames. For example, one boss microgame in Mega Microgames! requires the player to hit a nail with a hammer multiple times in a row.

Development

The concept of microgames or minigames became popular during the Nintendo 64's fifth generation of video game consoles. Some of the earliest minigames appeared in the Nintendo 64DD game Mario Artist: Talent Studio, which used a style that later inspired the WarioWare series. Certain minigames also originated in Mario Artist: Polygon Studio, as explained by Goro Abe of Nintendo R&D1's Wario Ware All-Star Team: "In Polygon Studio, players could create 3D models and animate them in the game. There was also a side game included inside. In this game, players had to complete short games that followed one after another. This is where the idea for WarioWare came from." Teammate Yoshio Sakamoto added, "We chose to use Wario and other characters because we could not think of anyone else who would be best for the role. Wario is known for doing silly things and acting foolishly, so we believed he and the other characters would be ideal for the game."

Gameplay

Gameplay in the series is based on Microgames, simple video games made by the fictional company WarioWare, Inc. Nintendo's WarioWare games all include these microgames, which are usually less than five seconds long. These microgames are simpler and shorter than the minigames in other games, such as the Mario Party series. Gameplay in all WarioWare games is different from most other games, as players must complete microgames as quickly as possible. Most games give instructions using a single verb and then immediately show the player a situation where they must perform that action. The very simple gameplay has interested some game researchers, who have studied WarioWare to understand how rules and play relate in video games and to test ideas about creating games automatically.

All microgames are arranged randomly in different "stages," each led by a different character. First, the player sees a short instruction, such as "Eat!" or "Rub!" Then, the microgame appears, and the player must complete it according to the instruction.

Microgames usually require only one task. For example, in one microgame, the player is told to "Enter!" and sees a scene from The Legend of Zelda. The player must use directional buttons to move Link to a cave entrance before time runs out. In another microgame, the player is told to "Avoid!" and must drive a car, avoiding oncoming traffic. Most microgames include a sound effect that plays when the task is completed. These games are so short that they may require fast reflexes similar to quick-time events.

Boss microgames always appear at a set point in a stage. They are usually harder than regular microgames, have no time limit, and give the player lives back after completion. If a stage is played for the first time, it ends after the boss microgame. A sound effect plays when the task is completed, followed by a score screen. On repeated plays, if the player has fewer than four lives, one life is restored.

The time unit for all microgames is called a "beat." In Mega Microgames! and Twisted!, a standard microgame lasts 8 beats, while double-length microgames (usually IQ-genre games) last 16 beats. In Twisted! and Gold, Fronk's microgames last 4 beats. In most games, the beats per minute (BPM) starts slowly and increases as the player completes microgames.

In WarioWare: Touched!, the standard 8-beat rule is changed, so many microgames last longer than 8 beats. This change may help players who are not familiar with the Nintendo DS's touch-screen interface. To keep the game moving, microgames will end automatically if completed before reaching a four-beat measure.

To show how much time remains to complete a microgame, a small "bomb" appears at the bottom of the screen. A fuse and countdown timer show the time left. When time runs out, the bomb explodes, and in most cases, the player loses a life. The fuse burns faster as the BPM increases.

Some microgames are harder than others, and a faster BPM (higher speed) makes any microgame more difficult to complete. This difficulty is shown in microgames' "clear scores"—the score needed to complete a microgame in practice modes. (This feature is not present in Smooth Moves and D.I.Y..)

Each microgame has three difficulty levels. Most modes start at the easiest level and move to the next after a "Level Up" (usually after passing a boss microgame). Once the highest level is reached, "Level Up" progress is replaced by "Speed Up" (an increase in BPM).

Using the The Legend of Zelda microgame as an example, the first version places Link very close to the cave entrance he must enter. The second version moves the entrance farther away and adds an enemy blocking Link. The third version places the entrance even farther and includes a second enemy that shoots at Link from a lake.

Characters

There are two main types of characters in the WarioWare series. The first group includes the developers of WarioWare, Inc., who both create and host the microgames. Each developer has a unique theme or twist depending on the game. For example, Jimmy T.'s microgames in Twisted! focus on large spins, while in Touched!, his microgames involve rubbing objects with the stylus. The second group of characters often appears in introduction cutscenes. One example is Fronk, who hosts "Pop-Up" microgames in Twisted! and Gold and appears in unexpected places.

• 5-Volt (Japanese: ファイブワット, Hepburn: Faibuwatto; lit. "5-Watt") is 9-Volt's mother and appears in several WarioWare games. She is not fully shown until Game & Wario, where she is revealed to be human, like her son. 5-Volt lives with her son and his pet Fronk in a house in Diamond City. She first appears in WarioWare: Twisted!, where she tells 9-Volt to go to bed because he has been playing with 18-Volt all day. She is only shown from behind and from the knees down. After 9-Volt goes to bed, he secretly plays with his Game Boy Advance SP under the bedspread, but his mother catches him when she opens his room's door a second time. 5-Volt's silhouette is seen in the doorway. She appears again in WarioWare: Touched! as a silhouette in the Game Over screen of 9-Volt and 18-Volt's stage, where she watches them eat cake. In Game & Wario, she plays a major role as the main obstacle in the “Gamer” minigame. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, she appears as a stage hazard in the Gamer stage. She also appears in WarioWare Gold with her own microgames based on Nintendo games, like 9-Volt's and 18-Volt's. Since Gold, she has been voiced by Cristina Vee in English and Ruriko Aoki in Japanese.

• 9-Volt (Japanese: ナインボルト, Hepburn: Nainboruto) is a young fan of Nintendo, owning everything the company has ever made. His microgames are based on Nintendo games and toys from when Nintendo was primarily a toy company. Since Gold, he has been voiced by Melissa Hutchison in English and Makoto Koichi in Japanese.

• 18-Volt (Japanese: エイティーンボルト, Hepburn: Eitīnboruto) is 9-Volt's best friend and also enjoys video games. He is large but attends Diamond Elementary School with 9-Volt. His defining feature is the boom box he always carries; his loud music causes trouble on his first day of school, but he later gains a friend in 9-Volt. Since Gold, he has been voiced by Edward Bosco in English and Subaru Kimura in Japanese.

• Ashley (Japanese: アシュリー, Hepburn: Ashurī) is a 15-year-old witch-in-training who lives in a haunted mansion in Diamond City with a small demon named Red (Japanese: レッド, Hepburn: Reddo). She has long black hair in two ponytails. She appears as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and as an unlockable Mystery Mushroom costume in Super Mario Maker. She also reappears as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Since Gold, she has been voiced by Erica Lindbeck in English and Ayaka Fukuhara in Japanese, while Red has been voiced by Tyler Shamy in English and Mako Muto in Japanese.

• Dribble (Japanese: ドリブル, Hepburn: Doriburu) and Spitz (Japanese: スピッツ, Hepburn: Supittsu) are developers who speak with Bronx accents and also work as taxi drivers. Their taxi, designed by Dr. Crygor, can travel anywhere in the universe. Dribble is a large, red-haired bulldog who is calm and friendly despite his gruff appearance. Spitz is a yellow cat who wears goggles and squints often. Their microgames usually involve picking up a strange customer and forgetting to ask for payment. Since Gold, Dribble has been voiced by Kyle Hebert in English and Yūma Kametani in Japanese, while Spitz has been voiced by Griffin Puatu in English and Kazuya Yamaguchi in Japanese.

• Dr. Crygor (Japanese: Dr.クライゴア, Hepburn: Dokutā Kuraigoa) is a quirky scientist who creates inventions like his cryogenic suit, a karaoke robot named Mike, the Super MakerMatic 21, and the Kelorometer diet machine. A character card in WarioWare Gold states he is over 100 years old and is the grandfather of Penny Crygor. In WarioWare: Touched!, Dr. Crygor accidentally becomes younger and more fit due to his invention, with red accents on his costume and a full helmet. These changes remain in part of WarioWare: Smooth Moves. Since Gold, he has been voiced by Kyle Hebert in English and Kensuke Matsui in Japanese.

• The Fronk (Japanese: しゃぎぃ, Hepburn: Shagī) are strange, blocky, yellow creatures that appear in all WarioWare games. 9-Volt keeps one of them as a pet, calling it "Shag." There are also red and blue Fronk, with different facial features. Since Gold, 9-Volt's pet Fronk has been voiced by Todd Haberkorn in English and Kazuya Yamaguchi in Japanese.

• Jimmy T. (Japanese: ジミーT., Hepburn: Jim

Reception and legacy

The Guardian compared the series’ fast, simple challenges to the “interactive equivalent” of a punk song, noting how quickly they move and how easy they are to play. Commentary has also pointed out that WarioWare is known for trying new ways to design games and how players control them. The Guardian wrote that the first WarioWare game was an example of “gaming deconstruction,” using quick instructions and short five-second games, and later games in the series built on this idea by changing how players control the games.

Industry press has also focused on how well specific control methods worked in WarioWare, rather than changing the main format. Game Developer described the fast sequence of short games as a test of speed and focus, and noted that early games were praised for their “unique and well-designed” ways to play.

Academic studies have used WarioWare as an example of how games can teach rules and ideas on a very small scale. In Game Studies, Chaim Gingold argued that WarioWare is a “game about games” that shows familiar game ideas in a compressed, quickly changing way, making it helpful for studying game design.

In older reviews, Polygon wrote that the short-game style of the original WarioWare was rarely copied outside its own series but has been a model for later games that try to copy its format. More broadly, The Guardian has called WarioWare a “popular” series when reporting on Nintendo’s new games, showing how well-known it remains in Nintendo’s collection.