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WarioWare: Touched!
Developer: Nintendo
Co-Developer: Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo
Number of Players: 1
Memory: 1 slot
Controls: Touch, Blow (mic)
Wi-fi Compatible: No
Release Date: 2/14/05
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Storyline
After having such success with the release of WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgame$ for the Game Boy Advance, Wario and his greedy ways begin to get hungry for even more loot.
One day, as Wario walked down the street with his newly-purchased GBA and GBASP, both of which were on major sale, Wario trips only to find his new systems taking a plunge down the nearby manhole! Shortly afterwards, a strange, floating, old man, reminiscent of some sort of angel, comes out of the hole, asking the fat man in yellow overalls whether or not the systems, or another machine with two screens, were his. Wario, being the stingy liar that he is, demands for all three!
Unimpressed, the old man gives Wario an uneasy look. Suddenly, Wario attacks the old man with a tackle, only to have them both fall down the manhole. Wario climbs back out, but with only one system: the Nintendo DS!
 Frustrated with not knowing how to operate the touch-screen system, Wario shakes the DS and a stylus flies out into his hand.
"What's this weird little stick??" he grunted.
With a little practice, Wario finally got the hang of it. Overjoyed with how much fun he was having with the system and the stick, Wario's next brilliant idea immediately spawned!
"With two screens, I can make double the money!!"
And so, with the help of 8 of his companions, Wario set out to make his next sure-fire hit...WarioWare: Touched!
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Gameplay
The main game is divided into a set of chapters. Within each chapter is a number of microgames that are but a few moments long, each ranging from 3 to 10 seconds. No DS system face button is actually used to play these microgames, they all require for players to use the touch screen or microphone. Not all of the microgames utilize both screens. Players get four 'chances' in each chapter. One 'chance' is taken away for every time the player fails to reach a microgame goal. The game continues, with speed and difficulty increasing with each passing microgame, until the player loses all given chances.
This match-lighting microgame uses only the bottom screen
The chapters, each of which have one or more corresponding characters, each feature a different touch gameplay technique.
- Touch Training - These microgames require players to simply tap the screen in the correct spots
- Cute Cuts - Slight cuts are what make up this chapter. Shortly dragging the stylus in specific spots is the goal
- Dance Club Rub - Furiously rubbing specific spots leads players to victory in these microgames
- Ninja Scribble - Scribbling and drawing long lines is what this chapter is all about
- Total Drag - Dragging objects from one area to another is the goal here
- Slightly Unscrewed - Spinning and rotating circled objects will cause things to happen. Accurate spinning is what it takes to win
- Mic Rocking - Players need to blow wind towards the Nintendo DS's built-in microphone to win these microgames
- Retro Action - Classic Nintendo gaming with a twist: players need to help Mario and other Nintendo characters by touching and dragging specific spots
- ??? - The final chapter pitches to players a mixture of the above touching techniques in all-new microgames
Rub the night away in the rubbing microgames, like this lamp-rubbing one (click to see second screen)
Some unlockable modes allow for a session of a mixture of all of the above chapters' microgames. In all, there is a total of 190 microgames to be played, not counting the unlockable souvenirs. Beating pre-set high scores within the chapters will unlock souvenirs, of which there are over 30.
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Visuals
Most of the game is both played and visualized in 2D. The cutscenes are strictly presented in a colourful style using animated two-dimensional sprites and static backgrounds. Most of the microgames feature simple visuals that usually consist of 2D objects on a single-coloured background.
Simple visuals make up most of the microgames. In this one, players need to saw the falling log in half (click to see second screen)
A small percentage of the microgames do utilize 3D, however. For instance, one microgame presents a sphere on which is a picture covering a small portion of the face. The player's goal is to rotate the 3D sphere using the stylus at an attempt to find the picture in time. Another microgame simply features a three-dimensional, egg-shaphed character that players get to watch after reaching their goal.
Other than such subtle use of three-dimensional models, the game's visuals are completely flat in 2D.
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Sound
Most of the soundtrack tunes featured in WarioWare are extremely short. Considering the microgames only last a few seconds, that's about as long as most of the tracks can possibly last. They are all simple in their composition, each with a few musical notes thrown here an there. Not all 190 microgames feature unique tunes, as some of the music is re-used in a number of them. These tunes are synthesized and keep getting quicker in tempo the farther you get within a chapter.
Some much longer tracks are present throughout the game as well, however. Most of them are played during cutscenes and general areas such as the title screen and menus. In addition to that is a fully lyrical track that is heard during one of the chapters of the main game. The quality in the voices is not great, but the words are fully comprehendible. Voices are also used in other, shorter tracks, as well as in an abundance of character expressions.
Furthermore, a secret music video can be unlocked in this North American version starting March 14th, 2005...
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In Comparison
The basis of the gameplay in WarioWare: Touched! is very much like that of the original GBA title. Players that have tried the handheld predecessor know that they are given but a few seconds to complete most microgames. That hasn't changed. The difference is that now you don't use buttons, but rather the touch-screen and microphone to reach your goals.
Microgames like this one, in which players need to blow wind to succeed, were impossible to produce on the GBA
Although there are fewer microgames in this game than there were in the original, this one has more unlockables. The unlockable souvenirs add a certain layer of replayability to the game.
As for a comparison to the GCN version, which featured the same microgames as the GBA game, this DS version lacks any multiplayer mode. There is one unlockable mini-game that is two-player compatible, but it is played on one DS system (one player uses the L button while the other uses the R one).
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// A mysterious character within the Banjo-Kazooie series was meant to star in his own N64 spin-off...
Click for more . . .
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// Delve into the philosophical world of gaming in this Pikmin 2 special, Buried Treasures
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