Every WarioWare Game Ranked

Really, the “WarioWare” series has a lot of fantastic titles, but of them all, “Mega Party Game$” is the lowest of the low. This was basically the very first game redesigned and reprogrammed from the Game Boy Advance onto the GameCube. However, the different title and appearance almost make it look like a completely different game. Those who unknowingly bought and played the original would have forked over fifty bucks for this port. To make matters worse, this wasn’t just a port - it completely stripped the charming personality of the visuals and focused primarily on offering up multiplayer games. Yeah, you paid the price of a full game for a lifeless port of a GBA game with the only real difference being more multiplayer features. They may have been solid modes, but come on…

Now, when you’re ignoring the GameCube port of the original, “Snapped” is most often regarded as the weakest link in the series, and understandably so. First off, the game was designed entirely for the Nintendo DSi, which was just a thinner DS with a built-in camera. Sounds cool on paper, but overall, “Snapped” was nothing more than a tech demo for the system. Even more confusing was the limited selection of twenty microgames. WHAH!? In other words, “Snapped” was not worth the 500 Nintendo Points, especially considering there were better offerings for the same price by the time the 3DS launched. Plus, how do you do “WarioWare” without Ashley!?

Speaking of the Nintendo 3DS, “WarioWare” took its sweet time getting to the handheld. By the time “Gold” launched, most of us had moved onto the Switch and completely abandoned our 3DS. Nevertheless, the game served as an excellent reminder as to why we love the garlic-munching glutton and his pals, offering up a hearty selection of more than three-hundred microgames! Sure, a lot of them were from previous titles, but there was plenty here to get newcomers invested in the franchise. Not only that, but they all utilize the 3DS’s capabilities in fun and unique ways. If you were new to the franchise, this was a fantastic welcome. If you were a veteran player, it was a lovely trip down memory lane.

“Game & Wario” was one of many Wii U titles to get swept under the rug that was the console’s failure. Those lucky enough to have a Wii U most likely nabbed this quirky entry in the series and they were treated to another serving of hilarious and absurd microgames. Not only that, but it offered up some incredible side modes to shake things up, the most popular one being Gamer, where you play a variety of microgames while avoiding 9-Volt’s demonic mother, 5-Volt. You also had an incredible Fronk-flinging mode simply named “Fronk”, a pirate game featuring Wario as the captain, and one where you have to help darling Ashley collect goodies. How could you NOT love this game!?

“D.I.Y.” was arguably the biggest deviation from the franchise’s formula. This time, you were the one creating the microgames. Admittedly, the tutorial was a little more extensive than many would hope, but understanding the system would make the entire experience immensely satisfying. And just in case you weren’t sure about what to make, you had a sizable library of pre-made microgames - all within the themes of the featured characters - to inspire you, and they all were designed with “D.I.Y.’s” engine! Needless to say, “D.I.Y.” was all about the microgames and seeing what players could come up with for new collections. Plus, once you play Jimmy T’s games, you’re going to have the “Body Rock” song stuck in your head.

In June 2021, Nintendo began polling players about paying for a new “WarioWare” game. Little did we know that they were gearing up for the release of “Get It Together!”, and it was well worth the wait! This time around, players could play as the entire “WarioWare” cast to complete microgames, and they each came with their own mechanics. This not only created interesting ways to solve puzzles and fulfill win conditions, but also added a ton of replay value to the already meaty serving of microgames. On top of that, it hosts a plethora of multiplayer modes that’ll have your friends trying every character while yelling at each other. It goes without saying that “Get It Together!” is a must-have for Switch owners!

The first original “WarioWare” title designed for a home console, “Smooth Moves” was the next massive party game for Wii owners. The game was able to show console players why handheld players had loved “WarioWare” on the GBA so much. It was able to utilize the Wii Remote’s motion-sensing capabilities and interchangeable control scheme while doing so in hilarious ways. And if you liked certain microgames like “Can Shooter” and “Balloon Trip”, “Smooth Moves” offered extended versions of those as well as thrilling multiplayer modes like “Lifeline” and “Bungie Buddies”.

Nintendo tried implementing the touch screen of the DS across several titles, but if there was one title that made use of everything without feeling cumbersome, it was “WarioWare: Touched!”. Rather than use the face buttons like the games that came before and after, “Touched” required players to use nothing but the touch screen and microphone. Again, sounds tiresome, yet it worked so well. The simple motions of tapping and dragging on the screen made the game way more dependent on precision, not just reflexes. Hand-eye coordination was key to conquering this installment, and if this level of challenge didn’t sell you, series newcomers Ashley and Mike certainly did.

Most “WarioWare” fans are aware that a new game in the series only comes once for every generation of Nintendo hardware. So, one would be surprised to learn that the GBA was blessed with TWO games, but before we get to our painfully obvious number-one pick, we have to gush over “Twisted”. This was not just a repeat of the first game - this was a completely new type of game for the GBA. “Twisted” came with a built-in tilt sensor, meaning players would have to rotate the GBA itself to beat microgames. As if this game couldn’t get any cooler, this would also be the first time we’d meet the best superhero of all-time - the wafting warrior, WARIO-MAN! There was just so much to love about “Twisted”.

We just had to put the original game at the top spot. “Mega Microgames” was special not because of how many microgames it packed in, but because of how it managed to create an addictive formula using only a d-pad and two face buttons - no motion controls, no swappable characters, nothing but A, B, and directionals. This was “WarioWare” in its purest form, and it gave Wario another avenue to join the ranks of high-profile Nintendo stars...as well as a new source of revenue outside of “Wario Land” to fund his shoddy shack of a game studio. “Mega Microgames” holds up today with its basic approach, quirky art style and humor, and addictive replayability, and that’s why it’s still the best “WarioWare” game.