WarioWare (series)

WarioWare, sometimes WarioWare, Inc. and known as Made in Wario (メイド イン ワリオ Meido in Wario) in Japan, is a video game series published by Nintendo and mostly co-developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. It is focused on very short and simple minigames, more specifically microgames. It was introduced in 2003 and is a spin-off of both Mario Artist: Polygon Studio and the Wario series. The concept of WarioWare was first used in the named Mario Artist title. The plot of the WarioWare series centers around its main character, Wario, and his friends who work for his "company", WarioWare, Inc., and develop the microgames.

Overview
WarioWare games have been published for every Nintendo system after 2003, and their style varies from system to system, depending on its features (e.g. for Nintendo DS, the games are based on touching the touch screen and blowing into the microphone). Each game consists of microgames (really tiny and simple games like popping balloons or spinning a coin) that are often crazy (like picking a nose). The games might seem simple, but as the player's level goes up, they become more and more challenging. This concept was first used in Mario Artist: Polygon Studio in the so-called Sound Bomber mode, but only with a very small number of microgames. Beneath the microgame stages, all WarioWare titles offer unlockable extra modes and "full" minigames.

Story-wise, the games center on Wario, his company WarioWare, Inc., and his friends in Diamond City who develop microgames for his company, though greedy Wario usually refuses to pay his friends, despite the high success of the games. WarioWare introduced several new characters, which are featured solely in these games, except for cameo appearances in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Most games of the series include short stories in the form of cut scenes dedicated to each of the developers, telling about adventures or the everyday life of them. These cut scenes are split into two parts, the first one can be seen before the developer's respective microgame stage, while the latter part with the ending appears after the player beat the stage.

Main Series

 * WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, Game Boy Advance - (2003)
 * WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$!, Nintendo GameCube - (2004)
 * WarioWare: Twisted!, Game Boy Advance - (2005)
 * WarioWare: Touched!, Nintendo DS - (2005)
 * WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Wii - (2007)
 * WarioWare: D.I.Y., Nintendo DS - (2010)
 * Game & Wario, Wii U - (2012)

Secondary Games

 * Bird & Beans, DSiWare - (2008)
 * Paper Airplane Chase, DSiWare - (2008)
 * WarioWare: Snapped!, DSiWare - (2009)
 * WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase, WiiWare - (2010)

Main Characters

 * Wario (also went through incarnations such as Wario-Man and Tiny Wario)
 * Jimmy T.
 * Mona
 * Dribble
 * Spitz
 * 9-Volt
 * Orbulon
 * Dr. Crygor
 * Kat
 * Ana
 * 18-Volt
 * Ashley
 * Red
 * Mike
 * Young Cricket
 * Master Mantis
 * Penny
 * Jimmy P.

Other Recurring Characters

 * Ken the Reporter
 * Pyoro
 * Manager Joe
 * Mona's Animals
 * Fronks
 * Alien Bunnies
 * The Dinosaurs
 * Thang Family
 * Shadow the Dog
 * Sal Out
 * Shuriken the Falcon
 * Splunks
 * Art and Decko
 * Vanessa

Trivia

 * A stage based on the WarioWare corporation is featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * All the European game covers of WarioWare are yellow, except for WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!. Other regions have a different cover color for each game.