WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!

'WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (JP: Made in Wario; EU: WarioWare, Inc.: Minigame Mania)' is the first game in the critically acclaimed WarioWare series of games. Widely considered to be one of the most innovative games of this generation, Mega Microgame$ created an entirely new genre of games. The game has a very weird and fun feel that further sets it apart from other games.

Game Play
Microgame$ is based around the concept of playing very quick, simple mini-games (over 200 in all) in rapid succession. After beating a certain number of these "microgames", the speed would increase, and sometimes the difficulty level of the individual games as well. If a player was good enough, the game would eventually spew out a new microgame about every four seconds. The game included both modes with a set number of games to finish and arcade-style modes where you aimed for a high score.

Games Mode
The meat and potatoes of Microgame$, this could be referred to as the story mode. There are nine sets of microgames and two special sets that are comprised of microgames from several specific sets. Each set must be defeated to progress through the story. To defeat a given set, players must beat a certain number of the games specific to that set without fail. Players are given three mess-ups, but the forth time a game is failed, the game ends. Seeing a microgame in this mode opens it up for free play in the Grid mode. After beating a stage, it turned into a challenge to see how long you could last. They do not need to be beaten again.

Grid Mode
In this mode, players can play any microgame they've encountered in the Games mode. However, this mode also allows competitive players to challenge the game. When selected, a single challenge will be fired at the player over and over until they miss four times. The game goes through a three-microgame difficulty cycle, with the first one being easy, the next being of normal difficulty, and the third being hard. After that, the speed of the game increases and the difficulty cycle begins anew.

Extra Mode
By playing the Games and Grid modes, extra challenges could be unlocked. In later WarioWare games, this mode was replaced by the Souvenir mode. There were three types of challenges present.

The single player challenges featured beefed up versions of the microgames, such as a slightly-altered port of Dr. Mario beefed up from a microgame where only one capsule was placed to defeat one set of viruses.

There were also dual-player games which allowed for two people to play several very simple games using only one Game Boy Advance. The first player used the L button while the second player used the R button.

Finally, there were the Towers that challenged players beating as many of the microgames as possible before a certain objective was met. All of the microgames were put into the mix. For example, one tower challenged players to not miss a single of the hard versions of the microgames.

Critical Reception
Overall, the critic's reviews were positive. Gamerankings.com's overall score for the game is 89%.
 * 1up.com's Shane Bettenhausen loved how fast-paced and frantic the game was. He also stated that playing the games was all it took to convince his friends of the game's value. He also enjoyed the weirdness of the game. (9.5/10)
 * Gamespot.com's Jeff Gerstmann stated that the combination of mini-games and pacing of puzzle games such as Tetris came together in a wonderful way. (9.1/10)
 * IGN.com's Craig Harris loved WarioWare and stated that it did not matter that the main quest only took one or two hours. The additional replay value made up for it. He also sighted the game's "pick up and play" qualities as reasons for his high score. (9/10)

Story
One day while lounging on the couch, Wario saw an ad on TV for a videogame (Pyoro) that had made tons of money. It didn't take long for Wario's head to fill with thoughts of all of the green he could get if he made a videogame. After trying to do it by himself, Wario grew lazy and called up his closest friends to help. They happily agreed. This game is their labor of love! Wario ended up swindling his employees, refusing to pay them and taking all of the money for himself.

Major Character(s)

 * 9-Volt
 * Dr. Crygor
 * Dribble
 * Jimmy T.
 * Kat and Ana
 * Mona
 * Orbulon
 * Spitz
 * Wario

Location(s)

 * Diamond City

Major Item(s)
There are so many items over the course of the microgames, but they only appear for seconds. Here are the items that seem to stand out and play an important role.


 * Wario's Laptop
 * Wario Bomb

Microgame$

 * WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! Introduction Microgames
 * WarioWare, Inc.:Mega Microgame$ Jimmy T.'s Games

Reference

 * 1Up.com
 * Gamerakings
 * Gamefaqs.com
 * Gamespot.com
 * IGN.com Review
 * Nintendo Database (part of Gamespy)