WarioWare Move It feels like the series is finally back to its golden age

03 October 2023 , 13:00

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WarioWare: Move It retains the series' signature charm and crude humour (Image: Nintendo)

I was invited by Nintendo to check out WarioWare Move It! ahead of launch, and it lives up to its Wii predecessor's high standard.

WarioWare has been in a weird spot for a while. The first five entries in the series (WarioWare Inc and its GameCube port, Twisted, Touched, and Smooth Moves) were all fantastic and made great use of their respective platforms. But since then the franchise has been struggling to make an impact. When Nintendo brought 1-2-Switch out for the launch of the Nintendo Switch I assumed that was curtains for the series. However, in 2021 we got WarioWare: Get It Together which, while fun, is probably my least favourite instalment due to the character specific skills adding an unnecessary layer to the rapid-fire minigames.

Now, two years later, WarioWare is back once again, except in a far more familiar form. Undoubtedly the two best entries in the series have to be the Nintendo DS' WarioWare: Touched and the Nintendo Wii's WarioWare Smooth Moves. Move It, feels like a direct sequel to Smooth Moves. The main gimmick behind Smooth Moves was the number of different ways you could hold the Wii Remote. Move It brings this feature back (still called Forms) for the Joy-Cons, improving on the iteration with forms like Squat in which you hold both Joy-Cons on your thighs as you pop a squat, or Choo Choo which has you hold your Joy-Cons to your side like you're doing the locomotion.

Get it together

I played the opening of story mode (with Wario also having a new voice actor following Charles Martinet's retirement), which is the usual WarioWare fare of playing a certain number of rounds before a final boss stage. I also tried out Party Mode's Galactic Conquest, which is a board game in which the board plays against you. While it doesn't look too daunting at first glance, the board can send you back to the beginning at a moments notice, or even extend itself right at the finish line, so don't get too comfortable.

After my time with WarioWare: Move It I couldn't help but think, why has this game taken Nintendo so long to make? This seems like a far better fit for the Nintendo Switch than Get It Together was, and honestly a far better game to show off the console than 1-2-Switch ever was. It may have taken a while, but WarioWare: Move It could take the series back to its former glory.

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