WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!

About This Game

Gameplay

WarioWare's core gameplay principles revolve around the concept of "microgames", fast-paced minigames that must be completed within a demanding time limit. Mega Microgames! features over 210 microgames across nine stages hosted by Wario and his companions, each centered around themes such as sports, nature and classic Nintendo games, as well as remix stages that feature microgames from previous stages. In each stage, microgames appear consecutively, presenting the player with a simple prompt with which to clear the microgame. Failing a microgame, either by losing the game or running out of time, one of four lives will be deducted, with the stage ending once the player runs out of lives. As the player keeps playing, the game speeds up, making microgames' time limits shorter and forcing the player to complete them faster. At the end of a set number of microgames, the player must complete a "boss stage"; a longer microgame without a set time limit. When playing a stage for the first time, players are simply required to clear enough microgames and defeat the boss stage without running out of lives, which unlocks the next stage or set of stages.

History

WarioWare's inception began during the development of Mario Artist: Polygon Studio, a successor to Mario Paint being developed for the Nintendo 64DD; a game where players could create and animate fully polygonal three-dimensional models. A feature of Polygon Studio was a mode called "Sound Bomber", where the player completes rapid consecutive "microgames". This concept would be reused and fleshed out for the first WarioWare title. In addition, many of the minigames in Polygon Studio bear heavy resemblance to some microgames found in Mega Microgames!. The development team used post-it notes in order to come up with microgame ideas; whenever someone had an idea for a microgame, they would write it down on a note and stick it to the director's table.