Wario (series)


is a video game franchise, a spin-off of the Mario series. It comprises various video games created by Nintendo, starring the character Wario. The franchise began with , the first game to feature Wario as a playable character. The Wario series includes mostly platforming video games and minigame compilations, but also includes other genres.

''Wario Land'' series

The Wario Land series is a platforming series that started with ', following Wario's first appearance in '.

''Wario Land'' games

In Wario Land, Wario has a castle in Kitchen Island, and often journeys to find treasure. Its gameplay consists of platforming through levels, tossing enemies, breaking blocks and using other abilities.

''Wario Land'' characters

WarioWare, known in Japan as Made in Wario, is a series of games featuring the Nintendo character Wario. The franchise was established in 2003 with the release of ' for the Game Boy Advance. While the first two games were developed by Nintendo R&D1, subsequent games have been co-developed by Intelligent Systems.
The distinctive feature of all WarioWare games is that they are collections of short, simple "microgames" presented in quick succession. Each of these microgames lasts about three to five seconds and must be completed, or else a life will be lost. For example, there is a microgame where the player must zap a spaceship; in another, Wario must collect coins in a Pac-Man-like maze. The numerous microgames are linked together randomly and steadily increase in speed and difficulty as the player progresses. On each level, players are allowed four losses only. After a certain amount of microgames have been played, the player faces a stage-specific boss microgame; the player must complete these to regain a lost life. Boss microgames are considerably longer and more complex than other microgames. For example, a boss microgame in Mega Microgames! instructs the player to hit a nail with a hammer multiple times in a row.
The idea of microgame or minigame was popularized generally during the Nintendo 64's fifth generation of video game consoles and some early minigames appear in the Nintendo 64DD's ' in the style that would give rise to the WarioWare series. Certain minigames literally originated in Mario Artist: Polygon Studio, as explained by Goro Abe of Nintendo R&D1's so-called Wario Ware All-Star Team: "In Polygon Studio you could create 3D models and animate them in the game, but there was also a side game included inside. In this game you would have to play short games that came one after another. This is where the idea for Wario Ware came from." Teammate Yoshio Sakamoto continued, "To add on that, we got the idea of using Wario and the other characters because we couldn't think of anyone else who would be best for the role. Wario is always doing stupid things and is really idiotic, so we thought him and the rest of the characters would be best for the game."
Game & Wario, released in 2013, is a spinoff of the WarioWare series.
The latest installment in the series, entitled WarioWare Gold, was announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation on March 8, 2018, and released worldwide later that year.

''WarioWare'' games

Microgames

Microgames are simple video games created by the fictional company WarioWare, Inc.. Nintendo's line of WarioWare games each feature these microgames, which are generally less than 5 seconds long. Microgames are even simpler and shorter than the minigames found in other games such as the Mario Party series. Gameplay in all WarioWare games is distinct from most other games, as they involve the player or players trying to beat the microgames as soon as possible. Most games present instructions in the form of a verb and quickly drop the player into the situation where they must perform said verb. The extremely stripped-down gameplay has intrigued some game researchers, who have used WarioWare both as a case study in understanding the relationship between rules and play in videogames, and as a target domain for investigating automated game design.
All microgames are strung together in a random order within different "stages", each hosted by a different character. First, the player is presented with a quick one or two word instruction such as "Eat!" or "Rub!" Then, the microgame will appear and the player will have to complete the game according to the instruction.
Microgames usually have only one task to complete. For example, in one microgame the player is told to "Enter!" and is presented with a scene from The Legend of Zelda. The player must use the directional buttons to move Link to a cave entrance before the time runs out. In another microgame, the player is told to "Avoid!" and must drive a car, avoiding oncoming traffic. Most microgames have a sound bite that signifies when the task is completed.
Boss microgames always occur at a set point in a stage. They are usually more challenging than regular microgames, have no time limit, and give lives back upon completion. If a stage is played for the first time, it is completed after the boss microgame. The sound bite will usually play after the task is fulfilled, and then the score screen will return. On repeated plays, if the player has less than four lives, one will be restored.
Some microgames, most commonly IQ-genre microgames, last twice as long as normal microgames. These microgames usually involve memory or observation puzzles. An example of a double-length microgame is one from Gold, in which the player must find the correct car in a parking lot.
Certain microgames require a complete lack of input to complete. These include a microgame in Twisted! and Gold that instructs "Don't move!" to keep eggs balanced upright, or a Microphone microgame in Touched! and Gold instructing the player to stay quiet as several Fronks cross a tight rope.
The unit of time for all microgames is beats. In ' and ', a standard microgame is 8 beats, double-length microgames last 16 beats; Fronk's microgames in Twisted! and Gold only last 4 beats. In most games, the BPM will start out relatively slow and will increase as the player completes microgames.
In , the 8-beat standard has been dropped for all microgames, so many last longer than 8 beats. This may be a difficulty curve for those unaccustomed to the Nintendo DS's touch-screen interface. To retain pace, the microgames will automatically end if cleared before a four-beat measure is met.
To show the time left to complete a microgame, a small "bomb" appears at the bottom of the screen. The fuse and a countdown timer show the amount of time left to complete the microgame. When time runs out, the bomb explodes and in most cases, the player loses a life. The fuse burns faster when the BPM increases.
Some microgames are intrinsically harder than others, and an increased BPM will make any microgame more difficult to complete than the same microgame at a slower BPM. This is usually reflected in the microgames' "clear scores"—the score one must reach while playing a microgame in the practice modes to obtain credit for "clearing" it.
Each microgame features three difficulty levels: Blue, Yellow and Red. Blue presents the given task in an easier way, while Red presents it in a much harder way. Not all modes of all WarioWare games actually show a color to denote the current level, but most modes start with Blue games, progressing to Yellow upon a "Level Up", then to Red in similar fashion. Once Red is reached, sequential "Level Up"s will typically be replaced by "Speed Up"s.
Using the above The Legend of Zelda microgame as an example, the Blue version of this microgame usually places Link very close to the cave entrance that he must enter. The Yellow version places the entrance further away and places an enemy that blocks Link, and the Red version places the entrance yet further, and has a second enemy that shoots at Link from a lake. Linked by Nintendo?

''WarioWare'' characters

There are two major types of character in the WarioWare series. The first are the WarioWare, Inc. developers, who both create and host the microgames. Each one has a unique theme or twist, depending on the game. For instance, Jimmy T.'s microgames in Twisted! are focused around large spins, while in Touched! his microgames involve rubbing objects with the stylus. The second group of characters often show up within the introduction cutscenes — the most notable being Fronk, who hosts "Pop-Up" microgames in Twisted! and Gold and pops up in the most unlikely of places.

Major characters

Wario has starred in puzzle games such as Mario & Wario and Wario's Woods, as well as crossing over into the Bomberman universe with .

Appearances in other games

Wario is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, his default outfit being his motorcyclist outfit as seen in the WarioWare games, although he can also wear his classic overalls. He can transform into Wario-Man after obtaining a Smash Ball. His motorcycle is used as one of his special attacks. Kat and Ana also make appearances as an Assist Trophy. Many stickers also represent WarioWare, Inc. — in addition to all of the above appearing as stickers and trophies, there are stickers of other WarioWare characters. Also, there is a WarioWare stage, named WarioWare, Inc., based on the Variety Tower location from with several different microgames that run in the background, one of which features Jimmy T. Completing the tasks set by the games awards power-ups like invincibility or growth. This stage also features Ashley's Song, Mike's Theme and Mona Pizza's Song as background music. All three are featured in Japanese and English. Wario is once again playable in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, however he now appears as unlockable, instead of being available from the start as in the previous game. The 3DS version retains the WarioWare, Inc. stage from Brawl, while the Wii U version has a stage based on the Gamer sub-game in Game & Wario. Ashley, another character from WarioWare, is also included as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and a downloadable Mii costume in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.
The Alien Bunnies from Orbulon's stage in Mega Microgame$ make an appearance in Rhythm Tengoku, a game developed by the same team, and also make brief appearances in its sequel, Rhythm Heaven. A later sequel, Rhythm Heaven Megamix features two unlockable challenges called "Wario...Where?" that remix several of the minigames to feature characters from the WarioWare series.