Not counting spin-offs like Game and Wario and compilations like WarioWare Gold, it has been just over a decade between WarioWare games. It's the type of wait that Nintendo fans have grown accustomed to, but it ended this month with the release of WarioWare: Get It Together! on Switch. Developer Intelligent Systems continues to pump out dozens of novel and surprising microgames to fill out the game, but the interesting bits of Get It Together! only pop up after the story concludes. Players will go in expecting another go-round with 9-Volt's retro game references, but they won't expect the sprawling collectathon that follows.
Players might also find WarioWare: Get It Together's narrative unexpected. This has traditionally been a series light on dialogue and heavy on sight gags, but the series has taken the same path as the Lego games and made Wario's band of developers into chatty protagonists. The story sees Wario's team trapped inside their latest collection of games, leading up to the gimmick that players are now controlling sprite-sized versions of the WarioWare crew inside each game. Each developer has their own movement quirks, like Orbulon's UFO letting him fly where he wishes and Young Cricket's masterful jumping skills. Players need to not only get a handle on each game's objective but also how they'll accomplish the goal utilizing whichever character the game hands them seconds beforehand.
While the focus on characters does take some of the shine off of WarioWare's signature microgames, there's still plenty of Wario-approved madness to take in throughout the campaign. From plugging a nose with a yo-yo to playing a WarioWare: Twisted! minigame by spinning a giant Game Boy Advance, the gauntlet of seemingly random tasks is as fun as ever. The story challenges are also a bit easier than normal, which might be due to how much WarioWare: Get It Together! wants players to get past the story bits and experience the rest of the game.
Still, the high score challenges available after the fact provide the same rush of excitement that has carried the series since its initial entry, and the addition of local co-op makes it an excellent game to pull out at particularly rowdy parties. Overall, the story and the microgames make for an excellent WarioWare experience, but they're only half the story.
WarioWare: Get It Together's new additions are really what's worth talking about in this package. A Variety Pack of minigames eventually opens up, and there are several winners among the sizable collection. In addition to new ways to play through the microgames, there are experiences that could be entire local multiplayer games all their own. Friendless Battle challenges a single WarioWare character to fight off countless grey clones in a horde-style battle that recalls fighting the Polygon Team in Super Smash Bros. Daily Grind is a platforming challenge for multiple players that takes advantage of Get It Together's unique movement mechanics. There's plenty to see, and that goes a long way towards giving WarioWare: Get It Together a needed dose of longevity.
Each of these mini-games tracks high scores and feeds into the challenge system, which spits out a currency that fuels the biggest aspect of WarioWare: Get It Together's endgame. This is the first WarioWare to take a stab at competitive online multiplayer, but it doesn't bring some of its multiplayer modes to the Web. Instead, the Wario Cup sees single players take on a unique challenge once a week and compete with friends for high scores. That fits in pretty well with WarioWare at first glance, but the system around this mode makes the whole thing feel like an unwelcome addition to the series.
Players earn a currency all throughout the story mode, and the store finally opens up once the credits roll. Here, players can buy "prezzies" as single purchases or in a bundle of loot box-esque capsules. These are all random objects that players gift to the various WarioWare cast to level them up, with certain items appealing to certain personalities and supplying more XP. Trained characters can get more points in the Wario Cup, making the game less about pure skill and more about grinding for levels to achieve the perfect Wario. The levels also unlock customization options, and both of these additions feel out of place in a game that lacks traditional online multiplayer.
It would be one thing if these present items spawn from particularly successful runs through WarioWare's microgame gauntlets, but adding the annoyingly familiar layer of a currency and an item shop pulls the game closer to the murky swamp of service games that many players of Get It Together may want to escape. Not only does it seem like a way to artificially make the timeless WarioWare formula feel "modern," but it also adds a needless layer of complication to a pure gaming experience. Tracking the likes and dislikes of a cast of over fifteen characters is something that should be in an hours-long JRPG, not a minigame collection starring a would-be plumber known for fart jokes and ingesting garlic. It's a glaring mismatch that drags the rest of the package down with its inclusion.
Thankfully, there is enough in WarioWare: Get It Together to keep fans plugging away at high scores and microgame mastery. The character movement can make some of the games far too simplistic when compared to the timing-based gameplay of past series entries and in the similar Rhythm Heaven series. However, the trade-off in pure variety makes for microgames that keep players on their toes for far longer, and anything that keeps the WarioWare train going is a good thing. Even after excising the baffling online mode, this is the same great WarioWare experience on a platform that lets players bring it to the couch and share Wario's distinctive brand of gaming with friends and family.
WarioWare: Get It Together! is available now on Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided a digital copy for the purposes of this review.