The Nintendo DS’s unique design makes it perfect for off-the-wall gaming and industry-first ideas. After Nintendo DS gamers got a taste of “microgaming” from Sega’s “Feel the Magic,” the original, genre-bending series returns with “WarioWare: Touched!”
Despite losing some of the freshness the first “WarioWare” carried, “Touched!” is a bright spot in the so-far weak lineup of both the DS and Sony’s upcoming PSP.
“WarioWare” is an experience greater than the sum of its parts. Rather than looking at the overall premise, the rapid-fire scenarios thrown at the player speak for themselves. Each stage consists of a string of five-second minigames. The hundreds of games each prompt a simple, obvious task: kill fleas, wave goodbye, milk a cow, tickle an armpit, eat a donut. The system’s touch pad and microphone, as well as the game’s bizarre sense of humor, are only components necessary to perform each peculiar task.
In the age of bloated 3-D effects, creative and appealing art has become the exception rather than the rule. Just as “WarioWare’s” one-button, reflex-based gameplay puts a spin on the days of gaming yore, so does the bright character sprites and scenery. Best described as classic Nintendo, the graphics are not overly detailed but drawn with fun and appealing flair.
The soundtrack features some catchy tunes, two featuring lyrics that force chuckles. Even at worst, the music reinforces the machine-gun kinetic energy constantly fired at the player.
Lately, Nintendo has excelled at brewing games with humor as a vital ingredient (Paper Mario and Animal Crossing are two screwball examples). Here, laughs stem from game’s cleverness (one game shows a NES pad on the bottom screen, prompting for “A” to be mashed to kill old-school enemies on the top) and absurdity (operating a swinging statue that urinates to put out a fire).
The script is a product of another triple-A Nintendo localization; many of the lines and phrases are priceless (e.g. from Mike, the karaoke robot: “Your singing is 99.28 percent awful!”, and his use of “weapons of mass karaoke”).
“Touched!” suffers from two main flaws, the first of which harmed its predecessor as well: length. A larger cast is provided this time, as well as more games and extras, but the overall game’s length should have been increased. Most gamers can probably get through the initial quest in one night if they choose. Some of the bonus games are novelty items to be looked at once, while the others are not as fun as the main game. Thankfully the game encourages maximum playtime by keeping high scores, another throwback uncommon these days.
Although replaying the game does not get old, veterans of the two previous “WarioWare” titles will burn out much faster. The touch pad-microphone gameplay is a blast, and while it is not a mere gimmick, the game’s similar structure to the original can leave players wanting more. The true GameBoy Advance sequel to “WarioWare” was released in Japan even before the DS version, and it is reportedly the real next step in the franchise.
“Touched!” could have been more ambitious and could have provided a gameplay leap along with technology improvement, but it still stands as a powerful testament to the new handheld generation’s budding power. For the DS, “Touched!” is a foundation developers can build on to maximize the potential of Nintendo’s newest innovation. Nintendo must lead the charge with more similar titles to ensure the DS’s longevity.
Sony’s PSP is muscling in to Nintendo’s area of dominance, and Sony’s buzz seems to be outshining the PSP’s square-button defectiveness (“on purpose,” the PSP’s creator says), ejecting discs and dead pixels. Nintendo needs to keep up a constant front of titles like “Touched!” to prove two screens is the way to go.
