Appearing as a Nintendo DS launch title, WarioWare Touched! offered a very innovative appearance for the portly blunder-boy. The game is designed in such as way that it clearly has to have a touchscreen to be played. Intended to take full advantage of the brand new Nintendo DS hardware, WarioWare Touched! delivered where so many other launch titles failed. Packed full of microgames, you will spend many hours enjoying this wonderful Nintendo DS title to its fullest.
If you are familiar with the previous games in the WarioWare library, or even some of the more recent titles, you will be aware of the way the gameplay works. Basically, there are many characters you will meet, each with their own set of microgames for you to play through. Each lasts only 3-5 seconds, and asks you to perform some simple tasks. It’s the same idea with WarioWare Touched!. Only this time you use the Nintendo DS’ stylus, and sometimes even the built-in microphone, to win these games. The unique gameplay first implemented here has become recurring in the series, and is present in most subsequent titles. Many of the microgames in WarioWare Touched! appear in WarioWare Gold.
More Technical Showcase, Less Challenge
There are three difficulty settings for each microgame, each one giving you more things to do in the same amount of time. On paper, the idea may seem tedious. However the variety is incredibly wide and well structured. It genuinely delivers a consideration for all aspects of what you can actually do with a touchscreen. Thus, it inevitably becomes very addictive after a short while of playing.
The difficulty involved with WarioWare Touched! is generally dictated by the user. The difficulty/speed of the games increases as you progress through each stage, until you understand the details of every microgame featured in the title. All of the microgames are easy to learn and master quickly. None of them should give you too much of a problem. The microgames you are introduced to early on are obviously simple, requiring a simple slice or poke of the stylus to complete the objective. As you meet new characters and try their microgames, you will find there are more complex tasks to be done (drawing, spinning quickly, blowing into the microphone). Generally speaking though, the WarioWare games are known for being enjoyable and addictive to all ages. As such they haven’t been made particularly difficult.
WarioWare Touched! Brings the Nintendo DS to Life
As for the graphical quality, all of the objects are brightly coloured and well-drawn for a title which can easily be considered quite simple. Both screens handle the graphics well and the touchscreen pin-point accuracy is spot on. It is also great to see that the Nintendo DS responds quickly to every little movement made on the touchscreen.
For the Nintendo DS’ standards, the music/sound is of fairly decent quality. You have to remember that it is a 20 year-old portable system, so we won’t be hearing super high quality sound. However the game makes good use of the onboard stereo speakers.
The package presented with WarioWare Touched! is an all-out Nintendo DS party. Much like how Super Smash Bros. Melee capitalised on all of the GameCube’s superior qualities, WarioWare Touched! has singled out every-one of the Nintendo DS’ unique features. Rivalry between Wario and Mario for the top-spot within the Nintendo DS’ launch line-up was fierce. 20 years later, it’s clear that WarioWare Touched! as aged better than an ill thought-out Nintendo 64 port.
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