The Wario Ware franchise is one of the quirkiest and most unique franchises in all of gaming. Since busting out onto the scene on the GameBoy Advance in 2003, Wario Ware games have also appeared on the GameCube, DS, and now the Nintendo Wii. So with so many possible ways to hold the Wii remote and to interact with the software, can Intelligent Systems maintain that same frantic simplicity that has endeared the series to millions worldwide? Read on for our full review.

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves maintains the same formula from the other Wario Ware games that preceded it: you select an available character, watch an oddball story intro, play through a set of simple 2-3 second long minigames, and face off in some sort of boss battle or final challenge. Once you pass the set of challenges that correspond to the available characters, more characters are unveiled for you to choose from. If you've played any Wario Ware games before, this is all very familiar to you. If you are new to the series, I won't say more to allow you to experience it firsthand for yourself.

The presentation in Wario Ware: Smooth moves is fantastic. While the game lacks 16:9 widescreen support, it does support progressive scan. The stretched 480p image on a widescreen TV isn't much of an issue, however, due to the wacky visuals of the game; you'll barely notice a thing. Menu navigation and mode selection is done entire with the Wii remote's pointing capabilities, and everything is laid out logically and orderly. The introductory and mini-epilogue cutscenes that play throughout the game are hilarious and full of charming moments. Each time a new way to hold the Wii remote is introduced, you'll also be treated to a humorous explanation. As far as presentation goes, Wario Ware: Smooth Moves is the pinnacle of the series to date.

The gameplay is pretty much what you would expect from a Wario Ware game, though it is a bit more varied due to the many capabilities of the Wii remote. In order to pass the short 2-3 second minigames that Wario Ware: Smooth Moves throws at you, you'll be holding the Wii remote in a variety of ways and moving it in every imaginable direction. You'll twist, thrust, rotate, drop, wave, shake, wear, balance, grind, swing, and point the Wii remote (and nunchuck attachment with one character) to the prompts that the game gives you. Some minigames make use of the remote's sense of movement in 3D space in such a creative fashion that you'll be begging for more when you've finally seen all that the game has to throw at you.




For the most part, the Wii remote performs extremely well, but there is the occasional hiccup. Once in a while you might find yourself a bit too animated and the Wii sensor bar could lose track of the remote's presence for a split second. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it's pretty tough to get on track quickly enough to complete the minigame. On the other hand, there are times when you'll definitely be impressed by the Wii remote's ability to convey such rapid and seemingly out of control twitch movements accurately. In the end, the Wii remote only magnifies the overall Wario Ware experience. Lefties will also appreciate the option to have the game modified to accommodate for left-handed players.