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WarioWare: Twisted! (JP) is a video game for the Game Boy Advance, as part of the WarioWare franchise. This iteration used motion sensing abilities to carry out inputs on many mini-games. Initially released in 2004 in Japan, the game was shipped out to North American and Australian regions the following year, but a European release strangely never materialised.

WarioWare Twisted! was very popular among critics, with Craig Harris, Nintendo editor at IGN, claiming it to be the very best Game Boy Advance game. Unlike the other WarioWare games, it uses a tilt sensor for the bulk of its gameplay, which allows for the console to be tilted in order to create input instead of pressing buttons (though buttons are occasionally used).

The game revolves around Wario and his coworkers going on self-contained adventures throughout Diamond City, with the microgames being played as the characters attempt to solve whatever problem is occurring to them.

Gameplay

WarioWare Twisted! is an innovative title that used technology similar to what was present in Yoshi Topsy Turvy and Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble for the Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color, respectively. Every single microgame in WarioWare Twisted! is controlled by twisting the Game Boy Advance left and right, with this feature being used in unique fashions for wach minigame The specially made cartridge also contains a rumble pak that shakes the Game Boy Advance whenever the Gyro Sensor is put into play.

WarioWare Twisted! asks what console the player is using when they boot up the game, whether it be a standard Game Boy Advance or a bottom slot system such as the Game Boy Advance SP or Nintendo DS. Despite not working well with a Game Boy Player (and the manual saying it's not compatible), WarioWare Twisted! works nonetheless.

Story Mode

  • Wario
  • Mona
  • Jimmy T.
  • Kat and Ana
  • Dribble and Spitz
  • Dr Crygor
  • Orbulon
  • 9-Volt
  • 18-Volt
  • Wario-man

Microgame sets

All Microgames

Mini-Spin

The Mini-Spin collection of minigames are presented by Mona.


Big Tipper

The Big Tipper collection of minigames are presented by Jimmy T.:

Tap Out

The Tap Out collection of minigames are presented by Kat and Ana:

Steer Clear

The Steer Clear collection of minigames are presented by Dribble and Spitz

Gravitator

The Gravitator collection of minigames are presented by Dr. Crygor

Speed Spin

The Speed Spin collection of minigames are presented by WarioWatch

  • Opposites Attract
  • Nuts and Bolts
  • Roughing It
  • Pumping Iron
  • Party Favor
  • Paper Trail
  • Instant Replay
  • Cheeky Monkey
  • Shave the World
  • Chain Letter
  • Dear John Letter
  • Boss: Boing!

Time Warp

The Time Warp collection of minigames are presented by Orbulon

  • Pipe Puzzle
  • Air Passage
  • Tapped Out
  • Dire Plates
  • Deadly Ditty
  • Alphabet Soup
  • Manual Labor
  • Fine Tune
  • Green Thumb
  • Wedgies!
  • Boomerang!
  • Fill in the Blanks
  • Peak Peek
  • Connect the Dots
  • Rocket Rotary
  • Sleight of Hand
  • Guitar Solo
  • Produce Pick
  • About Face
  • Safecracker
  • High Card Draw
  • Toaster Jam
  • Boss: Crossing Guard

Spintendo Classics

The Spintendo Classics collection of minigames are presented by 9-Volt

  • Tennis
  • Metroid-Morph Ball
  • Super Mario Bros. 3-Lift
  • Wrecking Crew
  • Pinball
  • Golf
  • Mario Brothers
  • Excitebike
  • Clu Clu Land
  • Donkey Kong Jr.
  • Baseball
  • Ice Climber
  • Balloon Fight
  • Mach Rider
  • Kid Icarus
  • Duck Hunt
  • The Legend of Zelda
  • Donkey Kong 3
  • NES Open Tournament Golf
  • Ice Hockey
  • Metroid Samus
  • Super Mario Bros. 3
  • Boss: Super Mario Bros.

Spandex Challenge

The Spandex Challenge collection of minigames are presented by Wario-Man

  • Tiptoe Titan
  • Rain of Riches
  • Power Line Pigeons
  • Burying the Hatchet
  • Crash Prize
  • Hot Rod
  • Rock It!
  • Ping-Pong Panic
  • Catch of the Day
  • No-Zone
  • Alignment
  • Swamp Swing
  • Drywall Dodge
  • Super Wario
  • Cyclone Kick
  • Wario Weigh-in
  • Going Steady
  • Inch, Worm!
  • Soda Jerk
  • Robotomy
  • Wee Wario Blast
  • Fragile!
  • Strange Ritual
  • Wario Hockey
  • Wario and the Beanstalk
  • Stay in School
  • High-Speed Chase
  • Volt Bolt
  • Boss: Wario Mambo

Frantic Fronk

the Frantic Fronk Collection of minigames are presented by Fronk,

  • What's the Point?
  • Oopsy-Daisy
  • Hop to the Top
  • Rock and a Hot Place
  • Dirty Darts
  • Snake Snarl
  • Feed on Fronk
  • Peek-a-boo-boo
  • Fronk Fishing

Souvenirs

Records

Cameos

WarioWare Twisted featured several Nintendo cameos. 9-Volt's stages in particular are all references to past Nintendo published titles. Games referenced include Wrecking Crew, Super Mario Bros. 3, Metroid, Clu Clu Land, Mach Rider, and more. Beyond the Nintendo themed microgames there are subtle references to past games contained in other microgames from sound effects to concepts to even the names of the micro and mini games (such as "Mewtroid"). Five of the records are from classic Nintendo Entertainment System games including Super Mario Bros., Kid Icarus, Metroid, Balloon Fight, and Wrecking Crew. One of the "doodads" is a Love Tester (Nintendo long ago manufactured Love Testers in Japan).

Development

Development on Twisted started after it was suggested that a second WarioWare game for the Game Boy Advance, even though the previous GBA installment, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, was still selling units[1]. The project was soon underway, with the team amassing a collection of potential microgames, but they were not able to find something that would make it unique from the rest of the series. Around this time, the team was presented with the Nintendo DS, and they thought that the stylus would be perfect for a WarioWare game, developing it as a launch title even though there was already progress being put into Twisted. Development of this game, which would become WarioWare: Touched!, briefly overlapped with that of Twisted[2]. As the series' core staff was already busy with Twisted, Touched was primarily developed by people new to the series. Following its completion, Twisted's staff was immediately moved to Touched to ensure the game was ready for the Nintendo DS's launch.

When the team was still looking for the game's key element, one of the staff, Kazuyoshi Osawa (who went on to conceptualize and become the chief director of the Rhythm Heaven series), presented an experimental motion sensor he was working on set up to work with microgame-like demos. The rest of the team loved the idea and soon sent it to Satoru Iwata for approval. Iwata spent a long time with a record player (which became the basis for the Record souvenirs), setting the console on a swivel chair, spinning it around, and enjoying as the game's music matched the chair's rotation. Sakamoto knew that he had a success on his hands when Iwata spun around in his chair and called the demo "idiotic". The game was finished in August 2004.[3]

Reception

Critical reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 87.79%
Metacritic 88/100
Review scores
Publication Score
GamesRadar 5/5
IGN 9.5/10

Twisted received generally positive reception from critics. It was praised heavily for using the tilt controls in a unique and fun fashion[4] as well as its charming and quirky visuals[5], though many wished for increased multiplayer options[6]. 1UP's Jeremy Parish, in his review of Yoshi Topsy-Turvy (which also uses a tilt sensor), commented that Twisted! felt like the tilt sensor was built for it, rather than the other way around[7]. IGN editor-in-chief Craig Harris (who gave the game a 9.5 out of 10 in his review) listed it as number 1 on IGN's "Top 25 Game Boy Advance Games of All-Time"[8].

The game won the grand prize in the 8th Japan Media Arts Festival's entertainment division for its aesthetic appeal and its innovative controls[9]. Director Goro Abe was nominated alongside the game and came to pick up the award at the ceremony[10]

Sales

In Japan, WarioWare: Twisted sold around 108,000 copies on its opening week and had lifetime sales of 463,938 according to Famitsu sales data[11]. As of June 1, 2005, WarioWare: Twisted has sold just above 1,000,000 copies worldwide.

European release

In 2005, when the game was released in Australia and America, Nintendo announced the game for release in Europe on June 24[12], which was later pushed back to December 8.[13] Four years later, in 2009, the Game Boy Advance was discontinued. The page for WarioWare: Twisted! on the Nintendo of Europe Website had been removed as well[14]. In the European version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, when it is mentioned on the Chronicle, the game is marked as "Not Released".

Credits

Trivia

  • The box art of the game shows Wario holding a Game Boy Advance SP, but in the game, the characters use the original Game Boy Advance instead.
  • In the Guinness World Record 2010 Gamer's Edition, WarioWare: Twisted! was listed as having the most minigames in a single video game, which was 223.
  • Like WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, some sound effects used in the game were taken from Wario Land 4.
  • The Music Box World from Wario Land 3 makes a small cameo on Wario's desk. Additionally, a picture of the Golden Pyramid from Wario Land 4 is seen.

References

  1. Iwata Asks: WarioWare Smooth Moves. Nintendo. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  2. Nintendo, Iwata Asks: Metroid Other M (Retrieved September 3, 2014)
  3. (April 7, 2006). Nintendo R&D1 Interview. Kikizo. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  4. Beveridge, Phil (January 25, 2006). Wario Ware Twisted! (Game Boy Advance) Review. Cubed3. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  5. Ross, Patrick. WarioWare Twisted! Nintendojo. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  6. "jkdmedia" (June 23, 2005). WarioWare Twisted! - GBA - Review. GameZone. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  7. Parish, Jeremy (June 10, 2015). Yoshi Topsy Turvy. 1UP. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  8. Harris, Craig (March 16, 2007). Top 25 GBA Games of All-Time. IGN. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  9. 8th Grand Prize - Wario Ware: Twisted. Japan Media Arts Festival Archive. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  10. Grand Prize Wario Ware:Twisted Game (Wayback Archive). Japan Media Arts Plaza. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  11. Lemaire, Oscar (January 25, 2014). Ventes des jeux Wario au Japon. GamesCharts. Retrieved September 05, 2014 (WayBack Archive link).
  12. Games Press (May 4, 2005). PRESS RELEASE: Wario Becomes Even More Twisted Than Ever Before! (Wayback Archive). GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  13. "rawmeatcowboy" (9 October, 2006) WARIO WARE TWISTED! FINALLY MAKES IT TO EUROPE. GoNintendo. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  14. Nintendo UK's full list of games. Retrieved September 9, 2015.

External links

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