Wario Classic Mode

CLASSIC MODE

Here’s one for the original Wario Ware game:

1.       Biker Wario’s stage: Probably just set on Wario Ware Inc. and fighting Biker Wario. As you don’t typically play as any of the characters but against them, he’ll be your opponent.

2.       Jimmy T.’s stage: Set on Club Sugar and fighting Jimmy

3.       Dribble and Spitz’s stage: Set on Taxi and fighting the pair

4.       Mona’s stage: Set on Diamond City and fighting Mona

5.       9-Volt’s stage: Set on Nintendo Classics and fighting 9-Volt, maybe with a few retro Nintendo characters backing him up

6.       Orbulon’s stage: Either set on Taxi again or in another space level like Mario Galaxy. Fighting Orbulon and maybe some Rabbids representing the Alien Bunnies.

7.       Dr. Crygor’s stage: Set on Super MakerMatic 2.0 or maybe just Diamond City stuck on the Dr. Crygor’s lab stop while fighting Dr. Crygor.

8.       Kat & Ana’s stage: Either set on Temple of Form or the Diamond Castle stop of Diamond City, fighting the two.

9.       Final Battle: Set in the Diamond City Stadium and fighting a powered-up Wario.

Kat & Ana

The eighth/ninth and final developers Wario brought on board, definitely edging into illegal territory now, is a pair of kindergartners training to become ninjas, a set of twins with bright pink and red hair.

These are Kat and Ana. They attend the local Diamond City dojo and work daily to become the best ninja around, often being called upon to fight different oni who attack the shogun’s palace. Their microgames are often centered around nature and the plants and animals they love.

As fighters, they’ll probably be among the best of the crew. They will be fast and nimble, with keen strikes from their katana blades, acting as a duo like the Ice Climbers. Their moveset will pull from their framing stories, mixed with their nature-themed games.

Likelihood rating: Good possibility

Dr. Crygor

Certainly the brains behind the technology that brings all these microgames together, Wario’s next developer is an eccentric mad scientist who lives in a lab on an island out in the bay of Diamond City.

This is Dr. Crygor, whose framing stories often involve him conducting new experiments that end with him having to deal with the unintended consequences. His microgames often, perplexingly, have a food theme to them, probably to do with him having to rush to the restroom because of his experiments.

As a fighter, he will be slower, without much physical strength, forcing him to rely on his technology to get ahead. His moveset will pull from his various inventions and experiments, failed or not, as well as his food-based microgames.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

Orbulon

One of the more odd members of the crew Wario brings together is a bumbling little alien who came to Earth intending to conquer it, crash-landed, and decided to stay because he liked their food too much.

This is Orbulon, an alien exploring all of humanity’s culture while zipping around in his little floating pig ship and occasionally getting into shenanigans out in space. His microgames tended to be IQ-based, requiring the player to think a little harder to beat them.

As a fighter, he will be small and fast, floaty thanks to his flying saucer he rides in. His moveset will pull from his spacefaring adventures and technology, with a slight element of his thinking microgames involved.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

9-Volt

Ignoring all child labor laws, another individual Wario ropes into developing games for him is a local elementary school student and resident Nintendo nerd, who spends all his time in his room playing video games.

This is 9-Volt. As a fan of all things Nintendo, his microgames tend to be entirely pulled from random Nintendo games, with players being required to perform simple actions from those games. He also has a hoverboard he likes to ride around on.

As a fighter, he will be small and fast, zipping around on his hoverboard like nothing else matters. His moveset will pull from his hoverboard, his yoyo and his various game systems, and his Nintendo-themed microgames.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

Mona

Probably one of the first to throw her hat into the mix was a local go-getter high school student, who spends most of her time jumping from job to job, doing everything she can to get ahead in life.

This is Mona, a cheerleader/gelato shop worker/pizza delivery girl/etc. with a distinct and stated crush on Wario, despite being one of the first to call him out on his crap when he pulls it. Her microgames tend to be categorized as “Weird” which I often take to be the random stuff she’s doing to get ready as she rushes from job to job.

As a fighter, she will be fast, due to her tendency to rush around all the time, with more average stats on the rest. Her moveset will incorporate her three helpful pets, her various jobs she has worked, and her “weird” microgames.

Likelihood rating: Good possibility

Dribble & Spitz

Two more developers who readily agreed to go along with Wario’s schemes were a duo: a bulldog and a cat who worked together as cab drivers, whose late night pickups had a tendency to get them wrapped up in supernatural goings-on.

These are Dribble the Bulldog and Spitz the Cat. They are best friends and are rarely seen apart from one another. Most of the time, their microgames tended to be science fiction-themed, as did many of their framing stories.

As fighters, the two will be together inside of their cab, driving it around the stage while Spitz takes aim with their in-car bazooka. Their moveset will pull from their various out-of-this-world adventures and similar microgames.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

Jimmy T.

Determined to make more money than the Pyoro games ever did, Wario calls up a bunch of his friends from around Diamond City and ropes them into helping him develop microgames. The first of these was a rad dude with a big blue afro who liked nothing more than to hang out at the local disco club.

This was Jimmy Thang, better known as Jimmy T. Due to his musical disco nature, he often served the role as the remixer of the different developers’ microgames, taking them all and mixing them up as review challenges for the player. When not doing that, he was using his physicality for sports-themed games.

As a fighter, Jimmy will rely on flowing technical moves with a lot of pizzazz to them. His moves will pull from his own adventures in his framing stories as well as his sports-themed microgames.

Likelihood rating: Good possibility

Pyoro

The framing story of the first game begins as Wario sees the citizens of Diamond City around him going crazy over a brand-new game that just came out, starring a silly red bird with an extendable tongue, prompting his jealousy over how much money the developers were making.

This video game character was Pyoro. He would appear regularly in bit roles throughout the series, typically with small little bonus games based on his in-universe video games. He would get a surprise boost in importance in Wario Ware: Get It Together when he would invade the game Wario and his friends were stuck in to join in on the fun.

As a fighter, he would be small with strong aerials, similar in nature to Yoshi, who he was based on. His moves would pull from his various bonus games as well as his boss battle and subsequent playability in Get It Together.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Biker Wario

In 2003, Nintendo’s studio Intelligent Systems had a new idea for a new direction to take with Wario. It cast Wario as a game developer, who wanted to make the most money with the least effort possible and so created a series of microgames that would be over in about five seconds.

With this new game series came a redesign of Wario’s classic look. Rather than the hat and overalls of all the Mario plumbers, Wario now wore a biker’s outfit, complete with a ratty old Levi jacket and helmet.

This version of Wario has about the same stats as his Wario Land form, with maybe a bit more focus on speed instead of strength. His moves pull from the Wario Ware side of things, mostly the shenanigans he gets himself into in the games’ framing stories.

Likelihood rating: Already in

Character Sheet: Mona (Wario Ware)

MONA

Let's begin our character sheets for our Wario Ware characters. Although it felt a little touch and go there, with most gameplay not being tied to the characters themselves, each one did do enough across the nine games to warrant their inclusion, with the only one I really had to fudge a little being Mike. (At that point, with everyone else in, it just felt a little wrong to leave him out). Either way, here they are:

1. Wario
2. Biker Wario
3. Mona
4. Jimmy T.
5. Ashley & Red
6. 9-Volt
7. 18-Volt
8. 5-Volt
9. Kat and Ana
10. Young Cricket
10e. Master Mantis
11. Dribble & Spitz
12. Dr. Crygor
12e. Penny Crygor
13. Mike
14. Orbulon
15. Lulu

Today, it's time to talk about Mona, a high school senior living in Diamond City and one of Wario's regular employees. She's a bit of a busy go-getter, switching between part time jobs from game to game and always on the move. She's also got a crush on Wario of all people, even though she tends to be the first one to call him out on his crap most of the time? Eeh, she likes what she likes, I guess. Who am I to judge.

Across the different names, she has worked at a gelateria, a pizza place (named after her somehow), a singer in a band, an explorer, and a photographer for a newspaper. She is also the head cheerleader at her high school. All of these can definitely play a part in her moveset, and arguably give her enough to work with already. Most of her early games tended to feature her on her moped, being chased down by the police, a rival pizza company, or a rival singer, while she has to be defended by her companions: an elephant, a pig, and a monkey; all of whom throw things off the back to trip the pursuers up. In Touched specifically, her bandmates Art and Deco also help her out. Her microgames often vary, though they often fall into the category of "strange" which seems to generally mean "slice of life" kinda stuff. Strangely, despite it only being her job once, her role as a pizza girl has kinda stuck to her identity, so I imagine it should be touched on.

Here's the moveset I came up with for her:

Standard B: Shutter
This one is based on her game in Game & Wario, where she works as a photographer. She will pull out her camera and snap a picture, her camera flashing and stunning the opponent for a brief second. It would be fun to work in the pictures she takes in some way, adding them to your collection, but I suppose it doesn't matter.

Side B: Moped
Obviously this had to be included, it is easily one of the most consistent features in all of her appearances. It's probably about as iconic as Wario's bike. I would wager it would function much the same as the bike, possibly even just for giving them that connection with each other.

Up B: Cheerleader Throw
This one is based on her appearance in Smooth Moves, where she acts as a cheerleader. Her squad will appear around her and toss her into the air, while she holds a baton over her head and spins it for minimal damage.

Down B: Animal Buddies
When she presses this button, one of her three animal companions will appear at random. The elephant will spew sludge across the stage, acting like the paint of other characters. The monkey will toss a banana peel. And the pig will kick out a soccer ball. Both of these items will function as normal.

Final Smash: Mona Pizza
While I was tempted to include the Pizza Dinosaur used by her rival company, I instead chose to base her final smash on her tutorial microgame at the start of her Twisted run of games. A giant pizza will rise behind the stage, spinning left and right as pepperonis fly from the foreground onto the pizza, smacking and doing damage to any players they hit as they fly. All the while, Mona Pizza's theme song will play.

Entrance: Mona's alarm will ring and she will say "Uh oh, gotta go!"

Taunts: Rocking with her bandmates, eating a slice of pizza OR eating some gelato, or just dancing maybe.

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover that cool disco cat, Jimmy T.!

Character Sheet: Biker Wario (Wario Ware)

BIKER WARIO

Let's begin our character sheets for our Wario Ware characters. Although it felt a little touch and go there, with most gameplay not being tied to the characters themselves, each one did do enough across the nine games to warrant their inclusion, with the only one I really had to fudge a little being Mike. (At that point, with everyone else in, it just felt a little wrong to leave him out). Either way, here they are:

1. Wario
2. Biker Wario
3. Mona
4. Jimmy T.
5. Ashley & Red
6. 9-Volt
7. 18-Volt
8. 5-Volt
9. Kat and Ana
10. Young Cricket
10e. Master Mantis
11. Dribble & Spitz
12. Dr. Crygor
12e. Penny Crygor
13. Mike
14. Orbulon
15. Lulu

Today, we begin our new characters, with an alt character for Wario. Whereas the character we covered yesterday mostly represented Wario in his Wario Land and Mario series appearances, this version is all about Wario Ware and is decked out in his iconic biker outfit. Wario Man is also included here, as a powered-up form of the character, similar in some ways to the Joker's Arsene. This will be the most similar to Wario's current smash form, though to be honest, having watched these game's through, I'm still not certain where some of the moves came from, with his Up B, Down B, and regular B all seeming to be original creations based on the general concept of the character, rather than actual gameplay.

Out of all the characters in this series, Wario is the one who makes the most sense to base on the microgames themselves, so we can certain consider that as we play. His iconic motorcycle makes many an appearance, so that's a given. He is shown working out frequently, and often uses rockets or other items as getaway vehicles. He also takes on multiple forms for his big "final battles" of the games, if you will, with Tiny Warios and Wario Man being the most common, and Pirate Wario giving us a treat in Game & Wario. We can also consider things like the Form Baton into his moveset if need be. Many, many of his microgames do have to do with disgusting parts of his body in some way, like picking his nose and eating junk, so things like the waft and the bite aren't that odd per se. And then as Wario Man, he can also fly and has super strength, so we can factor that in as well. He also uses a bow and arrow, strangely, during his Game & Wario games. I'm going to avoid all the "toilet" stuff from Wario Ware Gold, as most of that can be applied to Lulu.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Mini Warios
With the prevalence of the Mini Warios throughout the series, it seems fitting to include them here. The move will act similar to Olimar's Pikmin throw, with the Mini Warios latching onto and biting the opponent, doing minimal damage. As Wario Man, he will throw a group of them, rather than just one at a time.

Side B: Motorcycle
Of course this had to be here. I'd say it's a rather key part of Biker Wario's identity, and it will act exactly as it does in the Smash series. As Wario Man, he will forego the bike and simply zoom across the stage at high speed.

Up B: Getaway Rocket
This one is based on Wario's penchant for trying to make a getaway at the end of the games rather than having to actually pay his employees. He will use the rocket from the very first game, launching himself into the sky. As Wario Man, he will actually fly upwards on his own.

Down B: Wario Waft
Source material or not, it's inclusion in Smash has made it nearly inextricable from the character's image. And his games often include some gross-out body stuff, so it's not completely out of left field. It will be significantly stronger as Wario Man.

Final Smash: Wario Man
This will be the trigger to his transformation. He will bite down on the Nasty Garlic and transform, using that initial burst of strength to beat up the character closest to him. After the attack is over, he will remain in the form, similar to Toadette and Peachette.

Entrance: Riding in on his motorcycle

Taunts: Picking his nose is common, getting dollar signs in his eyes, trying to figure out a new game console, so on.

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover the closest thing Wario has to a lady love, Mona!

Wario Ware Inc.: Mega Microgame$

WARIO WARE INC.: MEGA MICROGAME$

So, this is a bit of a difficult franchise to approach here. The series has a whole cast of iconic and loveable characters starring in it, but very VERY little of the game's actual gameplay is based on them. That said, over the course of the eight games in the series, nearly all of the main game hosts managed to pull off getting in, both through the things they do in their framing device stories and in the few microgames that are directly tied to them, but I'm still uncertain about how to approach actually laying it out in this series's context.

Wario being Wario, he decided he wants to make a bunch of money by selling video games, but doesn't want to put in the effort to actually make the games, so he creates a bunch of games that require the least amount of effort possible, and hires a bunch of people from around Diamond City where he lives to do the work of making them. These employees include local pizza girl Mona, disco enthusiast Jimmy T., taxi drivers Dribble and Spitz, kindergarten-age ninjas Kat and Ana, video game nerd 9-Volt, mad scientist Doctor Crygor, and alien invader Orbulon.

Each of these characters have both a framing-device story and a series of microgames built around a general theme. Wario's stories include him working out and bouncing on a trampoline only to get himself shrunken to Tiny Wario. He also later tries to skimp on paying his employees by escaping on a rocket but ends up falling into the ocean with the cash instead. All of his microgames are Anything Goes, meaning they're a general collection of games from all over the other characters' game types. A few are directly tied to him, like riding his motorcycle, picking his nose, lifting weights, and punching strongly.

Jimmy T., the disco lover, has probably the least to work with in terms of his framing story, as it's mostly just him dancing in the night club, though a moveset based on disco dance moves might be fun. Jimmy has two different types of gamesets, his own being a sports mix while his return appearances are both remixes of previous gamesets. His sports mix of games includes balancing on a unicycle, putting a golf ball, jumping rope, skiing, jumping hurdles, shooting a basketball, catching a ball, acting as a goalie, jumping on a skateboard, bouncing on a trampoline, and boxing.

Mona, the pizza girl most probably remember for her surprising crush on Wario of all people, is featured in a framing story being late to work at a gelateria and rushing to work on her moped. While trying to get there, she is pursued by cops while her three pets try to shake them off of her. These pets include an elephant throwing sludge at the road, a piggy kicking a soccer ball, and a chimp throwing bananas. Her gameset is listed as "strange," although most of it seemed to me like part of her morning ritual as she's rushing to work, including brushing her teeth, catching toast, frying eggs, picking her nose, squirting an eyedrop, and so on. Her main "boss" at the end is flying a paper airplane through a course.

Dribble and Spitz are a pair of taxi drivers known for picking up some unusual customers, their charge this time around being a mermaid they have to get to the coast. Their gameset is sci-fi themed, with a bunch of games including shooting alien fighters, avoiding meteors, assembling a robot, firing at a spaceship, shooting at freaking Mars, dodging lasers, with a bullet hell style level as the "boss" fight.

In Kat and Ana's framing story, a prince named after the player has been captured by a demon named Boneheads, with Ana failing to protect him. She sends a sparrow to seek help from Kat who then rushes the castle with her dog, the dog turning into a sword at the end to take down Boneheads. Their gameset is all nature-themed, with games like catching a fish, dodging a shark, catching a stick, taking a picture of a squirrel, picking vegetables, catching fruit, protecting a cat, and so on.

9-Volt, the Nintendo nerd, skates around on a hoverboard in his framing device and acts as a DJ. His games are all based on old Nintendo games like Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., Balloon Fight, Dr. Mario, Duck Hunt, F-Zero, Stack Up, Legend of Zelda, the flyswatter from Mario Paint, Metroid, Mario Clash, and Wild Gunman, among others.

Dr. Crygor's story involves him creating and ingesting a secret formula, only for it to give him diarrhea and forcing him to run to the restroom. He also can fly on a jetpack as shown at the very end. His moves are all "reality" based using actual photographs, and include eating a banana, cutting a steak, eating an apple, bouncing a watermelon, squeezing peas from a pod, and decorating a cake. Hmm, that sounds more food-based than anything, but whatever.

Finally we have Orbulon's story, where his spaceship is hit by a meteor and he has to be helped out by a group of space bunnies, whose ship he attempts to hijack. His games are all I.Q. based, meaning the player has to think a bit to do it right. These include matching games, counting games, copying dance moves correctly, finding a hidden item, weighing items, and so on.

Non-"playable" characters in the game include Mona's boss Gelato Joe, and a local reporter named Ken. We also have Boneheads, the demon Kat fights in her story, who mostly attacks with ghostly fire. Then there are the space bunnies, the merperson, 9-Volt's pet Fronk, and so on.

As for stages, we have a number of locations all around Diamond City, including Wario's house, Club Sugar where Jimmy T. dances, Diamond Taxi where Dribble and Spitz work, the Gelateria Mona works at, Diamond Elementary and 9-Volt's house, Orbulon's spaceship, Doctor Crygor's lab, the Prince's castle, and of course, the poorly drawn waiting room for the games that has already become a Smash stage in its own right.

So here's what we've got so far:

Characters:
Wario: ride motorcycle, work out, trampoline, Tiny Wario, Anything Goes, picking nose, punching, rocket.
Jimmy T.: disco dance, sports, remix, unicycle, golf, jump rope, ski, hurdles, basketball, catch, goalie, skateboard, trampoline, boxing.
Mona: moped, elephant, piggy, chimp, strange, brushing teeth, catching toast, frying eggs, picking nose, eyedrop, paper airplane.
Dribble & Spitz: drive taxi, scifi, shooting aliens, dodging meteors, assembling robot, fighting spaceship, shooting Mars, dodging lasers, bullet hell
Kat & Ana: bird, dog, katana, shuriken, dog sword, nature, catching fish, dodging sharks, catching a stick, squirrel picture, vegetables, catching fruit, protecting a cat.
9-Volt: hoverboard, DJ, Nintendo, Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., Balloon Fight, Dr. Mario, Duck Hunt, F-Zero, Stack Up, Legend of Zelda, flyswatter, Metroid, Mario Clash, Wild Gunman.
Dr. Crygor: secret formula, bathroom, jetpack, reality, banana, apple, steak, watermelon, peas, cake.
Orbulon: spaceship, meteor, space bunnies, IQ, matching, counting, copying dance moves, hidden items, weighing items.

Bosses:
Boneheads

Stages:
Diamond City
Wario's House
Club Sugar
Diamond Taxi
Gelateria
Diamond Elementary
9-Volt's House
Orbulon's Spaceship
Dr. Crygor's Lab
Prince's Castle
Wario Ware Inc.

Items:
Fronk

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover the console companion to the game, Wario Ware Inc.: Mega Party Game$!