WarioWare: Move It! Review – Back To Form

Since its debut 20 years ago the WarioWare series has adapted to the features and capabilities of each Nintendo console. But the first entry on Switch, Get It Together, bucked that trend, putting you in control of the actual cast of characters in platforming-style microgames instead of taking advantage of the Switch’s unique traits. WarioWare Move It is more in line with traditional WarioWare, which results in an improved collection.

Move It is a re-imagining of WarioWare’s core concepts. Players must learn various forms using two individual Joy-Con controllers, then complete rapid-fire microgames – three-to-five-second minigames that rely on your on-the-fly reactions to complete. You will find that as you move through each session the game difficulty increases and so does the rate at which the minigames are thrown at you.

It’s great to see so many different microgames. One second, I’m holding my arms out, clanking drinks with people at a party, then a moment later, I’m holding my Joy-Cons like an umbrella to protect a woman from getting soaked in a rainstorm before raising my arms to pick a giant nose. Move It features the same irreverent comedy that has become a staple of Move It.

Some forms are more developed than others, allowing you to position yourself correctly for the minigame. The “Hand Model” pose is confusing, as you must drop one Joy-Con, then move the other to the now-empty hand to pull off gestures with the other hand; even after completing the story mode, I still struggled to position myself correctly for this form in time thanks to the rapid-fire structure. It’s disappointing this form is so complicated to set up since several of my favorite microgames are a part of it. Another one, “Ba-KAW,” has you pose like a chicken and features the broadest mix of excellent and frustrating games. However, my least favorite activity is a long-form boss level that involves flipping steaks; I failed multiple times because it doesn’t consistently register unless you make overly exaggerated motions timed to when the meat is moving by you on a conveyor belt.

Thankfully, Move It’s library is full of oddball games I consistently looked forward to. On multiple occasions, I smirked or outright said, “That was so cool,” after experiencing a novel microgame for the first time. However, a few of them don’t quite land, as imprecise motion controls lead to frustrating failures, while others aren’t descriptive enough for you to reasonably understand what you need to do in the short window you have to do it. Thankfully, if you run out of hearts, you can continue by performing a “Sacred Pose,” which is essentially a goofy version of a yoga stance, to earn a continue.

Working through the hundreds of microgames is fun, but as always, it’s better with friends. WarioWare Move It is reminiscent of one the best entries in the WarioWare series: the motion-controlled WarioWare Smooth Moves Wii. This was my favorite party game, and Move It had the same expectations.

The core mode is more difficult to sell, especially for casual gamers, because of some microgames that have accuracy problems and complicated forms. Party Mode, which is geared towards multiplayer competitions and allows for simpler poses with one Joy-Con to be performed at a more leisurely pace. It’s silly and operates on the honor system, but my favorite involves completing microgames with added challenges like sitting on the floor or puffing out your cheeks while you play. You can also play a game where you earn dice rolls by winning minigames. The side modes can be a lot of fun, and they are usually the way that Move It is played in groups.

Following Get It Together and Game & Wario, Move It is the WarioWare game I’ve been waiting for over the last 15 years, and it mostly delivers. Motion-controlled madness offers a variety of novel and fun experiences. Regardless of those, WarioWare: Move It’s catalog is full of microgames I look forward to revisiting for months to come.