WarioWare: Move It review: WarioWare for Wii gets a great Switch sequel

Wario finally takes a break after 20 years of microgames. In his latest star adventure, Play WarioWare Move It!Send the cash-hungry miscreant to an island where mishaps, and dozens of microgames, await.

Moving On!Nintendo Switch game is, mechanically speaking, a direct successor to Wii. WarioWare Smooth Moves. Similar to the 2006 predecessor, Moving On! asks players to position the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers in specific ways and quickly react to on-screen prompts. These positions are called Forms, and they’re more like poses: One may have you holding your hands like an archer ready to fire an arrow, while another will have you stand, arms outstretched, as if you’re massaging an invisible person. In one of the funnest Forms, you’re asked to pose as a chicken with one Joy Con as the beak and another as the tail feathers. (It’s called the “Ba-KAW!” Form.)

In the Archer Form you might be asked to imitate the action of reeling in your fishing rod, or strumming the guitar. Massage Form may require you to use the correct brakes when riding a bicycle, squeeze a damp towel or even pet cats and dogs. You could take on the role of Cucco, a character from The Legend of Zelda who is trying to run faster than young Link.

Image: Intelligent Systems/Nintendo

It’s a trick that is similar to most WarioWare. You only have seconds to decide what you should do in each situation. Play WarioWare Move It!Like its predecessors,’s fun is in a frantic manner.

But it’s also one of the more frustrating games to play as a group — Moving On! really shines in multiplayer — because of a handful of the poses in the mix. Moving On! requires more of its players than just doing silly motion-controlled movements; you’ll sometimes need to point the right Joy-Con’s IR camera at one of your hands to perform some gesture. You can also play Pounce by laying the Joy-Cons down on a surface. Flip or snatching them will win you a small game. I found Pounce to be the game’s most annoying Form, because its instructions were not only confusing, but it was also often unclear if we were doing the wrong movement or if the controllers weren’t registering what we were doing. We failed numerous Pounce games, and it often wasn’t obvious What is the best way to get in touch with you?.

Play WarioWare Move It!It is smart to handle failures, particularly in group cooperative play where the players alternate off occasionally and play a small game together. In the event that my partner fails a microgame I can tag on for a second try and recover a life. And when we reached a “game over” screen as a team, we could jump back in by performing a “secret pose” that’s silly enough to erase the sting of defeat.

Image: Intelligent Systems/Nintendo

Enjoying the Story of Play WarioWare Move It! takes a little over an hour, and it’s designed to mainly teach you the Forms and game types that you’ll play in other modes — sort of like a very frantic tutorial. The story is silly nonsense, and you’ll play as the various employees of WarioWare, Inc. to progress. Once you’re done with the story, you can revisit levels to see more microgames. You’ll also have access to a variety of other modes, including the Museum, which features all the microgames you’ve unlocked thus far, and multiple two-player cooperative and competitive modes.

One particularly fun unlockable mode is called Copycat Mirror; this two-player mode requires one player (who isn’t actually holding any Joy-Cons) to perform each level’s moves while the other player (who does have Joy-Cons) looks at their partner — not the TV — and mimics what they do to win.

There’s a separate Party mode for up to four players, which combines the board-based gameplay of Mario Party with a string of WarioWare microgames. I only managed to play Party mode at a hands-on event well before the game’s launch, but found it just as fun (if not more) frantically playing games as a large group as in a duo. The Party mode was much more fun than the duo. Play WarioWare Move It!It is fun to play solo and try for the highest score or unlock variations of microgames you have played before.

Image: Intelligent Systems/Nintendo

Switch owners are thinking about buying a Switch Play WarioWare Move It!The game is very active and requires lots of room to maneuver. Some games ask players to do full body movements, such as standing, crouching or getting on the floor. You can get a good workout. This game has no control or accessibility features to help players with disabilities.

It is also essential that the Joy-Cons are attached. In some mini-games you will need to drop them or hang them to follow on-screen instructions.

For the franchise’s 11th entry, Play WarioWare Move It! takes its inspiration from one of the series’ best entries, using the unique capabilities of the Switch and its controllers for a fresh batch of fun microgames. The game can get frustrating and the switching between forms and poses is awkward. But if you need a new multiplayer game for friends and family who aren’t hardcore gamers, Play WarioWare Move It!It’s a great way to get more people interested in Wario.

Play WarioWare Move It!Release date for Nintendo Switch is Nov. 3. Nintendo supplied a Nintendo Switch pre-release code to be used for the review. Vox Media is affiliated with other companies. Vox Media can earn affiliate commissions, but this does not affect editorial content. Find out more about affiliate links. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.