Summary

  • WarioWare: Move It offers both Story Mode and Party Mode with multiplayer options, but the experiences vary and can be hit or miss for players depending on their preferences.
  • While the game has four distinct modes for two players, more than half of these modes feel empty compared to the lengthy single-player story.
  • The context of why fans have come to the game greatly affects their enjoyment of the different multiplayer options, as each mode offers something different that may or may not align with players' expectations.

Nintendo has quite a lot going for Mario fans currently, as Super Mario Bros. Wonder just released last month, Super Mario RPG's long-awaited remake is just a week away, and WarioWare: Move It serves as a fun party game in the interim, now out on store shelves. While all of these games are different from one another, they all offer unique experiences that seek to make fans happy. However, only two out of three of these titles, including WarioWare: Move It, have multiplayer features, and how these modes perform can make or break a purchase with potential buyers.

Of course, WarioWare: Move It is a party game, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a 2D adventure platformer. How they both handle co-op is going to be different no matter what. Super Mario Bros. Wonder has some flaws with its multiplayer, but it ultimately offers plenty of versatility, options, and accessibility. WarioWare: Move It, on the other hand, has very contextually different multiplayer options depending on a number of factors, and that means that the co-op story and party mode options are hit or miss depending on what players are looking for.

RELATED: All Easter Eggs in Wario Ware: Move It

WarioWare: Move It Saves Itself By Offering Co-Op Against a Simplistic Party Mode

WarioWare: Move It is split up into two sections, "Story" and "Party," and so are its multiplayer options. In Story Mode, players need to work together to achieve the same goal, such as serving a tennis ball, helping ladybugs blend in, and more. In Party Mode, the regular WarioWare microgames are replaced with brand-new ones built specifically for multiplayer or re-tooled to fit modes like Listen to the Doctor or Go the Distance. There are a few extra multiplayer modes fans can unlock by completing the story in both single and co-op mode.

Despite WarioWare: Move It' s personal designation as a party game, there's a rather extensive list of things that can be enjoyed for two players compared to what the rest of the title offers for anyone else. In fact, there are four distinct modes for strictly only two players that fans can unlock once the main story in WarioWare: Move It is complete. All the different modes can be found in the table below.

Single Player

2-Player

3-4 Player

Story Mode

Story Mode

Galactic Conquest

Dirty Job

Double Act

Listen to the Doctor

Switching Gears

Go the Distance

Showdown

Medusa March

Copycat Mirror

The Who's In Control Show (4 Players only)

Galactic Conquest

Listen to the Doctor

Go the Distance

Medusa March

Dirty Job

The sheer number of modes that can be experienced with two players and up may seem like quite a lot, but looks can be deceiving as more than half of these modes feel rather empty compared to WarioWare: Move It's lengthy story. With 13 different stages to choose from, not counting the post-story challenges, single-player fans will likely be more busy than a group of two players trying to experience Listen to the Doctor on their own. This is because the Story Mode is where the true nature of the series is found, with microgames to unlock and bosses to defeat before the next part of WarioWare: Move It can be experienced. On top of that, all of it can luckily be done in co-op.

WarioWare: Move It has very contextually different multiplayer depending on a number of factors, and that means that the co-op story and party mode options are hit or miss depending on what players are looking for.

If gamers aren't at a party with their best friends, the other modes may feel a bit flat in comparison to making it through WarioWare: Move It's story with a second player. Galactic Conquest offers rules tougher than Mario Party, but these same rules can make a game go far longer than the one where players collect Stars. Listen to the Doctor's player rating feature seems more built for 4-player chaos rather than 2-player situations, and Go the Distance and Medusa March are microgame gauntlets without much to show for them beyond bragging rights. Due to how each of these modes offers something entirely different, how well they'll be enjoyed greatly hinges on the context of exactly why fans have come to the game in the first place.

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WarioWare: Move It!
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Released
November 3, 2023
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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ESRB
E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence
Developer(s)
Nintendo
Publisher(s)
Nintendo
Franchise
WarioWare
Platform(s)
Switch
Genre(s)
Party Game
How Long To Beat
3 Hours