Games based around mini-games are nothing new in the industry. You could argue that Gorf is one of the earliest examples, while titles like Lazy Jones and Hypersports are all built around similar concepts. Few mini-game-based efforts are as focused as WarioWare, Inc though.

Nintendo had already had some success in the area with the popular Mario Party series, but WarioWare, Inc takes the concept and runs with it, dispensing with the multiplayer aspect and creating a riot of silly games that will have you laughing as you play.

Shaking hands with border collies; cleaning someone’s teeth until they sparkle; finding Mars and destroying it; sniffing dew drops back into a pretty girl’s nose – nothing is too over-the-top or left field for Nintendo’s game and its curve balls and utter oddness give it a surreal style that few other GBA games can match. The games themselves typically give you a few seconds in order to solve them and deliver extremely basic instructions, which can be quite disorientating, and only gets tougher as the game speeds up. Boss battles are included – being typically un-timed and quite substantial – while an entire section is devoted to classic NES and SNES games from Nintendo’s back catalogue.

Throw in a selection of charmingly goofy characters, surreal cutscenes and the ability to constantly replay any mini-games you’ve already unlocked in the main story mode and WarioWare, Inc becomes an unmissable experience and an essential addition to anyone’s GBA library.

Tags: GBA, mega games, mini-games, Nintendo, wario, warioware inc