WarioWare: Twisted!

WarioWare: Twisted!is avideo gamefor theGame Boy Advance,developed byNintendo SPDwithIntelligent Systemsand published byNintendo.It was released on October 14, 2004 in Japan; May 19, 2005 in Australia; and May 23, 2005 in North America. The second game in theWarioWareseries and the seventh in theWarioseries overall,Twisted!was the lastWariogame to be released on aGame Boy familysystem.

WarioWare: Twisted!
North American box art
Developer(s)	Nintendo SPD Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Goro Abe Osamu Yamauchi Teruyuki Hirosawa
Producer(s)	Yoshio Sakamoto Ryoichi Kitanishi
Artist(s)	Ko Takeuchi
Composer(s)	Kenichi Nishimaki Masanobu Matsunaga Yasuhisa Baba
Series	Wario
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance
Release	JP:October 14, 2004 AU:May 19, 2005 NA:May 23, 2005
Genre(s)	Action,puzzle,rhythm
Mode(s)	Single-player

Warioand his friend Dr. Crygor invent Game Boy Advance games and units that only react when tilted around. The game follows theWarioWareformula with a variety of games that last for only a few seconds. The cartridge utilizes a gyro sensor and players must spin and twist in order to play the games.

Twisted!was critically acclaimed and has won numerous awards. Reviewers found the gyro sensor to be innovative and adding to the gameplay aspect.

It is one of only two Game Boy Advance games to includeforce feedback,the other beingDrill Dozer.

Gameplay

See also:Gameplay of WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!

Twistedfollows a similar format to its predecessor,WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!,in which players must play through a series of "microgames"; short minigames that require the player to understand and clear its objective within a few seconds.Twisted!features unique gameplay thanks to its built-in gyro sensor, which detects the rotation of the handheld system. As such, many of the microgames require the player to physically rotate the system in order to clear. For example, players may have to empty a bin's contents, steer a plane, or guide something through a maze. Microgames become more complex as the game progresses, with later microgames requiring more time to complete, sometimes requiring the player to fully rotate their system.

This game changes the scoring from the otherWarioWaretitles. Previously, the score was the number of games that were played, butTwistedonly counts the number of games that the player won. Failing a microgame does not delay the Boss stage. The game features items called "souvenirs", which are unlocked after Boss stages in story mode. Records, musical instruments, figurines, games, and many quirky items are possible to unlock.

Gyro sensor

TheTwistedcartridgehas a built-in gyro sensor andrumble feature(forfeedbackduring rotation). Most of the microgames are played by rotating the entire handheld device. The gyro sensor uses apiezoelectric gyroscopedeveloped byNECto detect angular movement.

Because the game automatically calibrates the gyro sensor when the game is turned on (and after every "micro-game" ), it works with both top-loading slots (like theGame Boy Advance) and bottom-loading slots (like all other models after the original GBA:Game Boy Advance SP,Nintendo DS,Game Boy MicroandNintendo DS Lite). The manual states thatTwisted!is not compatible with theGame Boy Player;although the game loads as normal, players would have to carry and tilt the connectedGameCubeconsole and use its controller for button presses, thus it is simply not practical.

Plot

One day, whileWariois playing with one of hisGame Boy Advanceconsoles, he becomes frustrated with a particularly hard game on it and throws the system at a wall, causing it to bounce back and hit him on the head. After his temporary rage, he notices his GBA is broken. He goes to Dr. Crygor's Lab and requests his help in mending it. Crygor, however, mistakes it for a test subject for his new invention, the Gravitator—a device that is shaped like a washing machine, which has the power to manipulate gravity, change gravity's direction, and cause gravity distortion. Crygor places the GBA in the Gravitator, causing it to spits out dozens of units similar in form factor to Game Boy Advance units and versions. He demonstrates that in order to play the GBA games with them, the device must be physically moved or/and by pressing the buttons.Monaand9-Voltarrive and play with these new units, enjoying themselves. Wario, taking note of their reaction, decides to take advantage of these motion-sensing abilities as a selling point, and gets his friends to design GBA games based on this concept, and they make the gameWarioWare: Twisted!.

The rest of the game features stories of all the characters in the game, each one going to Club Sugar once their stage is complete. Wario chases a mouse that almost breaks his WarioWatch (Smorgasbord Sampler). Mona tries to deliver pizza from her business, Mona Pizza, while avoiding a rival restaurant, Pizza Dinosaur (Mini Spin).Jimmy T.and his parents play on their phones at Club Sugar (Big Tipper).Kat and Anaencounter a troll after getting lost on a field trip (Tapped Out).Dribble and Spitzfix their taxi and use a feature that allows it to travel through space (Steer Clear). Crygor attempts to upgrade the Gravitator (Gravitator).Orbulontries to figure out the password to initiate the warp drive of his ship, the Oinker, in order to escape a black hole (Time Warp). 9-Volt becomes friends with a new student named18-Voltat his school, and 18-Volt is initiated into the crew (Spintendo Classics).

In the final level, Spandex Challenge,WarioWare: Twisted!becomes a big success in the end, and the Gravitator is used with to keep up production of the GBA units by using various objects everywhere to turn them into more units. One day, after an accident in the Gravitator involving Wario sitting on the conveyor belt to play his game, Wario is trapped and merged with the Gravitator, its powers, his unit, and the production line, causing the Gravitator to malfunction and corrupt itself and Wario, turning the machine evil and giving it more powers, and transforming Wario into a powerful and unbeatable supervillain version of Wario named Wario-Man, who then plots to save the world of its money. He steals the corrupted Gravitator from Crygor, merges himself with it, and takes control over the Gravitator, causing it to grow a jetpack and gain even more powers. He takes it to outer space, where he turns himself and the Gravitator into an also unstoppable giant robot suit. Wario's friends use Dribble and Spitz's Taxi and Orbulon's new ship, the Oinker 2, to catch up to Wario-Man, but the ship's defense system is activated upon sight of Wario-Man's suit, deeming him foreign, and it makes the ship's cannons easily blast the robot, destroying the Gravitator and its effects, and reverting Wario back to himself, not knowing he was inside. After crashing with the remains into the ocean and is saved by Crygor, Wario jokingly decides to fire everyone for destroying the Gravitator and his robot.

Development

Nintendo programmer Kazuyoshi Osawa took the lead of developing the game engine with several members of the originalWarioWarestaff.Intelligent Systemsprovided half of the workforce including several programmers.

European release

Despite initially being announced for a European release,WarioWare: Twisted!has never been released in Europe.

After its Australian and North American releases,WarioWare: Twisted!was originally scheduled to be released in Europe on June 24, 2005.It was later delayed to September 2005,then to February 24, 2006,then to December 8, 2006.Nintendo of Europe later changed its release date to "TBD" on the company's website.In the January 2008 issue ofOfficial Nintendo Magazine,in the "Ask Nintendo" section, a representative for Nintendo of Europe stated that the delay was becauseTwisted!was still undergoing the compulsoryLGAtesting and approval for Europe.Near the end of 2008, however, with still no release in the region, Nintendo removed the page for the game from its European website, following the discontinuation of theGame Boy Advance.

Contrary to a popular rumor that the lack of a European release is due to the game cartridge's gyroscope usingmercury,it uses apiezoelectricgyroscope that does not containmercury.European copies of the 2008WiigameSuper Smash Bros. Brawllist the title in the GBA section of the included database of Nintendo games as "Not released".

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	88/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
Electronic Gaming Monthly	9/10
Eurogamer	9/10
Famitsu	36/40
Game Informer	7.75/10
GameSpot	8.8/10
GameSpy
GameTrailers	9/10
GameZone	9.5/10
IGN	9.5/10
Nintendo Life
Nintendo Power	8.5/10
Nintendo World Report	(JP) 9.5/10 (US) 9/10
X-Play
The Sydney Morning Herald

WarioWare: Twisted!received "generally favorable reviews", two points shy of "universal acclaim", according to thereview aggregationwebsiteMetacritic.In Japan,Famitsugave it a score of 36 out of 40.GameProcalled it "an odd and amusing challenge. It is simply twisted."Electronic Gaming Monthlygave it universal acclaim while it was still in development.

IGNnamedTwisted!the No. 1 GBA game of all time.

See also

• Koro Koro Puzzle Happy Panechu!
• Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble
• Yoshi's Universal Gravitation

External links

• Official website(in Japanese)
• WarioWare: Twisted!atMobyGames