WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Games!

Template:Short description Template:Main otherTemplate:Main otherTemplate:Main other WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$!Template:Efn is a party video game for the GameCube. A remake of WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!, and the second installment in the WarioWare series, the game translates the "microgame" gameplay of Mega Microgames! to be playable in a multiplayer environment. It comes with eight special multiplayer modes for up to four players that all involve the known microgames in some way.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Mega Party Game$! shares elements with other WarioWare titles, emphasizing quick consecutive minigames for the player to complete (dubbed by the game as "microgames"); it includes all of the microgames from the original WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!. However, the game places a heavier emphasis on multiplayer than other series entries. In addition to a basic single-player mode, the game features several multiplayer variations, each of which has utilizes the microgames in different ways. Some of these include "Survival Fever", in which players are eliminated after failing three microgames; "Balloon Bang" in which players attempt to not be actively playing a microgame when a balloon inflated by the other players bursts; "Listen to the Doctor", in which players must perform a given action while completing a microgame and are rated by their opponents; and "Wobbly Bobbly", in which players must keep a stack of turtles balanced, with another turtle being added after each microgame.

Development

The game was developed by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo Research & Development 1, and published worldwide by Nintendo in October 2003 in Japan, and a year later in April for North America and in September for Europe. The game was produced by Takehiro Izushi and Ryoichi Kitanishi, directed by Goro Abe and Osamu Yamauchi and composed by Masanobu Matsunaga and Kenichi Nishimaki.

Reception

Mega Party Game$! received generally favorable reviews upon release, with reviewers commonly citing the game's multiplayer appeal as a positive, but its copied material from Mega Microgames! as a negative. GameRankings gave the game an aggregated score of 77% based on 53 reviews. The game is the first in the series to introduce a focus of multiplayer, a theme that would not be re-visited by the series until the console sequel WarioWare: Smooth Moves on the Wii in 2006. During the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Games! received a nomination for "Console Family Game of the Year" by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.