WarioWatch adds a countdown timer that is topped up with precious seconds as you clear each challenge, giving you an incentive to increase your reaction times in order to stay ahead of the clock. I did however find some life in the challenge modes which add interesting wrinkles to the typical WarioWare structure, although admittedly some fare better than others. Why the excellent voice-acting from the story mode didn't extend to this, I'm not exactly sure. But the bulk of the 200 or so unlockables is by-the-numbers filler like character cards and music tracks, along with far too many codes for an in-game phone that trigger plodding, text-based messages. There are a handful of expanded minigames to discover, along with assorted curios like cutscene clips that can be redubbed with your own voice using the 3DS’ microphone, or an art mode in which Wario paints hilariously awful recreations of your amiibo collection. Play This grinding for gold rarely felt adequately rewarded, because what came out of the capsule machine was disappointing more often than not. I particularly enjoyed the alien Orbulon’s multiple trips to the fast food drive through window, and 18-Volt’s Parappa the Rapper-esque rap battle, but the entire cast does a great job with each and every lighthearted exchange. This adds a welcome splash of personality to its two-hour story mode, successfully working in tandem with the wonderfully vibrant art style. For the first time in the series, and in somewhat of a rarity for first-party Nintendo games in general, WarioWare Gold features full voice-acting for its colourful cast of characters. Most of the 300 microgrames included are brought over from previous games, but WarioWare Gold at least presents them in a way that feels fresh. Fortunately distinct audio and video cues make it clear which input style is about to come next, and I found WarioWare Gold to be at its dynamic best when it was mixing things up. (There are also a few microphone-based games, but they all ultimately amount to just blowing air as hard as you can.) In some modes, WarioWare Gold hops back and forth between the different control methods from one microgame to the next, which could have been a clumsy juggling act given the increasingly frantic pace at which the game moves. This relentless think-quick shtick finds mirth in otherwise mundane tasks and distills classic Nintendo games down to a few frames of fun, with 3-5 second microgames that are separated into three main types: mash, which is button-based twist, which uses the 3DS’ built-in gyro-sensor and touch, which requires tapping and swiping of the stylus. As with previous entries in the series, the core gameplay of WarioWare Gold is a breakneck succession of gameplay microgames that put your reaction times to the test.

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