When Nintendo launched the original WarioWare on the Game Boy Advance more than two years ago, it was almost as if the company launched a new genre in the world of videogames. All the design really offered were stupid little five second challenges that, by themselves, a five year old or your Great Uncle Stew could complete, but it was the way that these stupid little five second challenges were presented that made the game such a successful production. By stringing the mini-games together in rapid-fire progression, the creators of WarioWare built a new gaming experience that, surprisingly, hasn't been cloned by wanna-be game developers the way games like Tetris or Street Fighter have been copied after their success.

Though follow-ups to the GBA game had been released on the GameCube and on the Nintendo DS, WarioWare Twisted marks the first sequel to the series on the system it was first created for, and the designers have absolutely trounced the original concept with this follow-up. Twisted builds off the original formula, but the designers have implemented a new way to experience this formula: motion-sensing control. This sequel is one of the most original, creative and fun games to ever hit the Game Boy Advance, and has the potential to land a spot in the list of Greatest Games Ever Conceived.

Even the packaging to WarioWare Twisted breaks from the normal Game Boy Advance fare. The box to the game comes in a double-thick cardboard case, due to the unique cartridge that Nintendo has created for the GBA title. Built into every cart is two-fold technology: a gyroscopic sensor that detects when the system is being rotated clockwise or counterclockwise. Coupled with this sensor is a rumble-style motor that enables the minigame designers to offer physical feedback in their challenges. The rumble itself adds to the overall presentation, and is no gimmick -- the motor has varying styles of feedback, offering console style vibration, as well as mechanical "clicking" to emulate, for example, dialing a rotary phone or turning a musicbox crank, two tasks that, coincidentally, are included in WarioWare Twisted.

The designers at Nintendo and Intelligent Systems were clearly given free range to create any silly mini-challenge they could conceive that would employ the twist-sensing technology. The cartridge recognizes when the system's being rotated, and it's extremely sensitive which means that developers can require subtle or extreme motion during the gameplay. Realistically, all the motion-sensor really does is turn the Game Boy Advance into an old-school Atari 2600 Paddle, but the original Atari never had games like the ones WarioWare Twisted offers.

At its core, the actual presentation hasn't changed from the GBA original and the Nintendo DS follow-up, WarioWare Touched. Each of the several different characters in the game's story mode houses several dozen challenges that are randomized and presented one after the other. Successfully pull off the required task in the time limit (no more than five seconds), and you'll move on to the next challenge. You've got four "lives" to work with, with Boss Stage breaks in-between that, if completed successfully, will net you an additional life. Because the pace of the game gets incrementally faster during the game, it gets tougher and tougher to complete these challenges without fumbling. Your final score is simply how many mini-challenges you've made it through in one shot.
Most of the minigames in WarioWare Twisted are simple functions; steering a car left or right to avoid traffic, or washing a dish by rotating the plate into a held sponge, or quickly flicking food into a persons mouth. Some minigames don't even use the motion sensor, instead offering a throwback to the original WarioWare by requiring nothing more than pushing the A button to complete. And a huge batch of games really shows off the designer's creativity in utilizing the twisting; you haven't seen anything until you play the first levels of Super Mario Bros. using the motion sensor. While many games are simple to complete, some are actually very tough...even when you know exactly what needs to be done.

Just like previous WarioWare games, it won't take all that much time to complete this game's single player storyline. But to judge this game on simply how long it takes to get to the end credits is absolutely ridiculous, since there's an enormous amount of gameplay still left to discover. The pit of extra goodies is incredibly deep this time around; every time you pass a boss battle in any of the character levels, you'll have a turn on a capsule vending machine that randomly dispenses an unlockable goodie. Some treats are nothing more than access to a specific song in the game, while others are toys and gadgets that utilize the Twisted! motion sensor. The really awesome extras come in the form of stand-alone minigames, designs that are strikingly addictive in their simplicity...much like those cool internet Shockwave-based games that make the rounds in your email box. It's a rush every time a GBA cartridge pops out of the vending machine, because it means you've got another sweet twist-based mini-game added to your collection.

WarioWare Twisted is crazy fun not just because of the individual games, but also because the designers go wild with their Twisting concepts. The graphic design is all over the place in Twisted, but that's half the title's charm and all of its humor. And what's more, the designers can get away with the crude drawings because of the lower visual expectations on the Game Boy Advance hardware. There are plenty of chuckle-inducing instances in this game, and it's almost a challenge not to laugh when you see some of the bizarre situations thrown around in this game.

Verdict

I've been waiting nearly a half year to write this review. The original Wario Ware Twisted hit Japan back in October as Mawaru Made in Wario, and I literally could not put the game down. The twist-sensing cartridge is a brilliant invention because it works extraordinarily well on the Game Boy Advance format; it may be difficult to see the screen while shaking, turning, and twisting the system, but that just adds to the absolute mayhem that's packed inside the cartridge. It's even great for third-party observers; it's tough not to laugh at people as they rotate the system every which way.

WarioWare Twisted is not only incredibly innovative, it's an insanely successful design that really shows off the potential of the Game Boy Advance platform. A game like this just wouldn't work on the console format. A must-have for the GBA? Absolutely. It's far more creative, much deeper, and a heck of a lot more fun than previous games in the series, including the Nintendo DS system's WarioWare Touched.