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> Results: Wario Ware Touched
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Rapid-fire mini-games...who would have thought that such an inventive concept would make for a great portable action game? Luckily the geniuses at Nintendo did when they brought over Wario Ware: Mega Microgame$ to the Game Boy Advance in 2003. Er...excuse me...I mean, when WARIO brought the game over. The story goes that greedy Wario wants to make as much money in the video game business as possible and do the least amount of work to do it. So he cons a few of his quirky friends to make a bunch of simple games for him. As if the concept of Wario Ware wasn't inventive enough, now it's even more creative with Wario Ware: Touched on the new Nintendo DS handheld system. As Wario says, "Twice the screens, twice the money!"
The same basic gameplay idea in Wario Ware games is present in Touched. You have to complete a series of three to five seconds long simple mini-games (micro-games is more appropriate) in succession. Usually one or two word phrases flash on screen that act as your instructions like "throw," "pick," or "catch." Then you must quickly figure out what to do in that game in the allotted seconds before moving on to the next challenge. Successfully complete a mini-game and you'll get a point. Lose and you'll still move on and get a point, but you'll lose one of your four lives. The game is over when you deplete all of your lives. However, the mini-games in Touched use the capabilities of the Nintendo DS to its fullest. Instead of pressing the D-pad and A button for the mini-games, you'll use the DS stylus and touch screen to play the games. You'll slice vegetables, draw a path for a downhill skier, and poke holes in bubble wrap. A select few of the mini-games even use the DS microphone. In these games, you'll blow into the mike to provide wind for a sailboat, fog up a window, or cool down a hot beverage. There are 180 games in all. Some of the mini games utilize both screens while others just use the bottom touch panel. Each of Wario's friends is in charge of a particular type of mini-game. In Mona's games, you'll use the stylus to make quick, cutting strokes, while in witch-girl Ashley's stages you'll drag things around on the touch screen with the stylus. Another new character, karaoke robot Mike handles the microphone games. And of course, fanboys 9-Volt and 18-Volt are in charge of the Nintendo classic games with a DS twist. Dragging Metroids off of Samus with the stylus is a hoot.  The original Wario Ware had a bunch of simple single player games that you could unlock that were a lot of fun, including a Wario-ized version of Dr. Mario called Dr. Wario. Touched has a few of these kinds of games that you can unlock by getting high scores, but they aren't near as fun. Most of the 30 some odd things you unlock are ﾑsouvenirs' that are like DS tech demos that you can play with in the ﾑToy Room.' Most of these are pretty useless, although it is strangely fun to poke the wiggly flan with the stylus or make the parrot repeat back what you say in a funny voice. Graphics are simplistic, yet stylish. Just what you would expect from a Wario Ware game. There are a few nifty 3-D effects here and there, though. Sound is excellent as usual, with tons of spoken voice and even vocals in some of the songs. The games and characters in Touched have a level of charming quirkiness akin to Katamari Damacy. Play control is easy to learn...if you can hold a pen and breathe, you can play this. If there is any problem with Wario Ware, it's that the game is a little on the short side. It's very possible to unlock everything in a day or two. Certainly there is replay value to be had in beating your high scores, but for the price, Touched could've been a little longer and had more mini-games and challenges. Still, it is one of the best games on the DS and comes highly recommended. You can enjoy it for short bursts or hours. Perfect handheld gaming. Cool! I made it through the entire review without making any "touch Wario" jokes. Aw man... 
About the only questionable content in Touched is some slight third grade toilet humor in some of the games. The famous pretty lady with the snot coming out of her nose is back in Touched, and this time you have to slice off her string of snot with the stylus. There are also a couple of games with nose picking as the premise. In Wario's boss stage, it looks as if your are guiding Wario through a cave, but on more careful inspection players will notice Wario is looking for ﾑhidden treasure' inside a giant nose! There is also a game where you must put out a fire by spraying water coming out from one of those peeing baby statues (Mannequin Pis is the correct name I think). But other than that, Wario Ware is pretty family friendly. Kids will enjoy playing the simplistic mini games with the fun characters. Plus the lighter difficulty makes it more accessible to less experienced gamers. And while the unlockable toys may seem boring, younger gamers will probably have more fun playing with these novelties lots longer than older ones. This may be a bit of a stretch, but Wario Ware: Touched may also be a little bit educational. Many of the mini games require you to trace shapes, recognize letters and sounds, and other activities that promote motor skills that can be useful later for writing and drawing. But who cares? The game is fun and that's all you and your family need to know!
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