Finally, after stealing, labor exploitation, underpaying and very likely tax evading, Wario had only one thing left to tackle... Child labour!
Similarly to Twisted I originally intended to skip D.I.Y, I'd play it in the future for sure, but I didn't have plans to play it right now right after the other WarioWare games and before Gold, the main reason being not that I didn't thought it would be good, far from it, but rather that it looked extremely different compared to the rest, putting the micro-game creating aspect in the spotlight and the actual frenetic moment to moment gameplay and stages more as a side-mode; I imagined it would be more than a tool than a game... and I have never been so wrong yet so right in my entire life.
D.I.Y lets you, well, do it yourself; at its most basic, is a tool almost entirely dedicated about the level editor, an incredibly robust one at that, and the now sadly defunct sharing with other players experience, and only with a few side modes that depart from the idea of you being the one that pumps out games for the greedy mustachioed. That alone is an interesting concept, but, and I know this may sound incredibly dumb, the thing that takes all of this to the next level is how much WarioWare everything feel, and you may be thinking ‘’… well, fucking duh’’ but hold on for a second, ‘cause when I say that I absolutely mean it; every aspect, every mechanic, every part and sound of the process, everything here, it all oozes that identity that makes this series unique, and that it’s what takes this editor and WHOLE concept of the game to next level.
When I said the micro-game creating process is robust, I mean that it’s absurdly deep. This isn’t your baby’s first level editor, this is no ‘’select from a couple of options’’ kinda game; of course everything you make has to be simple and short just like any other micro-game would be, but within that limit, you can do absolutely anything; you are left free to draw, program and compose and record your own sound effects and music, and all at first is kind of shocking at a bit intimidating, but the game has you covered. The fantastic visuals and sounds that have characterized the series are now taken to a completely new context, one that asks taking things more slowly, more calmly, and that don’t put pressure on the player, and they exceed on that task by miles. Everything is so pleasing, so fun to navigate, immediately clear and well communicated, it makes creating games a game within itself, and a really enjoyable one. Even the tutorial, that all things considered can drag on a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle bit, are made lighter by the character interactions ,I really didn’t expect to have a blast reading the conversations of Penny and Wario in a freacking tutorial, but I sure did. Even outside of said tutorials, everything feels as if it’s designed to teach you slowly on the fly, like letting you experiment with music, completing the micro-games that Wario left half-finished, and even the character stages that aren’t really character stages!
Yeah, this time around we really don’t have the usual story mode, and instead we have 5 stages that don’t really have an ending, which kinda makes sense, this time they aren’t the focus and they do serve as a pretty cool showcase of the crazy stuff you yourself can pull out and do and it’s pretty inspiring, specially 9-Volt’s stages… but, and even if there are some really cool ones here and there, overall the minigames are extremely simplistic and visually samey, which, once again, makes sense since they really aren’t the main attraction… except they kinda are in a way. Unless you have a DS full of other people’s micro-games, these are the only non-tutorial single player level in the entire game, which, aside from being its own showcase how the passing of time inevitably has impact in some games, it also shows how this game only has value depending on how much effort you are willing to put in.
I can’t stress it enough how fun and fleshed out the editor is, but that itself doesn’t really do much if you aren’t that interested in making games, which granted, is the point of the game, but you aren’t going to make games for all of eternity, is nice to play others, and while I’m sure that my perception would be more positive if I played this first when it came out and when I could have shared games with my buddies, that doesn’t share the fact that D.I.Y is probably the game in the series until that point that would leave the most amount of people feeling indifferent, at least in the long run.
It's by all accounts still a fantastic package, and I’m really glad I experience and I may even come back to it to do some dumb stuff in the future, but as it is, I don’t really feel compelled to keep creating; this time your schemes won’t trap me, Mr.Wario!...
…wait…wa-wait, wait a minute… Schemes? Exploitation? Stealing ideas from others and presenting them as his own? Abusive and unprofessional language? Having all his money on a tax haven? Child labour?....... Oh… Oh no… Dear God no. No. NO. NO NO NO NO OH FUCK NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
Similarly to Twisted I originally intended to skip D.I.Y, I'd play it in the future for sure, but I didn't have plans to play it right now right after the other WarioWare games and before Gold, the main reason being not that I didn't thought it would be good, far from it, but rather that it looked extremely different compared to the rest, putting the micro-game creating aspect in the spotlight and the actual frenetic moment to moment gameplay and stages more as a side-mode; I imagined it would be more than a tool than a game... and I have never been so wrong yet so right in my entire life.
D.I.Y lets you, well, do it yourself; at its most basic, is a tool almost entirely dedicated about the level editor, an incredibly robust one at that, and the now sadly defunct sharing with other players experience, and only with a few side modes that depart from the idea of you being the one that pumps out games for the greedy mustachioed. That alone is an interesting concept, but, and I know this may sound incredibly dumb, the thing that takes all of this to the next level is how much WarioWare everything feel, and you may be thinking ‘’… well, fucking duh’’ but hold on for a second, ‘cause when I say that I absolutely mean it; every aspect, every mechanic, every part and sound of the process, everything here, it all oozes that identity that makes this series unique, and that it’s what takes this editor and WHOLE concept of the game to next level.
When I said the micro-game creating process is robust, I mean that it’s absurdly deep. This isn’t your baby’s first level editor, this is no ‘’select from a couple of options’’ kinda game; of course everything you make has to be simple and short just like any other micro-game would be, but within that limit, you can do absolutely anything; you are left free to draw, program and compose and record your own sound effects and music, and all at first is kind of shocking at a bit intimidating, but the game has you covered. The fantastic visuals and sounds that have characterized the series are now taken to a completely new context, one that asks taking things more slowly, more calmly, and that don’t put pressure on the player, and they exceed on that task by miles. Everything is so pleasing, so fun to navigate, immediately clear and well communicated, it makes creating games a game within itself, and a really enjoyable one. Even the tutorial, that all things considered can drag on a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle bit, are made lighter by the character interactions ,I really didn’t expect to have a blast reading the conversations of Penny and Wario in a freacking tutorial, but I sure did. Even outside of said tutorials, everything feels as if it’s designed to teach you slowly on the fly, like letting you experiment with music, completing the micro-games that Wario left half-finished, and even the character stages that aren’t really character stages!
Yeah, this time around we really don’t have the usual story mode, and instead we have 5 stages that don’t really have an ending, which kinda makes sense, this time they aren’t the focus and they do serve as a pretty cool showcase of the crazy stuff you yourself can pull out and do and it’s pretty inspiring, specially 9-Volt’s stages… but, and even if there are some really cool ones here and there, overall the minigames are extremely simplistic and visually samey, which, once again, makes sense since they really aren’t the main attraction… except they kinda are in a way. Unless you have a DS full of other people’s micro-games, these are the only non-tutorial single player level in the entire game, which, aside from being its own showcase how the passing of time inevitably has impact in some games, it also shows how this game only has value depending on how much effort you are willing to put in.
I can’t stress it enough how fun and fleshed out the editor is, but that itself doesn’t really do much if you aren’t that interested in making games, which granted, is the point of the game, but you aren’t going to make games for all of eternity, is nice to play others, and while I’m sure that my perception would be more positive if I played this first when it came out and when I could have shared games with my buddies, that doesn’t share the fact that D.I.Y is probably the game in the series until that point that would leave the most amount of people feeling indifferent, at least in the long run.
It's by all accounts still a fantastic package, and I’m really glad I experience and I may even come back to it to do some dumb stuff in the future, but as it is, I don’t really feel compelled to keep creating; this time your schemes won’t trap me, Mr.Wario!...
…wait…wa-wait, wait a minute… Schemes? Exploitation? Stealing ideas from others and presenting them as his own? Abusive and unprofessional language? Having all his money on a tax haven? Child labour?....... Oh… Oh no… Dear God no. No. NO. NO NO NO NO OH FUCK NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-