Touched is one of the most emblematic DS games on the system as a sort of tech demo, for better or for worse. It really does feel like one of the first games (alongside Nintendogs) specifically created to show off the new interactive functions and prowess of their new handheld system but with the classic WarioWare formula of quickfire and absurd minigames coupled with a colorful cast caught in the strange customs of their day. So here, the package consists of a few microphone microgames that you can generally win by shouting at the system loudly enough, and then the rest of the catalogue are all microgames where you either tap the screen or move your stylus in a line. I applaud the team for disguising this well enough with all the vignettes combined with the "tutorials" at the beginning of each section (i.e. Ashley's section is dragging, Crygor's section is "spinning", etc), but ultimately you are just repeating the same two actions. The unlockable minigames are about what you'd expect from the system as well: there's a coloring book, a "ping pong paddle bounce the ball as long as you can" simulator, a game called "Orbit Ball" which is more or less the same concept as the ping pong ball simulator but now you want to launch your smiley ball as far up as possible with trampolines, a minigame where you just have to blow/yell into the mic as long as possible to keep him in the air for a high score, you get the idea. Oh, and a metronome for some reason.

It's not a bad game per se, but it is probably the most by the books WarioWare title I've played to date; it utilizes the unique features of the DS well enough, but at no point did I feel surprised or blown away. It's basically on the opposite end of the spectrum from Smooth Moves in my view; where I think Smooth Moves attempted to make the controls much more complex with a variety of different poses and motions necessary using the WiiMote, Touched more or less simplifies this to DS touchscreen controls where you either tap or drag, to the point where I thought most of the microgames were quite trivial and in fact never experienced a single game over. And fortunately the great presentation from the GBA games has been upped with the stronger system specs and the upbeat soundtrack will help you stay engaged for a couple of hours, and Ashley's a nice addition to the cast. It's no WarioWare Twisted at the end of the day, but it's a solid enough outing if you just want a way to mess around with your DS system while bored on a train ride.

Reviewed on Sep 18, 2022


2 Comments


1 year ago

It's interesting how the thrill of new technology can do so much to cover a game's mechanical shortcomings. Touched! was my first DS game as a child, and I remember my sister and I being absolutely enthralled by it, spending literal hours poking at the jumping purple noses and shining stars in the main menu alone. It reminds me a great deal of how stretching Mario's face in the Super Mario 64's start screen seemed (at the time) like the most revolutionary thing a video game could do.

I also remember bringing the metronome mini 'game' to music class and insisting we use it because I thought it was so darn cool. Ah, childhood and new tech.

Thanks for your thoughts, it brought back some wonderful memories.

1 year ago

Thanks for reading! It is a little saddening how some of the tech demo games like this and Electroplankton haven't held up too well mechanically when I really dive into the workings, but I can at least respect them for trying something different and presenting it in such a novel fashion. I personally spent countless hours messing around with the minigames unlocked from Super Mario 64 DS as a kid even if a lot of them are pretty simple looking back, so right there with you.