For the past two decades, the WarioWare series has been Nintendo's excuse to let its developers run wild and design some of its weirdest and creative concepts, and WarioWare Gold is no exception. Featuring a solid mix of over 300 new and returning microgames, WarioWare Gold is like a mixtape that showcases some of Nintendo's most inventive yet extremely bizarre ideas, and it's all held together by an even crazier story.

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“ WarioWare Gold plays like an incredibly strange yet exciting trip through Nintendo history.

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Along with the help of friends, Wario is out to make his fortune by setting up his own video game competition, which is fitting for a game that's all about playing through a seemingly endless amount of lightening-fast experiences. Each of Wario's friends offers their own set of microgames, each of which ends with a slightly longer, more challenging boss stage. While I didn't get a chance to play through all 300 microgames, I can say that the 30 or so I played were incredibly fun and unique.Similar to previous games in the series, each of WarioWare Gold's characters has a distinct taste in microgames. For the majority of my time with WarioWare Gold, I played as 5-Volt, an all-new character to the series who shares the same passion for Nintendo games as her son, 9-Volt. That means that all of her microgames are based on classic Nintendo toys and franchises.But, perhaps the most notable new addition to the WarioWare series are the fully voiced cutscenes instead of silent cutscenes with subtitles used in previous WarioWare games. It can be a little jarring hearing Wario speak in full, somewhat grammatically correct sentences. Nonetheless, it's nice to see Nintendo adding a bit more personality to their most beloved characters.Of course, with this being a WarioWare game, Nintendo made sure to make good use of the newly voiced cutscenes by allowing players to use the 3DS's built-in microphone that enables them to record their own voices into the game. While this certainly isn't WarioWare's most compelling feature, it's fun having the ability to record your own rap battle and watch it played back over the characters in the game.It's refreshing to see Nintendo shining some extra light on one of its most beloved b-side franchises. Although it may not be the WarioWare Switch title that many Nintendo fans had hoped for, it's still a great reason to bust out your 3DS and get lost in some good ol' mindless fun. If you love the cookey, yet creative side of Nintendo, then you certainly have a lot to look forward to with WarioWare Gold.For more on WarioWare Gold, check out three minutes Nintendo inspired microgames with 5-Volt