WarioWare: Smooth Moves

WarioWare: Smooth Moves is the series’ first game for Wii, made by Nintendo SPD Group No. 1 with Intelligent Systems under chief director Goro Abe and producer Yoshio Sakamoto. In Japan it was a launch title, on sale from 2 December 2006 as Odoru Made in Wario; Europe got it on 12 January 2007, North America on 15 January and Australia on 25 January.

The idea is that the Wii Remote is not a Wii Remote at all. It is the Form Baton, an ancient artefact guarded by the little Splunks in Diamond City’s ruined Temple of Form, and Wario has pinched it. Before every microgame a pose card flashes up showing how to hold it, and the game has 19 of these Forms: point it like a TV remote, grip it like handlebars, balance it on your palm like a waiter’s tray, rest the end on your nose like a trunk, or put it down on the table and wait. The developers told Satoru Iwata the idea came from the way traditional Japanese dances are taught as a series of set forms.

Then it is pure WarioWare. Each member of the Diamond City cast hosts a stage of five-second microgames built around a few Forms, with a story cartoon either side and a longer boss game to finish. After the story come endurance modes, unlockable toys, and a set of party games for up to twelve people sharing one Remote, with everyone’s Miis taking part.

Reviewers adored it as a party game and grumbled that it was short. Metacritic’s average is 83, IGN named it the best Wii action game of E3 2006, and IGN reported 1.82 million copies sold worldwide by July 2007. Its pose-based idea came back seventeen years later in WarioWare: Move It!, its successor.

“If you’ve got one of these Remotes, you can pretty much do anything!”

Goro Abe, in Iwata Asks: WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Nintendo, 2006)

Abe on why the WarioWare team, unlike others at Nintendo, was never worried about the new controller.

The questions people ask most about WarioWare: Smooth Moves, answered briefly here and in depth further down the page.

Smooth Moves tells its story in short cartoons before and after each stage, one for each member of the WarioWare crew, all set in and around Diamond City. They are only loosely connected: what ties them together is the Form Baton, which Wario steals at the start and has to give back at the end.

You pick stages from the city map, and each one unlocks the next. Two of them, Jimmy T.’s and Jimmy P.’s, are remixes of the stages before them, and the last one, Orbulon’s, needs the Nunchuk. Here is every stage in order, with its Forms, its boss and how its cartoon plays out.

Prologue: the legend of the Form Baton

Long ago, the story goes, humanity was given a mysterious object, the Form Baton, and the ancients used it in daily life for everything from hard exercise to the most delicate movement. The Splunks, who lived alongside them, kept it in the Temple of Form to preserve its history. Today the temple is a ruin in Diamond City, and Wario is cycling past it.

Wario: Mysterious Form Baton Found!

Wario is tucking into a pile of sweets at home when a Splunk runs off with them. He follows it to the Temple of Form, grabs the Form Baton, sets off a rolling boulder in the best adventure-film tradition and escapes, gloating over his new treasure.

The stage is the tutorial: every microgame uses the Remote Control, eight of them before the boss, from swatting a giant Wario stomping through the city (Pest Control) to a nose that needs picking (You Can Pick Your Friends…). The boss is Biggest Fan.

Mona: Cheerleading to Victory

Mona scoots off to the big game between the Diamond City Roughs and Team Dinosaur and leads the Monettes’ routine from the sideline. Boy, a Roughs player with a crush on her, loses concentration for a moment, then charges through the entire opposition for the winning touchdown. He goes to confess his feelings, loses his nerve, and confesses to the wrong Monette while Mona rides away.

The stage teaches the Umbrella and the Handlebar alongside the Remote Control, twelve microgames before the boss, Toilet Training, in which you run a public lavatory and keep the queue happy.

Kat & Ana: Evil Attacks Diamond Dojo!

An Elephant Ogre storms the Diamond Dojo while the Sensei frets, and a Li’l Ogre starts pulling the Sensei’s hair. Ana splits herself into four turtles; Kat takes on the Elephant Ogre until the Li’l Ogre calls a halt. The ogre stomps off carrying what it thinks is the Li’l Ogre, but Kat is the one holding him: the ogre has walked off with Ana.

Forms: the Samurai, the Sketch Artist and the Chauffeur. Fourteen microgames come before the boss, Driver’s Ed, a Chauffeur game in which you take the wheel. Beating the stage unlocks Tower Tennis.

Young Cricket & Master Mantis: Enter Young Cricket

In his first appearance in the series, the young martial artist Young Cricket arrives in town with his teacher, Master Mantis, both starving. They follow their noses to a meat-dumpling stand run by Mona, her pets Art and Deco, and Joe, where the queue is enormous. Cricket hops across everybody’s heads to the front; when the customers realise, he walks back over their heads to the end of the line and tells his master to join him.

Forms: the Waiter, the Tug-of-War and the Elephant. Fourteen microgames, then Block Party, stacking falling blocks on the Form Baton by tilting your wrist. Block Star unlocks here.

Jimmy T.: Feline Fever

Jimmy T. holds his umbrella over a cat caught in the rain. It follows him, more cats join it, and they all dance the night away at Club Sugar as the Legendary Cat Dancers. When they leave, the first cat gives his umbrella back.

This is a remix stage: fifteen microgames drawn from Mona’s, Kat & Ana’s and Young Cricket’s sets, mixing their Forms freely, before a boss from one of those stages.

Ashley & Red: The Loquacious Spell Book

In the library of Ashley’s mansion, Red turns himself into a wand so that Ashley can try a spell on a potted plant. The first attempt produces a perfectly ordinary flower, so the Chatty Mr. Spell Book offers some help. The second produces a monster plant that bursts through the mansion’s walls and roof. Red cowers. Ashley smiles.

Forms: the Thumb Wrestler, the Discard and the Big Cheese. Fourteen microgames, then Fresh off the Grill, a Discard game in which you snatch the burger the moment it is cooked. Can Shooter unlocks here.

Dribble & Spitz: Tomorrow Hill

A young woman hails Dribble & Spitz’s taxi and asks for Tomorrow Hill. At the top a UFO appears, she turns into an alien and is beamed aboard, and as the spaceship disappears the pair realise she has not paid the fare.

The fitness stage: the Mohawk, the Dumbbell and the Janitor, with squats and bicep curls among the thirteen microgames before the boss. Boot Camp starts in the Mohawk and finishes in the Elephant.

Penny: The Invent-Off

Penny and her grandfather Dr. Crygor face off in the Invent-Off, held in a wrestling ring at Diamond Academy with Mike cheering and a row of Mr. Game & Watches watching. Penny unveils a Wario-themed motorbike, Dr. Crygor concedes, and all three celebrate as the bike does laps of the ring.

Forms: the Finger Food, the Boxer and the Mortar and Pestle. Fourteen microgames, then Produce Stand-Off, a sword fight to win back stolen fruit.

9-Volt & 18-Volt: The Multiplayer Test

At 9-Volt’s house, 18-Volt grabs the Game & Watch 9-Volt is playing and it breaks in the tussle, so 9-Volt throws him out. 18-Volt searches Toy Express for a replacement and finally finds one in a little shop run by a familiar-looking manager, Satoru Iwata himself, just as 9-Volt reaches for the same one. The pair make up.

The Nintendo stage. Its microgames are tributes to Nintendo games, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Sunshine, Wario Land, Balloon Fight, Punch-Out!!, Pikmin 2, Nintendogs, The Wind Waker and more, in a wide mix of Forms; fourteen come before the boss, Star Fox, in which you steer an Arwing with the Chauffeur.

Jimmy P.: Canine Crazed

Jimmy P., Jimmy T.’s lookalike making his debut, gives a bone to a dog hiding behind a dustbin. More dogs turn up, and they dance with him at Club Spice as the Legendary Dog Dancers. Once they have gone, Jimmy T. gives him a tap on the back and a very odd look.

The second remix: fifteen microgames from Ashley’s, Dribble & Spitz’s, Penny’s and 9-Volt’s sets, then a boss from one of them.

Tiny Wario: Forever Form Baton

A parcel arrives for Wario: Penny’s pink bike. He rides it anyway, far too big for it, shrinks, gets sucked inside, and the bike sprays out a swarm of Tiny Warios that overrun a strawberry field before merging back into one. The Splunks chase him to the Temple of Form, where he trips, drops the Form Baton and returns it to its rightful place, earning a Splunk’s thanks.

The big finale: eighteen microgames before the boss, the most of any story stage, in every Form except the Elephant and the Mortar and Pestle. The boss, Wario Dance Company, makes you Wario’s backing dancer, in the Umbrella. Beating it opens the party games.

Orbulon: The Secret of the Balance Stone

Out in space, a Balance Stone slams into Orbulon’s ship, the Oinker, and he crash-lands in the Temple of Form. He picks up the Balance Stone and the Form Baton together, the temple rises into the air, and writing on its walls explains how to use them, so he steers the whole temple into space to claim it. The Splunks object, the temple crashes back to Earth, and Orbulon and his Oinker are flung back into the stars.

The last stage to open, and the only one that needs the Nunchuk: every microgame uses the Diner in one of its three positions. Twelve microgames come before the boss, Boom Box, a boxing match. Clearing it unlocks Tortoise & Hare.

After the story: the Kelorometer

Dr. Crygor and Mike’s Kelorometer is the first post-game set. Its cartoon shows the machine at work, overheating, and Dr. Crygor emerging, throwing off his cape and flexing a brand-new physique while Mike throws confetti. All Mixed Up, Super Hard, Sudden Death and Thrilling follow (see How to play).

Every stage in WarioWare: Smooth Moves

Twelve story stages in the order they unlock, then the five post-game sets. Microgame counts are the stage’s full set plus its boss; the number in brackets is how many you play before the boss on a first run.

1. 
   Mysterious Form Baton Found!Wario · Remote Control · 12 + boss Biggest Fan (8 before the boss)The tutorial stage. Wario steals the Form Baton.
2. 
   Cheerleading to VictoryMona · Umbrella, Handlebar · 22 + boss Toilet Training (12)Football, cheerleading and a misdirected confession.
3. 
   Evil Attacks Diamond Dojo!Kat & Ana · Samurai, Sketch Artist, Chauffeur · 22 + boss Driver’s Ed (14)Ogres at the dojo. Unlocks Tower Tennis.
4. 
   Enter Young CricketYoung Cricket & Master Mantis · Waiter, Tug-of-War, Elephant · 20 + boss Block Party (14)Queue-jumping for dumplings. Unlocks Block Star.
5. 
   Feline FeverJimmy T. · remix of the three stages before · 15 before a returning bossDancing with cats at Club Sugar.
6. 
   The Loquacious Spell BookAshley & Red · Thumb Wrestler, Discard, Big Cheese · 20 + boss Fresh off the Grill (14)A spell gets out of hand. Unlocks Can Shooter.
7. 
   Tomorrow HillDribble & Spitz · Mohawk, Dumbbell, Janitor · 20 + boss Boot Camp (13)An alien passenger skips her fare.
8. 
   The Invent-OffPenny · Finger Food, Boxer, Mortar and Pestle · 20 + boss Produce Stand-Off (14)Granddaughter beats grandfather.
9. 
   The Multiplayer Test9-Volt & 18-Volt · a mix of Forms · 22 + boss Star Fox (14)Nintendo classics, and Shop Manager Iwata.
10. 
    Canine CrazedJimmy P. · remix of the four stages before · 15 before a returning bossDancing with dogs at Club Spice.
11. 
    Forever Form BatonTiny Wario · every Form but two · 20 + boss Wario Dance Company (18)The Baton goes home. Unlocks the party games.
12. 
    The Secret of the Balance StoneOrbulon · the Diner (Nunchuk) · 16 + boss Boom Box (12)The temple goes to space. Unlocks Tortoise & Hare.
13. 
    The KelorometerDr. Crygor & Mike · 20 energetic microgames, rated in keloriesUnlocks Balloon Trip.
14. 
    All Mixed UpEndless · nearly every microgame30 points opens Super Hard.
15. 
    Super HardEndless · top speed from the start20 points opens Sudden Death.
16. 
    Sudden DeathOne life · hardest level10 points opens Thrilling.
17. 
    ThrillingNo pose cards before the microgames20 points opens the Sound Studio.

The two remix stages have no sets of their own: Feline Fever draws from Mona’s, Kat & Ana’s and Young Cricket’s microgames, and Canine Crazed from Ashley’s, Dribble & Spitz’s, Penny’s and 9-Volt’s. That makes 194 regular microgames and ten bosses in the stage lists.

Smooth Moves plays by the series’ oldest rule: a microgame gives you a word or two of instruction and about five seconds to work out the rest. What is new is that, before the instruction, the game tells you how to stand.

Five seconds at a time

“We only need to come up with five seconds apiece!” was how Yoshio Sakamoto summed up the series to Satoru Iwata. Each stage strings microgames together at random from its own set, gets Faster! part-way through, and ends with a longer boss microgame. Fail a microgame and you lose a life, shown in each stage’s own style: strawberries in Tiny Wario’s, Wii Remotes in Orbulon’s. Lose them all and it is Game Over.

On a first run Mona’s stage, for example, deals six microgames, says Faster!, deals six more and then sends in the boss. Later stages run longer before the boss: Tiny Wario’s has 18, the most of any story stage. Replays deal a fresh mix of the stage’s microgames.

The Form Baton and its 19 Forms

Before every microgame a pose card flashes up with the Form you need and a narrator calls it out in the Japanese and Korean versions; in English and in Europe the card is left to speak for itself. Forms are introduced a few at a time, each stage leaning on two or three of them, and the story stages between them cover all 19.

Some are everyday: the Remote Control, the Umbrella (held upright), the Handlebar. Some are daft: the Elephant (end of the Remote on your nose), the Mohawk (held on top of your head), the Big Cheese (at your hip, chest out). One, the Discard, means putting the Remote down and waiting for the signal to grab it. The Diner adds the Nunchuk in three positions and is used only in Orbulon’s stage, where the Nunchuk is the Balance Stone.

The game also has a story reason for all this. The Form Baton was handed to the ancients, who used it for everything from exercise to the finest movements, and the Splunks guarded it in the Temple of Form until Wario came along.

The Temple of Form

Between stages the Diamond City map has an icon for the Temple of Form, where you can practise every microgame you have seen, sorted either by stage or by Form. Unlike earlier WarioWare games, microgames here have no individual high scores; each practice session simply ends once you have played through every difficulty level.

The menus also hold the extras you unlock along the way, among them a Movie Theater for the opening and ending cartoons and a Sound Studio for the music and sound effects.

Single-player toys

Clearing stages unlocks bigger games built from microgames. Tower Tennis (from Kat & Ana’s stage) has a disembodied hand bat a ball up a scrolling tower. Block Star (Young Cricket’s) stretches the Block Party boss into 50 levels of balancing falling shapes. Can Shooter (Ashley’s) is a shooting gallery with power-up cans. Balloon Trip (the Kelorometer’s) turns Balloon Fight’s endless mode into 3D, flapping with the Remote and Nunchuk. Tortoise & Hare (Orbulon’s) is an extended Hare Raising, and Pyoro S, a shooting game starring the beaky bird Pyoro, is the reward for collecting every microgame.

Pass the Form Baton: multiplayer

The party games are played with one Wii Remote passed from hand to hand, by up to twelve people, each represented by a Mii that copies your movements and turns to look at you when you slip up. Abe and Sakamoto wanted it to be as much fun to watch as to play, the way friends used to crowd round a NES and shout advice.

Survival puts everyone on clouds as angels; lose your microgame and you fall. In Balloon (a revival of Mega Party Game$!’s Balloon Bang) you pump a balloon while somebody else plays, and whoever is holding it when it pops loses. Bomb has each winner choose the next player and the next Form, getting harder each time a Form repeats. Lifeline scores microgames and then dangles everyone over a crocodile lake. Darts, for up to four, is a race to exactly 301. Two players can split the Remote and Nunchuk for Star Nose, a race in a nose-shaped spaceship, and Bungee Buddies, which ends by rating your compatibility.

The Kelorometer and the endurance sets

After the story, Dr. Crygor and Mike host The Kelorometer: twenty microgames picked for their exercise value, after which the machine rates the calories (“kelories”) you have burned. Four score-chasing sets follow. All Mixed Up throws nearly every microgame at you, speeding up and levelling up as you go; 30 points opens Super Hard, which starts at top speed; 20 there opens Sudden Death, one life at the hardest level; 10 there opens Thrilling, which stops showing you the pose cards; and 20 in Thrilling opens the Sound Studio.

Regional differences

Thirteen of the 19 Forms were renamed outside Japan, swapping Japanese cultural references for ones a Western player would recognise: the Form called Prince Shōtoku in Japan became the Janitor. The Form instructions are backed by Japanese instruments in Japan, by piano and electronic sounds in the West and by Korean instruments in Korea, and the Japanese narration was written to sound like the Japanese-language courses broadcast on television abroad.

Plenty of microgames were redrawn. Stir Crazy grinds herbs for spaghetti instead of rice for soba; When in Rome… swaps lightsabers for candy canes; Super Nostalgic Entertainment System shows a Super NES and its cartridges instead of a Famicom; the fan in Biggest Fan loses its “festival” kanji for a bird. Japan’s title screen plays the Temple of Form theme, where other versions use a cover of the title music from WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!.

The 19 Forms

Every way the game asks you to hold the Form Baton, with the stages that teach it. Names are the English ones.

• 
  The Remote ControlDominant hand, palm towards the screen, thumb on A. The basic Form; Wario’s whole stage uses it.
• 
  The UmbrellaHeld upright in one hand. Introduced in Mona’s stage.
• 
  The HandlebarBoth hands, held flat from above, buttons up. Mona’s stage.
• 
  The Sketch ArtistHeld like a pencil between thumb and finger, for precision. Kat & Ana’s stage.
• 
  The ChauffeurBoth hands at the ends, buttons facing you, like a steering wheel. Kat & Ana’s stage.
• 
  The SamuraiBoth hands at one hip, ready to draw. Kat & Ana’s stage.
• 
  The Tug-of-WarBoth hands together just above the navel, pointing forward. Young Cricket’s stage.
• 
  The WaiterResting face up on your palm like a tray. Young Cricket’s stage.
• 
  The ElephantBoth hands, the tip touching your nose. Young Cricket’s stage; missing from the E3 2006 demo.
• 
  The Thumb WrestlerHeld near the top with your thumb over the end. Ashley & Red’s stage.
• 
  The DiscardFace down on a flat surface until the game says to grab it. Ashley & Red’s stage.
• 
  The Big CheeseAt your hip, chest and hips pushed forward. Ashley & Red’s stage. Previewed as “The Big Kahuna”.
• 
  The JanitorBoth hands, held upright like a broom handle. Dribble & Spitz’s stage.
• 
  The DumbbellOne hand, held flat from below. Dribble & Spitz’s stage.
• 
  The MohawkBoth hands, on top of your head. Dribble & Spitz’s stage.
• 
  The Finger FoodThe base pinched between thumb and finger. Penny’s stage.
• 
  The BoxerOne hand, held flat from above. Penny’s stage.
• 
  The Mortar and PestleUpright in one hand, its base resting in the other palm. Penny’s stage.
• 
  The DinerWii Remote and Nunchuk together, in three positions (A, B, C). Orbulon’s stage only.

Nintendo explained the game in a four-part Iwata Asks and a Japanese blog in which the cast struck poses around Japan, and pieces of it have kept turning up in later WarioWare games.

Iwata Asks: WarioWare: Smooth MovesNintendo · four partsSatoru Iwata interviews Yoshio Sakamoto and Goro Abe about building a launch game for the Wii Remote, the Forms and the party modes. Our Development section draws on it.

The Japanese website blogNintendo Japan · 2006Cut-outs of the cast posed in real places: Wario doing the Mohawk beside a Splunk, Young Cricket and Master Mantis training on pillars, Ashley and Red with Japanese macaques, Penny and Dr. Crygor on the beach.

Nintendo PowerVolume 206 · August 2006Its preview called the Big Cheese Form “The Big Kahuna”, the name it had before release.

WarioWare GoldNintendo 3DS32 of Smooth Moves’ microgames return in it, Smooth Moves music turns up among its souvenirs, and Mona’s character trailer includes a cameo of her Smooth Moves look.

WarioWare: Get It Together!Nintendo SwitchBackground dancers in Jimmy T.’s stage do a Wario Dance Company routine, and characters from Wet Your Whistle, Boom Box, Over Easy and Up for Grabs make cameos.

WarioWare: Move It!Nintendo Switch · 2023The successor: motion controls and poses called Forms again, with a Joy-Con in each hand, much as Orbulon’s stage used Remote and Nunchuk. Its Japanese title builds on Smooth Moves’ own.

Mario Kart WorldWario MotorsThe Wario Motors sponsor logo looks a lot like the Wario face on Smooth Moves’ box and title screen.

Nobody is “playable” in the usual sense: you are the one doing the moves. The cast host the stages, each with its own Forms and its own cartoon.

Character	Who they are	In this game	Abilities & notes
WarioTreasure hunter, briefly	The boss of WarioWare, Inc., and Mario’s greedy rival.	Steals the Form Baton from the Temple of Form after a Splunk steals his sweets, and hosts the opening stage. As Tiny Wario he brings it back.	Forms: the Remote Control. Voice: Charles Martinet.
MonaCheerleader	A Diamond City teenager who gets about on her scooter.	Leads the Monettes at the Roughs game, and later runs a dumpling stand in Young Cricket’s cartoon.	Forms: the Umbrella, the Handlebar. Boss: Toilet Training.
Kat & AnaNinja twins	The twins of the Diamond Dojo.	Defend the dojo from an Elephant Ogre, and end up with the wrong twin carried off.	Forms: the Samurai, the Sketch Artist, the Chauffeur. Boss: Driver’s Ed.
Young CricketNew in this game	A martial artist with an appetite for meat dumplings. Smooth Moves is his first game.	Skips the dumpling queue by walking over everyone’s heads, then thinks better of it.	Forms: the Waiter, the Tug-of-War, the Elephant. Boss: Block Party.
Master MantisThe teacher	Young Cricket’s master.	Shares the stage and the hunger; Cricket tells him to join him at the back of the queue.	Co-host of Enter Young Cricket.
Jimmy T.Disco king	A dancer who rules the floor at Club Sugar.	Shelters a cat from the rain and ends up dancing with the Legendary Cat Dancers at Club Sugar.	Hosts the first remix stage, Feline Fever.
AshleyYoung witch	A young spell-caster who lives in a mansion with a library.	Turns a potted plant into a mansion-wrecking monster with help from the Chatty Mr. Spell Book.	Forms: the Thumb Wrestler, the Discard, the Big Cheese. Boss: Fresh off the Grill.
RedAshley’s helper	Ashley’s helper, who can turn into a wand.	Turns into a magic wand for the experiment, then cowers when it goes wrong.	Co-host of The Loquacious Spell Book.
Dribble & SpitzTaxi drivers	The pair who drive Diamond City’s taxi.	Drive a passenger to Tomorrow Hill, where she turns out to be an alien and leaves without paying.	Forms: the Mohawk, the Dumbbell, the Janitor. Boss: Boot Camp.
PennyInventor	Dr. Crygor’s granddaughter.	Beats her grandfather in the Invent-Off with a Wario-themed motorbike; her pink bike later shrinks Wario.	Forms: the Finger Food, the Boxer, the Mortar and Pestle. Boss: Produce Stand-Off.
9-VoltYoung gamer	A young gamer with a Game & Watch habit.	Throws 18-Volt out for breaking his Game & Watch, then makes up with him over a replacement.	Microgames based on Nintendo games, in a mix of Forms. Boss: Star Fox.
18-VoltThe big friend	9-Volt’s gaming partner.	Breaks the Game & Watch and hunts all over town for another.	Co-host of The Multiplayer Test.
Jimmy P.New in this game	Jimmy T.’s lookalike; Smooth Moves is his first appearance.	Befriends a dog and dances with the Legendary Dog Dancers at Club Spice, to Jimmy T.’s bemusement.	Hosts the second remix stage, Canine Crazed.
Tiny WarioLots of little Warios	What comes out when Wario rides Penny’s bike.	A swarm that overruns a strawberry field, then merges back into Wario, who returns the Form Baton.	Every Form but the Elephant and the Mortar and Pestle. Boss: Wario Dance Company.
OrbulonAlien	An alien whose spaceship is called the Oinker.	Crash-lands in the temple, takes it to space with the Balance Stone and gets thrown back out by the Splunks.	Form: the Diner (Remote and Nunchuk). Boss: Boom Box.
Dr. CrygorScientist	Diamond City’s inventor, and Penny’s grandfather.	Loses the Invent-Off to Penny, then hosts the Kelorometer, which leaves him with a new physique.	Hosts The Kelorometer with Mike.
MikeRobot	Dr. Crygor’s robot.	Cheers on the Invent-Off and throws the confetti after the Kelorometer.	Co-host of The Kelorometer.
JoeDumpling stand	One of Mona’s many friends.	Helps run the dumpling stand in Young Cricket’s cartoon.	Not a host.
The SplunksTemple guardians	Small creatures who lived alongside the ancients.	Keep the Form Baton in the Temple of Form, steal Wario’s sweets, chase him back to the temple and see off Orbulon.	Not hosts.

The microgames

Every boss microgame (marked boss) and a selection from each stage, with the Form each one uses. The full count per stage is on the stage cards above: 194 regular microgames and ten bosses in the stage lists.

• 
  Biggest Fan (boss)Wario · Remote ControlThe giant-fan showdown that ends Wario’s opening stage.
• 
  Pest ControlWario · Remote ControlStop a giant Wario monster attacking the city.
• 
  Wario PIWario · Remote ControlMove the Baton like a magnifying glass for a closer look.
• 
  Wokka Wokka!Wario · Remote ControlToss the ingredients in the air to mix them, no spoon allowed.
• 
  You Can Pick Your Friends…Wario · Remote ControlPick a nose. For the greater good.
• 
  Shaving ScreamWario · Remote ControlClip the hair off.
• 
  Toilet Training (boss)Mona · UmbrellaRun a public toilet and keep the queue happy.
• 
  Stage FrightMona · Remote ControlSweep a torch to find someone hiding.
• 
  Welcome CommitteeMona · UmbrellaHit the UFO with a rocket.
• 
  Keep Your Guy on the BallMona · HandlebarKeep your balance on the balls.
• 
  Runner’s HighMona · UmbrellaPump your arms and run; there is no second place.
• 
  Five More MinutesMona · Remote ControlShut off the alarm clock.
• 
  Universal MarionetteMona · HandlebarWork the puppet strings to deflect a watermelon.
• 
  Wet Your WhistleMona · UmbrellaDrink up.
• 
  Driver’s Ed (boss)Kat & Ana · ChauffeurTake the wheel and drive.
• 
  Cutting EdgeKat & Ana · SamuraiWait for the moment, then strike.
• 
  Serve Already!Kat & Ana · Remote Control / Sketch ArtistKeep the ball off the ground. The source of Tower Tennis.
• 
  Extreme Patty-CakeKat & Ana · ChauffeurPatty-cake, played very hard.
• 
  Teeth PolitheKat & Ana · Sketch ArtistHelp someone put their false teeth in.
• 
  Saving FaceKat & Ana · Sketch ArtistTake a photo from the most flattering angle.
• 
  Simon SaysKat & Ana · SamuraiStrike the pose.
• 
  Code DependencyKat & Ana · ChauffeurLine the barcode up with the scanner. Returns in Move It!
• 
  Block Party (boss)Young Cricket · WaiterStack falling blocks on the Baton by tilting your wrist. Became Block Star.
• 
  Broom ShtickYoung Cricket · WaiterBalance a broom: move too much or too little and it falls.
• 
  Plane and SimpleYoung Cricket · Tug-of-WarPlane the wood for a surprise.
• 
  Pink EyeYoung Cricket · ElephantZap enemies with eye lasers.
• 
  This Bites!Young Cricket · ElephantHold still while being bitten.
• 
  Volley, Y’all!Young Cricket · Tug-of-WarReturn the incoming ball.
• 
  Junk and My TrunkYoung Cricket · ElephantUse an elephant’s trunk for the job.
• 
  Clean Your Plate!Young Cricket · WaiterTip the plate so the water washes the dirt away.
• 
  Fresh off the Grill (boss)Ashley & Red · DiscardGrab the burger the moment it is cooked.
• 
  Cold CallAshley & Red · DiscardPick up the ringing phone.
• 
  Spray It, Don’t Say ItAshley & Red · Thumb WrestlerShake a fizzy drink and share it round.
• 
  Wiggle RoomAshley & Red · Big CheeseKeep the hoop up with your hips.
• 
  Bone AppetitAshley & Red · DiscardTake the angry dog’s bone when it looks away.
• 
  How the West Was Really WonAshley & Red · Big CheeseDraw and fire when you hear “DRAW”.
• 
  Shoot the BreezeAshley & Red · Remote ControlKnock down the targets. The source of Can Shooter.
• 
  Skip ItAshley & Red · Big CheeseSkip with a royal skipping rope.
• 
  Boot Camp (boss)Dribble & Spitz · Mohawk, then ElephantA whole-body workout in two Forms.
• 
  Diddly SquatDribble & Spitz · MohawkDo your squats.
• 
  Up in ArmsDribble & Spitz · DumbbellCurl the dumbbell.
• 
  Clean SweepDribble & Spitz · JanitorSweep, hard.
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  When in Rome…Dribble & Spitz · Umbrella / Janitor / MohawkTilt so you don’t hit your neighbour. Lightsabers in Japan, candy canes elsewhere.
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  Bell CaptainDribble & Spitz · JanitorRing the bell.
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  Use Your HeadDribble & Spitz · MohawkTime the header into the goal.
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  Femme BrûléeDribble & Spitz · UmbrellaHold the parasol to keep the sun off.
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  Produce Stand-Off (boss)Penny · BoxerSword fight a thief for the stolen fruit.
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  Stir CrazyPenny · Mortar and PestleGrind away. Herbs for spaghetti outside Japan; rice for soba in it.
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  Mercury FallingPenny · BoxerShake the thermometer down to zero.
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  Cranky RobotPenny · Finger FoodWind up the robot.
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  Hit ParadePenny · Mortar and PestleBonk enemies with a foam hammer.
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  Star Fox (boss)9-Volt & 18-Volt · ChauffeurSteer an Arwing and shoot down the enemy.
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  Super Mario Brothers9-Volt & 18-Volt · UmbrellaHit the blocks and collect the coins.
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  Super Mario Sunshine9-Volt & 18-Volt · Tug-of-WarPut out a fire with FLUDD.
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  Wario Land9-Volt & 18-Volt · BoxerThrow a Pirate Goom into another enemy, as in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.
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  Balloon Fight9-Volt & 18-Volt · Big CheeseFlap to stay airborne.
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  Opening Night9-Volt & 18-Volt · Remote ControlConduct an orchestra of NES sprites to Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros. tunes.
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  Game & Watch Octopus9-Volt & 18-Volt · DiscardBag the treasure before the tentacles reach you.
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  Punch-Out!!9-Volt & 18-Volt · UmbrellaA Punch-Out!! knockout, against the clock.
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  Super Nostalgic Entertainment System9-Volt & 18-Volt · HandlebarBoot up an old cartridge. Famicom in Japan, Super NES elsewhere.
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  The Wind Waker9-Volt & 18-Volt · MohawkGlide to safety on the wind.
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  Wario Dance Company (boss)Tiny Wario · UmbrellaBe Wario’s backing dancer and hit every pose.
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  Paper WarioTiny Wario · WaiterA paper sumo bout, named after Paper Mario.
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  Not the Face!Tiny Wario · JanitorFend off attacks with the Hero’s Sword.
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  Chop ShopTiny Wario · ChauffeurProcess the goods by hand.
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  A Tale of One KittyTiny Wario · Big CheeseWag a cat’s tail to catch a bird.
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  Safe or SnackTiny Wario · WaiterGet to the island without feeding the sharks.
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  Boom Box (boss)Orbulon · DinerPunch until your opponent is knocked out.
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  Hare RaisingOrbulon · DinerRaise and lower the flags as instructed. The source of Tortoise & Hare.
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  Chunky SalsaOrbulon · DinerCopy Señor Poncho’s rhythm.
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  Monkey DanceOrbulon · DinerMove your hands up and down to dance like a monkey.
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  Look, Ma! No Feet!Orbulon · DinerPedal for speed, then steer the course.
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  Coming UnhingedOrbulon · DinerTurn your wrist to open it, then reverse to close.

Key staff

From the game’s credits and the Iwata Asks interview.

Nintendo published a four-part Iwata Asks for Smooth Moves, with producer Yoshio Sakamoto and chief director Goro Abe; most of what follows comes from it, with the E3 2006 interviews as summarised by Wikipedia and a Nintendo Power preview.

“This was made for WarioWare!”

Nobody asked the WarioWare team for a Wii game. Once the Wii Remote’s design was settled, Sakamoto and Abe put forward a WarioWare launch title themselves, and Iwata recalled that a Wario game was planned early on. While other teams worried about how to use the new controller, this one was relaxed: the series was already a collection of tiny games, so every new idea for the Remote could simply become a microgame of its own.

Sakamoto’s verdict when he saw the controller was “This was made for WarioWare!”. Swinging and twisting, he told Iwata, solved the series’ old problem of constantly finding new ways to play. Wikipedia’s account of the E3 2006 interviews adds that development started in late 2005 with about twenty people, and that the motion-tracking software was written from scratch.

“Hold it like this!”

The difficulty was that a Wii Remote can be held in any number of ways, and a WarioWare player has five seconds at most to work out what to do. Sakamoto suggested simply telling players how to hold it before each game. A member of staff pointed out that this was rather like learning the set forms of traditional Japanese dance, and the idea became the heart of the game, so much so that the Remote itself was renamed the Form Baton. Iwata admitted he hesitated, since the name “Wii Remote” was barely known yet, until he saw the game.

Sakamoto and Abe named the 19 Forms together (Iwata guessed there were 17). At least one name changed late: Nintendo Power’s August 2006 preview called the Big Cheese “The Big Kahuna”. Thirteen of them were renamed for the West, where references to Japanese culture and history would have meant little.

A thousand ideas, two hundred games

Anyone on the team with an idea could storyboard it. Ideas went up on a wall on big sticky notes, the programmers picked out the ones that looked easy to build, and Abe chose the ones that made the cut. Sakamoto told the team they were free to come up with anything, as long as it was fun. From more than a thousand ideas, Abe said, they managed to include over 200.

One idea went back years: rolling up toilet paper was first thought of during the original WarioWare, when it was technically impossible, and had already turned up in Touched! and Twisted!, but the team felt the Wii Remote at last let them do it as they had always wanted. The pair also wanted players to do ridiculous things on purpose, because a home console has an audience. As Iwata put it, “This is ridiculous!” was the best compliment the game could get.

The voice from the planning department

The form narration has a story of its own. The Japanese version’s announcer was meant to sound like the Japanese-language lessons shown on television abroad, and the voice belongs to a Canadian member of the planning staff who happened to walk past the window at the right moment. Abe credited him with a valuable contribution to the team.

Wario himself is voiced by Charles Martinet, and the credits close with every member of the team as a Mii taking a bow.

Everyone in the room

Earlier WarioWare games had mostly been played alone on handhelds. This one was built for a room full of people: one Remote, passed round, with the onlookers enjoying the poses as much as the player, the way friends used to gather round a NES and shout advice. Sakamoto pitched it at family gatherings, where even older relatives could join in, and every player’s Mii appears in the party games, copying their movements.

E3 2006 and release

Nintendo first showed Smooth Moves at E3 in May 2006, where IGN named it the best action game on Wii. The demo there had no Elephant Form, and some microgames looked and read differently from the finished versions.

In Japan it went on sale on 2 December 2006 as a Wii launch title; Europe followed on 12 January 2007, North America on 15 January and Australia on 25 January. Taiwan got it in July 2008 and South Korea in June 2009.

New in Smooth Moves, checked against the WarioWare games before it.

How to unlock everything in Smooth Moves, and a few things worth knowing.

Stage order

Each story stage opens the next. Canine Crazed opens Forever Form Baton, and beating Forever Form Baton opens the last stage, Orbulon’s The Secret of the Balance Stone, which needs a Nunchuk.

The endurance chain

Score 30 in All Mixed Up for Super Hard, 20 in Super Hard for Sudden Death, 10 in Sudden Death for Thrilling, and 20 in Thrilling for the Sound Studio.

The toys

Tower Tennis: clear Evil Attacks Diamond Dojo! Block Star: clear Enter Young Cricket. Can Shooter: clear The Loquacious Spell Book. Balloon Trip: clear The Kelorometer. Tortoise & Hare: clear The Secret of the Balance Stone. Pyoro S: unlock every microgame.

The party games

Darts and Survival open when you beat Forever Form Baton. Playing Survival opens Bomb, Bomb opens Lifeline and Lifeline opens Balloon; Darts opens Star Nose, and Star Nose opens Bungee Buddies.

Practise in the Temple of Form

Any microgame you have seen can be practised from the Temple of Form icon on the map, sorted by stage or by Form, at every difficulty level. It is the easiest way to learn the awkward Forms before a high-score run.

Block Star in any order

Block Star has 50 levels in five sets of ten, and the levels in each set can be cleared in any order.

Drop the developers

During the credits each member of the team is a Mii taking a bow, and you can open holes under them. The number you catch is saved as a high score.

The original trailer for the game, and a documentary on Wario himself.

• The Japanese title, Odoru Made in Wario, means “Dancing Made in Wario”; Korea’s Chumchwora Made in Wario means “Dance Made in Wario”, and the Chinese title “Dancing Wario Studio”.

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  Satoru Iwata makes a cameo as a shop manager in 9-Volt and 18-Volt’s cartoon, selling the Game & Watch that brings the two back together.
• Satoru Iwata is also credited as executive producer, and he interviewed Sakamoto and Abe about the game for Iwata Asks.
• The narrator who calls out the Forms in the Japanese version is a Canadian member of Nintendo’s planning staff who happened to be walking past.
• Iwata guessed the game had 17 Forms. It has 19.
• The Big Cheese was called The Big Kahuna in Nintendo Power’s August 2006 preview, and the E3 2006 demo had no Elephant Form at all.
• In Japan the Janitor Form is named after Prince Shōtoku; thirteen of the 19 Forms have different names there.
• In Japan, When in Rome… has its crowd waving lightsabers; everywhere else they are candy canes.
• Super Nostalgic Entertainment System shows Super NES cartridges in the West, including Super Mario World, Mario Paint and Wario’s Woods; in Japan and Korea it is a Famicom.
• Opening Night conducts an orchestra built from Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3 and Dr. Mario music and sprites, and its third level brings in the Tetris characters, minus Bowser.
• The Wario Land microgame is based on Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, and the Super Mario Sunshine one has Mario putting out a fire with FLUDD.
• Tearful Reunion’s description, “It’s been two long years!”, refers to the gap since WarioWare: Twisted!, whose Rocky Reunion starred the same couple.
• The multiplayer game Balloon is Mega Party Game$!’s Balloon Bang, keeping its air-pump sound but with new arrangements of the jingles.
• Mario Kart World’s Wario Motors sponsor logo resembles the Wario face on Smooth Moves’ box art and title screen.
• It was Yoichi Kotabe’s last credited work as a full-time Nintendo employee; he is credited as character supervisor.
• Abe and Sakamoto chose just over 200 microgames from more than a thousand ideas, and one, rolling up toilet paper, dated back to the first WarioWare; Touched! and Twisted! had versions of it, but the team said the Wii Remote finally let them do it as they had always wanted.
• In the Korean version of Bell Captain the scene is set in front of a red Buddhist temple, and the Produce Stand-Off swordsmen fight with wooden sticks.

• 

  Japan’s title screen plays the Temple of Form theme; elsewhere you hear a cover of the Mega Microgame$! title music.

Japan and Korea use their own titles, and Europe’s Nintendo Selects reissue followed in 2011.

More from Diamond City.

Official artwork, logos and pictures from Nintendo’s Japanese blog for the game.

Smooth Moves has been re-released twice: as a budget Nintendo Selects disc in Europe and as a download for Wii U.

Releases and re-releases

• E3 2006 May 2006First shown; IGN’s best Wii action game of the show.
• Wii, Japan 2 December 2006As Odoru Made in Wario, a launch title.
• Wii, Europe 12 January 2007As WarioWare: Smooth Moves.
• Wii, North America 15 January 2007Best-selling Wii game of the month (NPD).
• Wii, Australia 25 January 2007Australian release.
• Wii, South Africa January 2008South African release.
• Wii, Taiwan 12 July 2008Released in Taiwan.
• Wii, South Korea 18 June 2009As Chumchwora Made in Wario.
• Nintendo Selects, Europe 20 May 2011Budget reissue.
• Wii U eShop, North America 15 September 2016Download version.
• Wii U eShop, Europe and Australia 6 and 7 October 2016Download version.
• Wii U eShop, Japan 21 June 2017Download version.

What came next

Smooth Moves’ microgames resurfaced in WarioWare Gold on 3DS, which brought back 32 of them. WarioWare: Get It Together! nodded to Wario Dance Company and several microgame characters.

The real successor arrived in 2023. WarioWare: Move It!, announced in a Nintendo Direct on 21 June 2023, went back to motion controls and to poses called Forms, now with a Joy-Con in each hand, and its Japanese title builds on Smooth Moves’ own.

Sales figures

In Japan Smooth Moves sold 63,954 copies in the launch week of 27 November to 3 December 2006, according to Media Create figures cited by Wikipedia, making it the fourth best-selling Wii launch game behind Wii Sports, Wii Play and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Famitsu’s data, as reported by Gamescharts in 2014, put Japanese sales at about 658,000.

In the United States, IGN reported from NPD data that it topped the Wii chart for January 2007 and placed fourth across all formats; Wikipedia adds that it was eighth in February with 109,000 copies. In the UK it entered the chart at number two behind Lost Planet, according to VideoGamer, and went on to an ELSPA Platinum award for at least 300,000 sales. Worldwide, IGN’s Nintendo sales update of 25 July 2007 gave 1.82 million. Nintendo’s own investor pages no longer list Wii software, so there is no later official total.

• 1.82mworldwide by July 2007 (IGN, from Nintendo)
• 63,954first week in Japan (Media Create)
• c. 658,000Japan by 2014 (Famitsu, via Gamescharts)
• 300,000+UK (ELSPA Platinum)
• 83Metacritic

Reception and review scores

Metacritic’s average is 83 and GameRankings closed on 81.82 per cent. Scores below are from Wikipedia’s reception table, with reviewers named where known.

The praise was loud. Official Nintendo Magazine thought Wario had now earned his place among Nintendo’s greats, next to Mario and Link; GameSpot’s Jeff Gerstmann called it charming, funny and addictive, with terrific use of the Wii’s controls; IGN called it an essential part of any Wii collection; GamePro a certifiably insane party game; and GameTrailers the best minigame collection on the console.

The complaints were about length and longevity. Eurogamer’s Kristan Reed liked it but felt it was “short on long-term appeal” because it never really tested the player, and Wikipedia sums up the criticism as a short single-player game with little lasting appeal and some awkward controller positions. Nearly everyone agreed it was best with friends watching.

Honours

WarioWare: Smooth Moves has yet to receive a community review on Super Luigi Bros.

If you’ve played WarioWare: Smooth Moves and would like to submit a review, please get in touch.

Every fact on this page was checked against the 28 sources listed here.