So, since WarioWare has been on everyone's mind lately- I figured I'd take the opportunity to talk about what is probably my favorite WarioWare game.
WarioWare DIY, which for those not super familiar, is the last released actual WarioWare game before the upcoming WarioWare Gold- not counting the mess that was Game & Wario.
So, basically, in 2009 this game came out on the DS, and essentially the premise is that you can create your own WarioWare Microgames, which is a great idea, and it's execution was pretty decent as well, there's a lot of depth to it and the tools provided were at least sufficient- if a little limiting, in terms of mostly just user input- as the only supported controls for your microgames are tapping things on the touch screen. You could also create music and 4-panel comic strips using some very robust tools, think Mario Paint but on steroids.
As with any game that provides excessive user customization and opportunity for creativity- the players of the game went nuts with it. Sometimes a little too nuts. Even a little pornographic. But that's the beauty of user generated content, I think.
Regardless, the culmination of this creativity was the online features for the game, which, of course, are now shut down, and this may be a bummer on the surface, but it's even worse when you take into account that WarioWare DIY not only allowed user to user sharing of created content, but also regularly distributed new downloadable content for free on a server that the game connected to, this came in the form of the NinSoft store.
This means that there is a huge amount of content for WarioWare DIY that is essentially lost to the general populace- not so much for the more technically inclined- but still, principally- this is pretty awful.
Not only are the online downloadable contents no longer available- but for those that are playing the game anytime that wasn't 2009-2011, there is a not insignificant amount of in-game content that is now unobtainable through legitimate means due to the discontinuing of WFC.
WarioWare DIY had a Medals section, which is essentially just nintendo-ese for in-game Achievements- however, these medals carried rewards with them. Some of these medals were for using the WFC features. Need I say more?
I might be inclined to not be as bothered about this, after all, WFC didn't shut down on the Wii and DS until May 2014- which gave people playing it during its time of relevance a good 5 years to get the ones they missed- except that 3 of the medals (all with rewards) relied on you to submit entries into Nintendo's own monthly contest for the Theme Software Category on the NinSoft Store, which they stopped holding after only 24 months after the game's release.
This means that unless you managed to create a themed microgame 5 times and submit it during the initial 24 months after the game released, you simply cannot unlock some of the in-game content legitimately anymore.
It's worth noting that in addition to all this above, there was a companion software on Nintendo's WiiWare Service called WarioWare DIY Showcase- which was also hit by the closure of WFC and the NinSoft Store. Since it's a WiiWare, this is going through the Wii Shop Channel, which means that several more medals in the DS game that are tied to connecting to a Wii will not longer be obtainable through legal means once January 2019 comes to pass, and you will no longer be able to add funds to purchase titles after March 27th, 2018 (that's only a few weeks away!)
So, as you can see, Nintendo has created a game that has been thoroughly fucked by the discontinuing of online services. Fucked harder than pretty much any other first party Nintendo game out there really. Pretty sad.
So, with all that said, I did say that this is a bit different for those that are technically minded, and this is correct.
There are now ways around nearly all of the issues that the discontinuing of online services caused provided you have some means of dumping/injecting your WarioWare DIY or WarioWare DIY Showcase savegame- I recommend using a DS Flashcart for this game- but make sure you set the save file size to 32MB, which is required for this title.
Solution for loss of Nintendo WFC Connection:
Solutions for loss of the NinSoft Store:
Solution for unobtainable medals/rewards:
Solution for Wii Shop Channel shutting off funds and later download services:
WarioWare DIY, which for those not super familiar, is the last released actual WarioWare game before the upcoming WarioWare Gold- not counting the mess that was Game & Wario.
So, basically, in 2009 this game came out on the DS, and essentially the premise is that you can create your own WarioWare Microgames, which is a great idea, and it's execution was pretty decent as well, there's a lot of depth to it and the tools provided were at least sufficient- if a little limiting, in terms of mostly just user input- as the only supported controls for your microgames are tapping things on the touch screen. You could also create music and 4-panel comic strips using some very robust tools, think Mario Paint but on steroids.
As with any game that provides excessive user customization and opportunity for creativity- the players of the game went nuts with it. Sometimes a little too nuts. Even a little pornographic. But that's the beauty of user generated content, I think.
Regardless, the culmination of this creativity was the online features for the game, which, of course, are now shut down, and this may be a bummer on the surface, but it's even worse when you take into account that WarioWare DIY not only allowed user to user sharing of created content, but also regularly distributed new downloadable content for free on a server that the game connected to, this came in the form of the NinSoft store.
This means that there is a huge amount of content for WarioWare DIY that is essentially lost to the general populace- not so much for the more technically inclined- but still, principally- this is pretty awful.
Not only are the online downloadable contents no longer available- but for those that are playing the game anytime that wasn't 2009-2011, there is a not insignificant amount of in-game content that is now unobtainable through legitimate means due to the discontinuing of WFC.
WarioWare DIY had a Medals section, which is essentially just nintendo-ese for in-game Achievements- however, these medals carried rewards with them. Some of these medals were for using the WFC features. Need I say more?
I might be inclined to not be as bothered about this, after all, WFC didn't shut down on the Wii and DS until May 2014- which gave people playing it during its time of relevance a good 5 years to get the ones they missed- except that 3 of the medals (all with rewards) relied on you to submit entries into Nintendo's own monthly contest for the Theme Software Category on the NinSoft Store, which they stopped holding after only 24 months after the game's release.
This means that unless you managed to create a themed microgame 5 times and submit it during the initial 24 months after the game released, you simply cannot unlock some of the in-game content legitimately anymore.
It's worth noting that in addition to all this above, there was a companion software on Nintendo's WiiWare Service called WarioWare DIY Showcase- which was also hit by the closure of WFC and the NinSoft Store. Since it's a WiiWare, this is going through the Wii Shop Channel, which means that several more medals in the DS game that are tied to connecting to a Wii will not longer be obtainable through legal means once January 2019 comes to pass, and you will no longer be able to add funds to purchase titles after March 27th, 2018 (that's only a few weeks away!)
So, as you can see, Nintendo has created a game that has been thoroughly fucked by the discontinuing of online services. Fucked harder than pretty much any other first party Nintendo game out there really. Pretty sad.
So, with all that said, I did say that this is a bit different for those that are technically minded, and this is correct.
There are now ways around nearly all of the issues that the discontinuing of online services caused provided you have some means of dumping/injecting your WarioWare DIY or WarioWare DIY Showcase savegame- I recommend using a DS Flashcart for this game- but make sure you set the save file size to 32MB, which is required for this title.
Solution for loss of Nintendo WFC Connection:
- WarioWare DIY works properly on Wiimmfi for the DS version for peer to peer game sharing and friend registration. The WiiWare title I don't know the state of in terms of online functions, but I believe the game relied on both WiiConnect24 and Nintendo WFC for it's peer to peer game sharing, meaning if it's not working already- it might be possible to support in the future through a joint effort of RiiConnect24 and Wiimmfi.
Solutions for loss of the NinSoft Store:
- DoujinSoft offers a complete collection of all the officially released NinSoft Store contents for every region that you can inject into a uploaded copy of your save game. This includes NinSoft Games, ThemeSoft Games, and Big Name Games, plus several hundred fan created works.
- VixyNyan offers a second copy of almost all the same content, plus more fan created works. Stay away from the anime boob games everyone.
- WarioWare DIY Tool for offline dumping/injecting of MIO files into WarioWare DIY and DIY Showcase save games.
Solution for unobtainable medals/rewards:
- WarioWare DIY Tool for offline dumping/injecting of MIO files into WarioWare DIY and DIY Showcase save games, it also supports unlocking all medals, games, records, and comics.
Solution for Wii Shop Channel shutting off funds and later download services:
- Nothing legal, but piracy by way of installing a WAD of the game is certainly possible. If you need your WarioWare DIY Showcase game, that's eventually going to be the only option, period. No links and I'm not saying you should go pirate this WiiWare but I won't say you shouldn't either.
