Ranking the Crew Members of WarioWare: Get It Together!

Is Wario the best at his own game?

In WarioWare: Get It Together!, the big new gameplay mechanic is assembling a crew of playable characters to tackle the latest slew of microgames. The twist is that every character controls differently, making some games much easier and others much more difficult. So, who is the best? If Wario were making this list, he’d undoubtedly put himself first, but to be as objective as possible, we had someone else rank the crew members of WarioWare: Get It Together!. What follows is a (mostly) objective look at every playable character.

Kat and Ana

To be clear: Kat and Ana are easily the most adorable characters in the Warioverse. In single-player, Kat is the only controllable character. The only way to play as Ana is to have a second player join the madness. These kindergarten-age ninjas are cute and sassy, and could probably defeat even the most hardened warrior with a shuriken to the neck. But in Get It Together!, the duo are far from the most effective in making it through dozens of microgames in a row. Though these are technically two different characters, they play virtually the same. They bounce up-and-down constantly, with no way to stop. They can only throw ninja stars in one direction: to the right (Kat) or the left (Ana). With no way to control vertical movement and limited flexibility with their projectiles, Kat and Ana are the toughest to master in general, and just plain useless in certain minigames.

9-Volt

Similar to Kat and Ana, 9-Volt is constantly on the move. This youngster rides a skateboard that constantly races back and forth, at rapid speed. His attack is simple: he flings his yo-yo up in a straight line. Again, the issue is not with 9-Volt’s charm and adorability; if that were the case, he would be number one with a bullet. But because of how difficult it is to execute attacks to the degree of specificity required to succeed in some microgrames, 9-Volt slides towards the bottom of the list. Miss one attack, and it’s all over as his constant forward momentum combined with short game timers means that 9-Volt fails as often as he succeeds.

Penny

Penny is actually super fun to control, but her high skill ceiling makes her a difficult pick-up-and-play character. Players who know what they’re doing can make the most of her unique skillset, which allows her to blast quickly from one side of the stage to the other and also use her high-powered hose to hit faraway targets. However, she’s a genuinely difficult character to master. Players likely will only control her for seconds at a time, and swapping between different characters constantly means that most will have to relearn her movements all over again. On paper, Penny’s got it all, but in practice, she’s a slippery little scientist with a finnicky set of powers.

Pyoro

The last character most players will unlock, Pyoro is an adorable penguin-like bird who is truly trying his best. A recurring character in the WarioWare series, he’s actually the one who piqued Wario’s interest in game development. He’s another character with a tricky moveset. His extendable tongue can hit targets that are far away, but only at a diagonal angle. Fortunately, Pyoro can control his tongue to some extent. Bouncing the tongue off of walls or the ceiling gives the bird some extra room to work with. Players will have to practice to hit those trick shots, and keep in mind that his movement is more limited than might be expected.

Mona

Mona is yet another character who is always moving, as her Vespa zooms around constantly. However, players have much more control over Mona than they do Kat and Ana or 9-Volt. Mona can move in any direction, but best of all, players can pause her movement by throwing her boomerang. She’ll stop wherever players tell her, and then the player can control the projectile through some kind of psychic sorcery. This ability gives Mona versatility for almost all microgames, though some players may find the constant moving difficult to overcome. But remember: Mona also has an incredible theme song that should never be forgotten.

Dribble and Spitz

Another duo similar to the first entry on this list, Dribble and Spitz are much more manageable than Kat and Ana. The biggest difference is that they aren’t constantly bouncing up and down; instead, they fly wherever the player chooses. Players are still limited to fire their guns in only one direction, however. Dribble can only shoot his weapon to the right, and Spitz to the left. This means that some microgames are more difficult than others, as players might start at a disadvantage immediately if their objective is in the opposite direction as their character’s path of firepower. Still, these jumpsuited animals are undeniably awesome.

Lulu

Lulu is a great blend of versatility and just plain fun. She can float and fly, giving her free range to travel anywhere on any stage. Her ground pound attack is slightly limited as it forces her straight back down to the ground, but her quick movement and limitless flight is extremely helpful for clearing most microgames. WarioWare Inc. may be violating some child labor laws by keeping Lulu around, but she’s a great addition to any crew.

Orbulon

It’s a tale as old as time: an alien from a distant planet comes to Earth to observe and possibly to conquer, but they soon become infatuated with Earthling culture and decide to live here instead. Such is the case with Orbulon, a delightfully weird little alien who flies around in a miniature spaceship. In Get It Together!, Orbulon is another flying character who can zip anywhere with ease. He uses his ship’s tractor beam to attack, sucking up anything below his ship. His attack may only be effective from the top down, but his speed more than makes up for it.

18-Volt

Unlike every other playable character in WarioWare: Get It Together!, 18-Volt cannot move on his own volition. This character plants his butt on the ground and won’t get off of it, preferring to stay seated with his legs crossed. He throws unlimited discs as fast as the player can press a button. 18-Volt can move by hitting a ring with a disc and latching on to it, but for the most part, he doesn’t need to. Microgames where the player has to shoot specific targets or demolish something quickly are trivialized by the power of 18-Volt. While some games are made a little tougher by his restricted movement, his ability to turn microgames into a shooting gallery is undeniably fun.

Red

Red the demon is actually a servant of Ashley, another playable character in Get It Together!. This little devil controls kind of like reverse Orbulon. Red can flap his wings to move anywhere quickly and efficiently. But instead of tractoring targets straight up, Red drops explosive bombs straight down. The bombs even have a decent-sized impact area, so Red has potential to deal with multiple obstacles very quickly. He’s a great choice for most microgames, and his unlockable gallery art is adorably cute. Who says all devils have to be evil?

Mike

Being able to fly is a gigantic advantage for most crew members. Because of this, Mike is automatically more useful than many. While he may play similarly to both Orbulon and Red, Mike differs slightly. He attacks with flying musical notes that shoot straight up. It’s undeniably helpful, especially since it seems like many microgames require the player to deal with something towards the upper-middle of the screen. But Mike ranks more highly than other flying characters because of his personality. He’s a robot who just wants to sing, and with every attack, Mike lets out a plaintive “la” or other sound effect. It’s adorable and endearing, and helps Mike stand out amongst his peers.

Dr. Crygor

The fabulous Dr. Crygor is everything a mad scientist should be: brilliant, enigmatic, and dangerously close to brilliant breakthroughs that skirt the edge of ethics. Crygor has even transformed his own body, infusing it with cyborg parts. His character design jumps off the screen, even in a game chock-full of unique and interesting crew members. Crygor is also one of the most deceptively useful characters to control. While he doesn’t have any long-range attacks, his ability to swim through the air with ease and speed make him suitable for practically any microgame. He is fairly easy to control, and he ability to swim into and even through most obstacles means that any microgame is manageable with Dr. Crygor at the helm.

Young Cricket

Young Cricket is probably the most straightforward character in the game. He doesn’t have a gimmick or a trick; he doesn’t teleport or shoot beams or explode or anything weird. Cricket simply jumps. He’s one of the first characters unlocked in Get It Together! and is just about perfect for any challenge he encounters. Whether it’s high or low, Cricket can get there, thanks to his tremendous jumping power. His simplicity is what makes him a great choice for any crew. Newbies and veterans alike know exactly what they’re in for with Young Cricket. He proves that no fancy gimmicks are needed for success.

Master Mantis

But of course, Young Cricket wouldn’t be where he is without the teachings of the legendary Master Mantis. A mentor to Cricket, Mantis is another easy-to-control character. He can jump just as high as Cricket, but there is one additional wrinkle that gives Mantis an edge. If Mantis jumps high enough, he’ll flip upside-down to walk on the ceiling. This seemingly simple feature opens up microgames to be completed in new ways, and proves helpful in a handful of specific situations. For players new to the WarioWare brand of madness or even 2D platforming in general, Master Mantis offers an easy way to experiment with a different moveset. And of course, his facial hair is utterly on-point.

Jimmy

But Mantis isn’t the only character rocking a tremendous mustache. Disco-loving Jimmy, a WarioWare stalwart, returns with incredible fashion and a fun way to traverse stages. Jimmy blasts in any direction the player chooses, turning him into a meteor of destruction with complete freedom of movement. His character design is incredible, with his iconic blue afro and musical-note-shaped mustache. Jimmy is versatile and fun, and simple to pick up and play.

5-Volt

Though it may seem like this list is biased against the characters that are slightly more complicated to control, 5-Volt is a crew member that very nearly has it all. Though she can’t move on her own, she projects a spirit version of herself and can teleport her physical body to that projection with the press of a button. When she teleports, she emits a blast of energy that damages everything around her in a surprisingly large radius. She requires a little finesse to use effectively, but 5-Volt’s ability to pass through any obstacle with ease and destroy practically anything she encounters makes her a strong choice for any crew. 5-Volt has transitioned from being a stage hazard in other WarioWare games to a playable character, and that alone makes her worthy of praise. Weirdly, she shares no gameplay traits with her kid, 5-Volt, but she’s still very clearly his mother. Just look at the hair!

Wario

Wario being this high up on the list for his latest game might seem suspect, but don’t assume any foul play is involved. In WarioWare: Get It Together! he is simply useful in every single microgame. He’s got a jetpack this time around, meaning that he can navigate any game with ease, but he still has his classic shoulder charge technique from the original Wario Land series. Wario can fly into high targets and smash into nearby ones, and his only real flaw is that his attack isn’t multidirectional. He can only shoulder slam to the left or right, but his freedom of movement more than makes up for this slight limitation. He’s Wario, he’s got to be towards the top of this list. This garlic-loving jerk is the microgame pioneer we all know and love.

Ashley

Ashley is the complete package in WarioWare: Get It Together!. She can fly on a broomstick in any direction, making navigating obstacles a breeze. Thanks to her magic wand, she can shoot blasts of magical energy everywhere without any kind of slowdown. She doesn’t have to pause and shoot, and she doesn’t need to worry about getting stuck in a corner. Plus, she’s got the best character design and a great theme song to boot. Perhaps the only character who is both A great match for any microgame, Ashley just might put Wario himself out of a job as the head of WarioWare Inc.