As far as WarioWare games go, this one is the most complete package. Gold has the most microgames with the greatest variety, and of the WarioWare games that have used motion controls, this one functions the smoothest. While the mechanics are solid, sometimes the presentation brings down the experience.

Microgames in Gold are mostly remixes of previous entries' microgames, split between using button controls, the 3DS's gyro sensor, or touch screen controls. There are modes that let you play the collection of a single control type, or an insane mode that randomly switches between the three types. Such variety makes it easy to keep poking around to find something to do, without even mentioning the multitude of unlockable minigames and curios the series is known for. (I do however hate the new unlocking system, which artificially slows progress by introducing coins to take a spin at the prize machine instead of awarding a spin for clearing a boss mini game outright. Pointless and mean in a game with hundreds of prizes to claim.)

As for how the microgames have been updated, the results are mixed. Some microgames have had their method of input changed, and others have gotten graphical or art style refreshes. Uniformly, the controls are snappy and the gameplay changes are intuitive. However, with all the updated art, there is some loss in legibility. Borders around the active areas of the microgames are inconsistent in shape, and in some cases, the new art styles lose the high contrast between the controllable element and the background. In a series where what the player controls is often abstracted or environmental in nature, with only seconds to tell them apart, these oversights greatly impact a first play-through.

Although there are over 300 microgames, being split roughly evenly between the three control types makes the game feel both larger and smaller than that count suggests. Other entries have had closer to 200 games, but confined to a single control style. So depending on what you like about the series, you either have 1.5x as many games, or .5x as many games as you would expect. At least it learned the correct lesson that microgames controlled by the 3DS microphone, do in fact, unilaterally, suck, and has like 5 of them. Still 5 too many.

To WarioWare Gold's credit, it is the most fun I've had with motion controls in the series. The 3DS hardware is finally sensitive enough to allow purposeful variety in how microgames control without the inconsistency of Twisted!'s customized GBA cartridge or the base Wii Remote in Smooth Moves. (And those awful transitions to change hand positions or recalibrate the Wii Remote, absolutely killed the pacing of that game.) Motion controls are often a gimmick, but in a collection of gimmicky game ideas like this, its great fun.

In my rating system, 2 stars represents an average, C rank game, and at 2.5 stars I give WarioWare Gold a C+. There's definitely an increase in budget here that makes the game feel robust, but some of that budget went to fully voiced cutscenes, which are absolutely painful. WarioWare stories are always hot nonsense, and hearing bored English voice-overs cover flash-style animations make the product feel cheap in a way it doesn't deserve. The music is also pretty lame, opting for more "humor"-focused sound-effect laden soundscapes rather than engaging melodies. I feel like with a better-focused art direction that paid more attention to the user experience, this could have been something really special.