Pirates (minigame)
- “Ahoy! Captain Wario's the name. Block arrows-move yer booty! My rhythm-based action battle game will get ye shakin' yer timbers!”
- —Game menu description
Pirates is a minigame hosted by Captain Wario in Game & Wario. It is a single player game that is played with the 
horizontally.
Story
Wario decides to go outside of his house on his motorcycle. He eventually sees a pirate costume and decides to become a pirate himself.
Wario yawning boredly
Wario deciding to ride his Wario Bike to go out
Wario riding his Wario Bike around Diamond City
Wario noticing a pirate costume
Wario becoming Captain Wario
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Gameplay
Pirate is a rhythm game. The game consists of Captain Wario giving commands to pirates on his ship and other ships to attack the player. These commands vary between him saying "Center!", "Over!", "Left!" or "Right!", corresponding to the four ships' positions. The player must move the in these directions as if they are using a shield to block the attacks. Occasionally, Captain Wario might shout out "Token!" when revisiting a stage that had been completed with a Perfect rank. Blocking the shot rewards a 
Cluck-A-Pop coin.
After the chosen song itself has concluded, a dance sequence follows prior to the conclusion of the overall stage. The player, who is assisted in part by Adventure King (named Admiral Venture in the European English version), must mimic the moves shown on screen by a humanoid Captain Wario to build up power to charge up an energy ball. Once enough energy has been built up, the player must press the 
and 
buttons simultaneously with the rhythm to shoot the energy ball at Captain Wario and his crew.
If the player manages to achieve an "A" rating in all four categories, they will score a "Perfect" which rewards a Cluck-A-Pop coin.
This game is what became of the Wii U demo, Shield Pose.
Stages
Sparkly Ocean
The first stage. It is quite simple, and also features the game's tutorial.
Description: War har har! Captain Wario here! Let's see if you can handle my rhythmic attacks!
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ギラギラ オーシャン[?] Giragira Ōshan |
Sparkling Ocean |
Chilly Sea
The second stage. This stage plays in 6/8 time, rather than 4/4 like the other stages.
Description: Brr! My timbers are shivering! I'd better speed up the music to heat things up!
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ハイハイ フローズン[?] Haihai Furōzun |
Cheerful Frozen |
Lively Village
The third stage. Introduces vertical arrow shoots, requiring the player to first turn the GamePad vertically to block them.
Description: Yar har! Bet you didn't think my ship could fly! I've got a new move too: vertical arrow attack stacks! You'd better get a handle on turning your shield sideways if you're gonna stand a chance!
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ブリブリ ビレッジ[?] Buriburi Birejji |
Tense Village |
Bubbly Volcano
The fourth stage. Signals are now longer than before, so the player has to wait a bit longer to aim the GamePad at the TV. The dance segment has players making various faces.
Description: Yo ho! This music is laid back, but my attacks will be anything but! I've got some really complex commands for my henchman. There's no way you'll remember them all!
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ポワポワ ボルケーノ[?] Powapowa Borukēno |
Gentle Volcano |
Twinkly Planet
The fifth and final stage. Features all of the mechanics mentioned from before. The final part of the dance segment allows players to do what they want.
Description: Har wat?! I have no idea how we got to space, but I'm gonna go all out of this world! It'll take everything you've got to keep up!
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ピカピカ プラネット[?] Pikapika Puranetto |
Twinkly Planet |
Controls
- Move — Block arrows
- Face down — Remove caught arrows from the shield / Zoom in on Wario
- + — Launch energy ball at the end of the level
- Rotate — Vertical blocking (Lively Village onwards)
Gallery
Captain Wario giving out a command during the minigame
Screenshot of the dance sequence in stage one
Screenshot of a different pose during a dance sequence
The design of the Hint Cards
Media
 Dancin' Pirates - Background song during Twinkly Planet; later appeared in WarioWare Gold as a souvenir record | File info 0:30 |
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| French (NOE) | Pirates[?] | - | |
| German | Pirates[?] | - | |
| Spanish (NOE) | Pirates[?] | - |
Trivia
- In Tomodachi Life, Miis can occasionally be heard playing this game if they have a Wii U.
- Coincidentally, a voice from the combined voice engine for Tomodachi Life and Game & Wario can be heard on the results screen.
- In the opening cutscene, a reporter and wrestler from Rhythm Heaven Fever can be seen in the background.
