Saturday, 10 September 2016

My Collection Part 1: Wii / Wii U



I've been planning several articles over the past three months of absence, each of which has failed to light my fire. I became a father in June, which has naturally altered my priorities!

Thankfully little mister has progressed to the point he's sleeping a lot longer at night and I'm finding the energy to get writing again. Lucky you, right? ;)

So tonight I'm writing about my Wii collection. I've had my Wii since around launch - after the first wave sold out I waited a few months for new stock and picked one up. My Wii U is about three months old.

Some years ago I sold my entire Wii game collection as I'd lost love for it and needed some cash. I kept my limited edition Skyward Sword and the console but sold the rest.

Without boring you further, here are some highlights of my Wii and Wii U games collection.



Zeldas - collectively three of the greatest games ever made. Wind Waker in HD is one of the most beautiful games of this current generation. It retains the charm of the GameCube version, cleaning it up for modern televisions. Skyward Sword joins it in my list of top Zelda games, notable for being the first game to bring decent motion control to the Wii. Sure, it can at times force that point, but the story is interesting and the gameplay as fun as ever. Twilight Princess originally launched as a GameCube/Wii title. I have the former and now the HD Wii U version. I can take it or leave it personally, I've never agreed that it is such a great game, but I wanted it for my collection.




Marios - What an assortment! There's not a bad game here. New Super Mario Bros U would be the weakest. The series has gone on a bit long now, with titles on DS, 3DS, Wii and Wii U. The map screen is confused and the levels and power ups uninspired. The expansion, New Super Luigi U, changes things up in a very "Lost Levels" way, with Luigi's floaty physics and a tighter time limit. It adds a lot of value to the game, and is perhaps its strongest element. The previous game on Wii though stands as one of the best on that console with tight levels and challenging gameplay. As for the 3D games, we have three fantastic treats here. Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel are amongst the best games EVER and showcase Nintendo at their most inventive. Nintendo of course wrote the rule book on 3D platform controls, and here it shows! The orchestral score sets the mood perfectly and the secondary challenges within levels will cost you a few extra lives. Super Mario 3D World continues the trend for unadulterated fun, with fantastic music and original design with the cat power up surprising with its usefulness. Super Paper Mario brings the series to Wii and makes natural use of the controls. Hold the remote sideways to control Paper Mario and his friends, point at the screen to learn about items and enemies, and press A to flip the game into 3D - with Mario looking along the level, exposing secrets and items along the way. It's not the best Paper Mario game out there, but is an essential part of any collection. Finally we have Super Mario Maker. There was a lot of noise around this game at release. Sadly I haven't been sucked in. The idea of user made levels and an online library is great on the surface - however it ignores that most users are... useless at game design. The art book that came with it is, however, very nice.



Bayonetta 2 - I admit I have yet to start this game. I want to complete the first on Xbox 360 before I move on to this. It was however one of the games that finally encouraged me to buy the Wii U. If it is as good as the first, I'm going to enjoy it.











Captain Toad Treasure Tracker - originally a minigame in Super Mario 3D World, this has been expanded into a fantastic puzzle game. You direct Toad around the levels, navigating obstacles and enemies to collect the three stars and reach the end. Lots of fun, full of Nintendo charm.












House of the Deads - three fantastic lightgun games. Each proves the Wii's proficiency at the genre, providing an arcade perfect experience for games 2 and 3 in the series. Overkill takes the core gameplay and puts it in a Robert Rodriguez film, full of corny one liners and cheesy action sequences. Pure genius.










Metroid Other M - not the best received of the series. I actually quite like it and it's incentive use of the Wii remote. It is a bit troublesome to aim at the screen for missiles, but besides this hiccup the controls are solid, using the wiimote in its sideways orientation. It features your standard Metroid adventuring, opening up powers and weapons as you go. The method of this is somewhat asinine but overall the game is fun.






Resident Evil 4 - I've saved perhaps the most interesting for last. As a game, I'm not as in love with Resident Evil 4 as many claim to be. Sure, it revitalised the genre and its series, but I always preferred the purity of the first two games (Nemesis is a weak point, apart from its Titular antagonist). The reason I mention it in this list is the control scheme. Wii is most known of course for its controller options, and here Capcom have hit gold. Utilising the nunchuck to control your way through the world, and the wiimote as a gun. Aiming at the screen is as natural as it gets, making for improved accuracy and realism. It works perfectly, and as such I name this the ultimate version of this game.



There are other games in my collection, as you'll see in the picture at the start, but these are the ones I felt most inclined to mention. You may have something to say about others - Sin and Punishment is respected in gaming circles, Zombi U was a well-received early Wii U game, and Shovel Knight undoubtedly has some fans, however I simply don't have much to say about them.

So what highlights are there in your collection? What is it about them that you love? What games are missing from my Wii shelf that you feel I should have, and why should I spend my money?

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