Forgot password?  |  Register  |    
User Name:     Password:    
Blog - General Entry   

Machine Memories: Wii


On 02/25/2023 at 08:37 AM by KnightDriver

See More From This User »

After about a year of shortages, I was finally able to get a Wii from Dell Computers in the Spring of 2008. I got it mainly for Virtual Console. I thought it was so cool to be able to buy games from their previous systems online, some of which were hard to get in the wild. 

Wii

The system was a sensation with its novel motion controls and unique controller arrangement. I could never really get used to the controls in the games I wanted to play, so I got the Classic controller. But, there were some game sessions where friends of mine, who didn’t play many games, came over to play Wii Sports with my regular gaming buddy. That was kind of fun, but just a novelty. The games I played were largely standard types and didn’t have motion features in them.  

There are so many games, but these were the series I got into for the first time on Wii.  

The Conduit 1 and 2 were rare exclusive FPSes for Wii that used the wiimote and nun chucks. I enjoyed it but never could get used to that controller situation.  

Epic Mickey 1-2 were unique, and dark, takes on Disney’s character. You had to paint color back into the world. I love the presentation of this game somuch, I wanted a custom Epic Mickey Wii console to go with it.  

Endless Ocean 1-2 were scuba diving sims. You took pictures, did science and hunted for treasure. I loved it. You don’t need to fight something to have fun in a game.  

Kirby’s Dream Collection, Epic Yarn, and Return to Dreamland got me into the Kirby universe. I love the character design of the series and the creativity of a game like Epic Yarn is astonishing to me. All hail Kirby! 

Rayman Origins keyed me into the brilliance of Michel Ansel and his team. The presentation of this game is so stunning to me that even though I dislike platformers, I had to play this one. I love the humor imbedded into every moment of this game too.  

Sakura Wars, So Long My Love introduced me to a long running anime series in Japan and showed how well multiple genres of gaming can be combined in one package. I loved seeing a bit more from the developers who also worked on Valkyria Chronicles.  

Sin & Punishment: Star Successor was a shmup I saw running in a kiosk at Gamestop and couldn’t stop watching it. There’s just so much popping out of the screen in this game.  

Super Mario Galaxy 1-2 told me that all I needed to do to get into platformers was to put them in space. I love the setting for these games so much, I’ll put up with doing a jump forty times to get it right.  

I still have the Wii I got back then. I love its small size and Gamecube backward compatibility. I’d recommend it, and any Nintendo system really, to anyone new to gaming.  

TV Time! Commercial. In retrospec, the only thing that's funnier to watch than people playing VR games is people playing motion control games. 



 

Comments

The Last Ninja

02/25/2023 at 10:21 AM

The Wii is the only console I've ever got on day one. My oldest brother and I actually camped outside a Target to get the Wii (we were so hyped). I bought Zelda: Twilight Princess with it (it came with Wii Sports), and I beat the game in about a month. What a game! And you're right, there are so many great games here. For me, the ones I really loved were Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Punch-Out, Super Paper Mario, and the Kirby games. 

KnightDriver

02/27/2023 at 02:36 PM

I'm real happy I still have the system, because there is a lot I still haven't played on it. 

SanAndreas

02/25/2023 at 02:11 PM

I got a Wii as soon as I found one in stores, however, I got Twilight Princess on Gamecube. It was a fun system. My stepkids and I enjoyed Wii Sports, and I got Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. The middle years of the Wii were kind of weak, loved Punch-Out though. It made a strong finish with the Op Rainfall games, but I wasn't very happy with Reggie. He had a tendency to tell people what they wanted rather than give people what they wanted. 

Cary Woodham

02/26/2023 at 07:37 PM

I got my Wii at launch.  We went to Wal-Mart at 6 pm before the midnight release and waited outside in a line.  We weren't the first to get there, but we were ahead enough that we knew we'd get one if we waited.  Luckily we got to wait in the garden section so we weren't out in the cold or anything.  My brother Jeff went with me and we spent the time playing PSP and watching movies on a portable DVD player.  But around 10 pm the manager came out and gave us tickets and told us to go home and come back at midnight to pick up our Wii.  So we really only had to wait in line for about 3 or 4 hours. Then after we got the Wii, Jeff and I went over to one of my friend's houses and played Wii Sports for another few hours.  Jeff was still pretty young so he thought it was cool to be able to stay up that late with the 'big guys.'  So I have a lot of good memories of that night.

The Wii was great, but it's not my favorite Nintendo console.  Like how the N64 was the catalyst for me getting a N64, the Wii was the catalyst for me getting a 360.  Just not enough games.  And the motion controls got pretty gimmicky pretty quickly.  Actually after the Wii, all of Nintendo's consoles have been kind of gimmicky.  

But there were still a lot of great and memorable games on the Wii.  Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are some of my favorite 3D Mario games.  Heck, I even liked Wii Music!  Lots of great Kirby games and the Virtual Console was pretty amazing.  I loved how it even had Turbo Grafix 16 games on it!  Hudson was really a major supporter of the Wii.  I miss them.  

KnightDriver

03/04/2023 at 09:48 AM

A friend of mine was really hot on Wii Music. I heard some terrible reviews, but I'm curious enough now to get it. 

I was thrilled to play Nectaris: Military Madness finally on Wii Virtual Console, since I never had a chance to get a TurboGrafix 16.

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/27/2023 at 11:44 AM

Ah, yes. The Wii. Nature's rubik's cube. 

Log in to your PixlBit account in the bar above or join the site to leave a comment.