Wow, I didn't think that would be such an unpopular opinion Obviously it's just my personal experience with it. I had the Wii for a few years and it was usually nothing more than a fun diversion. I owned Super Mario Galaxy and Super Paper Mario, but I never got into either of those. I had no interest in Metroid or Zelda on the console due to the gimmicky controls. The only game my wife and I had more than a passing interest in was Boom Blox, which was fun to play together. But after that, it sat unused and taking up space for over 2 years before I finally sold it and all the games to a co-worker. It's the only console I've ever sold off due to lack of interest. Honestly, the only reason I regret selling it now is because I could have used it to play GC games on my HDTV. Clearly I just didn't have the right games for it
I think most of the big-hitters like Mario Kart and Smash Bros (and Zelda, and Kirby, and Donkey Kong Country...) were must-haves, and among the best entries in their respective series. But the console also had a ton of good-but-overlooked titles, and a few really good titles for core gamers (which let's face it, were a niche on the Wii). No More Heroes, Madworld, Sonic Colors (which was the first good Sonic game in ages at that point), Punch-Out, Xenoblade... That's even more true if you include WiiWare games, which included excellent new entries in the Contra, Castlevania, Gradius, MegaMan, and Blaster Master series (as well as some OKish ones in the Sonic, BomberMan, and Adventure Island series ) The motion controls weren't always gimmicky either, especially when they were optional or made sense. Using the remote to substitute for a light gun in the House of the Dead games, etc. made it a lot more accessible than versions that require thumb sticks or a light gun and CRT. The controls in Punch-Out make sense, work well, and can be replaced with NES-style controls if you prefer. Whatever your feelings about Other M (I think the good outweighs the bad, personally) the Metroid Prime Trilogy massively benefits from the new controls. It's not perfect, but it's far less clunky than the Gamecube control scheme and actually allows aiming and walking at the same time. If you've played a fair amount of MP 1 and 2, you'll feel like you've suddenly got super powers.
Mario Galaxy alone makes the system worth it. One of the best games of that decade, let alone system or console gen.
I ordered a 20 inch PVM-20n6u CRT for my consoles that support RGB output. Should get here Friday, but I won't have the proper cables for it until awhile after. Wish me luck!
Using my new component cables, I started playing through Dragon Quest VIII, which I hadn't played since I beat it years ago. I was quickly reminded why it was such a wonderful experience and why I remembered so much about it despite the fact I only played through it once. I love the presentation and the characters, even though I'm not normally a big fan of Toriyama's work (I can't stand Dragonball). The orchestral score is impeccable, and it's just such a joy to play. It really gives the player a feeling of exploring a huge world. And what might be the best part is the enemy animations, giving them tons of personality. It's really neat seeing the iconic enemy sprites from Dragon Quest I animated in 3D. I had a tense moment last night after beating the first boss (Geyzer). I ended the battle with low HP and only one healing item left. The XP from the boss battle earned me the Evac spell...but I couldn't use it because I was down to 1 MP . So I had to get back out of the cave without dying or I'd have to fight the boss again. I made it by cowardly fleeing every battle until I got out
I stopped playing Dragon Quest VIII years ago, but I often think of it and that I would actually like to continue and know the rest of the story. Such a beautiful game.
The Wii ended up being one of my favourite systems to collect for. It has a fair number of lesser known or less popular games that are actually a lot of fun (for me anyways) to play. Besides the big first party stuff everybody always mentions these are a few that I was pleasantly surprised by: -Endless Ocean,Endless Ocean 2 -Fishing Resort -Klonoa -Lost in Shadow -Muramasa -The Last Story -Zack & Wiki -anything House of the Dead
*SNIFF* The outpouring of Wii love has made my gaming heart grow 3 sizes... Maybe once I get this first model Wii (which I'm planning to this weekend) I can get a few games for it again. Thanks for the recommendations, folks. I totally forgot I never tried Punch Out on it, which I had planned to but never got around to it. Back to DQVIII... The boomerang is the shit. That is all.
Sorry to hear that about the crt. I've always been a bit wary of getting any of those shipped so I stuck with something local and generic. The one you attempted to get seems like a really nice one too
Yeah, it is--or it would be if it worked, anyway. I opted for eBay's Square Trade warranty, so hopefully I can get it replaced or refunded if I have to... but I have a feeling they won't pay the cost of shipping. I'm going to take it to a local TV and monitor repair shop first to see how much it will cost to just fix this one. If it's reasonable, that might be faster and more painless.
OK, so I traded in my mother-in-law's late-model Wii for the early model. I figured I would get more value from a smaller, more specialized game store, so I drove a little farther to Disc Replay instead of the Gamestop in town. Turned out to be a good choice; I only had to pay about $15 difference between the trade-in and the Wii I got, and I bought component cables while I was there. When I got a small chance at home, I quickly hooked it up and threw in Metroid Prime... Totally worth it. Looks 1000x better than the composite cables from my GC, which were blurry as hell on my HDTV. Now I'm excited about again playing through MP, MP2, MGS Twin Snakes, Wind Waker...and I can start getting some Wii games again. I was planning to play some last night, but two things got in the way; namely Triggerhappy and Getaway, which I found at Walmart. Hey, a nerd's gotta have his priorities
I got some "good" news from the repair shop. The cost to repair my PVM with a brand new motherboard will be slightly less than it would cost to ship it off for a "warranty" replacement. Glad that's working out for ya!
Almost 2 weeks was the 30th anniversary of Konami's Contra (arcade). I miss that game and Super Contra. It's sad the way Konami just let the Contra series fall by the wayside a couple years after Contra 3. The first three Contras, especially the first 2 put Konami on the map.
Yeah. The series wasn't abandoned so much as it was allowed to turn into a steady stream of mediocrity from the PS1 era to 2011. At least Contra 4 and ReBirth were good though.
Yup, Contra was probably the biggest factor in Konami's rise to fame, but their overall game quality was superb. Their NES game lineup at the time has become legendary: Contra, Super C, Stinger, Jackal, Rush'n Attack, Life Force, Gradius, Castlevania 1-3...all in those iconic grey border boxes. Hell, they had so many quality releases they had to conjure up a subsidiary just to get around the Big N's third party rules so they could get them all out (Metal Gear, TMNT, and Skate or Die were all Ultra Games releases). It's a shame they've let almost all these great franchises fall into oblivion. Hey Konami, I'm still waiting for my Jackal sequel...
Somebody needs to just buy up all of Capcom and Konami's neglected brands and license them to IntiCreates, Platinum, Wayforward, and Kojima Productions.
