The Nintendo Wii U is Great Thread

[JonCole]

Saw Jake tweeting about this and it's hilarious: https://twitter.com/Linkstagram

[syntheticgerbil]

This looks like a pretty big graphic upgrade, side-by-side:

 

 

Not to mention the Wii U controller pad and soundtrack upgrades look/sound pretty slick.

 

Wow, I don't think I really was impressed by the upgrade until this video. The other video I saw on Nintendo direct recently seemed a bit cheap to me, because they didn't really remodel much, however, that is also me speaking as a person who was spoiled from the Ocarina of Time remake. I guess I was kind of hoping Wind Waker would have some of the more organic shapes around the background have polys added in, but it seems in most cases it really doesn't need it.

 

Also it appears that I can hold more than three fucking pictures on my camera this time, so maybe collecting figurines can be fun for once instead of a fucking chore. However the new number said 12 max, so if that's not upgradeable I'm still going to be very annoyed. In my opinion, gathering pictures for the figurines is the only tedious part of Wind Waker. Most people have not even bothered to get 100% of them, so they probably have no idea what kind of work it entails when you can only have 3 pictures max and you have no way of knowing if you took a good photo until you get to the carver. Speaking of, I hope they can tell you if the pictures are good when you take them, like Beyond Good and Evil.

[Sno]

I think you guys are insane, that light bloom looks horrible.

[JonCole]

Cons: Light bloom

Pros: 1080p resolution, HD textures, particle effects, new skyboxes, better shadows, better water effects

[Twig]

I'm not a huge fan of the bloom, but it is way better overall. Also the bloom looks a lot better in motion than I thought it did in screenshots. I honestly think I might like it more if I just get used to it - my biggest problem with it is just that it looks weird, and that's likely because I'm used to the original lighting.

 

Banjo??!! *Homer-style dribble

 

B-K on XBLA was the barest minimum HD upgrade, but it still hit the spot for me. But I have regular day dreams where Nintendo buy B-K back from Microsoft for 50 quid, reassemble the old Rareware team, name it Bareware and let them make games next to a big poster of DK64 with a cross through it.

Haha. I liked DK64 a lot back when it came out! 

 

I'd kill for a BK rerelease back on a Nintendo platform. Or on PC. (Mostly I just want it on a platform I already own (or plan to own!).) I played the XBLA remake, too, and quite liked it. Those were good games.

[tegan]

Also it appears that I can hold more than three fucking pictures on my camera this time, so maybe collecting figurines can be fun for once instead of a fucking chore. However the new number said 12 max, so if that's not upgradeable I'm still going to be very annoyed. In my opinion, gathering pictures for the figurines is the only tedious part of Wind Waker. Most people have not even bothered to get 100% of them, so they probably have no idea what kind of work it entails when you can only have 3 pictures max and you have no way of knowing if you took a good photo until you get to the carver. Speaking of, I hope they can tell you if the pictures are good when you take them, like Beyond Good and Evil.

 

I really, really hope there's more than one yellow Wizzrobe.

[Roderick]

Yeah, the snapping pictures mechanic was pretty broken, hopefully remedied here.

 

I don't dislike the bloom. I never found it an ugly effect, though it can be misused.

[tegan]

So apparently the Wii U just got an update a few hours ago that lets you play Wii games off-TV on the gamepad, though you still need a Wiimote and nunchuk. Cool!

 

Also, Wii U and 3DS Nintendo Direct in 10 minutes.

[Empty]

I thought the 3D World trailer they showed in the direct looked amazing.

 

 

More 3D land but with tons of new gameplay ideas. Also while it's very fashionable right now to argue that Nintendo should go handheld exclusive, gosh the simple art style and vivid colour palette really pop in HD.

[Thrik]

Bit of a funny one, that video. In many cases it looks absolutely stunning, basically the HD version of Mario Galaxy's aesthetic I've been gagging for. But in some cases like at 0:41 it looks really shit, possibly as a result of this not-quite-either approach to whether it's a 2D or 3D game they're going for. Hopefully this is just a matter of polish being needed and the end result will be more consistently pretty. I've no doubt Nintendo will have come up with some insane gameplay fun as a result of this gameplay concept.

 

Watching that though, I realised that what I want even more is a sweet-ass Mario Kart. The gameplay shown at E3 looked like it was going for a more realistic aesthetic compared to this, but I'd like to see more of the bubbly colourfulness of 3D World applied to that game too — at least during the Mario & pals stages.

[BigJKO]

That 3D World is exactly what finally flicked that "Wii U want" switch in my brain. I think 3D Land had a really strong art direction, and it seems to have mostly carried on over to this one only with more hints towards Super Mario World and in glorious HD with all that great shader stuff.

 

Yep. Wii U. I want it.

[Twig]

Holy shit that trailer looks fucking fantastic!

 

Also Bowser's car. YES.

[Roderick]

Even though it's not a 'proper' 3D Mario, it looks a lot more fun than the earlier Wii U game (with the increasingly ludicrous title). The shadow play especially, and the fun stuff with piranha plants, looked good.

[RubixsQube]

Jeez, I can't believe that Super Mario 3D World and Zelda: Link Between Worlds are coming out on the same day. 3D World looks so much fun. While I think that Nintendo is overly conservative, I think they're really starting to understand that they can be a lot more playful with their IP. That video cram packed so many unique things, and I was already sold on the game based on my love for 3D Land. My frothing demand for this game increases (ign.com)! 

[tegan]

My frothing demand for this game increases (ign.com)! 

 

You know, I got to hear from the guy who originally made that quote, and he was actually trying to satirize ridiculous video game review pull quotes.

[Sno]

Wow, i am super enthused by that Super Mario 3D World trailer, that looks fantastic.

[pabosher]

I bought a Zelda Wii U bundle yesterday. Kinda very excited about it arriving now. What do you thumbs recommend?

[tegan]

Pikmin 3!

 

Is Nintendo Land still included with the Zelda bundle? Because multiplayer Metroid Blast is really, really fun.

[pabosher]

This is what I don't know - but I don't think it is. I think I'll buy it anyway - I'm at university and I feel multiplayer games would go down well!

[Squid Division]

I think I'll be picking up the Wind Waker bundle in the next couple weeks, as I've always wanted to play it, but never got around to it. ZombiU, Monster Hunter, and Mario 3D World are the other contributing factors.

 

Nintendo has been doing really well lately with getting tons of games announced and released relatively quickly. After Smash Bros. I don't think they have anything announced though, so hopefully they can keep it up.

[lobotomy42]

I second Pikmin 3 as being by far the best game on the system.

 

New Super Mario Bros U is probably the best of the New Super Mario Bros, although I can understand someone being sick of that particular Mario iteration by now.

 

Nintendoland isn't bad either, but I probably wouldn't pay more than $20 for it.

 

If you have parties with friends who are comfortable touching each other in public (in non-gross ways) then Spin the Bottle: Bumpie's Party is a wonderfully weird party game.  It makes use of the tablets and up to four Wiimotes, but will work with fewer as well.  And it's what, $10?

[pabosher]

My Wii U Gamepad seems to have spontaneously stopped working I'm sending it back and hopefully having it replaced/fixed by the end of this coming week. Sigh

[Squid Division]

I second Pikmin 3 as being by far the best game on the system.

 

As someone who's never played a Pikmin game, I'd kind of passed this one off as the worst one to try and jump into. I've heard stuff about the campaign structure being weird and the individual missions not being near as good. Is all of that unfounded? I don't even remember where I'd heard it, and obviously I'd like it not to be the case so I'd check it out.

[lobotomy42]

As someone who's never played a Pikmin game, I'd kind of passed this one off as the worst one to try and jump into. I've heard stuff about the campaign structure being weird and the individual missions not being near as good. Is all of that unfounded? I don't even remember where I'd heard it, and obviously I'd like it not to be the case so I'd check it out.

 

It's been a long time since I've played the single player campaign in the original games, but nonetheless I feel comfortable saying that the single-player campaign in Pikmin 3 is essentially similar to 1 and 2.  It's a bit shorter and the final level is a bit odd, it's true, but I wouldn't say that the campaign structure is much different.  It's true that the bonus missions are, by their very nature, less fun, but the campaign is real centerpiece and it's worth playing for its own sake.

[Yasawas]

I thought The Wonderful 101 would be my next purchase but you've all got me wanting Pikmin now.

 

I bought one of these last week too after a charitable UK retailer reduced the premium Zelda pack to £199.99 for a day which is the sweet spot. I'd had the money saved for a PS4 but had been getting increasingly concerned by the total lack of anything interesting coming out on it any time soon, and the Wii U is cheaper with a few strong titles going for it now so couldn't help myself. I've seen a few folk do the same recently which is encouraging as it's a lovely bit of hardware with some great ideas and I don't like to see Nintendo struggle. Zelda is superb and Super Mario U is far more enjoyable than I'd expected, but Monster Hunter lets the side down framerate wise which is a pity although I've only transferred my 3DS save over and pissed about for five minutes so maybe it improves.

 

The Nintendo platforms lineup for the next month is pretty special - November has Layton, Zelda and 3D World, probably the most fun-looking game I've seen all year, and I am absurdly enthused for this despite being a fully-grown adult man.