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Fierce_LiNk

Hidden Gems

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I thought it would be a nice idea to get people chatting about Wii games that they've enjoyed, but which also may not have received the full recognition which they really deserve. It might help others in their choice to purchase these games, too.

 

Try not to repeat the choices made by others, but sometimes it's unavoidable. :) Heh.

 

So, my choice: de Blob

 

I picked this up for Ine/Eenuh for her birthday, and it's the best 30 euros (or however much it cost) that I've ever spent. Such a simple concept and idea, but a brilliant one, too.

 

de-blob-1.jpg

 

The idea of controlling a blob and "colouring the world" which has been robbed of its splendor is the basis for this game. But, the real fun comes with the little tasks that you need to do, such as colouring certain walls certain colours, and rescuing the graydians, who are stuck as prisoners as part of this colourless world.

 

There are so many neat touches to this game, particularly where the soundtrack is concerned. Each level will start out quietly, and the more you paint, the more colourful the world and the soundtrack becomes. Each painted wall or object adds something to the soundtrack, and the more you colour, the busier the world feels. It's truely a sensational feeling.

 

de-blob-20080110040112436.jpg

 

There are multiplayer modes, which are pretty fun to play, so both you and friends can join in on the fun. Me and Ine had a little bout to see who could colour a bigger possession of the world. Unfortunately, she won, but only because it was my first try at the game, haha.

 

Overall, I'd go far as to say that this is a must-buy. You buy the Wii for these sorts of games, it's creative, artistic and just play ol' fun. Fun on a disc. :)

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Good idea Flink (surely this thread can't degenerate into something that makes us all look bad:heh:)

 

Just been doing a quick look around it's only £17.96 on Amazon and in stock too.

 

 

Unfortunately, my small collection is built pretty much on mainstream titles - the most obscure being Fire Emblem and No More Heroes, so it doesn't say much.

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Hehe, I like you more and more these days. ;)

 

Well, Fire Emblem is somewhat of a niche title, and not many people seem to have it, or even know it exists.

 

So, sell it to us, baby.

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Hehe, I like you more and more these days. ;)

 

Well, Fire Emblem is somewhat of a niche title, and not many people seem to have it, or even know it exists.

 

So, sell it to us, baby.

 

You're on, just give me a minute - don't steal my thunder folks.

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My personal hidden gem: Geometry Wars Galaxies Wii

 

 

It's a really simple, yet addictive game and the music is pretty good as well.

 

I'd seriously consider checking it out if I were you, and it's really cheap.

Edited by The Lillster

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That's actually a nice review, and it isn't something that I own yet. Admittedly, it's something that I think I have overlooked.

 

Looks pretty sweet actually, and something that I know I'd get hooked on. Thanks for that. :)

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Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

 

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The 10th entry in the franchise, the 4th to make it outside of Japan, the 2nd to star Ike (now more famous for being in Smash Bros of course) and the 1st (but hopefully not last) to grace the Wii.

 

Turn Based Strategy Role Playing game doesn't sound like the easiest of titles to get to grips with, but don't let that put you off. It features graphics that were barely pushing average for the last generation of consoles, but don't let that put you off either. And it may be a sequel to Path of Radiance for the GameCube, which not many people ever got round to playing, but that doesn't matter at all (everything you need to know gets explained and there is a handy reference chart in game as well).

 

What you've got is an interesting tale spanned across more than 40 levels (some quite lengthy) divided into multiple sections to help break the story up so your focus remains on the people you are in control of. Playing from the viewpoints of the numerous factions that are involved in the turmoil that engulfs the entire content really help you to sympathize with the various rulers as they try to do the best for their nation.

 

And with the entire cast of it's predecessor returning, you've got more units than ever at your disposal with which to smite your enemy. But it's not until you reach the latter parts of the game that you realize who your enemy truly is.

 

So the story is a cut above your usual fair, but then you'd expect that from a role player.

 

What sets it apart is the numerous intricacies that make the strategy elements crucial to survival and not something that can be cast aside by just throwing your strongest unit into the mix and have him/her desimate the opposition. The game is tough on normal (especially early on) but there is an easy setting for beginners. There is also a very helpful guide that explains all you need to know about the rules of engagement, which can be accessed at any time.

 

An option to save your battle at any point and reload the file indefinitely should you make a mistake and not wish to restart the entire chapter (when a character dies, they are gone for good and you have to make the choice of whether you wish to carry on with them or not). Thanks to the save function, and the turn based nature, you have nothing to rush you when devising and implemented you plan of attack - though the goals for each level isn't always simply to eliminate all of opposing force.

 

The musical score is excellent thanks to so many pieces that help to heighten the sense of tension when on the battlefield, and set the mood when off it, in just the right way.

 

As with most games of this type, the value attributed to the gameplay is down to the player themselves. If you chose to ignore the rules you may get so far, but you won't enjoy it as much. Take the time to invest a little effort, and you'll find it a much more rewarding experience.

 

There is no multiplayer to be be found to help add replayability, but there are incentives for replaying the main game in terms of additional characters and story elements. The game it self is quite long though anyway, so whilst I'm sure it maintain your interest for it's entirety, you probably won't feel compelled to start again as soon as the credits have finished rolling. But I also suspect you will feel that you got more than your moneys worth in terms of hours of entertainment.

 

If you only pick up one TBSRPG game for your Wii (it's a pretty narrow field to be fair), make sure it's this one.

 

Now please enjoy the beautiful opening cut scene (of which there are a few scattered throughout the game) that plays upon booting the title up to get a feel for what Fire Emblem is all about.

 

Edited by Captain Falcon

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I just picked up Blast Works today for $19.99. Although, I didn't play it very long. What I played of it was quite good. And the editor in it is pretty awesome. I love the concept of it.

 

Another game that very few people have heard of that was alright, but a little linear, is Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire.

 

NIGHTS is pretty good too, for those who haven't played it yet.

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Dewy's Adventure

 

Dewy%27s-Adventure-US.jpg

 

Made from the same team behind Elebits/Eledees, Dewy's Adventure casts you in the role of a heroic Raindrop that has to prurify the tainted land. Using the Wii Remote to tilt the landscape, you have to maneuver Dewy across 7 worlds of Forestry, Volcanic Environments, and other such places.

You can control the temeprature of the environment too; heightening it will turn Dewy into a thunderous Rain Cloud, and lowering it to freeze him solid and lay the smackdown on enemies.

Other features include a multiplayer mode for up to 4 players, and a fully fledged Create-a-level mode alongside it.

Get stuck on a boss? Dewy will send messages directly to your Wii Menu with hints, tips and tricks for fights.

Definitely one of the Wii's most under appreciated games, it's cheap and a real challenge too.

 

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Fantastic choice there Darkspine. Dewy's Adventure really is a little gem. Such a simple little title that looks, sounds and plays great (although now that it's been announced it could have done with Motionplus controllers to alleviate some small niggling problems). It does exemplify the term 'kiddy' but really its far from it as only the presentation is as such. It's dirt cheap in places like Gamestation (think it's about £10 or slightly less) and I really do recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Eledees/Elebits, although it's very different from that.

 

Likewise, I agree with Emasher on Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire and NiGHTs. Dragon Blade is a budget adventure/action title that for the size of budget it had looks pretty good, especially when you use the dragon powers. I'd have loved to have seen it with a bigger budget and being more fleshed out instead of set as stages but it's still good.

 

I don't know how well it was received but for the time I played it Heatseekerwas a nice little title. Forget that it was being developed alongside the PSP version by the same developer at the same time because the only parts of the game the remain similar to the PSP version were the environments and their very low textures and design. Apart from that, the planes you piloted look fantastic and the pointer controls worked really well for the most part. I'll post more about it later in the day. Too early at the moment to go on. It'll also give me time to think of some other gems.

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Kororinpa

 

box.jpg

 

A fantastic little game that is much like Marble Madness back on the NES.

 

You basically use the Wiimote to tilt the whole stage and guide your ball to the goal within the time limit. The game is pretty short but the replay value is great as there are par times to beat for trophies and crystals to collect on each stage. The game is pretty hard to find now and can be quite expensive but fear not the sequel is due out soon!

Edited by Hero-of-Time

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Battalion Wars 2

 

10.jpg

 

The original was one of the most underated titles on Gamecube and it looks like the trend has followed the series onto Wii. Anyone who played and loved the first game has no reason not to buy this. The single player is much more varied, and while the campaign is still on the short side, there's a hugely addictive online mode that's kept me occupied for well over 200 matches. Oh, and it has freaking dreadnoughts.

 

It'll be dirt cheap if you find it in stock anywhere, so I advise anyone to look out for it.

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Another one that jumps into the thread to give Dewys some support. Really was a fantastic game that didn't get the sales that it should have. It's not perfect and does have some issues because of the camera and perceived depth which can make some jumps harder than they should be , but nothing that detracts from the game. Nothing more to add to what has already been said.

 

I also loved Elebits and I remember spending literally hours on the thing trying to uncover all the secrets and improve my end ranking. Also has a few issues especially with slowdown in the later levels and it may have been nice if they added a little more weight to he physics , although it may not have worked so well in the context if the game , so perhaps not.

 

Shame it never sold so well as I would have loved a sequel on the Wii and not the DS version (which admittedly I know very little about).

 

Props to Ganepark32 for also mentioning Heatseeker. I loved that game and for an early Wii release the controls were spot on. I still have that knocking around and must play it again soon.

 

I would have added Opoona to this thread as I feel in love it from the get go , but the fact that I still haven't managed to find the time to complete it (I will one day) means it's probably not worthy of inclusion as yet.

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Guys, thank you ever so much for suggesting these games and for making the posts really interesting. I think the use of pictures and videos really helps others to see what the game is like. The information provided was also second to none, so nice one. :)

 

Keep it up, people. Also, Batallion Wars 2 can be found for stupidly cheap prices...I've seen it in GAME for £7.99. Actually, all of these games (bar Fire Emblem and possibly de Blob) can be found for incredibly cheap prices. Don't miss out, people. :)

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Just thought I'd make a lit of what we have so far with some prices.

 

Prices are based on games sold as new though I'm sure some could be got for a lot cheaper secondhand (or perhaps in stores) - and I checked to make sure they are in stock. Thanks to gametracker.com for making this stuff easy to find - I can't vouch for the quality of the stores however.

 

De Blob £17.96 from Amazon here

 

Geometry Wars £9.78 from Shopto here

 

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn £26.99 from powerplaydirect.com here

 

Blast Works has yet to be released over in Europe

 

Dragon Blade; Wrath of Fire £14.99 New from Amazon marketplace here

(though hesitent to list market place prices, this is bar far the cheapest that is in stock)

 

Nights: Journey of Dreams £9.91 from Asda here

 

Dewy's Adventure £7.49 from Softuk.com here

 

Heetseeker £27.97 from Gameseek.co.uk (it's a sellers market it seems) here

 

Kororinpa £34.24 from Amazon here

 

Battalion Wars £14.99 from HMV here

 

Eledees (Eebits) £11.99 from Softuk.com here

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I say that The Godfather on the Wii was a hidden gem. It did get some good reviews but I'm not sure if many people played it. Graphically, it was pretty good as character models looked great and the cars showed a good amount of detail and crash deformation. The city looked a bit drab though. Don't know why that was and it is slightly easy to get lost driving about. That said it's a pretty good sized area to play through and plenty to do. There's businesses to bomb or take over, plenty of variety in the missions and of course gang wars stuff. Controls were great as well. Glad they didn't bother to try and add too much unnecessary waggle for stupid things and the IR aiming for shooting works well although could have been slightly improved. Not sure how much it is now, nearly two years after release, but it's certainly worth a look in if you want to try out a sort of GTA clone on the Wii that's actually very good.

 

Yay! finally managed to get a youtube video to work on these forums. :D

 

Also, I'd mention Scarface. It's not as good as The Godfather but it's still good fun to play. The IR aiming isn't as tight as in the Godfather either.

Edited by Ganepark32

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Kororinpa

 

A fantastic little game that is much like Marble Madness back on the NES.

 

You basically use the Wiimote to tilt the whole stage and guide your ball to the goal within the time limit. The game is pretty short but the replay value is great as there are par times to beat for trophies and crystals to collect on each stage. The game is pretty hard to find now and can be quite expensive but fear not the sequel is due out soon!

 

I agree. I only got to play it over one weekend, but I managed to get most of the levels done - it got better and better as you moved on. I especially loved the fully 3D levels.

 

Also, does Scarface count as a hidden gem? I don't think it sold that well, but it worked really well with the Wii Remote and it's my favourite "crime 'em up".

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OK this should in NO WAYS be a hidden gem, but it is...

 

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure

 

Zack.wiki460x276.jpg

 

Despite an average score of 85.51% [from 59 reviews] the game has only sold around 360,000 copies worldwide!

 

This game is one of the greatest games available for Wii.

 

- Fantastic visuals/art style.

- Great little story full of charm and character, may even find a few plot twists in there!

- The best and most innovative use of the Wiimote currently available.

- Great difficulty level to keep you thinking.

- Great length, probably between 20-30hrs for the main quest alone.

- Packed full of unlockables, secrets and collectables, which extends the overall length infinately!

 

Go Buy!!

 

http://www.blahdvd.com/Games/Zack-Wiki-Quest-For-Barbaros-Treasure-Wii/NI64397/product.htm £12.91

http://www.play.com/Games/Wii/4-/7523798/Zack-Wiki-Quest-For-Barbaros-Treasure/Product.html £14.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zack-Wiki-Quest-Barbaros-Treasure/dp/B000WIOOFC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1237041694&sr=8-1 £9.96 + £1.94 delivery

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I've really got to get back to Z&W. I got stuck at that ice boss and stopped playing for a while.

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Godfather: Blackhand

 

The combat system is unrivaled for this type of game, the story's quite good and the graphics are quite good.

I'd have liked to see more variety regarding the surroundings, and something more to do when the game's finished. When the game's finished, the other families are gone, so you can't start spectacular fights against them.

A racing mode, and a bunch of unlockable cars would have done so much for the games lifespan. That said, the lifespan allready is longer than in most modern games.

 

No More Heroes

Even though the combat system is a bit on the simple side, this game is huge fun. The graphical style is unique, the adult humour is...humorous and overall an interresting game.

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Godfather: Blackhand

 

The combat system is unrivaled for this type of game, the story's quite good and the graphics are quite good.

I'd have liked to see more variety regarding the surroundings, and something more to do when the game's finished. When the game's finished, the other families are gone, so you can't start spectacular fights against them.

A racing mode, and a bunch of unlockable cars would have done so much for the games lifespan. That said, the lifespan allready is longer than in most modern games.

 

No More Heroes

Even though the combat system is a bit on the simple side, this game is huge fun. The graphical style is unique, the adult humour is...humorous and overall an interresting game.

 

 

I agree. Scarface isn't too bad either.

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Just thought i would pop in as i noticed above that u have seen De Blob for £17 on Amazon...

 

Well if you pop in to your local ASDA store it should be in there for £12 (New)!

 

Bought myself a copy today when i seen the price.

Edited by Mike1988uk
Added Text

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That's a nice little touch, too. Posting links to deals about where to buy these games cheaply.

 

What other games can you think of, folks?

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Can I do Mario Galaxy? I know its not a hidden gem, but it's just freaking brilliant.

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