Wii Appreciation Thread

[nekunando]

We've been appreciating the N64 and PS2 recently, thanks to @Hero\-of\-Time, as well as the Dreamcast and Gamecube, courtesy of @Fierce_LiNk. However, there is a console that doesn't get the praise it deserves and one that I've been starting to realise as probably the most ESSENTIAL console ever created.. The Nintendo Wii

 

I'd always argue that the N64 is without doubt my favourite with a wonderfully varied selection of amazing games that came at the perfect time in my life

 

However, if I could only own one single games console, it would most definitely be the Wii : peace:

 

 

More specifically, though, it would be the original Wii console that was released back on 8/12/2006, one of the most memorable days of my gaming life! The reason I say 'original' is due to the Gamecube functionality that was removed from later models

 

Where else could you play a vast range of new and exciting motion controlled games, such as the unrivalled Wii Sports and the underrated Excite Truck as well as your entire GC collection and a substantial library of downloadable classics from the NES, SNES, N64, Master System, Mega Drive, Neo Geo, TurboGrafx and Arcade..?

 

It seems amazing to have access to all of these games, particularly when you realise the Wii U is considerably further back when it comes to the availability of retro masterpieces

 

The Wii has such a wonderful interface too. I LOVE the channels, especially when seeing the title screens of all your old favourites instantly makes you want to click the channel and play

 

 

That's not my Home Screen (I've never owned or intend to play Escape from Bug Island ) but just looking at that image makes me want to play 6 of those games featured. Maybe some of you would be able to guess which ones

 

Anyway, what an AMAZING console

 

I've even been playing Wii Sports over the last couple of days and it's an absolute joy I can't seem to bowl very well any more, but I'll get there again It's all so much better than Wii Sports Club..

[Fierce_LiNk]

It's one of my favourite systems ever. There was just so much variety on there and enough to keep you coming back for more. When I think of the Wiimote, I'll think of using the pointer in Twilight Princess, then the tilting controls for ExciteTruck and then the pointer controls again for Pro Evo. It worked like a charm for Dead Space: Extraction and it immersed me in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.

 

I've got tons and tons of memories and must have amassed something like 60+ games for the system. I've got tons yet to play, such as Pandora's Tower, the Metroid Prime Trilogy, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, and quite a few more, too.

 

Love it. Enjoy it tons more than I ever did the Cube. Got so much mileage out of the system.

 

Also, Xenoblade. Motherfucking Xenoblade. Hnnnnnnnnnnggg.

[Hero-of-Time]

A great console that delivered some awesome gaming experiences for me. It probably wasn't my most played on console last gen ( 360 ) but I enjoyed the time I did spend on it.

 

I know the thing will always be remembered for motion controls, expanding the market and Wii Sports but for me it was home to some great games, most of which used very little waggle.

 

The Mario Galaxy games are two of the best games ever created in my eyes. Such a joy to play and the soundtrack was something very special indeed. The visuals that Nintendo managed to pull off on this game, with the hardware they were using, was truly a testament to just how good they are at getting the most out of their machines. Both of these games will go alongside other classic Nintendo games as being timeless.

 

The Wii also had Monster Hunter Tri....nuff said.

[darksnowman]

One of the greatest. You start wondering if you can really be bothered playing the same stuff all over again with better graphics and they pull out the MEGATON of motion controls, which, coupled with old skool play styles and classics via the VC... amazing blend. Plus Hanabi Festival games to allow us the legal opportunity to finally own games never released in our region. They had enough faith in motion controls that they ditched the idea of pursuing more power under the hood. (Or they are just cheapos!)

 

Timely thread cos if anyone needs their memories jogged, our main men over at Gameinformer recently posted up their Top 25 Wii Games.

[Jonnas]

ExciteTruck, Little King's Story, Super Mario galaxy, Tatsunoko vs Capcom, House of the Dead, best version of RE4...

 

I do like mah Wii

[lostmario]

Fantastic console, I was losing interest in gaming until I saw it at E3. That first time playing Wii Sports... amazing.

 

So many great games and shockingly it had some great online games too. Put thousands of hours into Mario Kart Wii, Grand Slam Tennis, Monster Hunter Tri, COD: Black Ops & COD: MW3.

 

Became good friends with a few people on here playing Mario Kart, Monster Hunter & COD together.

 

Up there with the N64 as my favourite console.

[pratty]

The Wii is awesome!

 

I think there's a strong argument for it being the greatest console ever.

 

Both the Wii and Gamecube are strong consoles in their own right, but combine them and you have access to a number of top quality games, then throw in the VC and to a lesser extent Wiiware, and you've got a pretty bad ass console.

 

I wouldn't even hold the graphics against it. It was below par for it's generation, but considering how people might legitimately nominate earlier consoles with inferior graphics as the best console, I don't see the argument to hold the wii's relative lack of power against it. Especially as they did the job quite nicely in most cases, when developers made games to it's strength, and people used the component cable on their HD TVs.

 

Needless waggle is a legitimate put off for many people, but for the majoity of games I've played and own it's kept to a minimum and used correctly, I'd suggest those who were put of by the wagglefest of some games probably bought the wrong games. And the controls were actually perfect for a lot of games too.

 

The Wii got knocked for shovelware, which again I don't hold against it, I have a great solution for the shovelware issue - don't buy it. I judge a console's library by it's quality, not it's quanity. The review scores don't lie, the Wii had great games, and actually quite a few of them.

[nekunando]

The Wii is awesome!

 

I think there's a strong argument for it being the greatest console ever..

 

I actually agree completely : peace:

 

If you look at just Wii games alone, there's a considerable collection of good games, but probably not on the quality or scale that was seen on the N64 and GC. The Virtual Console, however, and the ability to play the entire Gamecube collection on Wii means that the pool of outstanding games that are accessible from this one single console is vast

 

Remembering how barren the release schedule was towards the latter half of the Wii's life is almost painful as part of me wishes they had just kept banging out some cracking games on there instead of focusing their resources on Wii U.

 

I recall the much maligned Michael Pachter calling for a Wii HD in 2009 or 2010 to much ridicule. In hindsight, If they had released an upgrade that was comparable to PS3/360, or even the current Wii U, but still had every single feature that the original Wii had, I'd probably be happier with the current console generation

 

I'd have been very content if I was playing Pikmin 3 and Super Mario 3D World on my Wii HD before taking a little time out with Streets of Rage and Super Mario 64 on the Virtual Console.. and then a bit of F-Zero GX and Wave Race: Blue Storm from my GC collection. And it would be all in one place.. and there wouldn't be an expensive GamePad that nobody seems to know what to do with

[Josh64]

It is by far my favourite system ever, both in terms of nostalgia (as I did get most of my Wii enjoyment from my college days which are by far the best of my life) but also just from the sheer, incredible variety of games on offer.

 

Even if actual Wii games didn't exist, it would still be one of my favourite consoles simply for the superb Virtual Console. Not only that though, but I did tinker with my Wii a bit, and it introduced me to a world of games I used to only dream of owning and playing. Making it region-free introduced me to the Japanese and American versions of Donkey Konga 1, 2 and 3, which blew my mind as I played the first 2 games to death and always dreamt of one day having new songs to play.

 

Not only that, but what was once a Japanese mystery is now 4 Wii games and 3 Taiko Drums sat in my room - Taiko No Tatsujin! And what an AMAZING series, seriously, the art style, the crazy music, the DRUMMING. Bliss. Then, after a year of getting heavily into J-Pop, they only released a japanese version of one of my favourite party games - Just Dance. Drunkenly dancing around to Aya Matsuura and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is something I couldn't have envisioned I'd be doing on my Wii when I got it in early 2007 (I didn't quite get it at launch, had a wee baby Banjo to pay for) but I'm very happy that's how things turned out.

 

But heck, that, along with the biggest surprise game for me, BOOM STREET, were just highlights of 2013 for the Wii in my eyes. I often forget that this console with all these crazy awesome party games and peripheals was once also the system I used when I was sat in my old bedroom in the last few months of school, browsing Scatman John on the internet browser and being blown away that I could connect a bluetooth keyboard and chat away on the Euro-Fusion forums, ALL FROM MY NINTENDO CONSOLE.

 

Between all these gimmicks, the introduction (for me) to Netflix and what seemed like a new generation of games, Guitar Hero, Wii Sports, Let's Tap, games I'd have never imagined could exist in the GameCube era, were the stone-cold classics that we were all expecting that somehow outdid themselves - Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Kart Wii.

 

There's so much more I have to say about the Wii but I must dash for now. But yeah, by far the best console I've ever had or ever will own.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I'd love to go back in time and just relive this system's lifetime again. It's great how we started off with WiiSports and ended up with high quality games like Xenoblade. The variation on this machine was insane. For all of its flaws with it being underpowered compared to the competition and being weaker online, it made up for it in different ways.

 

I genuinely wonder what the reaction will be to this system in about 10 years time. The motion controls alone will see it remembered.

[Ealdst]

Whenever I mention the Wii at work I still get people saying the system was just full of shovelware and had no games worth playing, and yet my Wii is the system I have bought most games for. Despite being underpowered it still produced some graphical masterpieces (I still think Muramasa: The Demon Blade is one of the best looking games on any system ever), and as always even if the graphics were not up to the standard of the 360 and PS3 it's the gameplay that counts, and games like Xenoblade, Mario Galaxy, Monster Hunter and many more were more than worthy of anyone's time.

 

Needless to say I love the Wii, and I agree with the sentiment that it could arguably be the greatest console ever!

[pratty]

Whenever I mention the Wii at work I still get people saying the system was just full of shovelware and had no games worth playing, and yet my Wii is the system I have bought most games for. Despite being underpowered it still produced some graphical masterpieces (I still think Muramasa: The Demon Blade is one of the best looking games on any system ever), and as always even if the graphics were not up to the standard of the 360 and PS3 it's the gameplay that counts, and games like Xenoblade, Mario Galaxy, Monster Hunter and many more were more than worthy of anyone's time.

 

Sadly I think the Wii fell victim to perception as much as anything.

 

Think how much more successful it could have been if the Wii's detractors actually took the reviewers at their word and actually played all the wonderful games the Wii does infact have.