A Look Back At My Wii U Adventure: Part 1: 2012

I started this blog around 5 years ago with the sole purpose of talking about the games i was playing but it really began to click when i started talking about the Wii U. The Wii U was, if you still don't know, a follow up console to the Wii. Not a controller for it. Not a slightly better version. Nope, it was its own new HD console. The fact that i need to write this in 2018 sums up how badly Nintendo screwed up the Wii U's marketing but.... we will get into that.

So i decided to chronicle my own personal experiences of being a Wii U owner from Day one to today, one year at a time! I'm not going to just list off the games that came out, to be honest there are tons of ways of finding that information, but more my own experiences with the console, games and Nintendo in general at that time.

Without further a do, lets talk about its Launch and why i bought the console

Pre-Launch Excitement

The single gaming question i got asked the most in 2012 was "Why are you excited for the Wii U?" and its a fairly simple but context sensitive answer for me to give. I LOVED the Gamecube, i missed out on the N64 so it was my first 3D Nintendo console, the first time i got to play Mario Kart, Mario Party, The Legend Of Zelda, Etc and that really stuck with me. All through school, college and University these games were constants when it came to Local multiplayer, along with 3rd party titles such as Timesplitters 2 and NBA Street 2. But when it came to the Wii.... i couldn't be less interested. We had one in the home at the time (Who Didn't) but  by this time i had moved onto the Xbox 360 and found the Wiimote gimmicky and uncomfortable to use when sat on my bed in my small bedroom which is where i typically did the majority of my gaming. Although great games like Mario Galaxy and Resident Evil 4 were all fun experiences, i just couldn't get over those motion controls.

Fast forward through my college and University years to 2011. All through Uni my friends and i played our Gamecube games pretty much non stop, so when we graduated and all decided to live together there was nothing we wanted more than NEW versions of these games. Then.... it happened... Nintendo Announced the WII U. It was going to be in HD, Its controller had 2 sticks and triggers, you could play it just on its screen and Nintendo was pushing back towards "The Hardcore".

We were HYPED. We used to watch all the Nintendo Directs live together and then discuss the possibilities afterwards for hours and we all had just one wish for it - Would the Wii U be the only console we really need for the upcoming generation? With hindsight this sounds ridiculous but you have to understand, we had all just graduated, we were skint and we all had a shared love of Nintendo games. If we could play Call of Duty and Smash Bros on the same system then why would we NEED a PS4? Sure it also has great first party titles but we genuinely hoped the Nintendo titles would more than satisfy our gaming needs.

E3 2012

E3 2012 was a crazy time. This was one of the first times that i actually had the free time to stay up and watch every bit of content that came from the show. Live streams, reaction videos, everything got consumed! So going into this show my Wii U Hype levels were vast. Nintendo decided to begin its change towards pre recorded shows with a pre show video hosted by the Late Mr. Iwata. In this video Iwata explained Nintendo's philosophy for the Wii U gamepad. They also announced that the gamepad would have clickable sticks instead of the previously shown circle pads, the NFC Reader which at the time we had no clue of its application but ultimately became the Amiibo reader, also the Wii U pro controller was show for the first time which we all went crazy for and knew we all wanted ASAP.

The highlight for me personally was the over the top example video skit they showed the Wii U in action starring the Non Descriptive action figure, showing Zombi U and the Miiverse application for the time. It was very silly but i loved it. It showed the potential for the Wii U to connect players in a way that frankly Nintendo had never been know for. The video was also clearly aimed at the 12+ viewers with its very weird gags and humour. Overall it is still a very interesting watch and at the time i was thought it was great and very professional. Something i did not expect from Nintendo after being out of the loop for so long.

Now onto the main show.... and this... wasn't quite as well received in our house. The Nintendo All Access Showcase felt like it was aimed more towards the general gaming world and as such it didn't quite answer as many questions we had on a software side of things for launch. The presentation opens with Mr. Miyamoto showing off the eagerly anticipated Pikmin 3, i personally wasn't that excited for it as i hadn't played the previous games but my mate Pete was losing his mind over it, it's pretty much the reason he bought a Wii U at launch. Alot of the launch titles were show at this event. New Super Mario Bros U, Mass Effect 3, Batman: Arkham City, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razors Edge, Scribblenaits: Unlimited, amongst many more were shown as well as the thankfully cancelled travesty Aliens: Colonial Marines.

For me personally the show focused far too much time on Wii sequels such as Wii Fit U, Just Dance 4 and Miiverse. I love Miiverse but Nintendo really needed to come out swinging with reasons to buy a Wii U for its future releases. In terms of Nintendo Titles New Super Mario Bros U, NintendoLand and Pikmin 3 were really the ones showcased for any real length of time and Famously Nintendo failed in the usual "One last Thing" announcement at the end of the show by simply ending on NintendoLand. Now again, thats a good game but its not going to persuade the average gamer to buy a console.

They also showed the game cases! Now this may not seem that important but for me as someone who likes to display his collection the blue cases and uniformed spines look fantastic. They really stand out compared to other consoles and from a marketing stand point it is arguably the best decision Nintendo made!

Launch and Christmas

Following e3 there was one more presentation basically detailing launch info such as price and launch games but theres really no need for me to go into vast detail about that. All we needed to know was that the Premium edition was the version we all wanted to get and in the end we all did. I preordered the premium set with Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros U, Pete preordered the European Exclusive Zombi U bundle and Daemon... picked his up a little after, i think before Xmas but i don't really remember! I watched alot of the IGN NVC coverage at the time and i maintained my hype throughout.

I've told the story of my running down the road to get my Wii U before so i wont repeat myself here but we all decided to do the same thing - we put it away for Xmas. Yes, the console we were all excited for became our Xmas presents. The main reason was money, we had to justify it to ourselves or the people buying us the consoles (I bought my own for the record) but for me personally there was actually another reason. My GF (who i had only just started dating at the time) and i were bonding over our shared forgotten love of Nintendo. She decided to get a 3DS XL for Xmas and so i thought it would be cool if i did the same with the Wii U so we could open our new console together on Xmas day and spend our time off hanging and playing games together! That is exactly what we did!

Playing the Wii U for the first time was an incredible experience, its hard now to explain how amazing it was to see Mario in HD. I hadn't played NSMB Wii or 2 so U felt unique and refreshing to me. The open world being one big world like Super Mario World was also a nostalgic touch that i loved and i must of spent 5 hours of that day playing that game, trying to get all the coins and secrets. Nintendo Land was also a surprising hit for me too. The Donkey Kong game became the Hi Score challenge between my friends and i, with us using miiverse to screenshot scores and send to each other which was really cool!

Before the year was out i went out and bought Sonic and Sega Racing Transformed which at the time was by far my favourite kart racing game since Double  Dash. Its cool 5 player mode on Wii U and online play added to stellar and at the time unique racing experience. Being a SEGA fan helped too with the fan service the game had.

So overall 2012 ended with me enjoying my Wii U and the 3 games that i had for it. Pikmin 3 got delayed to 2013 so Pete ended it a little more sad than i did but he still had fun with what he had, Dae the same and as such the future looked very bright for our one system plan!

 I hope you've enjoyed this lengthy look into my Wii U adventure and it will continue with 2013 which was either good or devasting depending on who you ask!

What were your Wii U experiences in 2012? please put in the comments below :D

My Top Five Game Series I Want To Return On The Nintendo Switch!

So far the Switch has provided a platform that a whole host of slightly forgotten game series have made, or are making, triumphant returns including the recently released Super Mario Party and it got me thinking... what else do i want Nintendo to bring back?

Here is a list of FIVE of the games i really want to come back to the Switch! Please note that i'm not talking about Metroid Prime or Animal Crossing as they have been announced already!

5. Warioware

The Warioware games have long been a favourite of mine. Its quick and quirky mini games are great for local multiplayer, the characters were some of the zaniest Nintendo have in there line up and with the Switches Joy Con's would be perfect for a large number of mini games. A true new Warioware game missed the Wii U and 3DS so now is the perfect time to bring it back!

4. Mario Smash Football

I could of put a few other Mario sports titles on here but for me, Mario Smash Football (Or Strikers in USA) is one of the most needed game series to come back! The Smash Football games on GameCube and Wii were great fun with there mix of simple controls but deep systems that made games fast and competitive. On the Wii the online mode was tons of fun too and with Nintendo's recent post game support for the likes of Mario Tennis Aces and Splatoon 2 i think its a game that could grow into the premier Mario sports series!

3. F-Zero

You all knew this was going to be on here right? Somehow there hasn't been a home console F Zero game since the Gamecube and that is just baffling. F Zero's unique blend of intense super hard racing and crazy over-top characters are sorely missed. With Mario Kart 8 being already on the console i feel that a much more hardcore first party racer, with online play, is something that i really want!

2. Kid Icarus

Pit has had alot of limelight over the last 10 or so years because of Smash but somehow there has only been a single game in the last 30ish years! The 3DS game was a fantastic and very different game from Nintendo's first party line up and its unique action and pace would be great in HD. With Smash Ultimate coming out soon and another group of players getting a chance to learn about Pit, Palutena and Dark Pit, now is the perfect time to bring Pit back to Consoles!

1. Advance Wars

With Fire Emblem having had a MASSIVE resurgence in the last 5 years it is time that its more futuristic sibling gets its day! There hasn't been an Advance Wars since the DS (I think) and aside from the upcoming Wargroove there really hasn't been too many games of its ilk. Games like this will benefit massively from a hybrid HD system with solid online play and Advance Wars' generally high quality single player campaigns have been some of my favourites of years gone by!

Now that was just a small and very quick list but is there any other game series you'd like to see return?

Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U) Review!

The Wii U may be dead but my trip through the backlog of games i have for it rumbles on with  Paper Mario Color Splash!

When it was first shown there was really two camps amongst Wii U owners, the first (and bigger) was "Its a Sticker Star Sequel so no thank you" and the other being "This looks beautiful, i'll give it a chance". I was squarely in the latter camp from the off, it's bright colours and seemingly hilarious writing caught my eye and i eagerly anticipated its release!

Its taken almost 18 months for me to take it off my shelf and i wish i had done it sooner!

Color Splash takes the overall structure of Sticker Star but fixes almost everything! lets get straight to the main point, the main issue everyone seems to have with it, the combat/RPG elements. Color Splash isn't Thousand Year door.... but it also isn't Sticker Star. In Color Splash you control Mario's moves by picking from a selection of cards (such as jump boot or hammer), you paint the cards to essentially dictate how much power goes into each move and then you interact with the moves as you always have in the series. The main complaint with sticker star was the lack of reward for the combat and the limited amount of stickers you can have, thankfully that is not the case here. Every time you battle an enemy they drop "Paint Hammers" these paint hammers are EXP. The more paint hammers you get go towards levelling up the amount of paint you have thus making combat more varied and powerful as you go. Overall the combat has so much variety in terms of enemies and moves, with the hilarious Thing Summon cards being a particular highlight for me.

Now the level design is back in a big way. Each world feels unique and weirdly lived in, with characters spouting funny comments about there life, situation and the game in general throughout. From a mining dig site to a spooky ghost house and everything in between every level is memorable. There is abit of back tracking once you have the big paint stars but the game does the genius thing of showing reasons to go back to the levels on the over world itself so you always know where you need to go and what you need to collect. The music is fantastic as usual. Each tune fits the world you are in and adds to the comedic timing that the game excels at.

The highlight of the Color Splash.... BY FAR.... is the writing. My god what a funny game. Every Toad feels like there own person with there own personality and its usually hilarious. The toad rescue squad in particular are some of the funniest characters in a Mario game for me and every line of dialogue kept me laughing throughout the 30+ hours of content.

I don't want to ruin any more of the game for those that haven't played it yet because i was really shocked by how much i enjoyed Color Splash. Whilst it isn't quite as good a game as Thousand Year Door from a combat perspective, the worlds design and hilarious characters are some of the very best Nintendo have made in many years.

Overall, This game is pure fun. Its combat may not be everything people want but it doesn't stop it being a super enjoyable experience from start to finish. If you have a Wii U i implore you to go out and pick up Paper Mario: Color Splash before it inevitably becomes one of the hardest games to find on the Console.

8.5/10

Im going to need a new top Wii U game list by the end of this backlog for sure...

My Top Five Nintendo Switch Games (July 2018 Edition)

If you've kept up with this blog over the years you'll no doubt be familiar with the Top ten Wii U lists i did every year and with the Wii U now passing on (Don't worry, there will be at least one more Wii U list yet :P) its time to take a look at its successor, the Switch.

Now im only going for Top Five this time around purely because of how little i have managed to play so far but i will get to a Top Ten by the end of the year for sure! Also, please note that Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe wont be on here because i played Zelda on Wii U and MK8: Deluxe would just be too cheap of a pick!

So without further a do....

5. Arms

When ARMS was first announced during the January Direct with a frankly lacklustre trailer that really didn't showcase too much of the game, focusing on motion control gimmicks really put me off. Thankfully in the directs that followed it became clear of Nintendo's intention to position ARMS as "Splatoon of Fighting games" with bright graphics, characters and simple yet deep mechanics. And sadly much like Splatoon it really lacked content at launch! The game has improved alot since then and i have found myself playing more and more as the year has gone by and until Smash comes out it is my favourite fighting game on the Switch!

4. Owlboy

Owlboy highlights one of my absolute favourite trends of the Switch's life so far - Indie games getting physical releases! It seems that the Switch is easy and cheap to develop for and with Nintendo gamers being some of the most hardcore of collectors the decision to make physical releases for games like this is very smart. As for the game its a beautifully made 2D platform/Adventure game that is wonderfully written and very engaging. It reminds me of the great GBA and SNES games of the past that were simple yet incredibly memorable. I highly recommend picking this one up, especially physically for just £20.

3. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battles

One of the most leaked games of all time and arguably one of the most unexpected gems ever, Mario + Rabbids is a crossover that frankly nobody wanted... until they saw it! Ubisoft has done a fantastic job to make this look and feel like a first party Mario title whilst also adding in the trademark silliness of the Rabbids. Gameplay wise its weirdly very similar to XCOM but obviously a little more simplified. Its still pretty hard too and im told the Expansion is basically a half sequel! Another game i highly recommend.

2. Super Mario Odyssey 

One of THE games that has sold the Switch to the masses. This is one of the most charming and wondrous games Mario has been involved with. Each world is full of Moons to hunt down, secrets to find and silly costumes to wear! The art style and music are particular highlights for me and overall most of the cappy powers and creatures you control are fun to play around with. Although i still personally prefer my 3D Mario games to be a little more Linear the sheer amount of quality content available here has to make it one of my top Switch games at this point.

1. Splatoon 2

Splatoon 2 is very similar to Splatoon 1, lets get that out of the way to begin with. Now that is not a bad thing, but it needs to be said. Splatoon 2 builds on the first brilliantly, every aspect from the first game is brought back but better, every map, weapon and piece of gear feels important and developed, the single player is great and is deceiving deep and the new mode Salmon Run is great fun and is a needed extra thing to do when you're a little bored of multiplayer. I've haven't had a chance to pick up the Octo Expansion yet but it looks like a great challenge mode with more rewards and gear and that's a great thing!

Overall the first year and a bit for the Switch has been OKAY, i think if you didn't have a Wii U or buy every Wii U release it has been GREAT with games like Bayonetta 2, Captain Toad, Donkey Tropical Freeze, Hyrule Warriors, Pokken and Mario Kart 8 making it a dream start for Nintendo's Hybird Machine!

The Gaming Book Club April 2018 -Metroid Prime

Hey guys!

So I've started a new show with some buddies of mine where we play a game together for a month and then have a podcast to discuss our thoughts!

Episode 1 is GameCube classic Metroid Prime, check it out here:
https://youtu.be/QFOhmlDzc4g

Bonk's Adventure (Turbografix 16) Retro Review!

The TurboGrafix (PC Engine) was a 16-Bit console that came out in the midst of the Console wars between Sega And Nintendo and as such, NEC needed a mascot...So they settled for a bald, angry caveman....

Bonk's Adventure was the headline title for the Turbografix launch in the west, seen as a parallel to Sonic and Mario, and despite being the best selling game on the console it ultimately failed to make the dent in the mascot wars but it was certainly an exciting time for owners of the console at the time.

Bonk is a 2D platformer set in a prehistoric world, where you play as the enigmatic Bonk, a bald little caveman with a serious anger issue when he eats meat! Bonk jumps, headbutts and head dives his way through the brightly coloured levels, encountering prehistoric enemies at every turn. When Bonk eats meat he transforms into a more powerful/angry caveman allowing his head dive to stun enemies after one piece of meat and brief invulnerability after a second piece. Overall Bonk controls well although a slightly quicker run speed would enhance the game in my opinion.

Graphically the game was beautiful at the time and i still think it holds up. The large sprites are full of detail and character, with eye pops being a particular highlight and the backdrops have lovely colour and a good level of scrolling. It showcased the relative power of the Turbografix 16 compared to the NES at the time.

Length wise Bonk can be beaten by an experienced player in around an hour, even more so if you are playing one of the virtual console versions, and i feel that's a good spot for a platformer of the time. I found the game fairly easy throughout and never really had any issues but the level did ramp up as the game went on and even in 2018 its a decent game.

Overall Bonk's Adventure is a classic platformer, its got great gameplay, graphics and sound but ultimately it doesn't quite stay with you as much as its contemporaries. That being said i would 100% recommend giving this game a go on the Wii U eShop, for £5 you cant go wrong!

7/10

Super Lucky's Tale Review (Xbox One)

Super Lucky's Tale is indeed a curious tale. An early Virtual Reality title turned into an E3 stage worthy Xbox One exclusive, does this cute Fox make for a worthy adventure or is it wasted potential?

Well, first off, i was very pleasantly surprised by Lucky's overall polish. I know this is a weird thing to start off with but when an exclusive game comes out at just £19.99 RRP it can give the illusion of poor quality or lack of effort, thankfully this is not the case with Super Lucky's Tale.

Following a charming intro cut-scene where you learn, from Lucky's sister, that Lucky and the villainous Kitty Litter (The pun game is STRONG in this one) have been sucked into the Book of Ages Lucky must collect enough Clovers (he's Lucky you see...) to defeat each of these colourful kitty villains, progress to the next world and escape the book. It's pretty by the numbers but overall i really like the way the game approaches its limited story. each of the worlds have unique and very adorable inhabitants but the cats are really the stars of the show. Each providing context to the changes they've made to each world and each of them very memorable in there own ways.

The game is also beautiful. Its use of simplistic and clean textures really allow the bright colours to pop and give the Lucky a feel very reminiscent of Super Mario or Banjo-Kazooie. Lucky and the cast also ooze personality with really vibrant animations and audio ques that again take you back to an era of games that were seemingly gone forever. I was surprised to see the game also supports 4K and is Enhanced for Xbox One X and although i haven't been able to try this out, i can imagine the game looks even more beautiful with the crispness of HDR and 4K. The music is also a highlight too, with most tracks being upbeat and very catchy.

Gameplay wise the game feels exactly how you would expect a 3D platformer to feel in 2017. Lucky can jump, double jump, burrow and spin to attack foes and progress through platforming challenges. All these work really well with the notable exception of the double jump that just feels plain off. It requires a far to precise button input that only seems to work half of the time. That aside the other moves work great and are utilized throughout the game. For example, throughout most of the levels there is clock you hit that then gives you a certain amount of time to collect coloured coins in sequence. these challenges usually have lucky switching from burrowing to jumping in quick succession and really test your platforming skills. Overall, Lucky controls are pretty good.

The level design also stands out as a real positive for me. Each of the levels are distinctly themed around a certain overarching gimmick, eg a farm that's been taken over by machines or a big maze overseen by an onion King, and this gives them all a unique quality that reminds me of early Crash Bandicoot titles. Each levels requires you to get 300 coins, Spell the word LUCKY, find a hidden challenge and Complete the level. Having these requirements the same throughout was actually a really smart move because it keeps the player moving towards a goal, they know what to look out for and as such can enjoy each level without wondering what they need to do to 100% it.

A major gripe i've seen a few other reviewers have with the game is the somewhat unusually high required amount of clovers to progress through the world. Whilst i can see why someone might complain about this i personally had absolutely no trouble getting all the clovers in each level with only 1 or 2 runs through. Coupled with the fact the levels in general are pretty short AND keep your LUCKY clover progress the difficulty of completion for Lucky is fairly easy.

In terms of Achievements the game is very straight forward. Beat the game, collect all the clovers needed to do so and perform a few tasks you will naturally perform throughout the game anyway and BOOM 1000 GamerScore.

Overall, Super Lucky's Tale is a fun game. Its simple setting and fluid controls are brilliantly mixed with beautiful graphics and upbeat humour to provide an enjoyable adventure that anyone can enjoy. Its Poor double jump and lack of replay value are really its only short comings but this is quickly balanced by its low price point and now the fact it is on Xbox Game Pass. The DLC adds some more well made content at a very reasonable price!

My final verdict for Super Lucky's Tale is a good game that only misses greatness by a inch.

7.8/10