Topic: Wario Land: Shake It!

[Luigi Dude]

Oh good, the topic was bumped.

On Saturday I finally completed everything 100% in the game.  All stages, all treasures and all the missions.  Even though you don't really get much of a reward, I don't care, I had a lot of fun just doing it.

After completing everything, I'd say this is my 3rd favorite Wii game, behind only Mario Galaxy and Smash Bros.  I hope Nintendo stays in good relations with Good Feel, because these guys have proven themselves to be a great development studio.  It'd be a shame if Nintendo doesn't use them again.

[Adrock]

Because they are also responsible for the sprite animations?  =)

I thought they only did the cut-scenes. Granted there's only 2, hence why I consider it a minor gripe.

I hope Nintendo stays in good relations with Good Feel, because these guys have proven themselves to be a great development studio.  It'd be a shame if Nintendo doesn't use them again.

For, say, a 2D console Mario game. Or a 2D Metroid game?

[NWR_insanolord]

For, say, a 2D console Mario game. Or a 2D Metroid game?

Yoshi's Island Wii

[Bill Aurion]

I thought they only did the cut-scenes. Granted there's only 2, hence why I consider it a minor gripe.

Nope, the sprites are Production I.G.-made!

For, say, a 2D console Mario game. Or a 2D Metroid game?

Yoshi's Island Wii

I take those and raise you a Drill Dozer sequel, because Gamefreak is too busy making Pokemon sequels that no one yeah, okay, they sell boatloads, I don't care wants... =(

[Luigi Dude]

For, say, a 2D console Mario game. Or a 2D Metroid game?

Well since they proved with Shake that they're good at platformers, I'd be in favor of them doing a 2d console Mario game. 

Actually what I think would work well would be for Nintendo to allow them revive the Mario Land series on the Wii.  Since the Wario Land series evolved from Mario Land, what better way to bring Mario Land back then by having the people who got to work on the latest Wario Land, work on a new Mario Land.

Hell, just allowing them to remake Mario Land 2 on the Wii, with the 2d visuals of Wario Land Shake would make me extremly happy.

[King of Twitch]

Heck yes, GIANT ENEMY EASTER ISLAND FACES

[Luigi Dude]

Well this is interesting, according to the end of this article, Wario Land Shake has sold 150K in North America alone by the end of December.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/947/947929p1.html


This is great news since according to IGN, Wario Land Shake only sold around 20K in it's opening month in September.  This means Wario Land has had some pretty good legs then.  Nice to see that all the good word of mouth from gamers finally got the message across to people that Wario Land Shake is a great game to play.

Plus if you combine the fact that the game sold around 100K in Japan, that put Wario Land Shake at 250K between America and Japan.  Now I don't know what it's done in Europe but considering most Wii games do better there then in Japan I'd imagine it's around 100K there as well.  At the very least it has to be somewhere over 50K in Europe.  This way we can at least say right now that Wario Land Shake has sold over 300K worldwide.

Considering Wario Land Shake is a 2d game that was released on a home console, with no advertising, and at full price, this is quite an accomplishment for the game.  I'd imagine Nintendo is quite pleased with these results since by their lack of advertising they clearly expected the worse.

Hopefully this means Nintendo will have Good Feel make more 2d games for them in the future since they now know that 2d games can put up decent numbers on the Wii.

[KDR_11k]

Maybe it's time to put the focus on first week/month sales into a coffin and bury it?

[Ian Sane]

That's great news that Wario Land is selling better.  It's a great game.  So if we get more 2D games out of Nintendo because of this that would be fantastic.  It's funny that 2D is such an old idea but on consoles it's been neglected so long that it feels fresh and new.

My friend and I were especially blown away by how good the 2D animation was.  On the DS everything is all pixelated because of the small screen but today's consoles can have such clean and crisp looking 2D.  It's a waste that 2D graphics has mostly not gone beyond a SNES level aside from the odd exception.

[NWR_pap64]

That's great news that Wario Land is selling better.  It's a great game.  So if we get more 2D games out of Nintendo because of this that would be fantastic.  It's funny that 2D is such an old idea but on consoles it's been neglected so long that it feels fresh and new.

My friend and I were especially blown away by how good the 2D animation was.  On the DS everything is all pixelated because of the small screen but today's consoles can have such clean and crisp looking 2D.  It's a waste that 2D graphics has mostly not gone beyond a SNES level aside from the odd exception.

I think there should be more 2D games across all platforms, especially on the HD systems. I say this because I love animation, and Wario Land proved that you can make a beautiful looking game with 2D animation.

Can you imagine a game with the smooth animation of, say, a Disney feature? In Hi-definition? Screw the Unreal engine, GIVE ME THE DISNEY ENGINE! :p

[Ian Sane]

Can you imagine a game with the smooth animation of, say, a Disney feature?

You mean Dragon's Lair?

[Luigi Dude]

You should all read the interview I posted a few months back.

http://nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/2008/drawing_wario_the_animation_of_wario_land_9515.html

It's with the development team talking about how they made the game.  The part where they talk about how they made the visuals is quite impressive.  Like the fact that Wario has over 2000 frames of animation, or the fact that all the different backgrounds in the game that were all unique and hand-drawn alone would have filled up an entire Gamecube disc alone.

[NWR_pap64]

Can you imagine a game with the smooth animation of, say, a Disney feature?

You mean Dragon's Lair?

Yeah, but that wasn't even a game :p . And that was made by Don Bluth.

What I mean is game sprites animated in the same vein as animated features. Back in the 90s this was somewhat common with games like Sega's Aladdin and Mickey Mania. Even with the low resolution the detail and animation was astounding.

I am surprised that with all the talk about HD gaming and such no one has tried to mimic this but with the full power of today's consoles. Even more surprising is that the first console to try this in this generation of gaming was the Wii, a system that isn't a graphical powerhouse :p .

[Peachylala]

Mickey Mania

Putting that game together with Aladdin!genesis is an insult.

Make a Disney game with Aladdin animation and Capcom quality gameplay (from the NES/SNES) days and you have me sold.

And has anyone mentioned the music? It's amazing, I need to find the MP3 soundtrack for the game.

[Ian Sane]

I am surprised that with all the talk about HD gaming and such no one has tried to mimic this but with the full power of today's consoles. Even more surprising is that the first console to try this in this generation of gaming was the Wii, a system that isn't a graphical powerhouse :p .

Considering Sony's very harsh anti-2D stance it's not really surprising at all.  They pretty much killed off Working Designs by not allowing them to release 2D games unless they came in bundles.  Metal Slug 3 was an Xbox exclusive entirely because Sony didn't want it as a standalone title on the PS2 but Metal Slug 4/5 was allowed because it bundled the two games together.  A console maker should never actively block good games from being released on their console, especially when those blocked games become exclusives on a competing console.

Update: I just read that whole interview that Luigi Dude posted.  Great interview!  The guys who made this game just seem so passionate about it and it's really fun to see that.

My favourite quote:

Takahiro Harada, producer: One of our goals this time was to create the ultimate 2D game.

I love that.  This gen there has been so much emphasis on sales and demographics and target audiences and just general business corporate stuff.  With this game the team's goal was just to make the best damn game they could and I love that.  I love that ambition.  That's gaming as an artform.

[NWR_DrewMG]

I've got this game coming in the mail via Goozex.  Should be arriving next week sometime.   I was hoping to get Dead Space for PC, but this one came up first in my queue, so oh well.  Here's hoping I like it.

[KDR_11k]

Metal Slug 3 was an Xbox exclusive entirely because Sony didn't want it as a standalone title on the PS2

Note that that's only in the US as my copy of Metal Slug 3 for the PS2 proves.

[Stratos]

For, say, a 2D console Mario game. Or a 2D Metroid game?

Yoshi's Island Wii

I got reminders of Yoshi's Island from Wario Land when you had to aim the cannons. Using the tilt of the Wii-Mote would be a great way to aim egg shots in a Yoshi game. But I want the return of Boshi from Mario RPG in the next Yoshi game. He was awesome. I wanted to have a Boshi costume in Smash Bros.

Make a Disney game with Aladdin animation and Capcom quality gameplay (from the NES/SNES) days and you have me sold..

Mmm...Disney games of the 8/16-bit era. I could go for some new ones or even remakes with some fine animation. Those were classics. I had Tale Spin, Darkwing Duck and Duck Tales on NES and Aladdin, Magical Quest Starring Mickey and Goof Troop on SNES. Maybe some others but those were quite memorable. I think I also had a Tiny Toons game by Konami that wasn't half bad. Good times. 

Also, I thought I'd mention that my purchase of Wario Land Shake was solely due to the guys on Radio Free Nintendo talking about how pleased they were with the game (especially Greg). So thanks for talking about it!

[BlackNMild2k1]

Back on the subject of the actual game itself, here's THE BEST AD EVER! ='D

Sorry to bump this thread, but that video really makes me want to play Wario Land Shake It.
How come we haven't seen youtube utilized like that for any other ads?

The coins falling all over the place made me go WTF and then everything that happened after that I was "Holy Sh!t".
has this game hit clearance yet?

[Stratos]

Wario Land is $36.99 on Amazon.

Speaking of platformers on sale, de Blob is $29.99.

For some reason I've stopped playing Wario Land. I don't know why but I haven't touched it in a few weeks. I love the game. I have been distracted by Tenchu, Pokemon Platinum and a new found addiction to Mario Kart Wii. But I'm think I'll go back tonight and play Wario Land as I'm only about halfway through the game.

The game has sold 590k according to VG Charts and does seem to go up a good bit each month so it may still have some legs in it. I'm willing to bet it will continue to sell decent through the rest of this year as gamers will probably want to pick it up while playing catchup. It might even break a million, though that is tainted with a dash of wishful thinking.

[DAaaMan64]

Tenchu is a pretty good game I thought.

[Stratos]

Yeah, it's a pity no one appears to be buying it as it has only sold 40k in Japan and 40k in North America. I'm hoping those numbers are wrong and it sold more.

[DAaaMan64]

Well honestly, I didn't buy it.  I just don't have money or time right now. I'm on an all nighter as we speak.

[Stratos]

I understand how that is, I've pulled the graveyard job before and probably will be doing it again soon if job options don't open up.

Though Tenchu is definitely worth a try if you can get your hands on a copy somehow.