As promised, here's Chapter 3!
Chapter 3: How can I say “epic failure” if I can’t fail?Even with rock solid third party support ask any diehard Nintendo fan and he will tell you that the heart and soul of a Nintendo console lies within its first party games. Simply put, no other company has first party games that are as beloved as Nintendo’s. In just a few years the Wii has received some amazing and even incredible entries in its franchises.
2006 saw “Twilight Princess” slap the Wii’s butt into birth while “Wii Sports” made the system a must own for everyone, and 2007 saw the holy trinity being completed with the epic releases of “Metroid Prime 3” and “Super Mario Galaxy”. So with 2007 ending on such a fantastic note 2008 promises to be better, right? Right?
If you ask fans what they thought of the Wii in 2008 they would say that it was a terrible year, that Nintendo doesn’t care anymore, that it lacked the innovation of previous year and that everything was better on the 360 and PS3. Was the Wii really that bad in 2008? In my honest opinion, no. It saw some great releases that pushed the Wii even further into superstardom, despite the stock market saying otherwise. Let’s look at some of them now…
“Endless Ocean” kick started the year with a fascinating look at ocean life through the perspective of a videogame. It had no goal whatsoever except explore the deep blue seas in search of exotic marine life. It wasn’t a killer app, but did get a small following that found its concept a relaxing one from all the shooting and killing seen nowadays in games.
But things really started once March rolled around.
Easily the biggest blockbuster of the year,
“Super Smash Bros. Brawl” was finally released after nearly two years worth of hype, speculation and hoping. It was originally set to be released in February, but was pushed back a month in order to fix some bugs. But a month flies quick and before we knew it Brawl was a reality.
It boasted its biggest cast of characters yet, an expanded story mode and, the biggest one of all, online play. Out of the three only two didn’t deliver as well as everyone hoped.
The adventure mode, called “The Subspace Emmisary” promised to be an epic story filled with enough fanservice to last decades, the first time all of Nintendo’s heroes, sidekicks and villains would team up to defeat a bigger threat. It used the game’s own engine to deliver platforming similar to the Kirby games (not surprising since the game’s director, Masahiro Sakurai, created both games).
The problem was that the stages proved to be very boring and generic. Rather than using the worlds Nintendo has created over the years they opted for some bland settings and enemies that lacked uniformity. The story was no better either. It was a confusing mess that looked pretty but wasn’t as exciting as people hoped it would be. Finally, the Smash engine simply doesn’t work for platforming. Overall, a decent attempt at creating a Nintendo all stars adventure game but needed better direction.
Then there is the online mode. When this was confirmed a year before it’s release its creator apologized in advance since there was the chance of lag ruining online gameplay, especially if you were brawling with other players from other parts of the globe. Even with the warning no expected the issues the final game had.
Players experienced severe lag issues for weeks after launch. Even if Nintendo promised to somehow correct this and even players created better online set ups to this day players are still experiencing lag and connection issues, a blemish to an otherwise fantastic game.
Yes, Brawl still manages to be a fantastic game despite its obvious issues. While the cast of characters lacked a third third party character (sorry Megaman) and other Nintendo franchises should have been explored the final game proved to be more solid and polished than its previous incarnation “Super Smash Bros. Melee”. Even the clone characters received far more attention this time around, making them unique enough to be worth trying out.
Not to mention it’s the most robust Nintendo release yet, thanks to a soundtrack that spawns over 300 songs that summarizes Nintendo’s 100 years in the business, over hundreds of trophies and stickers to collect and plenty of modes to sink your teeth into.
You would think that with gamers pretty much settled with Brawl Nintendo would stop its big releases and let players catch a breather, but things weren’t finished yet.
Just a month after the blockbuster release of Brawl Nintendo released its sixth entry in its epic Mario Kart franchise
“Mario Kart Wii”.Announced at the E3 2007 conference Mario Kart Wii promised to deliver an experience that was both new and familiar to anyone that loved being hit by a blue shell. Its biggest additions included a 12 player online mode, motorbikes and the infamous Wii Wheel accessory, created to further immense the player with motion controls.
Prior to release fans began to worry about this mega release. Every time some news leaked fans would get their shorts in a knot. The one thing that really made players upset was the multiplayer. Anyone that loves Mario Kart will tell you that even if the racing is rock solid the fun truly lies in its multiplayer modes, including racing and battle modes. While racing stayed pretty much intact battling received the biggest overhaul. It is now a team affair where players are matched to teams, and the goal is to destroy the players in the other team in order to assure victory.
This made fans upset because they felt they were butchering a classic element of the game in order to allow casual players and non gamers into the mix. So much, in fact, that fans started calling “Double Dash”, the previous whipping boy of the franchise, the best Mario Kart ever! So, was all of this anger justified or were gamers were once again blowing their top over nothing?
Regardless of what you may think of the offline multiplayer mode, online was really amazing. Its one of the few Nintendo releases which manages to nearly rival the versatility of XBOX Live. Nintendo even created a dedicated Mario Kart Wii channel so you could keep track of other players, send invites that made friend codes easier to handle and monthly tournaments that are still running to this day. Best of all, it provided a very smooth and clean experience with hardly any lag issues.
Outside of this, Mario Kart Wii featured its most robust set of contents yet. It features the biggest cast of characters yet, including fan favorites Rosalina from “Galaxy” and Dry Bowser from “New Super Mario Bros.”. The stages managed to outdo anything released in prior games thanks to its never ending creativity and characters and overall, it’s a kick ass game.
So we got Brawl in March, and Mario Kart Wii in April. What else could we ask for? Maybe something a little oceany?
Right after making core gamers happy for two straight months Nintendo went back to experiment with the casual audience.
At E3 2007 Nintendo demoed its biggest blue ocean release yet;
Wii Fit.It was big for many reasons, one being that it was a game that inspired people to get up and be fit using everything from daily yoga exercises to fun mini games using the now legendary Wii balance board, a device that detects the balance and movement of the player standing on it. This was used to determine the player’s weight and how good their balance was. Based on this the game programmed a daily routine that promised to get you fit and neat by the end of the year.
Nintendo banked big on this one. Once again, it was their biggest blue ocean release yet. Nintendo hoped that everyone from gamers to senior citizens would invest on a 90 dollar game, an occurrence common within the gamer community (with games like Rock Band), but unheard of in the casual gaming market. Nintendo also hoped to build a fanbase big enough to base more games around the Wii balance board (more on that later). With this, Nintendo hit everything from local news shows to daytime talk shows. You could hardly walk and NOT see an ad for Wii Fit. So, did this gamble pay off? The answer is a big, fat YES.
Of all the blue ocean titles released on the Wii so far Wii Fit might be their biggest one yet. It’s almost just as hard to find as the Wii console itself and despite an economic recession its 90 dollar price tag didn’t keep people away. And there’s a good reason for that.
It’s not perfect, especially with its BMI measuring system not working as well as it should. But Wii Fit is a compelling game that truly does inspire to get up and play with its clean graphics, calm trainers and loads of activities. Even the most cynical gamer couldn’t help but fall in love with it, even if they were contributing to “the death of gaming as we know it”.
So, like God after creating the universe, Nintendo decided to rest for the rest of the summer and let people go to the movies and have some lemonade. But there’s no rest for the wicked as the saying goes.
In August of 2008 Nintendo released its first Mario sports title since 2007’s “Mario Strikers Charged” and “Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games”,
“Mario Supper Sluggers”, a sequel to the very late Gamecube release “Mario Superstar Baseball”.
Now, this release caused a surprising amount of commotion around gamers. Why? Isn’t this essentially a filler release meant to be fun and be enjoyed by anyone? The reason why gamers whipped this bad boy up was because it was essentially a Madden type release. IE, very little innovation over its predecessor.
The game did provide some motion controls, but weren’t 1:1. This was the main area that really got fans steamed up. Wii Sports’s baseball sported (no pun intended) some slight 1:1 motion controls. People expected developers to go up from there. Mario Super Sluggers basically sports a very basic version of this.
But even with this obvious flaw did the game really deserve such harsh reactions and comments? No. Yes, the game didn’t evolve much from the first game, but if you take it as a fun baseball game you won’t even care if its brand spanking new or not. It offered a great cast of characters, mini games that actually trained you to do battle at the baseball diamond and a really fun single player mode where you gather a big collection of players in hopes of dethroning Bowser as the king of baseball.
In September Nintendo released a game no one really expected…
Wario Land Shake it! Fans know that Wario originally started as Mario’s rival in the Gameboy exclusive “Mario Land” series. Wario proved unique enough that Nintendo decided to send this fat bizarro Mario into his own series of adventures, clearly different from anything Nintendo had offered with its plumber star. The Wario Land series never got big, but did gained a loyal audience that fell in love with greed and became OCDs thanks to Wario.
But after turning Wario into a game developer for “Wario Ware Inc.”, creating the first case of dual personality in a Nintendo character, Nintendo didn’t do much with Wario the treasure hunter. They released a DS game called “Master of Disguise”, but was extremely laughable in its execution.
So when “Wario Land Shake it!” was first announced everyone was just surprised. It was Wario return to form in a 2D game featuring hand drawn animated graphics and quirky controls that combined tradition with Wii-ness. It even marked the return of Captain Syrup, Wario’s old nemesis from the Gameboy days!
“Shake it!” was, simply put, classic. It wasn’t the most challenging game ever but it did offered a lot to those that were curious enough to dive in. Each stage had a set of missions, from “finding the golden enemy” to “collect X amount of coins”. On top of this there was secret treasure and maps to collect; warranting those with an obsession to fully complete a game would not put the game down for a while.
Now, October is where things started to get grim for fans…and not because it was Halloween.
In October Nintendo released what is perhaps their most controversial game ever. Not controversial because of violence, graphic content or unconventional topics. Ladies and gentlemen, the most shocking Wii game of the year…
WII MUSIC!!*Babies cry, women scream, masses of people storm out of cities, canyons explode, chickens explode, blood is everywhere and ALL HOPE IS LOST!!!
*AHEM…
So, why is a seemingly innocent game so dreaded? I know you are probably tired from all this reading, but you never know if you might participate in a contest or something, so listen up…
Wii Music started its life as the first Wii game ever presented to the American audience at the E3 2006 convention. It is remembered because Shigeru Miyamoto, the game’s own creator, came out on stage wearing a tuxedo and conducting an orchestra of Miis playing “The Legend of Zelda” theme. This conducting tech demo was originally going to be part of “Wii Play” a collection of mini games which includes a free Wii remote. But they felt the concept had enough merit to turn into a full fledged game, and thus the game delved into obscurity for nearly two years…
During that time, the game evolved from a mini game collection into a bonafide music game.
E3 2008 rolls around and Nintendo officially declares it as the first time we would ever see Wii Music in its finished form. And it terrified the masses in the most barbaric way possible…
OK, cutting the theatrics, the reason Wii Music became the most hated thing in gaming since the birth of Jack Thompson is because Nintendo demoed it in the worst way possible. There was too much fake enthusiasm and was presented as a painfully simple game that even handicapped babies would play. It didn’t follow the rules established in classic music games. You couldn’t fail a song. There was no goal, no logic and no sense. When the show was over bloggers from all over the world fired up their accounts and officially declared war on Wii Music. Gamers HAD to take a stand and prevent games like Wii Music from ever entering the market. It was perhaps the darkest moment for a Nintendo fan ever. Not even the first unveiling of “Wind Waker” managed to create controversy as big as this one!
So, after E3 ended Nintendo noticed the clear angst amongst its fanbase and realized that their presentation really did suck. From then on, Nintendo cut all the “easy” crap and decided to present Wii Music as a game that anyone can enjoy, but offered enough depth to keep even the most demanding gamer at bay.
Nintendo started its promotions by showing many of the game’s 60 instruments and how they are played using the Wii remote and nunchuck. Then it had its main creator Shigeru Miyamoto offer insights on the making of the game, from its conception to final release and even alienated reactions.
This proved that Wii Music was born out of the need to make music simple enough to inspire people to pick up a real instrument, especially young children. It was a very romantic and idealistic approach that convinced many that Wii Music isn’t as bad as it seems.
But what really sold the game was JC Rodrigo’s
presentation at a Google show. Cutting the cheesy enthusiasm and getting down to business JC showed one aspect of the game no one, not even Nintendo, ever realized; the option of remixing tunes to your liking. This quick presentation proved that Wii Music had potential. It’s simple and easy to learn mechanics allowed would me musicians to pick any instrument and remix a song however THEY saw it fit. In other words, if you wanted to make an NES version of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” you could do it. If you wanted to do a rock remix of the Animal Crossing theme, you could do it too. The only limitation was your own imagination.
But despite a more calm presentation, better insight and more support from Nintendo fans STILL refused to accept the fact that Wii Music exists. So much so that certain gaming websites declared this the worst Nintendo game ever and even used it to prove that Nintendo didn’t care anymore. Was all of this true? Well…no.
Wii Music is a surprisingly good title that will provide hours of fun to those that decide to see it for what it is; an alternative to the many music games crowding the market. It’s a niche title; mind you, one that needs improvement if they are planning a sequel, but one worth experience for yourself.
The reaction to Wii Music spawned a much debated topic about how Nintendo fans are reaction to Nintendo’s new direction. But that’s something I’ll talk about later…
And to end the year of angst, Nintendo released
“Animal Crossing: City Folk”. Animal Crossing Wii was a highly anticipated title, simply because Nintendo used it as an example of how the Wii’s online capabilities would allow for fun and compelling online play. Not to mention that since Animal Crossing: Wild World was such a big improvement over the original Animal Crossing the series can only go up.
At the same E3 of doom in which Wii Music was born at, Nintendo first debuted City Folk much to everyone’s dismay. It looked EXACTLY like Wild World! No improvement was seen whatsoever! The only new additions were a City which housed many old features and online voice chat! Wait…did I say voice chat?
Yep. One big improvement this new version of Animal Crossing brought was online chat through Wii Speak, a microphone that sits on top of your TV without the need to use headsets, creating an experience everyone can participate in.
But enough about that. City Folk killed any hope that it would be a massive step up from the DS version. Fans could hardly get excited for it. And the fact that there were no other titles to end the year hurt fans even more!
All of this, however, would be short lived as the game neared release. Simply put, Animal Crossing is too much of a charming game to stay mad at. The formula just works, even if it hardly ever evolves from time to time. Experienced players would discover, however, that the game had more new features than anyone though. And Wii Speak really added to the experience. So despite the angst everyone just when furry for Animal Crossing, even with no updates and all.
Now, there were two titles released in 2008 that got a lot of fans talking…even if their chances of being released in the US are zilch.
The first is
“Captain Rainbow”, a game by the creators of the ever so charming “Chibi-Robo”. It tells the story of a nerdy character named Nick who is, in fact, a technicolor superhero called “Captain Rainbow”. At the height of his popularity Nick discovers that there are better, cooler heroes and that his popularity would soon disappear. Knowing this he sets out towards a magical island which is said to grant wishes to anyone that sets foot on its sands.
Now, the story is already quirky enough, but wait till you see what happens next!
When Nick arrives at the island he discovers that he is NOT the only one there hoping to get a wish. He discovers none other than various Nintendo stars! Well, more like characters from Nintendo’s B, C and D list, but are stars nonetheless. There are all there hoping to become stars once more, a very clever jab towards Nintendo’s reluctance to update some of their older franchises. Some include Birdo from Mario, Crazy Tracy from Zelda and a very, very fat Little Mac from Punch-Out.
Your goal now is to help these characters wish upon a star and make their dreams come true.
This concept had many fans excited as it sounded like a Nintendo fanservice game that anyone could enjoy, and Chibi-Robo proved that the folks at Skips can really make a great game, even if it looks like crap.
When the game was released in Japan fans quickly imported a copy to see what it was all about, only to discover that the game was racier than anyone expected it to be. It started with a scene in which Birdo is confused for a male character as she comes out of the bathroom, and you as Captain Rainbow had to discover evidence that he was really a she. As you explore Birdo’s house you discovered something that vibrates and was censored…Hmm…
Then there’s a questionable scene between Takamaru and Tracy…
The slightly perverted sense of humor coupled with the quirky gameplay and obscure characters pretty much guaranteed that this rainbow would stay put in Japan. For a while, there were rumors that there would be at least a European release but nothing has come out of it.
The other game that created a lot of attention was
“Disaster: Day of crisis”. It was a game so controversial that it nearly rivaled Wii Music in terms of sheer fan angst.
Disaster was one of the touted new IPs that Nintendo proudly showed off at the Wii’s E3 premiere. But this dream would quickly be shattered as “Project HAMMER”, another new IP, was quickly cancelled and Disaster was no where to be seen. Through 2007 we kept hearing reports that the game was quickly canned when it didn’t meet Nintendo’s demands. But then they announced that they acquired Monolith Software, the company behind Disaster and the very popular Xenosaga series. So if Disaster was really, well, a disaster, why would Nintendo go their way to acquire the company?
During early 2008, however, we finally hear word of Disaster, complete with a summer 2008 release date, brand new footage and gameplay information. Disaster, like the infamous GLADOS, was still alive. But it quickly went back into obscurity as the game was delayed, not to be heard from again. This once again fueled the rumors that the game was going to get canceled. But by mid fall 2008 the game resurfaced once again and finally saw released in Japan and Europe. With this a reality American fans became happy that a potential new IP would be released soon…until Reggie Fils Aime quickly destroyed those dreams. This is where the controversy comes in.
When asked if Nintendo was planning an US released Reggie mentioned that Nintendo was taking a “wait and see” approach with Disaster and were waiting to see how it performed in Europe. If it bombed then say good bye to a solid game. Time and time again, Reggie kept affirming that the game simply wasn’t worth Nintendo’s time; going as far as to say that Nintendo felt the game wasn’t good enough to warrant a 50 dollar price tag.
Why? Was Nintendo upset at Monolith for creating a game that was only decent? Was there some unheard turmoil within the walls at Nintendo? Or, was Reggie not a fan of the game to begin with? All of these moments made fans upset because, quite honestly, made Nintendo look arrogant, especially since in the past they would support titles like this. Not to mention that Disaster was already dubbed in English and featured a concept that would likely do better in the States than in any other part of the world. So Nintendo’s reluctance to release Disaster in the US remains one of the biggest mysteries of 2008.
But there is some hope, although in the form of rumors. One fan e-mailed a Nintendo representative regarding the release of Disaster in the US. The representative proudly responded that it would indeed see release in the US and would be very soon.
Could this person be true? Does this annihilate any of the comments made by Reggie about the game? Only time will tell…
*Gasp…gasp…
HOLY CRAP WHAT A BUSY YEAR!
Nintendo truly rocked things in 2008, whether through the release of blockbuster titles or further pissing their fans off in ways no one expected. Was this a bad year for releases as fans say it is? Not really. Controversial? Yes. But bad? No. In my honest opinion this is a product of a fanbase that feels alienated by how Nintendo is running things now. Yes, this year lacked the freshness and innovation seen in prior years, making it look pretty unspectacular. But still it delivered a lot of games that are worth playing and, once again, provide the fun only Nintendo can do.
And I haven’t even mentioned the games you download to your console!
TO BE CONTINUED
Topic: The Wii in 2008 or... "THE TERRIBLE TWOS!!!" (Read 26256 times)
