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[edwardslane]

sweet! I skipped playing mario tennis for gamecube as well.. I'll def be buying this update at such a cheap price.. Pikmin as well perhaps

I loved pikmin..

is it just pikmin 1 ? or does it have both pikmin 1 and 2.. if it's just pikmin 1 i might buy it.. if it featured both it would be day 1

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Just Pikmin 1; Pikmin 2 will come later.

 

[Meliorism]

The N64 version of Mario Tennis was so much better than Mario Power Tennis on the Gamecube.

I remember really looking forward to MPT the day it came out. I bought it and my brother bought Final Fantasy X. Suffice it to say, he got significantly more out of his game than I got out of mine.

MPT is so watered down compared to the original. Everything plays slower in order to accompany all the stupid special moves. Even for an arcadey title like the Mario sports games have always been, MPT was stupid. Certain characters had offensive special moves that did not seem like they could be countered with a defensive special.

Ugh, I just want Mario Tennis (N64) on the Wii with online play without the Nintendo bullshit that seems to plague most of their titles currently.

 

[mrklaw]

Hmm. Well, the Wii controls were so natural, I don't think I'd want them any other way. Nobody should worry about them at all.

Anyway, if anyone thinks the original controls in any of these games were better, there's nothing stopping them from just going back and playing the originals.

there is though - they are difficult to find. I went through a phase of rebuying pal gc games to play on the wii, but couldn't find pikmin 1 or 2. I still have them on ntsc but can't play those on a pal wii.
Do these games have any option for 'original' controls, using an attached gc controller or classic controller?

 

[DefectiveReject]

After giving up on my search for Pikmin 1 and 2 on GC, to play on my Wii i lost all hope of ever playing these wonderful gems again.
And then like some Psychic wonder doll, Nintendo announce The New Play Control series.

I received my copy of Pikmin yesterday . . . . and it was a very very sad occasion




Why??
Because this damned awesome 8 year old game LOOKS better than 90% of all other games on Wii. 3rd parties are ass hats.
The same old charm is there, the colourful palette and the same old shame as any of your Pikmin passes away
One cool new feature (As far as i am aware) is the ability to change the colour of Pikmin you are holding through button presses rather than letting go and trying to isolate the one you want.

The Wii controls were made for this game, i know the GC controls were all kinds of awesome, but trust me when i say you'll love them. I really can't wait until last generations best game (Pikmin 2) is released in this range (Hopefully they'll make the co-op play online!)
As for looking forward to Pikmin 3, all i can say is if we get this game, bought up to date a little more, with some online and some new pikmin, i'm willing to pay for me and anyone i know to play it.
god bless you Nintendo and all who sail upon you.

3rd parties . . . . Shame on you!

 

[antispin]

Any Mario Tennis impressions? Too much to expect a Wii Sports control scheme?

 

[grandjedi6]

Any Mario Tennis impressions? Too much to expect a Wii Sports control scheme?

.

New Play Control Mario Power Tennis for the Wii is a ported version of the GameCube title of the same name (minus the whole new control reference). That’s really all you need to know. If you liked the original but wished it included tiring and frustrating controls, your wish has come true. For anyone who missed the original, you’ll want to seriously stretch and think twice about serving up some cash for this once cherished competitors return to the digital court.

Most of the issues come from the painfully imprecise aiming (or lack of aiming, for that matter) that keeps practically every point going for far longer than they should. Since you rarely hit the ball as hard as you want or put away shots to specific parts of the court like you should be able to, you will end up getting into the most ridiculous looking rallies you have ever seen. Swinging diagonally upwards lets you put top spin on your shot, straight up lets you lob, straight across is for flat shots and down is for drop shots. For the most part, these motions will give you your desired shot, but far too often the motions will result in something completely different than what you wanted. The lob is particularly fickle, and because it’s such a strategic shot that needs to work the first time to really be effective, you will find yourself screaming at the game and frantically motioning upwards to get the shot to work.

Similar to the tennis in Wii Sports (although not nearly as intuitive or responsive), aiming comes down to timing. Swinging late means the ball will travel straight or the outside, while swinging early with pull the ball across the court. Like the various shot controls, aiming works some of the time, but don’t expect to have any real satisfying control over where the ball goes. Nowhere is this more apparent than in several of the mini-games. In one, you have to hit color-coded balls against a wall to fill in a black and white drawing of a particular character. Aside from having barely enough room to maneuver, you must hit shots that are infinitely more difficult than they should be, simply because the controls do not let you make the shots you need/want to make. Hitting a ball to the upper left or right hand corners of the wall is an act of sheer luck and randomness, two things you love to see in a sport about precision and skill.

And despite what the game says about swinging the Wiimote harder for stronger shots, you rarely hit a ball as hard as you think you should have. This means you will invariably end up swing as hard as you can on every shot in the hopes of catching that solid shot every once in a while. No real sense of control and virtual tennis elbow? Who can resist that combination?

http://g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/1910/Mario-Power-Tennis-Review.html

 

[antispin]

blah

Thanks!

Essentially, these are straight ports of older titles but with Wii-designed controls. This might sound lame and lazy, and given what’s on display in Power Tennis, that’s exactly what it is.

Any GAF impressions?

EDIT: That was such a pointless video review. "Oh hai! This game sucks. K, bye!"

 

[mrklaw]

After giving up on my search for Pikmin 1 and 2 on GC, to play on my Wii i lost all hope of ever playing these wonderful gems again.
And then like some Psychic wonder doll, Nintendo announce The New Play Control series.

I received my copy of Pikmin yesterday . . . . and it was a very very sad occasion




Why??
Because this damned awesome 8 year old game LOOKS better than 90% of all other games on Wii. 3rd parties are ass hats.
The same old charm is there, the colourful palette and the same old shame as any of your Pikmin passes away
One cool new feature (As far as i am aware) is the ability to change the colour of Pikmin you are holding through button presses rather than letting go and trying to isolate the one you want.

The Wii controls were made for this game, i know the GC controls were all kinds of awesome, but trust me when i say you'll love them. I really can't wait until last generations best game (Pikmin 2) is released in this range (Hopefully they'll make the co-op play online!)
As for looking forward to Pikmin 3, all i can say is if we get this game, bought up to date a little more, with some online and some new pikmin, i'm willing to pay for me and anyone i know to play it.
god bless you Nintendo and all who sail upon you.

3rd parties . . . . Shame on you!

damn, I'm sold. picked it up in GAME but put it back again. Hoping my son will love it, but he has to finish Sims:kingdom first

 

[A Twisty Fluken]

Thanks!



Any GAF impressions?

EDIT: That was such a pointless video review. "Oh hai! This game sucks. K, bye!"

I had none of the problems indicated by the review, once I got a hang of the strokes they were asking for.

 

[grandjedi6]

EDIT: That was such a pointless video review. "Oh hai! This game sucks. K, bye!"

You read Xplay reviews, you don't watch them.

 

[Cosmonaut X]

Picked up New Play Control! Pikmin and it's pretty good so far. Graphically it has aged a little - it's still nicely designed, but the textures (especially close-up) are rough and the models are very basic. However, it's still as charming and moving as it always was and the Wii controls are - so far- quick, intuitive and arguably better than the GC originals.

Really looking forward to spending the next week or so playing through the game again, and while I can't help feeling a little disappointed we're going to have to wait longer for Pikmin 3, it's great to revisit one of Nintendo's best recent IPs with the fresh twist the New Play Control series provides.

 

[Burai]

That's pretty cool. One cover to get people that don't know what it is to buy it and another one for the fans.

Could anyone confirm this cover switcheroo for US and EU covers?

Just picked it up:

 

[Osuwari]

wut? europe beat us at this?

when's the first new play control game released in america?

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

wut? europe beat us at this?

when's the first new play control game released in america?

Pikmin and Mario Tennis in the 9th of March

 

[Osuwari]

Pikmin and Mario Tennis in the 9th of March

thanks.

the recent bad impressions on mario tennis have me doubting wether to get the game or just wait.
i'm also planning to import metroid prime because there's no US date yet.

for the guy who asked about keeping the GC version of mp1, keep it. trade in value will be very low and there's surely to be stuff that will be exclusive to it like sequence breaks.

 

[jesusraz]

Pikmin's so much better in this updated Wii version, so I'm definitely looking forward to Mario Tennis, despite the negative impressions so far. I'll reserve judgement for my playtime with it next month.

 

[BikoBiko]

Damnit, looks like I'll be waiting for a regular Mario Tennis Wii game

 

[rkenshin]

I love Mario Power Tennis, probably because I like the anime Prince of Tennis with all those crazy ass moves..

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Euro boxart owns NA and JP's.

 

[Alpha_eX]

Just picked it up:

Where'd you get that from, the box art looks much better than the one they have in HMV.

EDIT: The covers are reversible!

 

[Dash Kappei]

I really can't wait until last generations best game (Pikmin 2) is released in this range (Hopefully they'll make the co-op play online!)

They're not, I've received and e-mail ad from Nintendo Italia where they show the games they're going to release until 3d quarter 2009 and there's also Pikmin 2 in there with boxart and everything mentioning just the new controls featured.

 

[wrowa]

Euro boxart owns NA and JP's.

They are the same. It's just that the cover has two sides.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

They are the same. It's just that the cover has two sides.

Oh hell yes!

 

[Yes Boss!]

They are the same. It's just that the cover has two sides.

Shit, North America better step up and do the same!

 

[Fuzzy]

I never played either Pikmin. I feel so ashamed.

 

[slaughterking]

They are the same. It's just that the cover has two sides.

I'm glad they kept the USK smudge on the reversible side, too, for no apparent reason.

 

[charlequin]

I never played either Pikmin. I feel so ashamed.

You should.

 

[_Alkaline_]

Awesome reversible covers are awesome.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Shit, North America better step up and do the same!

I heard that when you reverse the cover on the North American version you get a picture of Reggie taking a shit on a copy of Disaster.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

I heard that when you reverse the cover on the North American version you get a picture of Reggie taking a shit on a copy of Disaster.

No that's the picture you get when you reach Platinum status in Club Nintendo, with the letter.

With Pikmin you get a shot him and Namco execs taking a shit on Fragile.

 

[ausoff2]

FAIL.

I really hope hope that was ironic.

 

[666]

So I just watched a Super Mario Tennis video on IGN... DO THE CHARACTERS REALLY MAKE THE EXACT SAME SOUND EVERY TIME THEY HIT THE BALL? Just watching the trailer & listening to Mario go 'aahhhhHHHH' EVERY DAMN SHOT made me want to kill myself. And WHERE'S THE PLAYER CONTROL WITH THE NUNCHUK, NINTENDO? Not interested...
Also, the voice over guy was DEFINITELY an Australian putting on an american accent.

 

[Struct09]

For those who don't like the box art, check out my post here.

Alternate box art included on the flip side of the cover:

Thank you NOA Hope all the other NPC games get this treatment as well.

 

[Hero of Legend]

It also shows that Pikmin does not have Dolby Pro Logic II support. So I guess it's not a standard like 16:9 (and 480p?) is in the NPC series.

Power Tennis NPC has it.

 

[A Link to the Past]

Overall, I'm most disappointed that they chose to do nothing new with Mario Power Tennis. Would it have been so hard for them to add some characters and stages? Well, probably, but they should have, to make it feel somewhat unique. Feels kinda dry with its outdated characters.

 

[Jme]

If they add widescreen support by remove GCN-controls I'm gonna be so pissed.

Are you seriously going to post this in every single thread about New Play Control titles?

 

[Yes Boss!]

Overall, I'm most disappointed that they chose to do nothing new with Mario Power Tennis. Would it have been so hard for them to add some characters and stages? Well, probably, but they should have, to make it feel somewhat unique. Feels kinda dry with its outdated characters.

New Play Controls. That is what they are selling them as and what they are giving us. Treat these as greatest hit Gamecube games rereleased for Wii, all with new controls.

 

[A Link to the Past]

New Play Controls. That is what they are selling them as and what they are giving us. Treat these as greatest hit Gamecube games rereleased for Wii, all with new controls.

Because Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is just new play controls.

 

[Buttseckslol]

Because Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is just new play controls.

Pretty much, yeah it is just new play controls. I've played DK Jungle Beat on the Wii and I don't know what you're talking about. Most of the "new" content in DK Jungle Beat is just recycled material from the main game. They're aren't any new characters or anything major added besides the new health system and controls unless I'm forgetting something. It's been a month or so since I've played it.

 

[Christine]

It also shows that Pikmin does not have Dolby Pro Logic II support. So I guess it's not a standard like 16:9 (and 480p?) is in the NPC series.

Pikmin was a launch title, so it was one of the only first-party GameCube titles that didn't use Factor 5's MuSyx DPLII implementation. If they do Luigi's Mansion as a New Play Control title, it will probably also be only stereo.

 

[A Link to the Past]

Pretty much, yeah it is just new play controls. I've played DK Jungle Beat on the Wii and I don't know what you're talking about. Most of the "new" content in DK Jungle Beat is just recycled material from the main game. They're aren't any new characters or anything major added besides the new health system and controls unless I'm forgetting something. It's been a month or so since I've played it.

Well, I guess all the people who said that it had new content were lying/wrong?

DKJB has mid-level checkpoints, levels changed up, and according to Famitsu, new stages.

Even Pikmin has a brand new save mechanic that has nothing to do with a new play control.

The fact of the matter is that with MPT released, we may not see a new Mario Tennis game for this console, so we may be stuck with last gen's characters and no online.

Speaking of which, they should have at least added online play.

 

[Buttseckslol]

Well, I guess all the people who said that it had new content were lying/wrong?

DKJB has mid-level checkpoints, levels changed up, and according to Famitsu, new stages.

Even Pikmin has a brand new save mechanic that has nothing to do with a new play control.

The fact of the matter is that with MPT released, we may not see a new Mario Tennis game for this console, so we may be stuck with last gen's characters and no online.

Speaking of which, they should have at least added online play.

Well, I won't argue that some small changes where made, but most of those changes either corrected problems in the original or were put their because of the new controls. The new health system had to be added because the old system would make the game too easy with the new controls and the same goes for added enemies. With the new health system in DKJB it was pretty important to add checkpoint especially to the later levels that are fairly challenging since it was near impossible to die in the original. As far as the "new stages" that's a bit of a stretch to say the least. The 2 "new" stages are again mostly recycled from various parts of the game. The first one is just a kind of Boss rush mode with all the Kong bosses. The second one is just the credit sequence where you swim and collect bananas with minor additions.

I wouldn't call any of these changes "major" and I don't see why anyone should expect new characters or anything like that.

 

[Yes Boss!]

I wouldn't call any of these changes "major" and I don't see why anyone should expect new characters or anything like that.

Yes, it seems like these minor changes are being generally implemented to make the games a bit more accessible. I think anybody anticipating new original content to be added will be setting oneself up for disappointment.

 

[A Link to the Past]

And I'm saying they should have and could have made Mario Power Tennis better than what it is. They could have used it to make a quasi-sequel by actually adding something unique. MPT seems to be the weakest of the New Play Control titles, with mixed reactions to its controls combined with absolutely nothing new added. At least Pikmin fixed a common problem had with it, the time limit, and DKJB changed up many of the game's mechanics.

 

[Yes Boss!]

And I'm saying they should have and could have made Mario Power Tennis better than what it is. They could have used it to make a quasi-sequel by actually adding something unique. MPT seems to be the weakest of the New Play Control titles, with mixed reactions to its controls combined with absolutely nothing new added. At least Pikmin fixed a common problem had with it, the time limit, and DKJB changed up many of the game's mechanics.

Yeah, I agree. I'm just saying I don't think that is the direction Nintendo plans to go with the series.

Also, the original save system in Pikmin was hardly problematic. In many ways, it is the reason I prefer Pikmin 1 to 2. I'm probably in the minority though.

I'm not really too excited for the Wii rerelease of MPT either but I'm predicting it will outsell all the others that have been announced so far.

 

[Buttseckslol]

At least Pikmin fixed a common problem had with it, the time limit, and DKJB changed up many of the game's mechanics.

Uh, I've played the wii version of Pikmin too and they didn't get rid of the time limit. It's still there and the only changes in that game are the controls and widescreen support.

 

[WordAssassin]

Damnit, looks like I'll be waiting for a regular Mario Tennis Wii game

It comes out March 9th... it's called Mario Power Tennis.

 

[DarkWish]

Uh, I've played the wii version of Pikmin too and they didn't get rid of the time limit. It's still there and the only changes in that game are the controls and widescreen support.

What they did instead is allow you to go back and play a day over again, which essentially accomplishes the same thing.

 

[Buttseckslol]

What they did instead is allow you to go back and play a day over again, which essentially accomplishes the same thing.

It allows you to reload your previous state by taking you back to the load menu so you can replay the day you're working on until you're happy and then want to save.

I don't understand your logic regarding this being the "same thing". I was under the impression that the reason people didn't like the time limit was because they found the game relaxing and wanted to play it at their leisure. The time limit prevented this and gave you a fairly limited amount of time to do stuff and you constantly felt pressured.