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maxcriden · Apr 16, 2016

Please don't just list games, I want to know why the game you're talking about is awesome.

The Wii Shop launched on 11/19/2006, so later this year we're coming up on 10 years of the service. With the DSi Shop shutting down next year, I'm assuming we will only see the Wii Shop continue for a couple more years and I expect more games to be delisted in the interim.

To that end, I'm planning to purchase several Wii VC and WiiWare games I missed out on. The previous thread about VC games is here/ and more discussion there as well would be very welcome and appreciated.

I'd like to know--

-What were your favorite WiiWare games that you'd never played before (if they were available previously)?

-What are your overall recommended WiiWare games that aren't available via other systems or PC, i.e. WiiWare exclusives?

And, special bonus question for my own selfish purposes: I don't tend to care much for violent games with lots of fighting or shooting (except some shmups), or ones with a darker aesthetic like Castlevania. So, I'd particularly selfishly appreciate games that don't fall into hat category. Thank you!

kulapik · Apr 16, 2016

You meant 2006, not 2016

Both LostWinds games were pretty good, as well as the Final Fantasy My Life As

maxcriden · Apr 16, 2016

kulapik said:
You meant 2006, not 2016

Both LostWinds games were pretty good, as well as the Final Fantasy My Life As

Whoops. Fixed. Thank you!

Yrael · Apr 16, 2016

My favourite WiiWare games were probably LostWinds and its sequel, though of course, they're now available on mobile and PC so are no longer Wii exclusive. They weren't particularly lengthy games, but they were lovely and soothing, not to mention beautiful to look at. It's a shame that LostWinds 3 was never made. I recommend buying these if you like relaxing sidescrolling platformers.

I also poured a ridiculous amount of time into Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King. It's a relatively simple town building game (you play as the king and do not undertake quests yourself, sending out adventurers and mages to do it for you instead), but something about it hooked me. I enjoyed watching my city expand from an empty courtyard to a bustling and vibrant community.

Wii-Ware-Kanal-Final-Fantasy-Crystal-Chronicles-My-Life-as-a-King-600x450-b95ce1410ae2548c.jpg

Edit:

kulapik said:
You meant 2006, not 2016

Both LostWinds games were pretty good, as well as the Final Fantasy My Life As

Great minds, haha.

Nintenleo · Apr 16, 2016

World of Goo Wii is the best version of the game and it's really one of the best games of the previous generation. Even if my favourite WiiWare game was Cubello

ElectricBlanketFire · Apr 16, 2016

Mega Man 9.

This was and is my ultimate dream game. A brand new "NES" Mega Man.

Arguably the best in the series too.

Ban Puncher · Apr 16, 2016

HUELEN10 · Apr 16, 2016

My 2009 GOTY is a WiiWare game...

Excitebike: World Rally

World Rally is the latest EXCITE game and the 3rd one for the console. It has a level editor, amazing courses, excellent controls, multiple camera options, and one of the best soundtracks for any retro-revival type game period.

Seriously, easily one of the best entries in the series and I would love a sequel to it, or even a mere port, to 3DS.

Refreshment.01 · Apr 16, 2016

i saw your firt thread Max, ever since then, i wanted to ask if you would have a part of this series specially dedicated about games that used the Wii interface in clever or original ways?

For me that would be the most interest part since it could encourage to revisit the Wii eShop in search of this type of experiences.

n64coder · Apr 16, 2016

maxcriden said:
Please don't just list games, I want to know why the game you're talking about is awesome.

Friendly reminder, peeps. I'm interested in this thread as I never bought a WiiWare game. I did buy a bunch of VC games though.

kulapik said:
Both LostWinds games were pretty good, as well as the Final Fantasy My Life As

Nintenleo said:
World of Goo Wii is the best version of the game and it's really one of the best games of the previous generation. Even if my favourite WiiWare game was Cubello

ElectricBlanketFire said:
Mega Man 9.

This was and is my ultimate dream game. A brand new "NES" Mega Man.

Nesther · Apr 16, 2016

Man Puncher said:

My SO showed me a video of this one recently, it looks hilarious.

maxcriden · Apr 16, 2016

Refreshment.01 said:
i saw your firt thread Max, ever since then, i wanted to ask if you would have a part of this series specially dedicated about games that used the Wii interface in clever or original ways.

For me that would be the most interest part since it could encourage to revisit the Wii eShop in search of this type of experiences.

Sure, I'd love to do that. I hadn't thought of it but I'll be glad to. What do you mean by "using the Wii interface in clever or original ways"--like just in Wii Shop games (such as HUELEN's beloved Excitebike requiring shaking the controller to get back on your bike), or in Wii games in general (such as the infinitely clever interactions in Zack & Wiki)?

Ban Puncher · Apr 16, 2016

Pole's Big Adventure

Refreshment.01 · Apr 16, 2016

maxcriden said:
Sure, I'd love to do that. I hadn't thought of it but I'll be glad to. What do you mean by "using the Wii interface in clever or original ways"--like just in Wii Shop games (such as HUELEN's beloved Excitebike requiring shaking the controller to get back on your bike), or in Wii games in general (such as the infinitely clever interactions in Zack & Wiki)?

Well since you were talking about eShop games, my suggestion was in the confines of the eShop obviously. However, i would also like the idea to do a more general thread about these types of games.

BUt maybe eShop for now, since it would fit in the series of topics you are making.

Nosgotham · Apr 16, 2016

i love final fantasy: my life as a dark lord. such an amazing defense game and i usually hate those!
also there is a very quirky runner called Tomena Sanner. was better with online leaderboards but still worth 5 bucks

flintstryker · Apr 16, 2016

World of Goo

rjc571 · Apr 16, 2016

The best Wiiware game hands down is Fluidity (aka Hydroventure in Europe). It's a Metroid-style adventure where you control a pool of water through open-ended storybook environments on a quest to recover captured rainbow water droplets. The storybooks are laid out as a series of interconnected panels on each page, and each panel typically consists of one or more rainbow droplets which can be collected after solving a puzzle or performing a specific task. As you progress through the game you eventually gain the ability to switch between solid/liquid/gas as well as a few other abilities specific to each state, allowing you to go back and solve previously unsolvable puzzles or reach previously unreachable areas. The puzzle design in the game is absolutely top-notch, with every puzzle having its own unique feel and requiring you to interact with things in the environment in a unique way. The controls and water physics are spot on as well, and the game has tons of content, a perfect level of challenge, and has lovely music and gorgeous visuals while running at a perfect 60 fps (something which the 3DS sequel unfortunately fails to achieve). It easily holds its own as one of the best indie games ever released on any platform.

lyrick · Apr 16, 2016

Some of the Crazy remakes/remasters were awesome:

Blaster Master
Castlevania Adventure
Contra
Bubble Bobble
La Mulana

maxcriden · Apr 16, 2016

Refreshment.01 said:
Well since you were talking about eShop games, my suggestion was in the confines of the eShop obviously. However, i would also like the idea to do a more general thread about these types of games.

BUt maybe eShop for now, since it would fit in the series of topics you are making.

I think I can spin it off into a larger discussion. I agree that would be more interesting. I really like the suggestion, thank you. However, if you do want to make the thread yourself, you're more than welcome to of course.

rjc571 said:
The best Wiiware game hands down is Fluidity (aka Hydroventure in Europe). It's a Metroid-style adventure where you control a pool of water through open-ended storybook environments on a quest to recover captured rainbow water droplets. The storybooks are laid out as a series of interconnected panels on each page, and each panel typically consists of one or more rainbow droplets which can be collected after solving a puzzle or performing a specific task. As you progress through the game you eventually gain the ability to switch between solid/liquid/gas as well as a few other abilities specific to each state, allowing you to go back and solve previously unsolvable puzzles or reach previously unreachable areas. The puzzle design in the game is absolutely top-notch, with every puzzle having its own unique feel and requiring you to interact with things in the environment in a unique way. The controls and water physics are spot on as well, and the game has tons of content, a perfect level of challenge, and has lovely music and gorgeous visuals while running at a perfect 60 fps (something which the 3DS sequel unfortunately fails to achieve). It easily holds its own as one of the best indie games ever released on any platform.

Haha, I was reading through this and waiting to see when you'd mention 60 fps.

We have the game but my wife found it a bit dizzying so we only played maybe 15-20 mins of it and I haven't gotten back to it yet. I'd really like to, though, it looks right up my alley. Actually, come to think of it it reminds me a bit of one of my favorite DS games, Soul Bubbles. (My LTTP for that game is here if you're interested.) I bet you'd like that game a lot, too.

What's the fps like in the 3DS version, and how is that game more generally?

lyrick said:
Some of the Crazy remakes/remasters were awesome:

Blaster Master
Castlevania Adventure
Contra
Bubble Bobble
La Mulana

I didn't realize Blaster Master had a remake. How does it compare with the original (which I've been meaning to check out)? For some reason I always get that game confused with Ufouria, but I think I only have that one on VC and not Blaster Master (which I suppose I'd get on 3DS instead).

SoundPulse · Apr 16, 2016

The Konami/M2 games.

Gradius Rebirth is based more on the Nemesis games, but is something of a remix, using levels from across the series. If you enjoy the Gradius series, it's a no-brainer.

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth took an old gameboy game and made it pretty darn good.

Contra ReBirth is good ol' Contra, so take that as you will.

lyrick · Apr 16, 2016

maxcriden said:
I didn't realize Blaster Master had a remake. How does it compare with the original (which I've been meaning to check out)? For some reason I always get that game confused with Ufouria, but I think I only have that one on VC and not Blaster Master (which I suppose I'd get on 3DS instead).

Same game essentially with a face lift. It's still hard as hell, but it has a map as well as a save feature now. No more pause glitch though.

maxcriden · Apr 16, 2016

lyrick said:
Same game essentially with a face lift. It's still hard as hell, but it has a map as well as a save feature now. No more pause glitch though.

Thank you. I gotta check this out, I wonder which aesthetic would be more appealing to me.

rjc571 · Apr 16, 2016

maxcriden said:
I think I can spin it off into a larger discussion. I agree that would be more interesting. I really like the suggestion, thank you. However, if you do want to make the thread yourself, you're more than welcome to of course.

Haha, I was reading through this and waiting to see when you'd mention 60 fps.

We have the game but my wife found it a bit dizzying so we only played maybe 15-20 mins of it and I haven't gotten back to it yet. I'd really like to, though, it looks right up my alley. Actually, come to think of it it reminds me a bit of one of my favorite DS games, Soul Bubbles. (My LTTP for that game is here if you're interested.) I bet you'd like that game a lot, too.

What's the fps like in the 3DS version, and how is that game more generally?

Spin Cycle (the 3DS game) is 30 fps. It was pretty jarring to me at first, but it never drops below that and it's not the type of game that absolutely requires 60, so in the end I got over it and managed to enjoy it. Spin Cycle ditches the Metroid concept for a more traditional level based system. It also has two distinct types of levels which each make up around half of the main game. The first type of level is reminiscent of the puzzles you encountered in the original Fluidity, but the levels were typically longer and more involved than Fluidity's individual puzzles/panels. The second type of level, which is where the game really shined, is the "full rotation" levels, which takes full advantage of the 3DS's gyroscopic controls to allow you to rotate the level a full 360 degrees by rotating your 3DS likewise, making for some very interesting puzzles. The 360 degree control setup worked perfectly on my original 3DS, though if you're using an XL I could see it being a bit more bothersome. The game actually took me longer to complete 100% than the original, and the puzzle design by and large was of a similar caliber. If it had run at 60 fps I would put it right up there with the original game, but I have to knock it down a couple of pegs due to running at only 30.

ElectricBlanketFire · Apr 16, 2016

n64coder said:
Friendly reminder, peeps. I'm interested in this thread as I never bought a WiiWare game. I did buy a bunch of VC games though.

Saying it's my dream game isn't a good enough reason?

Chopper · Apr 16, 2016

maxcriden said:
What's the fps like in the 3DS version, and how is that game more generally?

30fps. Doesn't appear to drop.

The game is fantastic, even though it makes some changes from the Wii version.

I actually made an OT for it, but it didn't really take off.

nephilimdj · Apr 16, 2016

My Life as a King was pretty good, its a town sim with limited person and building management.
It was pretty limited thanks to Nintendo's Eshop size limit, a bit grindy and limited. Most people would enjoy it for 2-3 hours.

woopWOOP · Apr 16, 2016

Don't think any come close to Mega Man 9 and 10 for me. Some of the best Mega Man entries.

Excitebike World Rally was pretty fun too, but the removal of offline means its lost a big chunk of content.
Bomberman, Dr.Mario Rx and Swords & Soldiers were really fun for local multiplayer.

The Konami Rebirth games and Bubble Bobble were pretty fun singleplayer games too. That little girl robot in Contra was so weird tho, lol.

Airola · Apr 16, 2016

LA-MULANA
My all-time favorite video game.
It's the perfect evolution of the action adventure genre. No other game has made this spot-on feeling of exploration, adventure and archeology.

TOKI TORI
One of the best puzzle platformers ever made.

EDIT:
Also, you should check out the "remakes / reboots / new versions / sequels" of classic games such as:
Adventure Island
Arkanoid
Bubble Bobble
Blaster Master
Castlevania
Contra
Excitebike
Gradius
Puzzle Bobble (Bust-a-Move)
Rainbow Islands

Sorry for just listing these, but I thought an extensive list of these "retro-reboots" might help people who might wonder which retro games were remade / got reboots or sequels on WiiWare.
Those are the ones I remember at the moment. It might be there are more though.

G0523 · Apr 16, 2016

Man Puncher said:
Pole's Big Adventure

We're gonna need some context for this game. What is it? Was it released outside of Japan? (I"ll admit, just from the picture I'm curious to know more about this game.)

As for my picks of the best WiiWare games:

What were your favorite WiiWare games that you'd never played before (if they were available previously)?

I don't really think I have any? The closest ones were probably the first three Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games. But I'm still having trouble getting through the second one due to lack of interest. I forgot that Capcom's games typically aren't that great in their second installments. Plus, now that the games are available on iOS/Android and 3DS, picking them up for WiiWare seems kinda silly.

What are your overall recommended WiiWare games that aren't available via other systems or PC, i.e. WiiWare exclusives?

My favorite games from WiiWare were Mega Man 9, Jett Rocket, and NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits.

Mega Man 9 was just so much fun since I really liked the original NES Mega Man games.
Jett Rocket was great since it's a 3D platformer and there aren't many of those around anymore.
NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits was a fun 2.5D platformer that used the Wii Remote well but not annoyingly so.

And, special bonus question for my own selfish purposes: I don't tend to care much for violent games with lots of fighting or shooting (except some shmups), or ones with a darker aesthetic like Castlevania. So, I'd particularly selfishly appreciate games that don't fall into hat category. Thank you!

If you really enjoyed 3D platformers and miss them, I would definitely recommend Jett Rocket. It's kind of genericy looking but it's still pretty fun and fulfills that need for a 3D platformer. It's not available anywhere else besides WiiWare so if you're still curious about it there's always a free demo that you can try out. There's also a sequel but it plays more like a 2.5D platformer and it's only available on 3DS.

I think you would also like NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits as well. It's not violent and it's really fun. There's a demo for this too on WiiWare but the full game is also available on Steam and iOS.

There's also on shmup on WiiWare called Kyotokei. It's bright and colorful and kind of reminds me of Ikaruga since it plays with the light/dark mechanics (except they're red/blue here) and it's also really fun. There's a demo for that too if you're curious about it.

Actually, the best part about WiiWare is that there are a LOT of demos that you can try out before you buy the full game. I wholeheartedly recommend doing this since digital purchases are not refundable.

TheMoon · Apr 17, 2016

Nosgotham said:
i love final fantasy: my life as a dark lord. such an amazing defense game and i usually hate those!
also there is a very quirky runner called Tomena Sanner. was better with online leaderboards but still worth 5 bucks

Came here to post this. Glad I wasn't the first!

The game is an automatic-runner with a hilariously wacky sense of humor from Konami.

Here's a trailer. Love the logline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cJ02vxbazA

Business man Hitoshi Susumu is behind schedule and is in quite a rush. In fact, he won't stop once he starts to run! Dashing past samurais, T-Rexes, cowboys, and all manner of wacky obstacles Mr. Susumu must get to the goal as fast as he can for the ultimate 2D dance party.

Another one nobody has mentioned yet is And Yet it Moves. The WiiWare version is far superior to the PC version due to the (optional) motion controls. You rotate the 2D world around with the Wiimote trying to create a floor for your character to jump/fall on. It's a brilliant game.

Check this amazing mix of live-action and gameplay trailer for Broken Rules' debut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6q5Bb6SOyc

9%20chapter%202%20-%20its%20a%20bug%20-%20walking%20on%20nothing-620x.jpg

I am Christina Aguilera · Apr 17, 2016

Man Puncher said:
Pole's Big Adventure

G0523 said:
We're gonna need some context for this game. What is it? Was it released outside of Japan? (I"ll admit, just from the picture I'm curious to know more about this game.)

Yes! This game rules! So yeah, Pole no Daibouken/Pole's Big Adventure, at its core, is Sega making fun of Super Mario Bros. 1 and the NES (no, not the Master System, the NES). To dash all hopes immediately, no, it never got a release outside of Japan. It was in kind of a will-they-won't-they limbo for a while for the rest of the world, but I would assume that Sega skipped out on it because the graphic style suggests that it's geared to or friendly for children, but it's full of little unexpected pieces of what most of the western world would consider adult humor. It also happens to be full, surprisingly, of a LOT of Japanese voice acting and text, so Sega may have considered all of the localization efforts to be a bit much for a small downloadable game.

So you're basically cowboy Mario, but you kill enemies by shooting them instead of jumping. The game is full of gags/jokes hidden within the level designs, and to the extent that you can "100%" the game, you do it by unlocking all of the hidden gags. While this is going on, an announcer is periodically cracking wise about it all with graphic text overlays, Japanese TV show/talk show-style. Suffice it to say, the rest of the world was robbed.

Nosgotham · Apr 17, 2016

ok im gonna mention a couple more.

GyroStar- this is a behund the ship ''tunnel'' shooter that has you going through psychadelic level shooting and collecfing powerups. the real fun comes when up to 4 players play togetger because you can line your ships up and increase your firepower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYugbKSzh14

art style light trax is a really cool game as well. its a racing game but you control a line, avoiding obstacles, boosting etc.. very simple but tons of fun and a really cool soundtrack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvJcnVr-9dg

also bomberman blast is such a good classic bomberman game. i hate that online no longer works on wii

maxcriden · Apr 17, 2016

G0523 said:
Actually, the best part about WiiWare is that there are a LOT of demos that you can try out before you buy the full game. I wholeheartedly recommend doing this since digital purchases are not refundable.

Thanks for all the recommendations! I did mean to check out Jett Rocket and and NyxQuest as well. It's good to know there are demos out there for these. It seems like a surprising amount of demos are available, did Nintendo make that a requirement for WiiWare? I gave fond memories of demos being more of a thing. Especially during the PS2 era, those demo discs that came with OPM were a treasure trove of fun.

Katsuragi · Apr 17, 2016

La-Mulana is probably my favorite WiiWare game, though the PlayStation Vita version has extra features/content and is regarded as the superior version. The two LostWinds games are solid puzzle platformers that make good use of the Wiimote, so I'd definitely recommend those. I also had a lot of fun with And Yet It Moves and NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits. Cave Story is another excellent game, but I'd rather steer people towards the 3DS or Steam version.

The Technomancer · Apr 17, 2016

World of Goo remains amazing and also the best version of that game is still the Wii one for pointer controls.

MANUELF · Apr 17, 2016

The Ace Attorney games are the cheapest and easiest way to have them all and Nyx Quest was a really goof platformer

Lord Azrael · Apr 17, 2016

Man Puncher said:

You're goddamn right.

For those not familiar, just look up videos. Words cannot adequately describe its magnificence.

Nibiru · Apr 17, 2016

I like the Dr. Mario on Wii Ware.

higemaru · Apr 17, 2016

You, Me, and the Cubes was one of the last Kenji Eno titles (D, Enemy Zero, founder of WARP) and it's available exclusively on Wiiware. It's an odd physics-based puzzle game and it's really eccentric just like anything Eno put out and it would be terrible for it to be lost to time. I don't want to sidetrack the topic but is WiiWare emulation a thing, I have no idea how saving things that are exclusive to digital storefronts work.

TheMoon · Apr 17, 2016

maxcriden said:
Thanks for all the recommendations! I did mean to check out Jett Rocket and and NyxQuest as well. It's good to know there are demos out there for these. It seems like a surprising amount of demos are available, did Nintendo make that a requirement for WiiWare? I gave fond memories of demos being more of a thing. Especially during the PS2 era, those demo discs that came with OPM were a treasure trove of fun.

Nintendo never makes feature requirements (for better or worse) of that nature other than typical "don't make our systems explode" stuff. Only MS did that with XBLA and demos for everything. If Ninty required it, all games would have it, wouldn't they?

higemaru said:
I don't want to sidetrack the topic but is WiiWare emulation a thing, I have no idea how saving things that are exclusive to digital storefronts work.

It's a thing but I know nothing about it other than they are files just like anything else that you can pop into a thing.

maxcriden · Apr 18, 2016

TheMoon said:
Nintendo never makes feature requirements (for better or worse) of that nature other than typical "don't make our systems explode" stuff. Only MS did that with XBLA and demos for everything. If Ninty required it, all games would have it, wouldn't they?

Gotcha, thanks for the clarification.

Yeah, that's what I thought I was thinking of--the XBLA system. It's interesting that regardless so many games had demos back then. Even at the beginning of the Wii U eShop we saw it a lot too. So I'm wondering why that practice stopped. I feel like it could really help a lot of overlooked Nindies, and same for other console indies as well.

G0523 · Apr 18, 2016

maxcriden said:
Gotcha, thanks for the clarification. Yeah, that's what I thought I was thinking of--the XBLA system. It's interesting that regardless so many games had demos back then. Even at the beginning of the Wii U eShop we saw it a lot too. So I'm wondering why that practice stopped. I feel like it could really help a lot of overlooked Nindies, and same for other console indies as well.

The reason why it stopped was because publishers saw that people were playing the demo but not buying the full game. Or they tried the demo and didn't like it and didn't buy the full game.

anon_mastermind · Apr 18, 2016

The Art Style games were some of my favourites. Specifically, light trax and Orbient really stood out to me. Another series that was great was Bit.Trip. All six titles are great score attack games with amazing music and style. Finally, some good games that haven't been mentioned in the thread: Motoheroz, Art of Balance, FAST Racing League, and Driift Mania.

TheMoon · Apr 18, 2016

maxcriden said:
Gotcha, thanks for the clarification. Yeah, that's what I thought I was thinking of--the XBLA system. It's interesting that regardless so many games had demos back then. Even at the beginning of the Wii U eShop we saw it a lot too. So I'm wondering why that practice stopped. I feel like it could really help a lot of overlooked Nindies, and same for other console indies as well.

The demos were a desperate attempt to make some games sell. Remember how ridiculously overlooked the whole Wii Shop was? A WiiWare game came out and practically nobody talked about it anywhere. With maybe one exception per year or so. The cumbersome store interface was prohibitive to impulse purchases and discoveries so putting a demo up there was an attempt to get some eyeballs on your game in a sea of "what is this." It's such a tragedy. :/

Toadthemushroom · Apr 18, 2016

Maboshi: The Three Shape Arcade.

Really fun set of arcade-style score based challenge games, all played via one-handed Wiimote controls. I miss games like this.

Found a great review here: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=229163

Schlomo · Apr 18, 2016

rjc571 said:
The best Wiiware game hands down is Fluidity (aka Hydroventure in Europe).

Quoted for truth. Everyone get this game!

The sequel on 3DS was a huge letdown for me because it ditches the exploration and Mario 64 like "collect stuff to open up new doors" concept in favor of self-contained stages. It also made collecting all the water in a stage meaningless unless you also did the time trial at the same time for the full 5 star ranking, which took out all the motivation I had to collect everything.

HyperZone<3 · Apr 18, 2016

Ghostslayer was a pretty decent Sword-em-up that well utilized the Wii Motion Plus controller. I don't think Nintendo even sells vanilla Wiimotes anymore so a lot more people could play this now.

Wayforward's Lit was pretty dynamite as well. A clever light-and-darkness puzzle game with a high school horror theme. It continued Wayforward's streak of great games that generally go ignored by the public.

maxcriden · Apr 18, 2016

HyperZone<3 said:
Wayforward's Lit was pretty dynamite as well. A clever light-and-darkness puzzle game with a high school horror theme. It continued Wayforward's streak of great games that generally go ignored by the public.

Ooh. Lit looks good. Really good. Thanks for the recommendation! Was there ever any GAF OT?

Toadthemushroom · Aug 28, 2016

Did anyone play the two M2-developed "Rebirth" titles from Konami? I think there was a Castlevania one, and Contra. Always wondered if they were worth a shot.

I really liked Star Soldier R. The nice thing about WiiWare was how it was very much a curated service by both market conditions and by technological limitations. The 40MB filesize, while small, meant developers had to focus on building a very specific type of game for the service, and the fact that Nintendo wasn't selling disc games digitally meant that WiiWare could be a separate space.

So Star Soldier R fit WiiWare pretty well, Hudson Soft (RIP...) made a game that revolved entirely around timed-score attacks, and it was great. While there were only two levels (a 2 minute run and a 5 minute run), I remember replaying these two modes dozens of times each day to try and get further each time, or try to get a higher score or utilise better combos the next time around.

The game supporting Nintendo WFC leaderboards probably played as large a role in this as the great level design, but having this title sitting on my Wii Channels menu, next to whatever disc I had in there at the time (Mario Kart Wii? No More Heroes?) made it irresistable to stay away from.

On a related note, we'll no longer be able to purchase new DSiWare games to a DSi or DSi XL in a month's time, with all games on the service soon to live on as 3DS eShop titles - a thread celebrating the best of DSiWare might be quite nice! Just catching up on some DSiWare games myself: Reflect Missile, Art Style: Code, Trailblaze: Puzzle Incinerator, Art Style: Intersect/Digidrive...the beauty of DSiWare is it goes a step further than WiiWare and the leading games focus even more on just realising great game ideas.

jblank83 · Aug 28, 2016

Excitebike World Rally

(above screenshot is high res, from Dolphin)

This is a solid remake of Excitebike with some modern control revisions and expanded map design. It was so fun I was hoping Nintendo was going to make this sort of retro remake a consistent thing on the Wii. I would've liked to see remakes of "lesser" games like Gumshoe Detective and Gyromite in this style.

Did anyone play the two M2-developed "Rebirth" titles from Konami? I think there was a Castlevania one, and Contra. Always wondered if they were worth a shot.

Castlevania is very solid. Highly recommend.

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card-carrying scientician

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