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I think Wii U is Nintendo's best console since the SNES

E

enigmatic_alex44

Whenever a game uses "middleware," I expect mediocrity. Just see how poor TLOU looks.
I know the Wii U is a commercial flop, but it's my favorite current gen console tbh and I think it's their best machine since the SNES. The amount of quality and effort they put into their first party titles for the system was amazing, it didn't deserve to go the way of the Virtual Boy. Was not a huge fan of the N64 (besides the two Zelda games and Mario 64), and the Gamecube was okay, but didn't really offer anything new (plus series staples like Mario Sunshine were a letdown). Going from the Wii to the Wii U feels like a very similar step in going from NES to SNES. Improved gaming experiences with substantially improved graphics.

Pros:
- Several of their series received their best installments yet on the Wii U; 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Pikmin 3, Smash 4, Yoshi's Woolly World, Tropical Freeze, New Super Mario Bros U/New Super Luigi U. I'm betting Paper Mario: Color Splash will follow this trend, can't wait.
- Amazing new IPs like Mario Maker and Splatoon, the best new ideas they've had since SNES. Both really justified the gamepad as well
- Off-TV play. Amazing feature available in most games, plus it made the Virtual Console worth it for me. Great way to play VC games instead of having old ass games blown up on an HDTV where they look beyond tragic
- Games like Tokyo Mirage Sessions (checking texts) and Deus Ex: Director's Cut used the gamepad in really cool ways. Shame more devs couldn't (or didn't want to) offer these experiences. I know it reads like the majority online hates the gamepad, but I think it's great honestly.
- There were some misfires (Star Fox Zero), but the gyroscopic aiming was amazing in games like Splatoon and Zelda TP and Wind Waker. Huge improvement over the "waggle" gimmick the Wii Remote introduced ugh.
- Seeing Nintendo games in HD for the first time. Nothing on next gen has impressed me as much as going through some of the levels in Mario Kart 8 for the first time, or the finale of 3D World or the open seas of Wind Waker HD for example.
- Full backwards compatibility with the previous gen. Great feature that's kind of taken for granted imo.
- Unlike the Wii which felt like them trying to capture the casuals and their grandmothers with TONS of shovelware available on the system, the Wii U just felt like they were trying to deliver solid gaming experiences, like so many of the ones found on the SNES.

Cons:
- Gamepad's poor battery life. Better be near a power outlet if you want some serious time with a game!
dbUgjcJ.gif

- Poor 3rd party support. I mean, it's been a thing with Nintendo for years, but never as bad as on the Wii U. The devs left in droves. This is one area where the Wii U really comes up short vs. the SNES.
- Can't play Blu-ray movies. I mean, it has a Blu-ray drive, what gives? I'm guessing something to do with Nintendo not wanting to pay licensing fees or something.

It's a shame the public voted and said "NO!" to Nintendo's somewhat awkward looking tablet based system, because it feels like the SNES in spirit and offers some of the best gaming experiences since Chrono Trigger, Yoshi's Island and Final Fantasy 6. Having a great time with Tokyo Mirage Sessions, it'll likely be my GOTY, unless Zero Time Dilemma steals that spot.

What is your take? Setting aside Wii U's status as a gigantic flop, is it their best console since the SNES when it comes to the actual games, hardware and fun had with the system?

G9G0PV0.gif
 
G

georly

Member
It has some of the best iterations in some of their long going franchises, but a lot of things hold it back.

I adore its library though. But it's hard to say if the sum of its library is greater than past consoles.
 
R

Red

Member
Are we not counting handhelds? Because the DS was a monster. Backwards compatible with GBA and a great, far-reaching library of its own.
 
Kadin

Kadin

Member
I love my Wii U but honestly I loved the N64 more. Maybe it's the nostalgia but there were so many games on that system that I spent hours upon hours on. The Wii U still gets some love but not nearly as much.
 
M

mp1990

Banned
I still prefer the GCN over the two, but I agree with you, the Wii U had a good run. It's a shame that the novelty of the console didn't pick up steam, I'd love to see it being implemented in more games.
 
M

MajorMane

Member
I can't speak as far back as the NES or really SNES (had one, but incredibly young) due to my age, but the Wii U has been my best purchase this generation and I have a PS4, Xbone, and Wii U.

The games are absolutely stellar and the library, despite being barren of 3rd party support and having to share development teams/time with the 3DS, is seriously one of the best out there. Absolutely fantastic games. The 1st party games on the Wii U are some of the best Nintendo has put out in years.
 
G

gweemz

Member
I love the Wii U but I had more fun with the Wii. Playing Wii Sports for the first time was the greatest thing ever.
 
D

DownGrader

Member
Wii U is awesome if you consider all platforms supported by it.

- Native Wii support
- NES, SNES, N64, GBA and DS Virtual Console support
- Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, TG-16 and arcade Wii Virtual Console support + some additional titles from the above category
- GameCube support thanks to homebrew

Best first Nintendo console.
 
G

GrayFoxBH

Member
I highly disagree. In addition to the limited games library, Wii U lacked a truly ambitious Mario Game, like Mario 64, Sunshine and Galaxy. While 3d World was fun, it was a sequel to a portable Mario game.

Gamecube and Wii had more and way better games overall.
 
D

digitalrelic

Banned
At the very least I'd agree that it was their best console since N64. It had an amazing library of exclusive games. Too bad it was such a commercial failure.

I'll be all over the NX if it has backwards compatibility with Wii U.
 
T

Tain

Member
It seems very obviously better than the N64 and the Wii to me.

Whether it's better than the Gamecube may depend on if we're talking a desert island situation or a comparison of exclusive/best-version libraries.
 
SerTapTap

SerTapTap

Member
Probably better than N64, but I can't put it above DS, GC or Wii for the library alone, and technically the wii u's been a mess more than any console beyond maybe the Wii which was occasionally really annoying to play games on.

DownGrader said:
Wii U is awesome if you consider all platforms supported by it.

- Native Wii support
- NES, SNES, N64, GBA and DS Virtual Console support
- Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, TG-16 and arcade Wii Virtual Console support + some additional titles from the above category
- GameCube support thanks to homebrew

Best first Nintendo console.
Click to expand...

This is a strong argument for a Wii but a rather poor one for Wii U. The Wii U is just a rather expensive way to add an extra layer of fuss to accessing all these wii features.
 
M

mp1990

Banned
If we're counting handhelds, then this is a completely different discussion. I don't think any of the Nintendo consoles can go face to face with the DS.

Also, I don't get what people see in the N64. It's a pretty mediocre console, with a library that got surpassed by every single one of its successors.
 
C

correojon

Member
My favorite console since the SNES, it hit all the right spots for me with Bayonetta 1+2, MK8, Mario Maker, Splatoon, XenobladeX...and we´re still pending Zelda. I´m only missing some 3rd party support (a Souls game or DMC4SE would´ve been incredible, but at least I can play them on PC).
 
W

wild wild rice

Member
SNES=N64>Gamecube=Wii U=NES>Wii

I think Wii U is excellent and sits right behind SNES and N64 in the overall scheme of things. I'm kind of amazed they won me back after the fairly disappointing Wii/DS first party library.

I'm a fan of the Gamepad. It's made for some nice new experiences I haven't had elsewhere (Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Affordable Space Adventures, Zombi U) or just functioned as a nice way to streamline things (Deus Ex, Zelda HD, TMS). Why people demanded revolution or nothing out of the thing is beyond me.
 
D

DownGrader

Member
Sir TapTap said:
This is a strong argument for a Wii but a rather poor one for Wii U. The Wii U is just a rather expensive way to add an extra layer of fuss to accessing all these wii features.
Click to expand...

Well, the backwards compatibility did make me choose Wii U in 2013 instead of Wii (which I skipped) which I could buy really cheap. Never regretted that decision.
 
C

Colonel Mustard

Banned
I prefer the Gamecube due to the amount of weird Japanese third party stuff it got, like Gotcha Force, Killer7, Cubivore, etc.

I think I like the Wii U's first party line-up better though. The amount of indie content kind of makes up for it too.
 
Y

yllekz

Banned
Eh, I think the GC had a better run than the Wii U.

There were a good chunk of first party Wii U titles I didn't like:

-New Super Mario Bros U (Another lazy copy/paste installment)
-Super Mario 3D World (not worthy of being a mainline 3D Mario Title, and basically a 3DS port. Yes I own both and have played both. 3D World is still just an upscaled 3DS version.)
-Smash Bros Wii U is okay but Melee is a much better title
-Pikmin 3 has horrendous controls.
-Star Fox Zero...needs no explanation in terms of how bad it is.
-Hyrule Warriors isn't my thing. Gameplay is lazy, framerate is horrible, and it just isn't fun.

And then there was these unacceptable bullet points:
-No dedicated Zelda for Wii U until the final year of its existence (and it's only half an exclusive, with a dual NX release), which is horrible.
-No Animal Crossing except for "Animal Crossing Amiibo out-of-stock/We want your $$$$ Festival"
-No F-Zero except for a "lol fuck you fans" Mario Kart 8 DLC pack
-No Metroid...for fuck's sake Nintendo come on
 
P

phanphare

Banned
yeah I'd agree with that. their first party output was as good as it has been since the SNES-era and the Wii U being the most modern console they've made makes it obviously ahead in most feature-related things. and like you said being backwards compatible with the Wii is a huge plus because that also makes it backwards compatible with the GCN.
 
EscapeArtist

EscapeArtist

Banned
There was a long "debate" (see argument) about this exact topic on Player 1 Podcast. I like my Wii U, but I would argue that it's library isn't better than lets say....N64 even?
 
2

21XX

Banned
georly said:
It has some of the best iterations in some of their long going franchises, but a lot of things hold it back.

I adore its library though. But it's hard to say if the sum of its library is greater than past consoles.
Click to expand...

It does? Smash and...
 
S

SaikyoBro

Member
It's really hard for me to rank. There are all kinds of great games (Tropical Freeze is probably in my top 15 games period) but I can't say with confidence its library is better than any other Nintendo console.

Even just comparing them to the GameCube and Wii I think those consoles gave us a lot more. Part of it has to do with the Wii U's incredibly short lifespan for sure but it has nothing that's as big as Metroid Prime or Mario Galaxy and it looks like it never will. The standout hits everyone names are Splatoon and Mario Maker but... man, I don't know, I don't want to sell those games short but they certainly didn't set the world on fire the way every other Nintendo console's landmark games did.
 
Baleoce

Baleoce

Member
I think it has great games, and some of them are the best in their respective franchises, but from a design concept, and at the very heart of the system (the gamepad), it never found a consistent foothold on the types of experiences it could bring to the player outside of Nintendoland. Something that pretty much every other major Nintendo system has managed. Sales data aside, for this reason alone I think it will be viewed as a failed experiment in retrospect.
 
D

daemonic

Banned
Gamecube was infinitely better. Far more third party support, tons of great exclusives and compact, efficient hardware.
 
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