As 2017 draws to a close it might seem a strange time to pick up a Wii U, but a friend was offloading theirs cheap after getting a Switch and it seemed like an opportune time to see what I missed. For background: I'm in my early 20s and Nintendo was everything for me growing up -- I have relatively young parents so games consoles were always a thing in my house as a kid, and my earliest gaming memories are of SMW on my Dad's SNES.
While my friends drifted to Sony and Microsoft I eschewed their offerings for the N64, Gamecube and Wii. I never picked up the Wii U though, as I'd elected to wait for the PS4 (after having picked up a cheap PS3 around 2010) and so haven't played any of Nintendo's fare in years (although I had a 3DS and played most of its big titles).
The games for this system are so insanely cheap now that I'm planning to work my way through the 'greatest hits' of the system, and so I'll try leave my thoughts on each as I progress.
Super Mario 3D World
I played Galaxy 1, and outside of that I've only played 3D Land on the 3DS post-Gamecube. I was a bit disappointed to find that 3D World is merely an extension of the latter. Don't get me wrong -- it's still Mario, and it plays like a dream. However, I'm finding the shoebox-design of the game almost claustrophobic, as stages can be completed in minutes. It's all a little bit too safe, and whilst acceptable -- impressive, even -- on the 3DS, I expected more from the Wii U 3D Mario iteration; roughly halfway through and I'm getting bored. From what I've heard, maybe Odyssey would be more to my liking.
The Legend of Zelda: BotW
I guess I'm not far enough into this game to pass definitive judgement, but man... I'm conflicted. On the one hand, it's a beautiful open world RPG where the possibilities seem endless and every new vista brings surprises and excitement. On the other hand, I feel like it's a terrible Zelda game. I understand that Nintendo tried to imbibe the series with some fresh life, and perhaps that was needed (I've played all 3D Zeldas up to Skyward Sword before this and the formula was running a little stale), but this game seems to shrug off everything that defines Zelda to me. The story in the series was never in-depth, but it always worked, and it's a shame that this entry seems to have less meat to it than even the 20 year old OoT. Not to mention gameplay deficiencies like weapon durability or a lack of real dungeons.
I'm only 15 hours or so in and I understand that's too early to make a decision, but it's not hitting that Zelda itch for me, and I'm tempted to start playing through Wind Waker HD alongside it.
*
As for the console itself, what a weird little thing. I dismissed the Wii U as it was first released, dismissive of the fact that Nintendo had just pushed out a PS360-level console some 7 years late to the party. Right now, though, I'm loving it -- I'm currently living a quite transient lifestyle and don't own a TV, so the gamepad is a godsend -- I can leave the console in a backpack and just plug-and-play.
I'm open to any and all game suggestions, I've already picked up Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze and Mario Kart 8. Any underrated titles that I might not have heard of?
While my friends drifted to Sony and Microsoft I eschewed their offerings for the N64, Gamecube and Wii. I never picked up the Wii U though, as I'd elected to wait for the PS4 (after having picked up a cheap PS3 around 2010) and so haven't played any of Nintendo's fare in years (although I had a 3DS and played most of its big titles).
The games for this system are so insanely cheap now that I'm planning to work my way through the 'greatest hits' of the system, and so I'll try leave my thoughts on each as I progress.
Super Mario 3D World
I played Galaxy 1, and outside of that I've only played 3D Land on the 3DS post-Gamecube. I was a bit disappointed to find that 3D World is merely an extension of the latter. Don't get me wrong -- it's still Mario, and it plays like a dream. However, I'm finding the shoebox-design of the game almost claustrophobic, as stages can be completed in minutes. It's all a little bit too safe, and whilst acceptable -- impressive, even -- on the 3DS, I expected more from the Wii U 3D Mario iteration; roughly halfway through and I'm getting bored. From what I've heard, maybe Odyssey would be more to my liking.
The Legend of Zelda: BotW
I guess I'm not far enough into this game to pass definitive judgement, but man... I'm conflicted. On the one hand, it's a beautiful open world RPG where the possibilities seem endless and every new vista brings surprises and excitement. On the other hand, I feel like it's a terrible Zelda game. I understand that Nintendo tried to imbibe the series with some fresh life, and perhaps that was needed (I've played all 3D Zeldas up to Skyward Sword before this and the formula was running a little stale), but this game seems to shrug off everything that defines Zelda to me. The story in the series was never in-depth, but it always worked, and it's a shame that this entry seems to have less meat to it than even the 20 year old OoT. Not to mention gameplay deficiencies like weapon durability or a lack of real dungeons.
I'm only 15 hours or so in and I understand that's too early to make a decision, but it's not hitting that Zelda itch for me, and I'm tempted to start playing through Wind Waker HD alongside it.
*
As for the console itself, what a weird little thing. I dismissed the Wii U as it was first released, dismissive of the fact that Nintendo had just pushed out a PS360-level console some 7 years late to the party. Right now, though, I'm loving it -- I'm currently living a quite transient lifestyle and don't own a TV, so the gamepad is a godsend -- I can leave the console in a backpack and just plug-and-play.
I'm open to any and all game suggestions, I've already picked up Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze and Mario Kart 8. Any underrated titles that I might not have heard of?