Jubenhimer
Member
Nintendo's Wii is always one of the most fascinating consoles, not only because it was the system I was staunchly loyal to as a youngling in the 7th generation, but also because despite its undisputable sales success, neither the Gaming Media or the Gaming Community couldn't seem to decide whether they actually liked it or not. Some days, they hailed it as a masterclass in accessible fun with a deceptively diverse library and innovative games, other times they panned it as a cancer to modern gaming filled with broken waggle and mountains of party game shovelware. It was a polarizing mix of opinions that plagued the console throughout its life.
One of the arguments people have for the former was that perceived notion that the console lacked "Hardcore" or "Mature Games". While Sony and Microsoft's consoles were defined by big budget, realistic shooters, and gritty action games. The Wii was sold largely on the backs of family friendly multiplayer titles that even grandparents can play such as the Pack-in title Wii Sports, along with games like Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, and Just Dance. Despite the "Casual" image of the system, the Wii was ironically, home to some of the most mature, complex, challenging, and niche games of its generation. Not just third party titles like No More Heroes and MadWorld, but also games published by Nintendo themselves. Many of which, were never released outside Japan.
Let me unpack this. Back in the Wii days, Nintendo had Two Software development divisions. There was the Entertainment Analysis and Development Division (EAD), which was led by the long-time Nintendo Veteran, Shigeru Miyamoto. This is where all the blockbuster Nintendo series like Mario, Zelda, and Wii Sports were made. The other was the Software Planning and Development Division (SPD), which was initially led by none other than the late Nintendo President at the time, Satoru Iwata. Recognizing the Childish stigma the Nintendo GameCube was straddled with, SPD was established by Iwata, realizing that if everything was left to Miyamoto, then Nintendo would "only go one path". So he set up and ran himself, a department that was safely outside Miyamoto's jurisdiction. SPD served two purposes, One, develop smaller, lower budget in-house games in-between big budget EAD productions such as WarioWare, Band Brothers, Rhythm Heaven, and the Brain Age series. And Two, collaborate with outside Developers to create games for Nintendo platforms. SPD was responsible for fostering some of the darkest, strangest, and probably most un-Nintendo games on the Wii.
The First of these, was Disaster Day of Crisis.
Developed by MonolithSoft, who Nintendo acquired shortly before release. It's a survival game, which stars Raymond Bryce, a Rescue Team member who's job is to help civilians out of a tragic disaster, that wrecked the town. The game also features combat, which involves light-gun style challenges that used the Wii Remote's pointer controls. It was never released in North America, but we'll get to that later.
Then there was Sin & Punishment: Star Successor.
The surprise sequel to Treasure's cult Nintendo 64 original. This is a game that really puts the Wii Remote to good use. Thanks to the speed and precision of its IR pointer, the game is a chaotic and ball-bustlingly hard rail-shooter where one misstep can get you a game over. It's story is batshit nonsensical, but that's part of its charm. Unlike the other games here, this one actually did make it to US store shelves.
Next was Captain Rainbow.
This was made by Skip, the guys behind the Chibi-Robo series, as well as those Art Style games that popped up on WiiWare every once in a while. While it's more colorful than the other games on this list, it's an incredibly surreal, and surprisingly raunchy experience that feels distinctly off-kilter for a Nintendo release. It stars a TV Superhero named Captain Rainbow, who winds up on an Island that's populated almost entirely by forgotten Nintendo characters. Twisted and warped through a cynical lens.
Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories is another sequel to a cult classic, which us Americans know as Trace Memory on the DS.
Developed by Cing, the same people who would also Develop Hotel Dusk, this game picks up where the original left off, and follows a girl named Ashley as she tries to uncover the connections between a village lake, and her dead mother. This was an adventure game that used the Wii Remote in a variety of ways.
Zangeki no Reginleiv is the first Nintendo published game in Japan to receive a CERO D rating (Japanese equivalent to M for Mature) and its easy to see why.
Developed by Sandlot, it's an action game that supported the Wii Motion Plus accessory, and had to slaying giant beasts in a very gory fashion. So it's Attack on Titan, before Attack on Titan, LOL
Now we get to the most infamous exclusions for North American gamers, starting with Fatal Frame IV.
Nintendo shocked the gaming industry when they nabbed this as an exclusive. This fourth entry in Tecmo Koei's survival horror series was a joint production between Nintendo, Team Ninja, and No More Heroes Developer, Grasshopper Manufacture. While it never left Japanese shores, fan translations exist and many FF fans hail it as one of the best entries in the series.
Then there's the Operation Rainfall Games. Operation Rainfall was the straw that broke the camels back, a movement that started in 2011 to get Nintendo of America to localize 3 highly anticipated Japanese RPGs at a time when the Wii was being abandoned as Nintendo prepared for the next generation.
First was Xenoblade Chronicles, another MonolithSoft creation. It was a game that Kickstarted a series, and one that just barely made it to North American stores as a GameStop exclusive. I don't think I need to say much more, It's fucking Xenoblade Chronicles, and it just recently got a remaster on the Switch.
Next was The Last Story.
A game made by the Legendary Hirinobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy. Developed by His studio, Mistwalker, in conjunction with AQ Interactive and Nintendo, the game's visuals and production values pushed the Wii to its limits. While Nintendo declined to publish the game in the US, XSeed stepped in and released the game very late in the system's life.
Finally, we have Pandora's Tower.
Developed by Ganbarion, who Nintendo previously worked with on the Jump Stars fighting games for the DS. Pandora's Tower was the studios first original IP, developed after Nintendo's Hitoshi Yamagami was impressed with their work on the Jump games. The game is more action, than RPG, and revolves around a Knight who must climb a tower in order to feed a girl monster meat to live. It's Dark, Strange, and somewhat clunky, but it's one of the most unique things you will ever play. Like The Last Story, Nintendo didn't publish this in the US, XSeed once again swooped in and released it, one year after the release of the Wii U.
As you can see, these games were all really cool and sadly never made it outside of Japan. Looking back, it's somewhat understandable that the gaming community was conlflicted on the Wii, as in the system's later years, Nintendo of America embraced the stereotype that it was a family-oriented party machine with little else to offer if you wanted some "Gamer" titles. Tatsumi Kimishima was the man in charge of NoA at the time (Reggie was only Chief Operating Officer, common misconception), and while Kimishima helped stabilize Nintendo as they struggled through the GameCube and late-Wii U periods, he doesn't seem like a guy you can count on to take risks, as much of the neglect in releasing big games in America happened under him. Iwata, seemingly just as sick of this shit as we were, beamed Kimishima back to Nintendo Co, Ltd. in Kyoto in 2013, deciding to take a more hands-on approach to overseeing Nintendo of America by naming himself CEO of NoA.
Today, Nintendo's more willing to support its more "mature" and "core gamer" IPs worldwide. With the resurgence of the Fire Emblem series, as well as games like Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Codename STEAM, Astral Chain, and Bayonetta 3. Along with surprises like the return of the Famicom Detective club series as remakes for the Switch. But a lot of that can ironically, be thanked by a console that for much of its life, was labeled as "Casual Waggle" by half the gaming industry.
One of the arguments people have for the former was that perceived notion that the console lacked "Hardcore" or "Mature Games". While Sony and Microsoft's consoles were defined by big budget, realistic shooters, and gritty action games. The Wii was sold largely on the backs of family friendly multiplayer titles that even grandparents can play such as the Pack-in title Wii Sports, along with games like Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, and Just Dance. Despite the "Casual" image of the system, the Wii was ironically, home to some of the most mature, complex, challenging, and niche games of its generation. Not just third party titles like No More Heroes and MadWorld, but also games published by Nintendo themselves. Many of which, were never released outside Japan.
Let me unpack this. Back in the Wii days, Nintendo had Two Software development divisions. There was the Entertainment Analysis and Development Division (EAD), which was led by the long-time Nintendo Veteran, Shigeru Miyamoto. This is where all the blockbuster Nintendo series like Mario, Zelda, and Wii Sports were made. The other was the Software Planning and Development Division (SPD), which was initially led by none other than the late Nintendo President at the time, Satoru Iwata. Recognizing the Childish stigma the Nintendo GameCube was straddled with, SPD was established by Iwata, realizing that if everything was left to Miyamoto, then Nintendo would "only go one path". So he set up and ran himself, a department that was safely outside Miyamoto's jurisdiction. SPD served two purposes, One, develop smaller, lower budget in-house games in-between big budget EAD productions such as WarioWare, Band Brothers, Rhythm Heaven, and the Brain Age series. And Two, collaborate with outside Developers to create games for Nintendo platforms. SPD was responsible for fostering some of the darkest, strangest, and probably most un-Nintendo games on the Wii.
The First of these, was Disaster Day of Crisis.
Developed by MonolithSoft, who Nintendo acquired shortly before release. It's a survival game, which stars Raymond Bryce, a Rescue Team member who's job is to help civilians out of a tragic disaster, that wrecked the town. The game also features combat, which involves light-gun style challenges that used the Wii Remote's pointer controls. It was never released in North America, but we'll get to that later.
Then there was Sin & Punishment: Star Successor.
The surprise sequel to Treasure's cult Nintendo 64 original. This is a game that really puts the Wii Remote to good use. Thanks to the speed and precision of its IR pointer, the game is a chaotic and ball-bustlingly hard rail-shooter where one misstep can get you a game over. It's story is batshit nonsensical, but that's part of its charm. Unlike the other games here, this one actually did make it to US store shelves.
Next was Captain Rainbow.
This was made by Skip, the guys behind the Chibi-Robo series, as well as those Art Style games that popped up on WiiWare every once in a while. While it's more colorful than the other games on this list, it's an incredibly surreal, and surprisingly raunchy experience that feels distinctly off-kilter for a Nintendo release. It stars a TV Superhero named Captain Rainbow, who winds up on an Island that's populated almost entirely by forgotten Nintendo characters. Twisted and warped through a cynical lens.
Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories is another sequel to a cult classic, which us Americans know as Trace Memory on the DS.
Developed by Cing, the same people who would also Develop Hotel Dusk, this game picks up where the original left off, and follows a girl named Ashley as she tries to uncover the connections between a village lake, and her dead mother. This was an adventure game that used the Wii Remote in a variety of ways.
Zangeki no Reginleiv is the first Nintendo published game in Japan to receive a CERO D rating (Japanese equivalent to M for Mature) and its easy to see why.
Developed by Sandlot, it's an action game that supported the Wii Motion Plus accessory, and had to slaying giant beasts in a very gory fashion. So it's Attack on Titan, before Attack on Titan, LOL
Now we get to the most infamous exclusions for North American gamers, starting with Fatal Frame IV.
Nintendo shocked the gaming industry when they nabbed this as an exclusive. This fourth entry in Tecmo Koei's survival horror series was a joint production between Nintendo, Team Ninja, and No More Heroes Developer, Grasshopper Manufacture. While it never left Japanese shores, fan translations exist and many FF fans hail it as one of the best entries in the series.
Then there's the Operation Rainfall Games. Operation Rainfall was the straw that broke the camels back, a movement that started in 2011 to get Nintendo of America to localize 3 highly anticipated Japanese RPGs at a time when the Wii was being abandoned as Nintendo prepared for the next generation.
First was Xenoblade Chronicles, another MonolithSoft creation. It was a game that Kickstarted a series, and one that just barely made it to North American stores as a GameStop exclusive. I don't think I need to say much more, It's fucking Xenoblade Chronicles, and it just recently got a remaster on the Switch.
Next was The Last Story.
A game made by the Legendary Hirinobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy. Developed by His studio, Mistwalker, in conjunction with AQ Interactive and Nintendo, the game's visuals and production values pushed the Wii to its limits. While Nintendo declined to publish the game in the US, XSeed stepped in and released the game very late in the system's life.
Finally, we have Pandora's Tower.
Developed by Ganbarion, who Nintendo previously worked with on the Jump Stars fighting games for the DS. Pandora's Tower was the studios first original IP, developed after Nintendo's Hitoshi Yamagami was impressed with their work on the Jump games. The game is more action, than RPG, and revolves around a Knight who must climb a tower in order to feed a girl monster meat to live. It's Dark, Strange, and somewhat clunky, but it's one of the most unique things you will ever play. Like The Last Story, Nintendo didn't publish this in the US, XSeed once again swooped in and released it, one year after the release of the Wii U.
As you can see, these games were all really cool and sadly never made it outside of Japan. Looking back, it's somewhat understandable that the gaming community was conlflicted on the Wii, as in the system's later years, Nintendo of America embraced the stereotype that it was a family-oriented party machine with little else to offer if you wanted some "Gamer" titles. Tatsumi Kimishima was the man in charge of NoA at the time (Reggie was only Chief Operating Officer, common misconception), and while Kimishima helped stabilize Nintendo as they struggled through the GameCube and late-Wii U periods, he doesn't seem like a guy you can count on to take risks, as much of the neglect in releasing big games in America happened under him. Iwata, seemingly just as sick of this shit as we were, beamed Kimishima back to Nintendo Co, Ltd. in Kyoto in 2013, deciding to take a more hands-on approach to overseeing Nintendo of America by naming himself CEO of NoA.
Today, Nintendo's more willing to support its more "mature" and "core gamer" IPs worldwide. With the resurgence of the Fire Emblem series, as well as games like Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Codename STEAM, Astral Chain, and Bayonetta 3. Along with surprises like the return of the Famicom Detective club series as remakes for the Switch. But a lot of that can ironically, be thanked by a console that for much of its life, was labeled as "Casual Waggle" by half the gaming industry.
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