The Wii U is dead in its current form, admits Nintendo. But what now?

[ViRGE]

I honestly never played that one since the controls were motion based, was there a way to turn that off?

Yes. Use a Classic Controller or a GameCube controller. The motion controls are only in play when you use the Wiimote.

 

[Ichinisan]

I honestly never played that one since the controls were motion based, was there a way to turn that off?

It supports everything. GameCube controller. Wii remote motion control, Classic Controller / Classic Controller Pro attachment, and Wii remote + Nunchuk attachment.

 

[Ichinisan]

[Mario Kart Wii]

It's done a different way in that it is "overbalanced." The items are dolled out to the characters in the rear are so vastly disproportionate to the ones dolled out to those in the lead that the last place characters are a bigger threat to first place than those in between and a more skilled player is more likely to lose due to dumb luck. It takes almost all the strategy out and makes things way too "interesting," which is a word we often use when positions change many times over the course of a race. The problem is that a player of superior skill shouldn't lose all of his or her edge just in the name of keeping it interesting. Skill should still matter.

Years after it came out, all we ever did was try the battle mode and conclude that it was inferior to Mario Kart 64. I visited our nephew and family out of state and realized that the whole family loved the game and played it constantly...especially during get-togethers like this one (nephew's birthday). Even his mother loved it. They all played race after race for over an hour. Some used the classic controller. Some used the GameCube controller. Some used the Wii remote + Nunchuk. Maybe someone preferred the bare remote (I don't remember).

Someone passed me a controller and I played several races in a row. All the maps were completely unfamiliar to me and I came in 1st place every single time. I didn't even know what most of the items were supposed to do and I dominated everyone there. If they were all non-gamers, I might understand this...but several of them (my nephew included) were hardcore long-time gamers.

This game breeds terrible / lazy players.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Yes. Use a Classic Controller or a GameCube controller. The motion controls are only in play when you use the Wiimote.

no wonder...

 

[zerocool84]

no wonder...

See, you shouldn't have to buy something else to play it normally.

 

[Dumac]

LOL! "Permanent?" You didn't play enough!

Please elaborate?

It's done a different way in that it is "overbalanced." The items are dolled out to the characters in the rear are so vastly disproportionate to the ones dolled out to those in the lead that the last place characters are a bigger threat to first place than those in between and a more skilled player is more likely to lose due to dumb luck. It takes almost all the strategy out and makes things way too "interesting," which is a word we often use when positions change many times over the course of a race. The problem is that a player of superior skill shouldn't lose all of his or her edge just in the name of keeping it interesting. Skill should still matter.

It's true that people in the lower places have a chance at better items than those in the upper places, but there are strategies to deal with this. The only item that is any threat to a player in first place is a blue shell, and there are methods to evade those.

Skill very much matters. Most of the time, the most skilled player will win the game. There are exceptions due to the random elements of Mario Kart, but that is the point of the game. It isn't some serious racing sim. It is a party game first and foremost.

 

[ViRGE]

See, you shouldn't have to buy something else to play it normally.

It would be difficult to play Mario Kart Wii with just a Wiimote unless you used the motion controls. While you have the D-pad, it's not a proper replacement for an analog stick. Plus there's a distinct lack of accessible buttons.

 

[Ichinisan]

See, you shouldn't have to buy something else to play it normally.

You don't have to. The nunchuck attachment + Wii remote is surprisingly just as good as any controller.

Every Wii included those.

 

[HeXen]

You don't have to. The nunchuck attachment + Wii remote is surprisingly just as good as any controller.

Every Wii included those.

I still think both should be integrated into a single wii mote. Just add the analogue stick to it, then you could just hold 2 wiimotes and have dual analogue sticks

 

[CZroe]

What? Mario Kart doesn't have any sort of rubber band AI as far as I know.

If you just sit at the beginning of the lap, the AI will go ahead and finish it. Not to mention, each AI player is given a static amount of 'skill' that is permanent through all 4 races of a cup, meaning that the scores naturally seperate the better AI from the worse.

...LOL! "Permanent?" You didn't play enough!...

Please elaborate?

It's true that people in the lower places have a chance at better items than those in the upper places, but there are strategies to deal with this. The only item that is any threat to a player in first place is a blue shell, and there are methods to evade those.

Skill very much matters. Most of the time, the most skilled player will win the game. There are exceptions due to the random elements of Mario Kart, but that is the point of the game. It isn't some serious racing sim. It is a party game first and foremost.

I elaborated plenty before I responded to you at all. The word I took issue with was "permanent." As I explained, it goes by character selection in the first race only. After that, it goes by point ranking and if you influence their standings in the point rankings then the strength of the opponents WILL change. It is not permanent.

It's funny that I last played Mario Kart Wii back in 2007 or 2008 and I never played it more than a night or two and yet I remember vividly just how over-powered the items were that it would give to the players in the rear. If you think a Blue Shell is more desirable than a Bonzai Bill, you are talking about a different game entirely. A Bonzai Bill is not only a threat to everyone in front of the player who receives it, it also literally puts that player so far forward that they will likely be in first. It's truly ridiculous. If you don't think that is taking things too far for the player in the rear who didn't have to actually do anything to catch up then it's the perfect game for you.

 

[CZroe]

I still think both should be integrated into a single wii mote. Just add the analogue stick to it, then you could just hold 2 wiimotes and have dual analogue sticks

*woosh*
The D-Pad was never meant to be a replacement for a second analog stick.

You know what is a replacement for the analog stick? The pointer function. Yeah. When you add a Wii Nunchuk it becomes the replacement for one of the dual analogs and you have the best of both worlds.

For many things it is actually BETTER because it brings something an analog stick can't even do. It's like mouse and keyboard vs. dual analog.

If you wanted dual analog with motion anyway (SIXAXIS-style), well, Nintendo designed a clip for the original Classic Controller but they never released it. There is a release button and you can see it moving things in the mounting slots. People have made unofficial clips but I think Nintendo passed when public pressure made them abandon the naked Wii Remote (clip + jacket would be weird).

 

[Dumac]

As I explained, it goes by character selection in the first race only. After that, it goes by point ranking and if you influence their standings in the point rankings then the strength of the opponents WILL change. It is not permanent.

This is not true with Mario Kart Wii. I've knocked the #2 AI down to 6th or 7th place for races 1 and 2, and they will still be on my trail in races 3 and 4.

It's funny that I last played Mario Kart Wii back in 2007 or 2008 and I never played it more than a night or two

Why are you talking about a game you barely even played and obviously don't know?

If you think a Blue Shell is more desirable than a Bonzai Bill, you are talking about a different game entirely. A Bonzai Bill is not only a threat to everyone in front of the player who receives it, it also literally puts that player so far forward that they will likely be in first. It's truly ridiculous. If you don't think that is taking things too far for the player in the rear who didn't have to actually do anything to catch up then it's the perfect game for you.

I was talking from the perspective of the player in first place. A blue shell is a lot more worrisome to you than a bullet bill. A bullet bill has effectively zero impact on the person in first place, while a blue shell could potentially cost you the race if it's toward the end and you don't evade it.

As a player in 11-12th place, sure a bullet bill is nice. However, it realistically only ever moves you up a few places, to around maybe 6th or 7th place. The bullet bill item also quickly decreases in duration with each rank you move up. Not to mention, for inexperienced or low skill players, the bullet bill drops them on a curve or turn and they end up driving off the track.

I have never seen a bullet bill put someone in first. I don't even think that is possible. I think the bullet bill would peter out by then due to you climbing the ranks too fast.

You are grossly exaggerating the effects of items, especially on the player in first. A player in first place only has to worry about people behind him throwing projectiles, which is easily blocked or avoided, or people in the back getting a blue shell and to a lesser extent a lightning bolt.

 

[CZroe]

This is not true with Mario Kart Wii. I've knocked the #2 AI down to 6th or 7th place for races 1 and 2, and they will still be on my trail in races 3 and 4.

Interesting, but someone said that the original game was the best and that it didn't do this so we pointed out that it did and cheating AI was often called "Mario Kart AI" for that very reason. I was not talking about Mario Kart Wii there. I'm not complaining about it because it has a reason to exist. If you get lucky and have the #1 contender fail to rank in the next race then it would be easy-street for the rest of the cup if it didn't work this way.

Why are you talking about a game you barely even played and obviously don't know?

It seems I know more than you about it if you think the Blue Shell is the only threat to the player in first place from a player in the rear.

I was talking from the perspective of the player in first place. A blue shell is a lot more worrisome to you than a bullet bill. A bullet bill has effectively zero impact on the person in first place, while a blue shell could potentially cost you the race if it's toward the end and you don't evade it.

I spoke from experience. I witnessed with my own two eyes what Bonzai Bill will do to a race with multiple players. The upsets are CONSTANT. It isn't just a threat to a few in front of you because it also puts you way ahead of where you would have been. It is inarguably over-powered. I was disgusted and chose not to play more of this over-balanced "game."

As a player in 11-12th place, sure a bullet bill is nice. However, it realistically only ever moves you up a few places, to around maybe 6th or 7th place. The bullet bill item also quickly decreases in duration with each rank you move up. Not to mention, for inexperienced or low skill players, the bullet bill drops them on a curve or turn and they end up driving off the track.

If it slows someone down or speed you up, it's still supposed to be up to the player to take advantage of it. By doing both and even auto-piloting you forward, it goes too far. The real problem is that it is one of many items that makes those in the rear too powerful. I don't remember being bombarded with lightning bolts and MULTIPLE blue shells in Mario Kart 64 just because I was in first place. You should be able to hang on with skill. Now the skill comes from hanging back for a good item, working your way up without using items (GOOD LUCK!) and refusing to take the lead with it until just before the finish line.

I have never seen a bullet bill put someone in first. I don't even think that is possible. I think the bullet bill would peter out by then due to you climbing the ranks too fast.

The item isn't used in a vacuum. There are other things pushing the leading players down and the trailing players up.

You are grossly exaggerating the effects of items, especially on the player in first. A player in first place only has to worry about people behind him throwing projectiles, which is easily blocked or avoided, or people in the back getting a blue shell and to a lesser extent a lightning bolt.

I say you are grossly understating their impact just by looking at what they do alone and not in the presence of other items and racers. For example: The next person in last place is going to get one moment after you do. In other games they might get something good by being in the rear. In this one they absolutely WILL and even if they totally blow it they will get another and another and another.


FWIW: When you complete Super Mario World, you will see that the big bullet fired from off screen is "Bonzai Bill" and the normal one often fired from a cannon is "Bullet Bill." If the item is called "Bullet Bill" as you keep calling it then something was lost in translation (it's happened before with Kuribo's Shoe vs. Goomba's Shoe).

 

[JujuFish]

The name of the powerup is Bullet Bill, not Banzai Bill (no 'o' in the name).

 

[preslove]

Hopefully the guy I've been missing on Craigslist doesn't flake out on me this afternoon again. If not, I'll get a Mario & luigi 32gig bundle new in box for $200

 

[CZroe]

The name of the powerup is Bullet Bill, not Banzai Bill (no 'o' in the name).

Thanks.

Hopefully the guy I've been missing on Craigslist doesn't flake out on me this afternoon again. If not, I'll get a Mario & luigi 32gig bundle new in box for $200

Well?

 

[preslove]

Thanks.







Well?

I don't know what their scam is, but they didn't show up . They've been stringing me along for a week.

I think I'm going to get a couple more couch co-op games for ps3 (puppeteer, marvel ultimate alliance... any other suggestions?), and just wait a month or two. I wasn't in a hurry before this thing on craigslist came up.

 

[Aikouka]

I think I'm going to get a couple more couch co-op games for ps3 (puppeteer, marvel ultimate alliance... any other suggestions?), and just wait a month or two. I wasn't in a hurry before this thing on craigslist came up.

Puppeteer is free next month on PlayStation Plus.

 

[preslove]

Well, now I have an appointment to look at a used Wii U Zelda Edition with mario 3d world for $230 after work

 

[CZroe]

Finished The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD last night. Not sure if I should hunt down the remaining four heart pieces or move on to another Wii U title. At this rate my current library is going to keep me busy a long time!

Well, now I have an appointment to look at a used Wii U Zelda Edition with mario 3d world for $230 after work

Buy it.

 

[Tweak155]

I wish I could move into my stupid house. I've owned it for 3 mos now and still don't live there. Home Depot dicking me around on my kitchen.

THEN I can seriously hunt for a Wii U deal. SM3DW was amazing on its own, enough to sell the system to me... but I still want a deal!

 

[shortylickens]

I got Windwaker HD a while back and only went by boat to that first little island. No incentive to go back. The game is mostly running around empty space.

Not like Link to the Past. Not at all.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Nintendo won't be doing a live pressconference at this year's E3 either, same as last year. Just thought it fit in this thread and didn't need a new thread.


http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/29/nintendo-reveals-its-e3-plans

 

[ViRGE]

Nintendo won't be doing a live pressconference at this year's E3 either, same as last year. Just thought it fit in this thread and didn't need a new thread.


http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/29/nintendo-reveals-its-e3-plans

Seeing as how they basically do a press conference every other month anyhow, this is one of their smarter moves.

Edit: The live streaming of game demos from the Nintendo booth is legitimately cool. This means no more waiting for the press to post their own videos, complete with advertisements and annoying voice over tracks.

 

[preslove]

So, I bought the Wii U. Man, unless Nintendo completely cleared out it's console division, they aren't going to be around much longer. There are design fails at every level.

1. Instead of including a disk for Windwaker HD in the Windwaker HD bundle, they included a single use code. Thankfully, the dude I bought it from didn't use it. However, I did get an error when it downloaded and couldn't figure out how to get it back. I had to google the problem to discover that I could just look it up in the store and download it. This error, judging by all the forum posts about, is pretty common. Oh, and what do I do if I want to resell it? So, if you're looking at a bundle off of craigslist ask about whether the game is a disk or a code...

2. Whoever approved the tablet controller is an abject idiot. It's a terrible controller to hold, it obviously takes a ton of energy to use, has bad battery life, and it doesn't actually add anything to the gaming experience. I ended up putting the charging cradle inside my media console because I have a kitten who likes to knock things over. I can't imagine keeping this thing from breaking if I had little kids. You know, the consumers nintendo is trying to cultivate...

3. After setting up my account & getting the error, I restarted it. It then asked me for my user account's password (!). Well those idiots put a resistive touchscreen in the thing! I had to try 3 times before it would accept the password (and then find where to turn the passwords off...). Who the hell puts resistive screens on tablets in 2014?

4. Setting the thing up took forever, with all these little usability issues. Navigating around the home screen is slow slow slow. I can't imagine what I'd feel like if I'd bought the thing at full price for kids and tried setting it up on christmas day. I'd tell all of my friends to avoid it, lol.

I like Mario 3d world and am looking forward to Zelda (never played windwaker), but it's obvious that there is something seriously wrong with Nintendo's management. Nintendo needs to completely gut their console management, because there are so many bad decisions in this thing, it's crazy.

I'm glad I only spent ~$255 ($230 for the console bundle & 3d world, and ~$25 for a good 3rd party controller). If I had spent $400+ tax on the bundle, 3d world, and a pro controller, I'd be pretty pissed. I'm glad I bought it (especially at the price I got it ), but I understand why it isn't selling well. And, I 'm sure that word of mouth is killing it.