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Bob's Gentlemanly Wii Gaming and Fine Dining Club


Bob
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Hey look! I have a thread. My Mum is going to be pumped.

So I bought a load of Wii games. There is a picture of them in the latest purchases thread if people don't believe me. Which they shouldn't. Question everything.

After all the recent talk about how the 3DS had the best games last year and the Wii U isn't selling well and all this dramatic nonsense about the end of Nintendo, I was reminded that I have never really given the Wii a chance. I don't have a great history with Nintendo consoles. I loved the SNES back in the day of course but hated the N64. What? That's not very nice. But I did. I loved the WWF games on there and that was about it. Then the Gamecube came along and it had some great games but not enough and it just sort of sat there being unplayed. Then the Wii came out and people were excited and I was excited and then all the shit games came out. After the lack of third party support on the GC I guess Nintendo were flattered to have it on Wii so just opened the flood gates and Nintendo's classic seal of quality meant absolutely nothing, but that isn't what this thread is about. It's about me wanting to go back and look at what a console had to offer. Take a look at those games that scored ridiculously high or had some great ideas. Or even just a different take on some of my favourite franchises. So here we go.

First off, this isn't the first time I have played a Wii. I bought one in Australia, mainly for Zelda but I also played the Last Story, Red Steel 2 and a couple of other bits. I must say if ever anyone goes to Australia in summer. Don't play a Wii, don't even consider it. Their houses are made primarily from windows because it is so fucking hot and unless you close curtains all through the house(which they don't fucking have because they all use vertical blinds instead), bright sunlight will reach the sensor and it will make the cursor go everywhere and you will hate everything. I didn't know this was the cause of it at the time. I just assumed the Wii was shit because people said it was shit. So my first experiences weren't great. But moving on....

I just completed Metroid Prime 3 and that was awesome. It controlled so well that even if I did want to go back and replay Prime 1 and 2. I wouldn't want to do it without motion controls. Also, no issues with the sensor because England.

Next up though is Paper Mario which barely even uses the sensor. Instead it is all about turning the Wiimote on it's side and using it like a regular pad. First off, this is weird. It feels wrong in my hands and the little nub at the bottom of the battery cover rubs on my finger which is very uncomfortable. Then I put the silicone cover over the control and it is fine. But still a bit weird.

The actual game itself is an odd one as well. Not just the way it plays, I actually think that is great. A platformer RPG is not something I have played before and it works really well. Just the general flow of the game is a bit odd. For a start, the opening cutscene is too long and the cutscenes in general are too frequent and too long given their overall quality. There are some funny jokes in there but nothing that raises more than a bit of a smile. Just basic post modernism about how the person watching over Mario will know what it all means. It is cute but it is fluff and there is too much of it. The rest of the writing is okay. It is all very basic and just gives the impression that it is there to serve the purpose of telling you what to do and nothing else. Which is fine but again, too much of it given how mundane it all is.

The actual gameplay is great. It plays just like side scrolling Mario but you have your health bar and you level up. The game is as quick or as slow paced as you want it to be as well since it is always clear where you need to go, but at the same time there is plenty to explore and poke about in thanks to the games big gimmick, the ability to flip into 3D. Which again, works beautifully. It is mainly used for finding items hidden in the environment or hidden ways to go, either for secrets or to progress the level. Enemies exist both in 2D and 3D, most only exist in one dimension and you will have to flip to get past them so you can hit them in their weak spot. Or in the case of certain enemies like the Whomps you can flip the screen and then walk behind them. It is a great mechanic to play around with.

There are also little fairy dudes to pick up. Obnoxious, colourful shapes that give you abilities like grabbing shit and blowing shit up. You can only have one equipped at a time and it would be nice if there was a single button you could press to cycle between them but there is not. So you have to open up your menu (1+2 for the quick menu which lets you change characters or ability) and change manually each time.

I am really enjoying it overall and if the cutscenes would become less frequent, more concise or just more interesting then I wouldn't really have any complaints about the game.

I also have Mario Galaxy going on in between games as well which is a right mind fuck. Mario twisting and turning all over the show. It is a pretty unique game and I am liking it a lot. There are some small control and camera frustrations that mean I generally only play it for an hour or two at a time. Think I have 35 stars or something like that.

So there. Wow. So thread.

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Paper Mario is quickly outliving its welcome. There is stuff in there that I really like, it is just buried under stuff I really don't. By far the worst thing is the constant stopping for pointless, boring dialogue. I have played god knows how many JRPGs so it's not like dialogue that doesn't push the plot forward or develop characters is a new thing to me, here though it is just so dull. It isn't even that charming after the first hour because it is basically repeating the same jokes over and over. Like when a child says something funny, then they say it again and again and again until you just want to, well, not hurt the child. That would be wrong. But go back in time and kill their parents before they could give birth.

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Is there a dress code for the Gentlemanly Wii Gaming and Fine Dining Club? What is the position on BYOB? (Bring Your Own Butler)

I've been chipping away at Super Mario Galaxy, and it's really good (apart from that spring mushroom. Hate that.) I'm on about 80 stars now, feel like I'm getting near the end, although I guess it could spring a surprise bunch of galaxies on me.

Gonna try Kirby's Epic Yarn when it's done.

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We are a Hawaiian themed club so anything colourful and loose fitting is fine. BYOB is only on weekdays.

Got to the mines on Paper Mario just after Ben posted. Going to take a little break from that I think. It had a really good balance of platforming and exploration at the start but now I am mostly wandering round, flipping the world and wondering where to go.

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Whatever makes you feel beautiful Andy, you deserve it. Glad it wasn't just me that had problems actually doing anything in the later parts of Paper Mario.

Just loaded up Galaxy for a quick blast and then it did that thing where I looked at my watch again and the night had somehow, mysteriously. Just disappeared. Fifty stars now and I think I have used all the new power ups in the game. None of them really feel like they have any purpose outside of the levels they are specially created for but they are good fun anyway. Although having a time limit on the Ice and Fire Flower can make things a bit fiddly. Especially since if there is a way to aim that fucking fireball precisely then I don't know it.

Also, Luigi. Just stop it Luigi. You are going to hurt yourself you noob.

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