Walkthroughs
-
Discussion: What Games Do You Want on Wii U?
September 14 2012 by Colin McIsaac
The Wii U is coming. Shocking, right? We all know Nintendo’s key franchises are either coming soon or in planning stages. Even franchises that haven’t had any word, like Metroid and Kirby probably have titles at least in pre-development stages. But the Wii U, as with any new console release, open up potential for dozens of sequels to games or franchises that have fallen through the cracks over the years.With the Wii, we got new games from Punch-Out!!, Sin & Punishment, NiGHTS, and more. Now, the introduction of the GamePad not only allows new ways to play games like we’ve seen in Mario Bros. U and Pikmin 3, but it also paves the way for interfaces that just make sense.
I’m going to be walking you through my short wishlist of games that are suited perfectly for Wii U’s GamePad, but I’d also like to take a moment to ask you all what games you hope will arrive one day. A ton of games didn’t make it past the chopping block on my wishlist, and I’m going to take some time in a few weeks to talk about those as well. But for now, look below to see what I’m hoping for, and be sure to talk about your most-wanted games with other users in the comments!
Pokémon Snap 2
The first game I’m hoping for is a common request. Of the four titles I’ve chosen here, Pokémon Snap definitely fits the GamePad best: When at the lab, your statistics, menu options, and other sorts of things would be displayed on the GamePad’s touchscreen, while your Television would show Professor Oak in all his HD elderly glory.Of course, with so much migrated over to the GamePad, the TV would look rather boring, but there are dozens of easy fixes for that. I’ll spare you the details, because minor fixes on a hypothetical game is not what you came to read about. The GamePad would also work perfectly for scrolling through the pictures you’ve taken and marking them for your album or for Professor Oak, but it would also be great for casually scrolling through and enjoying all the pictures you’ve taken.
The real fun of the GamePad would shine during your photo safaris. Everything the GamePad can do seems like a perfect fit for taking the game. Gyro controls for aiming (optional, of course) could be a blast, and it’s only natural to use the GamePad as an eternal viewing lens for your camera, so you don’t have to keep pressing Z any time you want to take a shot, as you did in the original. Most fun to think about, however, is a feature in which you’d try to imitate the voice of a Pokémon, and depending on how good your impersonation is, you could fool it into coming closer, or you could even scare it away.
MinecraftThere really isn’t much to say about Minecraft on Wii U. The game is complete as it is, and being a sandbox world, sequels are completely unwarranted. What would be justified—and frankly, smart—would be for Mojang to port the XBLA version of the game over to the eShop. The GamePad is a perfect fit for the inventory screen, and all its variations. It would certainly respark my interest in the game to be able to play online via Nintendo Network, instead of severs and such, which don’t work all too well on a Mac. Then if they built in a way to customize your skin, textures, and everything like you can on the computer right there on Wii U, I’d be more than happy to pay full retail price. There’s nothing more to say than, “It’s a perfect fit.”
Chibi-Robo!
Chibi-Robo! is one of the unsung heroes of the GameCube days. Its charm, its whimsy, and its grand sense of adventure in an average-sized house make it one of the best games I’ve ever played, albeit a bit unusual—in a good way. If you don’t have a copy yet, head over to eBay and get one if you can, because it’s a great way to spend your time waiting for Wii U. In Chibi-Robo!, you play as… well… Chibi-Robo: a cute little robot made of tin, steel, and benevolence.
In Chibi-Robo!, you run around the house of a family called the Sandersons, doing favors for them during the day such as cleaning and cheering them up when they’re sad. During the nighttime, their toys come alive and take the spotlight. While you’re busy doing chores, accomplishing tasks, and earning “moolah” to buy costumes and upgrades, you have to make sure your battery doesn’t run out, or else you’ll need to charge up. Did I mention that you also take on hoards of robot armies and unrelatedly save the world? ...No? Well you do that, too.The game’s biggest flaw is how painfully slow you walk, but a 3cm robot shouldn’t be expected to be fast. Thankfully, the wonderful and vibrant cast of unforgettable characters makes it far more than worth it. The game got two sequels on Nintendo DS, but full disclosure: They suck. Chibi-Robo! deserves a sequel that keeps the feel and gameplay of the original title intact, and the Wii U gives them this opportunity. Of course, like the others in this article, the GamePad could be put to terrific use. Truthfully, it’s very hard to explain how the GamePad would benefit the gameplay unless you’ve actually played it, but I’ll try.
First of all, the usual interface stuff that just about any game can bring down to the GamePad would be there: moolah, happy points, battery life, time of day, etc. The GamePad would also be a great place to keep a log of all of your current missions, not unlike Majora’s Mask‘s Bomber’s Notebook. It would also be a great place for Telly to offer advice and for the humans to video chat with Chibi-Robo when they need him for something. All sorts of little things like that would make the overall experience with Chibi-Robo! an incredible one.
Game & Watch Gallery Complete
To be perfectly honest, the only reason I had this idea is because I found myself humming the amazing main theme from Game & Watch Gallery 4 on the train this morning while I was first brainstorming ideas for this article. But the more I think of it, the more I realize how perfect a Game & Watch Gallery game would be for Wii U. The Gallery series has traditionally consisted of a small selection of Game & Watch games remade for handheld systems and rebranded with Mario characters.
But this time, why not go all-out? They could probably remake Game & Watch games with characters from all sorts of Nintendo IPs. But as you could probably guess from the name I’ve given it, what I’m talking about for this time around is a complete collection of every Game & Watch game ever made—even the famous dual-screen Zelda game, which would fit right in on the GamePad. Normally, I would justify my idea, but do I even need to this time around?Like past entries, G&W Collection Complete would also let you play emulations of the classic LCD games with Mr. Game & Watch and all of his jerky animations. If they’re going to include remakes of every game, though, they can’t pass up the opportunity to include an incredibly expansive history museum of sorts. What would Complete be if it didn’t finally recognize Mr. Game & Watch? This museum, or a sort of shop system, or really anything beyond the games themselves could feature Mr. Game & Watch as a prominent figure.
Additionally, people have been wondering for years if we’ll ever get sequels to games like Ice Climber, Balloon Fight, Excitebike, and other well-loved NES titles. Complete would be the perfect chance to remake those in full HD, along with Clu-Clu Land, Mach Rider, and even Sherrif. Hell, those 6 games remade could even work as its own collection title.
To be honest, the GamePad wouldn’t really benefit this sort of game too much better than the ones that didn’t make the cut for this round. This idea could well have worked on Wii just fine. But the main difference is that one of the aspects of the GamePad that people often forget is the ability to play a Wii U game without the TV, just shifting the action to the GamePad. In that regard, Game & Watch Gallery Complete beats out everything else.
Now U Choose!
Well… what do you want to see? Get talking in the comments, and be sure to say tuned over the next few days for the remainder of the games I’m itching to get in HD. Also be sure to tune into our podcast tomorrow night to see what the other writers here are anticipating.
Tagged With: No tags were found for this entry.
