Bundles of Awesome - The Official WiiWare Discussion Thread

Why are people lumping in Protothea with the rest of Ubizoft'z crap anyway? It's not like they had anything to do with the game's development.
 
nincompoop said:
Why are people lumping in Protothea with the rest of Ubizoft'z crap anyway? It's not like they had anything to do with the game's development.

I think it just demonstrates their attitude WRT the Wii. Cheap ass effort in an attempt to cash in on the success of the Wii. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this an old ass PC title they ported over?
 
Cheez-It said:
I think it just demonstrates their attitude WRT the Wii. Cheap ass effort in an attempt to cash in on the success of the Wii. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this an old ass PC title they ported over?
BUT THEY ADDED SOME LEVELS AND WEAPONS!!!
Yes

nincompoop said:
Toki Tori = so awesome.

That is all.
I definitely agree. Two Tribes - you didn't disappoint.
 
I bought Toki Tori, making it my third WiiWare game (after LostWinds and Dr Mario).

Played through the first ten levels and it doesn't disappoint. WiiWare is proving totally awesome.
 
HUELEN10 said:
I would if I had the space.

Clean out your...ugh, it's not even funny anymore. D:

I'm awaiting impressions on Protothea before I buy it. On the one hand, it's a top-down scrolling shooter game, which is extremely relevant to my interests. On the other hand...well, it's Ubisoft. That alone fills me with doubt.
 
I suppose I should update the OP since you guys are actually using this thread. :)

Suggestions/ideas/formats/do-it-for-me's are all welcome.
 
Iam Canadian said:
Clean out your...ugh, it's not even funny anymore. D:
Sigh, no it is not. Since Wii Ware came out, I have bought 4 titles, and to have them on my Wii, I have had to delete 2 whole pages of VC games. I have had enough. If I find Toki Tori on GBC, I will buy that instead.
 
I downloaded tv show kings for some multiplayer fun and I have to say its a blast to play in multiplayer. The Mii's make you feel like your in a real game show. Mii's are probably the best idea to come out of Nintendo since Mario. Really nice to have those in game :)
 
OgnodoD said:
just downloaded Toki Tori... WOW. O.O It's beautiful and fun.

It is amazing how much better the 3rd party Wii Ware games are looking compared to most 3rd party Wii Retail efforts.

FFCC and Toki Tori are shining examples of this.
 
ksamedi said:
I downloaded tv show kings for some multiplayer fun and I have to say its a blast to play in multiplayer. The Mii's make you feel like your in a real game show. Mii's are probably the best idea to come out of Nintendo since Mario. Really nice to have those in game :)
Would you say it is worth the 1000 points though?
 
After playing the first five levels, Toki Tori is gradually approaching towards something quite fun, evoking infinitely better games, Donkey Kong ('94) and Mario vs. Donkey Kong (GBA), at least in some respects. From what I've heard, its music is probably the best on WiiWare. But it looks mediocre at best and awful at worst. I swear, the only 2D side-scrolling games I feel look right are the Megaman games, Metroid games, and, of course, Super Mario games. Everything else just looks strange.
 
My Pokemon Ranch has been ESRB rated :O

Anywayz: Downloaded both games today and must say that Toki Tori is really awsome. All thats missing is a level editor :lol

Prothea on the other hand...its ok...I have'nt played much from it but it does have good gameplay...
 
My quick thoughts on WiiWare so far:

Lost Winds: A
My Life as a King: A
Star Soldier R: C (Great, but far too little content)
Dr. Mario: A


Haven't played much of Toki Tori yet, but so far, it's definitely in A territory. It looks surprisingly good on the HDTV.

Wow, Wiifit, the release of these great Wiiware titles, and Boom Blox all in a period of less than 30 days. Great time to be a Wii owner.
 
Finally my second WiiWare game, Toki Tori, is here! :D :D :D

And now I'm out of space again as I only cleared enough for Lost Winds and Toki Tori.
 
here's a review of Toki Tori.

Also, This is my first review with this new site, so any criticism is greatly appreciated.

edit: also my Protothea review will be up in an hour or so...
 
So is there any chance of getting fl0w on WiiWare?

Ive been really interested in that game ever since I played the old flash version of it, and I cant help but hope they would bring it to wii.

Is it a sony only kinda deal or is there a chance?
 
Lavpa Jasai said:
So is there any chance of getting fl0w on WiiWare?

Ive been really interested in that game ever since I played the old flash version of it, and I cant help but hope they would bring it to wii.

Is it a sony only kinda deal or is there a chance?

Right now the creator has a Sony only deal and has said in the past that Wii is for family gaming, not advancing gaming as an artform like the PS3. So unless the flash game works in the Wii's browser, don't count on it.
 
My month ban kept me out of the loop pretty well, and I need help. Currently trying to reformat the OP with a nice index of games. Here's what I need (opinions included):

[ ] Game | Official Thread Link || Genre || Cost || (Buy It! / Neutral / Avoid!) <-- just pick one recommendation please.


I basically need this for every game so far, sans the obvious trash. Any and all help is appreciated. I'll worry about sorting and formatting them properly, but I missed a lot of the gafpinion on most of these games. Thank you in advance?
 
my quick (or not so) impressions from Protothea:

but first a disclaimer: i'm a huge shmup fan, and everything that follows will be biased and skewed by this fact. also, i keep hearing there was an original game like this one some time ago on the pc - somehow i've missed that one, so i cannot say how Protothea/wii compares to it.

ok, onto the chase. in one sentence this is game is.. i dunno, i'd call it a proof of concept. because most definitely it's not a finished shmup - so much i can say about it. from the fact that it does not support any other control scheme but a nunchuk/wiimote (other much more original wii shmups have that, but they also have a canonical control scheme or two), through the weapons mechanics, to the overall game progression.

let me start from the latter - the game progression. the game is split into individual levels/stages of ~5 minutes each, and for the first 2/3rds of the first level you don't feel the gameplay cause there's none. it's not even tutorial-level intensity. it's just like there should have been some opening event, or maybe a credits scroller, but they got dropped so it's just void now. you drift your ship around, shooting at the occasional behavior-less enemy, one per 10 seconds. in one word - bland.

the action catches up at the level boss, where all of a sudden there's a notable bump in the tension - multiple enemies, hostile ground targets, IOW - like in a real shmup. luckily, that level of tension is more-or-less kept through the beginning of the second level, so there's not much of a drop back there. since i reached to the middle of the second level (i reckon), i cannot say whether the level's conclusion offers another jump in the tension curve. which brings me to why i reached to where i did in my first play..

weapon mechanics: you have an aerial and a ground weapon, which you both operate through the wiimote - a decent fire control scheme, i'd say. what left me puzzled, though, was the mechanics of the ground weapon - it's (1) quite slow to deploy (it's a free-falling bomb), and (2) it has a very limited blast radius. now, i've played my fair share of nukes-ridden shmups so i'm used to the slow nukes - you calculate your drop's trajectory for maximal impact, you compensate the long drop time by a bit of prediction and you bomb away. well, here it's like that except for the punch - it's minimal. which would've been ok if there was not the large amount of ground targets in level 2. despite their almost stationary behavior, it becomes a challenge to take them out systematically, as your ground weapon's rate of operation is just too damn sluggish! frankly, i'm still puzzled by this one, maybe i've missed a weapon upgrade or two, cause the ground weapon just makes no sense to me - it behaves as a secondary/third weapon while at the same time it has a primary function - go figure.

and here we come to my major gripe with this game - the navigation control scheme. call me conservative, call me dumb, but i feel not-at-home when controlling a 360-degrees ship which has so much inertia that it would make an ur-quan dreadnought blush. ok, that was a hyperbole but frankly, i don't think i've ever played a game pretending for a shmup while at the same time exhibiting inertia to this degree. inertia is something that spices up a tactical space shooter, is the bread-and-butter of all kinds of landers, and generally is a natural physical phenomenon, but encountering it in a shmup makes me cringe. seriously. at some of the more intense aerial scenes i was feeling like controlling a pinball, not a battle ship. speaking of which, you ship does have quite some shield so you can bump around almost freely - if that's what you're looking for in this genre. i, for one, did not appreciate that mechanics.

technically, in the audio-visual department the game just re-affirms my feelings about its gameplay - even though the game runs on a ready engine (torque), its sounds and visuals did not seem like they took much time for their creation. this factoring in the fact that the wii is not a powerhouse, yadda-yadda.

of course, don't let the above stop you from getting the game if you're interested - after all i did play less than two levels from it. but as i don't think i'll be playing much more of it, i felt i had to post my impressions now or never.

over and out (on to toki tori, yay!)

ps: for those interested in those things, the game seems to be 480p but is clearly 4:3.

EDIT: ok, i felt something was amiss in my experience with this game. i guess i just could not believe it had no challenging moments to offer further in. so i returned to it (well, yeah, i postponed starting toki - i decided i could always get to it later, moreover that it could surely fix any possible bad taste in my mouth left from another bite of Protothea). so here's shortly what happened from that moment on..

first, and foremost, it turns out the game is a tactical shmup (yes, there's such a sub-genre, if i say so myself) - as in 'your selection of aerial weapon and overall tactics to go with that are paramount to your well-doing in this game'. the ground weapon, though, remains unchanged - same old slow micro-nuke. oh well. actually, the further i go into the game, the less need i have for it, so i guess it's fine. it appears it is a secondary weapon, after all.

second, re the difficulty progression - i was right in my initial assessment, it does go up practically with every boss, and from the 2nd-level boss on the game does offer a challenge. not to mention the art direction of the visuals does improve somewhat too - no more ocean surface or industrial ground ad infinitum! currently i'm five or six levels into the game (at 22% by the savegame gauge) at one of the enemy's planets, and the terrain is, well, classical for a shmup - a cityscape. but most importantly, i have to fight for my survival - which is an essential aspect of a shmup ; ) the inertia-ridden controls still bug me somewhat, but i guess i'm half-way through to getting the hang of them, so it's alright.

now, i mentioned weapons, and yes, there's a variety of them - they vary in range, speed, and impact. also, there's something which you'd immediately recognize as 'bullet time' - you can press the z button for a slow-down of the action, giving yourself some edge over the enemy, while the energy for that lasts.

so my current stance on this game: though rough on the edges, it does have what to offer to a shmup fan who can endure first 1-2 levels of it. i'm still wondering how much value it is for its money, but i won't comment on that until i beat it - i won't make the same mistake of speaking too soon twice, not about the same game at least : )

pps: interestingly, the game's playfield seem to be somewhat bigger than the on-screen view - enemies often shoot at you before you see them, but on the positive side - your return fire reaches them there too, which i guess evens out this quirk a bit. it actually gives you an edge with the capital ships, which you want to wipe out before they occupy the better part of your play field.
 
Well, after playing a lot of Toki Tori, I definitely think it's the best game on WiiWare, and also quite possibly the best 2D puzzle game playable on Wii. Adventures of Lolo 1 is really stiff competition, so it might not be, but it's almost a moot point since they're both top of their class as far as I'm concerned. (Lolo 2 is also great, but I'd put that certainly behind Lolo 1.) Whatever the case, Toki Tori definitely wins in the realm of music, along with its beautiful, beautiful, beautiful 2D graphics. Excellent value for 1000 points, and it's far and away the best game on WiiWare for a single-player experience. (It has co-op too, but what I'm vaguely implying is that if you're looking for multiplayer, that would be one of only a few possible instances where Toki Tori is not for you.)

Of course, the one obvious downside is that, much like Lolo, the puzzles generally only have one possible solution, so I can't imagine any reason I'd come back after beating them all. (Especially with it taking up 289 blocks. D:) But yeah... Great game. If you somehow managed to enjoy LostWinds' puzzles, buy this and put some sidescrolling puzzle-based challenge back into your life.


On a separate note, I was all set for Protothea simply because it's a space shooter and I love those. Then I watched a couple of YouTube videos and, yeesh, it's like a shmup for snails--good thing I saved my 1000 points. They should have chosen an actual good PC shmup to bring over, like Tyrian, Tyrian, Tyrian, Tyrian, or possibly Tyrian. It's not like it should even be that hard negotiating rights to it since it's freeware by now.





Anyway, moving on to PantherLotus, are we just voting on what we recommend or something? Also, not sure if you want information on how many blocks each game takes up, but here's the information from my games, when not counting save files:
LostWinds - 258
Defend Your Castle - 121
Family Table Tennis - 274
Dr. Mario Online Rx - 93
Toki Tori - 289

Might be important info for people having to manage their fridges, which these days is everybody. :/
 
Good Ideas, guys.


Game Title | Genre | Size | Cost | Territories | Recommendation

Notes:
[ ] game title - link to the official thread if available. if unavailable, link to "official post" in this thread.
[ ] genre - self explanatory. one to three word description.
[ ] size - blocks
[ ] cost - let's assume that our recommendation is based on the highest cost (pick the highest one)
[ ] territories - where the game is currently available: [JPN] [NA] [PAL]
[ ] recommendation - keep it simple and go with the majority. if there's a range of opinion, put neutral: [BUY] [NEUTRAL] [AVOID]

I think that should be pretty good.
 
[ ] Toki Tori | Puzzle | 289 Blocks | 1000 | [NA] [PAL] | [BUY]
[ ] LostWinds | Platformer | 258 Blocks | 1000 | [NA] [PAL] | [BUY]
[ ] Dr. Mario Online Rx | Puzzle | 93 Blocks | 1000 | [JPN] [NA] [PAL] | [BUY]
[ ] Defend Your Castle | Action | 121 Blocks | 500 | [NA] [PAL] | [BUY]
[ ] Family Table Tennis | Sports | 274 Blocks | 500 | [JPN] [NA] [PAL] | [BUY]
[ ] Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As a King | Simulation | 287 Blocks | 1500 | [JPN] [NA] [PAL] | [BUY]

Someone might want to confirm the territories... :P
 
I think Defend Your Castle and Family Table Tennis should be bumped up to buy. For their given price points, they're more or less ideal as long as people know what they're getting into--and I don't think I've seen a single person in this thread with a bad word to say about either one.
 
Is anyone else shocked how fucking great WiiWare has gotten so quickly? Really, it's amazing.

EDIT: Oh, and Defend Your Castle should definitly be Buy. It's arguably the best bang for your buck out there. Hours of mindless great gameplay for just 5 dollars...
 
Jiggy37 said:
I think Defend Your Castle and Family Table Tennis should be bumped up to buy. For their given price points, they're more or less ideal as long as people know what they're getting into--and I don't think I've seen a single person in this thread with a bad word to say about either one.
That's true. Honestly, I was trying to separate the amazing from the good. I think almost all WiiWare games are Buy. I would probably have to agree with that even though I haven't played either.

I updated them to buy. :P
 
I was shocked before the games even started to be released and we were just seeing videos, but yeah, the quality's really being churned out here. At this rate, it should be only three or four weeks before my WiiWare library surpasses my Wii retail library in terms of raw numbers. And I can't freaking wait for Gyrostarr. :D (Other games too, but they're further away on the horizon.)



Fantastical said:
That's true. Honestly, I was trying to separate the amazing from the good. I think almost all WiiWare games are Buy. I would probably have to agree with that even though I haven't played either.
Very close, yeah. It's been really good so far with only rare stumbles like 700-point Blackjack.
 
Jiggy37 said:
I was shocked before the games even started to be released and we were just seeing videos, but yeah, the quality's really being churned out here. At this rate, it should be only three or four weeks before my WiiWare library surpasses my Wii retail library in terms of raw numbers. And I can't freaking wait for Gyrostarr. :D (Other games too, but they're further away on the horizon.)



Very close, yeah. It's been really good so far with only rare stumbles like 700-point Blackjack.
Speaking of which - where the hell is LIT? I really wanna see something from that game. Sounds interesting.
 
natedog4000 said:
Here's my Protothea review.

And here's my Toki Tori review from earlier.

Like I said before, these are my first 2 reviews with this site, so any criticism or feedback is much appreciated.
Since you asked. I read the Toki Tori review, and it's not great. A couple points:

- The first and third paragraphs are completely unneccessary.
- The paragraph about the controls is confusingly worded. Way too many ways.
- The graphics are on par with an SNES game?
- "Most of the levels are trial and error." Only if you don't strategize first.
- I don't like all the "yous." It's probably not wrong, but the endless "First you do this, then you do that" sounds weird to me. But I aint no English major so who knows.
 
natedog4000 said:
here's a review of Toki Tori.

Also, This is my first review with this new site, so any criticism is greatly appreciated.

edit: also my Protothea review will be up in an hour or so...
Most of the levels are trial and error. Your first few runs probably won't work, and you will find yourself restart the levels a lot.
This I don't agree with, sure some people might opt for a trial and error approach but it's definetly not a game where you can only find the solution through trial and error for most of the levels (not one thus far for me).

There were also some mistakes in the text, too lazy to point them out though :-P. Other than that it's OK imo.
 
Fantastical said:
Speaking of which - where the hell is LIT? I really wanna see something from that game. Sounds interesting.

Obviously, games with a light/dark theme can't show up on Wii (Sadness, Fatal Frame, LIT).
 
PantherLotus said:
Remember kids, [BUY] is meaningless if every one of them is rated such. We need to know what to [AVOID] too!!
BAH! I don't know what to do... :P
I'd say Prothera or whatever is Avoid and maybe blackjack?

pakkit said:
Obviously, games with a light/dark theme can't show up on Wii (Sadness, Fatal Frame, LIT).
Good point. Also, isn't Bozon's brother on that team or something.
 
PantherLotus said:
Remember kids, [BUY] is meaningless if every one of them is rated such. We need to know what to [AVOID] too!!
Haha exactly. I am so sick and tired of nearly every game(not just WiiWare) being 'one of the best' and 'must buy'.
 
Well, going by consensus around here, we could say Avoid for Protothea, the Blackjack game, and Critter Round-Up. I don't remember what GAF thought of the Trivia game. Pop would also probably be buy.

Oh, maybe we could say neutral for Star Soldier R, going by that one mid-year report card thread. Some people really love it while others keep wishing there were more than just the two levels.
 
Yes, neutral for Star Soldier R. It's not really an avoid if you like the genre, but it is very short, so a buy isn't really appropriate either.
 
I simplified our gafpinions down to emoticons. (why don't all sites do this?)

What games are worth purchasing?
:) = Buy
:| = Neutral
:( = Avoid

Code:
[  ] [B][U]Title			Genre		Size		Cost	Territories[/U][/B]
 :) [B][URL="http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=305624&highlight=toki+tori"]Toki[/B] Tori [/URL]			Puzzle 		289 Blocks 	1000 	[NA] [PAL]
 :) [B][URL="http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=294392&highlight=toki+tori"]LostWinds[/URL][/B] 			Platformer 	258 Blocks 	1000 	[NA] [PAL]
 :) [B]Dr. Mario Online Rx[/B] 	Puzzle 		93 Blocks 	1000 	[JPN] [NA] [PAL]
 :) [B]Defend Your Castle [/B]		Action 		121 Blocks 	500 	[NA] [PAL] 
 :) [B]Family Table Tennis[/B] 	Sports 		274 Blocks 	500 	[JPN] [NA] [PAL]
 :) [B][URL="http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=294394&highlight=life+king"]FFCC: My Life As a King[/URL] [/B]	Simulation 	287 Blocks 	1500 	[JPN] [NA] [PAL]



Now added.
 
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