The Gaming Den

Long story short, I'm thinking of buying some new video games, since currently all I have is Skylanders (joint purchase with my girlfriend) and borrowing her copy of Super Mario Galaxy 2.

The decision is what video game(s) to get for the Wii console. I don't actually have much exposure to games on this system other than Smash Brothers, Mario Galaxy 2, and Skylanders. I no longer have my old copy of Smash Brothers Brawl, so I might replace it. As an example of what kind of games I've gotten into; WoW, Smash Brothers, Torment, Chrono Trigger, Gamecube's Fire Emblem, Portal, Halo (and virtually NO other FPS), Batman's Arkham, Fable X, Destroy All Humans, God of War, Borderlands/Diablo II, etc.

I've yet to play any horror game except for Eternal Darkness (which I loved), and I've been reticent because as a good rule of thumb, I don't like horror movies that are based on gore and startle reflex; and every preview I've see for a horror game has given the distinct impression of that being the style.

Any suggestions on what to get? I've heard good things of Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands and Okami, as well as Silent Hill: Memories.

Diablo III is coming out in a month and a half. It looks pretty badass, so you might want to save cash for that.

K wrote:Diablo III is coming out in a month and a half. It looks pretty badass, so you might want to save cash for that.

I doubt that'll be on the Wii, somehow...

My computer consists of a three year old netbook.

If you can get Okami on the cheap (it's been out a while, after all), I cannot recommend it enough. It was awesome on the PS2, but it was made for the Wiimote and similar, I feel.

virgil wrote:My computer consists of a three year old netbook.

For that, I recommend Dominions 3.

Mister_Sinister wrote:For that, I recommend Dominions 3.

Don't do it, it's a trap. That game is five kinds of shit.

Xenoblade is coming to the US, there is also the Wii Fire Emblem, Radiant Dawn.

Don't bother with Shattered Memories. The plot is boring and confusing, every puzzle is trivial, and the ending is disappointing. Just watch VoidBurger's Let's Play instead. The first three Silent Hill games were great, but everything after has been a slow decline in quality.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade is only $10 on Amazon and it's one of the better games on the Wii. It's simple to play, incredibly fun, and beautiful. Every sprite and background is hand-drawn.

Yeah, theres the Wii Fire Emblem, which is a direct sequel to the Gamecube Fire Emblem. Just remember that the early parts are incredibly hard compared to the Greil mercenaries sections.

Theres several other Gamecube games I heartily recommend- Skies of Arcadia, the best RPG I know of, Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door, Okami's already been mentioned, theres a couple of Legend of Zeldas...

Oh yeah, Resident Evil 4 is amazing, brilliantly over the top and fun. Its not horror at all, much more action B-movie.

Umm... have you tried the Metroid Prime series at all? I couldn't get into it myself but they are very good exploration FPSes that are unlike most other FPSes. You may like it, but it would be better to borrow it if possible to check first.

Can't think of any more offhand.

PhoneLobster wrote:

Mister_Sinister wrote:For that, I recommend Dominions 3.

Don't do it, it's a trap. That game is five kinds of shit.

Here we go again

If Sonic games haven't been completely spoiled for you, Sonic Colors kicks a surprising amount of ass.

Tales of Symphonia is definitely one of the better games for Gamecube. Even if you don't care too much for the plot (I love it, but it's overly sentimental jRPG crap) it plays like Super Smash Bros: the RPG.

You sound like you might also enjoy No More Heroes 2, since you like Brawl and God of War. No More Heroes... I can't in good conscience recommend that one, because even though it's nihilistic and funny and exciting, the parts of the game between the fights are a chore. You'll miss out on a couple of jokes in NMH2 if you start with that one, but the game is a total excuse plot anyway.

Paper Mario is on the Wii Virtual Console, you know. It's a great game in its own right, but if you plan to play TTYD at all you should play that one first, otherwise you'll be completely spoiled by Paper Mario: TTYD.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is fun as a single-player game, but to get the most out of it you need to play with two or three friends. They should have called that one: Asshole Mario Wii.

If you haven't played Strong Bad's Cool Game for Awesome People on Wiiware, you need to fix that right now. Almost no gameplay to speak of, since it's an oldschool LucasArts adventure game, but it's funny as hell.

If you can get Puzzle Quest 1 on the Wii for the cheap you should consider doing it. Really, though, you should get it for some other console (XBOX 360 has online multiplayer capabilities, PC has modding capabilities, 3DS-ware/DS/PSP is on a portable console) not because it or the port is bad but because it doesn't fit the Wii format.

Oh, yeah. And there's Lego Batman. You love Lego Batman. You need Lego Batman.

Dominions 3 is expensive for what you get and the learning curve I see described for Dwarf Fortress sounds more apt when applied to Dom3. As of right now, were I to get into online turn-based gaming, I'll try to mess with Diplomacy.

I've been afraid to touch the Virtual Console because of the lack of transference between systems. Can I save the file on an SD card, move it onto a computer, back onto the card, and still play it on the Wii?

Xenoblade seems to be part of the same franchise that Xenosaga was in, a game that I hated.

It sounds like No More Heroes 2 is going to be a rental.

I've watched a friend play both Paper Mario games, and while it looked fun (and was fun for the couple levels I played myself), it doesn't mentally feel like it has much replay value.

I'm hesitant on Sonic Colors with it being in 3D. The navigation slides in Galaxy have generally been my least liked parts, and is probably related to me not having much love for racing games.

Does anyone have opinions on Prince of Persia?

So far, the list is: Brawl, Okami, Prince of Persia, Fire Emblem (the Wii one looks significantly cheaper than the gamecube one).

Wiiware/VC Questions: All of that is allowed. The Wii has notoriously awful security.

You're not going to like Sonic Colors then. It's not a racing game by any stretch of the imagination, but it flip-flops between 3D navigation and 2D platforming a lot.

No More Heroes 2 is a rental depending on how good you are at videro games. Unless you, say, find God of War doable on Spartan difficulty it's going to take you more than a few days to get through the game.

Going back on other peoples' recommendations.

I double-recommend getting Muramasa. It has that floaty, graceful, 'spaz out and kill everything you hate' gameplay that I like in the Kingdom Hearts series.

Resident Evil 4 is awesome. Just don't expect a horror or even a survival horror game. It's campy ultraviolent 80's cheese. It's awesome, but it's a total break from the feel of the previous games and even the movies.

Skies of Arcadia is glorious, especially the Gamecube port (minor graphics and music compression in return for a lot more content and positive gameplay tweaks).

Get both of the Legend of Zelda games. If you only have money for one get Twilight Princess, but if you have the cash get both.

My girlfriend has all of the Zelda games, so I'm set there.

Mario Kart < = always good.
Super Mario Brothers Wii < = also good.
Seriously, i have only played one bad Mario game yet.
And that was Mario Party . .

I only ever played the Sands of Time trilogy Prince of Persia games. They were awesome. Can't speak for the ones later than that.

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I do recommend giving Metroid Prime a shot. It isn't exactly an FPS, and the first two can be damn challenging. The third one was easier, I think, to compensate for not being sure about the Wiimote.

Recommend Virtual Console--stuff like Paper Mario and Super Mario RPG are damn nice nostalgia trips.

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The way I understand, the Gamecube Fire Emblem is better than the Wii one. The Wii game suffers from a flux of useless characters, damnably hard, etc.

I beat Path of Radiance and had a decent time with it, though.

Xenoblade seems to be part of the same franchise that Xenosaga was in, a game that I hated.

It is not part of the same franchise. It is made by the same people and the xeno is just a nod to the creators.

Looking in my closet, I have Path of Radiance. Maniacal laugh! Maniacal laugh!

If filler doesn't bother you The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a really good game. Just...fucking filler quests pop up a lot. That's kind of a staple of LoZ though, and they're all pretty fun. Twilight Princess is also great and has less filler but slightly worse combat (SS just has some of the best combat ever, one boss fight in particular is my favorite in all of gaming).

If you have a wii that can play gamecube games (not one of the new ones, basically) I'd recommend grabbing Smash Brothers Melee for cheap. I'm one of those people who thinks Brawl was a step backwards (they slowed it down a ton, added tripping, the buffer makes it feel clunky as shit), so take that with a grain of salt.

RE4 is awesome as always.

Trauma Center: Second Opinion is pretty damn fun. You can probably get through the whole game in a rental, but it's cheap enough that buying it is a good idea. Those last few levels will take a LOT of tries. I'd only recommend getting it if you like difficult games, but it's loads of fun. It also has the best quote ever on the box "Turn your living room into an OR!"

Fire Emblem for the wii is supposed to be incredible and I've been meaning to pick it up myself.

Get Super Mario RPG on virtual console as well, that game is too good to pass up. It's like, 8 bucks as well.

No More Heroes is also a fun ride while it lasts. Again, very cheap and a great game with *gasp* clever writing. Boss fights are incredible, everything else is just a buildup.

Anything with Super Mario in the title, including Strikers (soccer) and Galaxy (rugby?) I and II. Super Mario Bros Wii, as Lago said, is the best way to make your friends hate you since Diplomacy. So much fun jumping on my friends' heads to drop them into pits like a douche. Oh, actually trying to beat the levels and not murder your friends is fun too.

Mario Kart Wii is the best Mario Kart game. Takes away the unnecessary stick-wiggling of past titles and is fun even if you suck at it. It also has an awesome online mode (seriously, it is SO GOOD), and you can play online with a friend sitting right next to you. This allows you to take out your frustration of blue shells on your friend, as there is no chat or anything. Unless you hate fun you absolutely MUST buy Mario Kart Wii.

Street Fighter V Tekken is an awesome game for the computer. i'm kinda hooked.

You've known for quite a while that I love turn-based jrpgs.

So, the old Arc the Lad series for the psx and the ps2 is golden. There is a game or two for the wii. I know people aren't as fond of Dragon Warrior in America. But if you do slug through the first hour or so, those games are also wonderful. I've heard some good stuff about the Little King's Story for the Wii.


For a fun multiplayer rpg-like game, you can always buy any of the Marvel ultimate alliance games for the Wii. If I remember right, there is a slight learning curve because of the controller but this might have been because I played it when I was first getting used to the Wii.

I played the hell out of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon on DS, so I thought Radiant Dawn for the Wii would be a good buy...I found it kind of 'meh'. A lot of the stuff I enjoyed from Shadow Dragon wasn't present (particularly free multiclassing and weapon design), the characters weren't as interesting to me, and I personally hate the shapeshifters.

I honestly didn't play it a lot (should probably try it again, it's been a while), so it's possible I didn't give it a fair shake.

Best Part about the Mario-Kart-Game?
You can play it with the classic Controller.

I found Okami on the wii to be a PiTA to control.
Maybe with the new controllers it's easier, but the strokes which are easy to do on the ps2 controller are quite difficult to pull off with the wiimote.

It's much more fun to watch someone play than to play yourself.

Cynic wrote:For a fun multiplayer rpg-like game, you can always buy any of the Marvel ultimate alliance games for the Wii.

Hell yeah. The first one came out in 2006, and I'm still playing it.