Post by nocturnal YL on Apr 10, 2014 13:29:01 GMT -5
YL's first two hours with the Wii U
(Parts in green are games-related; other parts are system-related.)
So yeah, people, I got a Wii U. This one, specifically:
I got the black one. It includes New SMB U and Wii Party U, two games that I'm not planning to buy, but since it's almost the same price as an ordinary black Wii U (which is going out of print in Japan, by the way), I decided that this is what I want. I have no interest in that 25GB memory, but I wanted it to be black, which is not available for the Basic version.
Back to home, I happily connected the system (though the short HDMI cable needed some getting around) and turned the system on. This (imaginary) exchange occurred:
"Ooh, great background audio from both the TV and GamePad! The visuals are good too!"
"Hey owner, do you want to update this system?"
"Sure, why not?"
10 minutes later.
"Update is done."
"Great. Start Mario 3D World for me."
"Before you start, would you like to update the system?"
"What? Ugh, fine."
3 minutes later.
"Whew, I can finally start playing!"
"Oh, by the way, do you know that you can set up SpotPass and receive news related to the game?"
"Would you just shut up already?"
3D World looks magnificient on the actual TV screen. Just as I thought, upscaled 720p looks horrible, but I'll pretend I didn't see it. At least it's not 480p. My family had an HDTV before I even have a Wii, so I was against Nintendo's decision not to go HD from the very beginning.
Cat Luigi feels easier than I thought. And what I suspected about the 3D stick input being mapped to only the 8 basic directions isn't true either. You can run in other angles, but the system tends to assume you walk in a basic direction if your input is close enough.
Captain Toad's levels are interesting, although the controls takes some getting used to. Use the R stick to rotate the camera slowly, or rotate the GamePad to move it fast enough but lose the ability to use your hands properly because they're now twisted.
After a few levels of 3D World with my sister...
"Hey, I want to switch game. Launch New SMB U."
"Wanna update the game?"
"..."
"Oh and by the way, in order to update the game, you'll have to update the system first!"
"You rascal..."
A short while after.
"Finally done? Launch the game already, will ya?"
"That previous update was for the system. Now updating the game itself."
"..."
The GamePad's functionality is more useful than I thought. I can now go through sidescrolling levels quickly, like Caped Mario in Super Mario World. It also gives people unfamiliar to platformers a chance to participate.
The game's easy in the beginning, but whose decision was that to make the first fortress' cogs go that fast? My first death was there, unbefitting someone with quite some familiarity with platformers.
After learning that my sister is not a reliable GamePad assistant and defeating the first Boom Boom...
"I'm done with this game. Please switch to Puyopuyo Tetris."
"Hey look, another update!"
"Ugh..."
"You know, you can actually play the game while the update is downloading."
"Why didn't I know this before?"
"SE---GA---!!"
"Argh! My ears!"
"TETORISU!"
That's something I was always aware of about playing games from different publishers. They don't have a uniform volume or even display setting. Last time I got a third party game, it didn't fully understand what 16:9 means and gave me a wrong letterbox.
After some investigation, I found that it's caused by the TV and GamePad both outputting audio. It's also at that time that I learned that the Wii U GamePad can actually be quite loud.
The main screen looks crisp clear, and the GamePad seems to have its own set of graphics. I think this game actually uses different sprites for 1080p/i, 720p and 480p/i. Oh, and did I say 1080p? Puyopuyo Tetris supports native 1080p. Learn, Nintendo.
I spent a long while on this game. After all, this is the reason I got a Wii U (it's a multiplatform game that's also on 3DS, but I wanted it in HD). I'm still new, and while the 1P mode looks easy in the beginning, it's going to be a while before I can take on Tetris players with Puyopuyo. Even Tetris requires some practise from me. It took me a while to figure out fail-safe Puyo combos and setting up Back-to-Back T-Spin Triples.
I wish there are more game modes. It'd be great if I can use Fever or pre-guideline Tetris in VS, for example. Also, the DLCs are probably not worth it, except the story chapters.
I was too lazy to set up the Sensor Bar, so I didn't try Wii Party U.
So far, my Wii U experience was good. Updating is actually pretty hassle-less, since despite all those system prompts, they didn't take long. I also felt no problem about the GamePad not being fully utilized. None of my Wii games except WarioWare and Mario Kart (and the rolling ball stages in Mario Galaxy 1~2) used complex motion, and I didn't complain (except that Wii Remote sideways makes a horrible controller, and that not enough games supported the GameCube controller).
I actually got a Wii U a bit earlier compared to Wii. I got a Wii 18 months after release, and a Wii U 16 months after release. If anyone working for Nintendo happens to read this, go thank SEGA.
(Parts in green are games-related; other parts are system-related.)
So yeah, people, I got a Wii U. This one, specifically:
I got the black one. It includes New SMB U and Wii Party U, two games that I'm not planning to buy, but since it's almost the same price as an ordinary black Wii U (which is going out of print in Japan, by the way), I decided that this is what I want. I have no interest in that 25GB memory, but I wanted it to be black, which is not available for the Basic version.
Back to home, I happily connected the system (though the short HDMI cable needed some getting around) and turned the system on. This (imaginary) exchange occurred:
"Ooh, great background audio from both the TV and GamePad! The visuals are good too!"
"Hey owner, do you want to update this system?"
"Sure, why not?"
10 minutes later.
"Update is done."
"Great. Start Mario 3D World for me."
"Before you start, would you like to update the system?"
"What? Ugh, fine."
3 minutes later.
"Whew, I can finally start playing!"
"Oh, by the way, do you know that you can set up SpotPass and receive news related to the game?"
"Would you just shut up already?"
3D World looks magnificient on the actual TV screen. Just as I thought, upscaled 720p looks horrible, but I'll pretend I didn't see it. At least it's not 480p. My family had an HDTV before I even have a Wii, so I was against Nintendo's decision not to go HD from the very beginning.
Cat Luigi feels easier than I thought. And what I suspected about the 3D stick input being mapped to only the 8 basic directions isn't true either. You can run in other angles, but the system tends to assume you walk in a basic direction if your input is close enough.
Captain Toad's levels are interesting, although the controls takes some getting used to. Use the R stick to rotate the camera slowly, or rotate the GamePad to move it fast enough but lose the ability to use your hands properly because they're now twisted.
After a few levels of 3D World with my sister...
"Hey, I want to switch game. Launch New SMB U."
"Wanna update the game?"
"..."
"Oh and by the way, in order to update the game, you'll have to update the system first!"
"You rascal..."
A short while after.
"Finally done? Launch the game already, will ya?"
"That previous update was for the system. Now updating the game itself."
"..."
The GamePad's functionality is more useful than I thought. I can now go through sidescrolling levels quickly, like Caped Mario in Super Mario World. It also gives people unfamiliar to platformers a chance to participate.
The game's easy in the beginning, but whose decision was that to make the first fortress' cogs go that fast? My first death was there, unbefitting someone with quite some familiarity with platformers.
After learning that my sister is not a reliable GamePad assistant and defeating the first Boom Boom...
"I'm done with this game. Please switch to Puyopuyo Tetris."
"Hey look, another update!"
"Ugh..."
"You know, you can actually play the game while the update is downloading."
"Why didn't I know this before?"
"SE---GA---!!"
"Argh! My ears!"
"TETORISU!"
That's something I was always aware of about playing games from different publishers. They don't have a uniform volume or even display setting. Last time I got a third party game, it didn't fully understand what 16:9 means and gave me a wrong letterbox.
After some investigation, I found that it's caused by the TV and GamePad both outputting audio. It's also at that time that I learned that the Wii U GamePad can actually be quite loud.
The main screen looks crisp clear, and the GamePad seems to have its own set of graphics. I think this game actually uses different sprites for 1080p/i, 720p and 480p/i. Oh, and did I say 1080p? Puyopuyo Tetris supports native 1080p. Learn, Nintendo.
I spent a long while on this game. After all, this is the reason I got a Wii U (it's a multiplatform game that's also on 3DS, but I wanted it in HD). I'm still new, and while the 1P mode looks easy in the beginning, it's going to be a while before I can take on Tetris players with Puyopuyo. Even Tetris requires some practise from me. It took me a while to figure out fail-safe Puyo combos and setting up Back-to-Back T-Spin Triples.
I wish there are more game modes. It'd be great if I can use Fever or pre-guideline Tetris in VS, for example. Also, the DLCs are probably not worth it, except the story chapters.
I was too lazy to set up the Sensor Bar, so I didn't try Wii Party U.
So far, my Wii U experience was good. Updating is actually pretty hassle-less, since despite all those system prompts, they didn't take long. I also felt no problem about the GamePad not being fully utilized. None of my Wii games except WarioWare and Mario Kart (and the rolling ball stages in Mario Galaxy 1~2) used complex motion, and I didn't complain (except that Wii Remote sideways makes a horrible controller, and that not enough games supported the GameCube controller).
I actually got a Wii U a bit earlier compared to Wii. I got a Wii 18 months after release, and a Wii U 16 months after release. If anyone working for Nintendo happens to read this, go thank SEGA.
Mine gets a decent amount of use everyday if not only for netflix. I think my personal 3 "must" haves right now would be: 1.) Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze 2.) The Wonderful 101 and 3.) Pikmin 3. All the Mario games are good, but not must haves. If you like the idea of GTA, but not the idea of killing people and doing drugs Lego City Undercover is fun. I can't recommend much outside of first party stuff, but regardless have fun with it. 