Nintendo Wii U

[ArmadonRK]

I don't get it

You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar.

[Mirby]

Friendly reminder that GBA VC hits Wii U tomorrow starting with Advance Wars, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and Metroid Fusion, all for $7.99 each.

Kirby and the Amazing Mirror and WarioWare Inc. hit on the 10th for $6.99 each, and F-Zero Maximum Velocity hits on the 17th for $6.99 along with the first Golden Sun ($7.99) (and also SMB3 on NES VC, which is ridiculously late). The 24th rounds out the releases with Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island for $7.99.

Other games such as Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow have also recently been rerated, so we might be getting those on this too.

As for perks of the GBA VC:

- GBA releases were artificially brightened due to the GBA's lack of a backlit screen

- Wii U GBA VC releases have been corrected for brightness

- screen-smoothing option available via menu or pushing in the right joystick

- games are upscaled to take up a 1620×1080 block on your TV

- option to play with Original Resolution is available

- this option upscales to the largest whole factor it can on the screen: 1440×960

- navigate the instruction booklet on the GamePad while the game continues on TV

(btw that last part is referencing how they scanned in the original instruction booklets for these, so it may not be the real thing but if you're playing on the TV you can scroll through that game's instructions in your hand, like in olden times)

EDIT: More details.

- Use Wii U GamePad, Wii U Pro Controller, or a Wii Remote which has a Classic Controller (Pro) attached to it

- Can enable or disable screen smoothing, and there are two display options for you to choose from. Players can either go full screen or go for the original resolution.

- Colors more vibrant than the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Games

- Games chug very little

- Look through a scanned in manual in various languages, can keep using it while playing

File sizes

Advance Wars - 62MB

Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga - 63MB

Metroid Fusion - 57 MB

Kirby & The Amazing Mirror - 57MB

WarioWare, Inc: Minigame Mania - 55MB

F-Zero Maximum Velocity - 55MB

Golden Sun - 82MB

Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 - 51MB

Edited April 3, 2014 by Mirby

[jnWake]

I'm actually excited for the GBA VC since I didn't own a GBA (or DS) so I've played like 2 GBA games on emulators. I'll try Advance Wars and Golden Sun first!

Also, seems the Gamepad implementation is cool. I hope they update the NES/SNES emulators with more features like this one.

[Garrett Williamson]

As for perks of the GBA VC:

- GBA releases were artificially brightened due to the GBA's lack of a backlit screen

Didn't GBA SP do it automatically...?

[Mirby]

All the SP did was have a backlight built in to illuminate the screen. The software itself was already artificially brightened, but the hardware of the SP served to improve that.

So no.

EDIT: Huge Mario Kart 8 info dump!

- ShyGuy, Lakitu and Metal Mario confirmed as playable characters

- Piranha Plant and Boomerang revealed as new items

- customization remains the same as it was in Mario Kart 7

- Mario Kart Stadium is the first track

- this track will take you upside-down halfway through

- ShyGuy Falls has you racing up/down waterfalls and flying across a chasm

- bumping characters when in anti-grav mode gives you a spin speed boost

- Thwomp Ruins lets you drive up the walls or remain on the ground

- Twhomp Ruins also has a section with 3 different ways you can go, one with a hang glider short cut

- You can also drive on the walls or through a watery portion in this same section

- Toad's Turnpike from Mario Kart 64 returns

- this track now lets you drive up walls

- you can also find a car on the turnpike that has a ramp, which lets you launch off and open your hang glider

- Moo Moo Meadows returns and now takes place during sunrise

- Dry Dry Desert also returns, with fallen pillars and tracks in the sand made by your tires

- this level also has a watery oasis you can drive through

- boomerang is a long-range weapon that takes out anything in its path both when first thrown and on the way back

- you can throw the boomerang 3 times

- Piranha Plant item grabs at racers/coins on the track

- each time it grabs out, you get pulled forward with a speed boost

- coin item returns, giving you two coins when you use it

- you can no longer collect an item to keep in reserve

- when you have any item in your possession, it takes up your item slot and blocks you from picking up any other item

- GamePad screen has map of course, other racer positions and the items they hold

- map is only available in a zoomed-out view

- three touch-screen icons: one for off-TV play, one for horn and an option to turn on motion controls

- motion controls don't force you into first-person mode, which seems to be gone completely

- rear view mirror option

- wiimote by itself, Wiimote/Nunchuk and Wii U Pro Controller options available

- DK Jungle returns

- power-sliding returns as well

- framerate is locked at 60 fps, even in two-player split-screen mode

- 32 courses in the final game

- no hands-on time for press with Battle Mode or Coin Runners

- when using anti-grav, the game uses an angled camera angle

- Water Park has underwater sections and an amusement park-themed gauntlet

- Cheep Cheep Beach returns, doesn't feature anti-grav, but has boost pads and ramps

- Mario Circuit 4 has an elevated anti-gravity U-turn in one corner

- Donut Plains 3 has rain-soaked roads

- cannot use the GamePad screen as a separate screen for multiplayer races

- 4-player local multiplayer

- Twelve players can race online

- Mario Kart TV is a feature that will let you share brief highlight films on Miiverse

- Baby Peach and Baby Daisy return

- 720p

- each track features multiple pathways and routes

- features leaderboards

- at the end of each race, your best moments are saved and shown to you in a highlight reel

- these replays have special camera angles and editing

- the Lakitu Bros. follow you around track to film your actions

- Mushroom Cup includes Mario Kart Stadium, Water Park, Sweet Sweet Canyon and Thwomp Ruins

- driving over a blue marker at key points activates anti-grav

- Flower Cup has Mario Circuit, Toad Harbor, Twisted Mansion and Shy Guy Falls

- first two retro cups are Shell and Banana trophies

- Shell has Moo Moo Meadows (Mario Kart Wii), Mario Circuit (Mario Kart Super Circuit), Cheep Cheep Beach (Mario Kart DS) and Toad's Turnpike (Mario Kart 64

- Banana includes Dry Dry Desert (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!), Donut Plains (Super Mario Kart), Royal Raceway (Mario Kart 64) and DK Jungle (Mario Kart 7)

- 4-player is 30fps and a drop in visual fidelity

- the more coins you have, up to ten, the faster your kart will be

- Spiny blue shell goes along the ground

- the three banana trail now is a separate item of fruit to be used individually

- bikes no longer allow for wheelies

- stunts return

- characters now hold their next item in their hand

- Time Trials and Vs. Race return

- developers' main priority was creating interesting courses that encourage new and different ways of playing

- small characters can now bump into bigger ones while in anti-grav and still get a speed boost

- the devs were able to harness the power of the Wii U to get a 'huge polygon count'

- this allowed the team to make multiple courses with 'undulating, moving surfaces'

- character animations are now more detailed and involved than ever before

- Roy Koopa will fist pump when he launches an item

- Lemmy Koopa moves around erratically

- puddles mirror your tires as you splash through them

- resting flocks of birds scatter as you zoom past

- Sweet Sweet Canyon appears to be a glazed dessert road

- far smoother reset on the track when saved by Lakitu

- you can select parameters to generate your video at the end of a race

- parameters include clip length, specific characters for the camera to follow and a focus on key racing moments such as item use or stunt jumps

- rubber-band AI seems to have been done away with

- ATVs are also a vehicle option

- in anti-grav, if you fall off the track, Lakitu snags you and immediately returns you to the race

- 27 characters confirmed thus far, with more to be revealed

Mario

Luigi

Peach

Daisy

Yoshi

Bowser

Donkey Kong

Toad

Toadette

Koopa Troopa

Wario

Waluigi

Rosalina

Baby Mario

Baby Luigi

Baby Peach

Baby Daisy

Larry Koopa

Morton Koopa Jr.

Wendy O. Koopa

Iggy Koopa

Roy Koopa

Lemmy Koopa

Ludwig von Koopa

Metal Mario

Shy Guy

Lakitu

Source

Bolded a few of the more noteworthy things, like how the Blue Shell no longer flies to murder you, but goes on the ground once again.

Oh and

. FYI this one is the first Mario Kart game where certain track themes are played by live musicians. Edited April 3, 2014 by Mirby

[Jamphibious]

Gosh dang that Rainbow Road trumpet gave me some chills.

It looks sooooo smooth and stylin'.

[Lemonectric]

http://kotaku.com/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-mario-kart-8-1558649442/all

I didn't read much of it, but this caught my attention:

"During your time with Mario Kart, were you able to hear the background music pretty well?"

I looked around at the other writers, who all shrugged and shook their heads.

Audio options? Pleeeaase? Especially if you're going to fill the track with 12 constantly shouting racers. I've wanted a higher music-to-sound-effects ratio for ages.

Of course, their response could just mean "we're those despicable kinds of people who don't actually pay attention to video game music," and the volume balance is actually better than they realize. The fact that the question was even asked suggests to me that the team wants the music to be more audible than in previous Mario Karts. One can hope.

Edited April 7, 2014 by Hylian Lemon

[Devyn]

If anyone is looking for a reason to dust their Wii U off while waiting for Mario Kart, I not-so-humbly recommend NES Remix 2. It is balls-to-the-wall awesome.

[Thalzon]

WiiU also gets Child of Light tomorrow and Stick it to the Man on May 1st, both pretty interesting titles in their own right.

[Brandon Strader]

Just as a sort of PSA before you grab Child of Light on Wii U, you can get it for 20% off at Green Man Gaming:

Start your journey now by pre-purchasing your copy at GMG with this 20% voucher:

FUSWJT-B1DU64-JBV8UY

This voucher is valid on Child of Light and a huge range of other titles until 4pm UTC May 2nd

Not that the Wii U version won't be exactly the same, but this one is 20% off

[Garrett Williamson]

If anyone is looking for a reason to dust their Wii U off while waiting for Mario Kart, I not-so-humbly recommend NES Remix 2. It is balls-to-the-wall awesome.

I just got Super Mario 3D World recently and I am good to go.

Honestly, SM3DW might possibly be the best game I've played in a couple years. It's a tad bit too easy, but it's a really amazing game.

[The Derrit]

Just as a sort of PSA before you grab Child of Light on Wii U, you can get it for 20% off at Green Man Gaming:

Start your journey now by pre-purchasing your copy at GMG with this 20% voucher:

FUSWJT-B1DU64-JBV8UY

This voucher is valid on Child of Light and a huge range of other titles until 4pm UTC May 2nd

Not that the Wii U version won't be exactly the same, but this one is 20% off

do you have a link to this? Child of Light is one of the first download only games I've taken a real interest in

[Brandon Strader]

do you have a link to this? Child of Light is one of the first download only games I've taken a real interest in

http://www.greenmangaming.com/

Though I noticed it's UPlay -- so you'd have to use that DRM.

In the end I'll probably get it on Steam cause I sold some cs:go items anyway to cover the discount amount..

[Devyn]

I just got Super Mario 3D World recently and I am good to go.

Honestly, SM3DW might possibly be the best game I've played in a couple years. It's a tad bit too easy, but it's a really amazing game.

Definitely a great game. It's sad that so many folks are missing out on it. Hopefully the Wii U will pick up sales after MK8 and Smash 4 so others will give 3d World a shot. Don't let the difficulty get you down. There are a ton of optional levels later on that get progressively more difficult and I doubt they will disappoint you in the challenge department.

[Garrett Williamson]

Definitely a great game. It's sad that so many folks are missing out on it. Hopefully the Wii U will pick up sales after MK8 and Smash 4 so others will give 3d World a shot. Don't let the difficulty get you down. There are a ton of optional levels later on that get progressively more difficult and I doubt they will disappoint you in the challenge department.

Good to hear.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

So I decided to grab Metroid Other M again on the cheap so my girlfriend could experience it, and as it wonderfully turns out, while gameplay isn't possible on the Wii U Gamepad, it can still be streamed, so while I'm in the living room playing, she can watch it like a movie while she's sick in bed.

That's a pretty awesome experience actually. Go Wii U!

[Garrett Williamson]

So I decided to grab Metroid Other M again on the cheap so my girlfriend could experience it, and as it wonderfully turns out, while gameplay isn't possible on the Wii U Gamepad, it can still be streamed, so while I'm in the living room playing, she can watch it like a movie while she's sick in bed.

That's a pretty awesome experience actually. Go Wii U!

lol does she enjoy that or do *you* enjoy that.

I feel like my girlfriend would demand to play even if she was sick. Or she'd just want to watch a movie. But she's a gamer. So maybe. Who knows. Yay. My A.D.D. is really up there today as you probably notice.

But yeah, I remember this situation. I found more of an advantage just being able to play my game when someone else wanted to use the tv, and of course that was kinda part of the idea of making the gamepad in the first place. That concept was advertised in all the earlier advertisements for the game.

Also, you like Other M? I happen to like that game despite the fact there's no way to really defend that it wasn't a good Metroid game comparatively and according to what everyone else thinks, but hey, I happened to like it. It's kinda like enjoying Sonic '06 despite knowing the game is truly awful. Except I don't like Sonic '06.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

lol does she enjoy that or do *you* enjoy that.

I feel like my girlfriend would demand to play even if she was sick. Or she'd just want to watch a movie. But she's a gamer. So maybe. Who knows. Yay. My A.D.D. is really up there today as you probably notice.

But yeah, I remember this situation. I found more of an advantage just being able to play my game when someone else wanted to use the tv, and of course that was kinda part of the idea of making the gamepad in the first place. That concept was advertised in all the earlier advertisements for the game.

Also, you like Other M? I happen to like that game despite the fact there's no way to really defend that it wasn't a good Metroid game comparatively and according to what everyone else thinks, but hey, I happened to like it. It's kinda like enjoying Sonic '06 despite knowing the game is truly awful. Except I don't like Sonic '06.

She's a gamer(she just bought a PS4 for herself), but she's sick in bed. What part of "sick in bed" wasn't clear?

Other M is an awesome game despite what a lot of people thought. Plot aside(which is subjective anyway), the gameplay is excellent Team Ninja fair(which is what sold me on the game when it was announced way back when). Hearing people complain about Metroid Other M sounds just like people complaining that every Final Fantasy after VII wasn't Final Fantasy VII.

[Brandon Strader]

She's a gamer(she just bought a PS4 for herself), but she's sick in bed. What part of "sick in bed" wasn't clear?

I tried Remote Play on the Vita the other day with my PS4, it's actually pretty amazing. I found it hard with Infamous to aim and see the little tiny things cause it does seem like it's meant more for a BIG tv, but it definitely worked, completely, very good. I could see myself taking it with me if I go on a trip and I know there'll be wifi.

So if your GAMER GURL has wifi and a Vita she could totally keep playing her PS4

[Garrett Williamson]

She's a gamer(she just bought a PS4 for herself), but she's sick in bed. What part of "sick in bed" wasn't clear?

Other M is an awesome game despite what a lot of people thought. Plot aside(which is subjective anyway), the gameplay is excellent Team Ninja fair(which is what sold me on the game when it was announced way back when). Hearing people complain about Metroid Other M sounds just like people complaining that every Final Fantasy after VII wasn't Final Fantasy VII.

Hahahaha valid point.

As for Other M, makes sense, fans often just want the same bs over and over again with a different number on the box. Thus the success of CoD. Which is ridiculous.

However, yeah, with the storyline... it would've worked if it wasn't supposed to connect at all. But it was supposed to connect and it just didn't completely work. Like, it did, but it wasn't executed completely correctly. It's not as big a mistake as (using my example from earlier) Sonic '06 was, but there were definitely some mistakes in there.

There were some critiques like "Samus runs like there's no weight to her suit" and while part of me agrees, part of me is also like "who cares? I still feel the power and ability when playing as her, and it's a cool new little thing." The gameplay was honestly really neat.

I think this all would make sense on a Wii thread or Metroid thread, though, would it not?

(wow, the ADD kid is trying to get back on track??)

I tried Remote Play on the Vita the other day with my PS4, it's actually pretty amazing. I found it hard with Infamous to aim and see the little tiny things cause it does seem like it's meant more for a BIG tv, but it definitely worked, completely, very good. I could see myself taking it with me if I go on a trip and I know there'll be wifi.

So if your GAMER GURL has wifi and a Vita she could totally keep playing her PS4

Man, you and your PS4. I thought this was the Wii U thread.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

I tried Remote Play on the Vita the other day with my PS4, it's actually pretty amazing. I found it hard with Infamous to aim and see the little tiny things cause it does seem like it's meant more for a BIG tv, but it definitely worked, completely, very good. I could see myself taking it with me if I go on a trip and I know there'll be wifi.

So if your GAMER GURL has wifi and a Vita she could totally keep playing her PS4

We do love playing FFXIV on our Vitas via remote play.

Hahahaha valid point.

As for Other M, makes sense, fans often just want the same bs over and over again with a different number on the box. Thus the success of CoD. Which is ridiculous.

However, yeah, with the storyline... it would've worked if it wasn't supposed to connect at all. But it was supposed to connect and it just didn't completely work. Like, it did, but it wasn't executed completely correctly. It's not as big a mistake as (using my example from earlier) Sonic '06 was, but there were definitely some mistakes in there.

There were some critiques like "Samus runs like there's no weight to her suit" and while part of me agrees, part of me is also like "who cares? I still feel the power and ability when playing as her, and it's a cool new little thing." The gameplay was honestly really neat.

I think this all would make sense on a Wii thread or Metroid thread, though, would it not?

Well last thing I'll say in this thread about Other M before returning it to the Other M or Wii thread(even though it technically qualifies as the Wii U is backwards compatible), is that the plot has a lot of nuance to it in terms of character feelings and conflicts(things most gamers just aren't ready for yet), but it does have hokey dialogue and weak execution in several areas, which detracts from an otherwise very intriguing story concept. I'm by no means saying it's the perfect game, but it is absolutely nowhere near as bad as a lot of Metroid fanbots will have you believe. Again, most of them are just upset that Metroid Other M wasn't another Prime game or another Super Metroid 2D Action Adventure style game.

But as for me personally, I couldn't give a flip less about any of that. They also say that the game either completely destroys Samus' image as a badass bounty hunter, to which I say they have no concept of what it means to be human, and becoming a badass by overcoming adversity in the face of personal weakness, fear, and insecurities, or that it "demeans her gender" by having her follow Adam's orders, without realizing that Adam is a goddamn commanding officer of the organization that employs/governs her bounty hunter services. It'd be like Boba Fett telling Darth Vader to fuck off.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Malaki-LEGEND.sys

[Mirby]

Man, you and your PS4. I thought this was the Wii U thread.

I know, right? That's almost as bad as coming into the Wii U thread and telling people not to buy a game on Wii U because they can get it at a discount on PC.

Anyways here's an interesting Mario Kart 8 development. The eShop page lists "Game Chat" as one of the online features. Whether this means text-based chat or actual voice chat over the internet remains to be seen, but either way it's pretty nifty.

I really enjoyed playing MK7 online with y'all, but only being able to talk about the race afterwards was a bit annoying. This feature should make that better.

Also because I decided scroll down on the eShop page because why not, if you're planning on downloading MK8 it'll take about 4.83GB, so yeah.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Mirby

[Garrett Williamson]

Well last thing I'll say in this thread about Other M before returning it to the Other M or Wii thread(even though it technically qualifies as the Wii U is backwards compatible), is that the plot has a lot of nuance to it in terms of character feelings and conflicts(things most gamers just aren't ready for yet), but it does have hokey dialogue and weak execution in several areas, which detracts from an otherwise very intriguing story concept. I'm by no means saying it's the perfect game, but it is absolutely nowhere near as bad as a lot of Metroid fanbots will have you believe. Again, most of them are just upset that Metroid Other M wasn't another Prime game or another Super Metroid 2D Action Adventure style game.

But as for me personally, I couldn't give a flip less about any of that. They also say that the game either completely destroys Samus' image as a badass bounty hunter, to which I say they have no concept of what it means to be human, and becoming a badass by overcoming adversity in the face of personal weakness, fear, and insecurities, or that it "demeans her gender" by having her follow Adam's orders, without realizing that Adam is a goddamn commanding officer of the organization that employs/governs her bounty hunter services. It'd be like Boba Fett telling Darth Vader to fuck off.

Yeah, I totally agree. It isn't the best but I never thought it was as bad as everyone said, though I can't entirely defend it because a lot of those accusations are entirely accurate.

Also because I decided scroll down on the eShop page because why not, if you're planning on downloading MK8 it'll take about 4.83GB, so yeah.

Holy crap, what?

Whelp, time to go clean my system memory. Luckily I've got the 32 GB model.

[Devyn]

Definitely going to get a boxed copy of Mario Kart 8. I've already bought too many Wii U games digitally. Anyway, more important, I would love some voice chat in MK8. That would totally be awesome, but I wonder how Nintendo would handle it as they tend to keep Miiverse as family-friendly as possible.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Definitely going to get a boxed copy of Mario Kart 8. I've already bought too many Wii U games digitally. Anyway, more important, I would love some voice chat in MK8. That would totally be awesome, but I wonder how Nintendo would handle it as they tend to keep Miiverse as family-friendly as possible.

My guess is that it would be enabled through your friends list only, and I think they'd probably be even more vocal about parental controls being in the system, especially with voice chat enabled. Don't be surprised though if Nintendo decides to put the kibosh on voice chat if someone decides to use it for illicit shit a la Swapnote.

But yes, despite that painful to watch Nintendo Direct, Mario Kart 8 looks even better than I thought. Can't wait to play bumper cars with y'all again!

EDIT: Also as a side note, got Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze as a birthday gift a few months back. Just got around to finishing it through on 2-player coop, and man, that game was balls to the wall hard, but so much fun. Go grab it, if at least for the pretty environments and David Wise.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Malaki-LEGEND.sys