27 replies to this topic

[Reaperman]

I'm looking at getting a Wii based on this price drop, and based on it now coming packed with the #1 game I want to play on Wii, Mario Kart. Great new pack-in, thanks for targeting me as a consumer, Nintendo.

That said, I don't want a $150 box that only plays Mario Kart. If I did, I'd just try consolizing one of the arcade MK games... I know most of the big Wii titles, and where I stand with them (I'm willing to try LoZ:TP, and that's about it), but other games, like Anno 1404 and Trackmania, really have my attention, and I'm wondering if there are any other 'under the radar' titles I might like checking out. I'm also quite worried about wandering too far from the 'AAA level' titles unguided, for fear of being lost in shovelware.

For a perspective, I generally gravitate toward racing, strategy, role playing, and flight, with a much stronger leaning toward Sci-fi themes over ye olde fantasy ones. Action games don't seem to be my thing on modern hardware.

[Mendon]

If you like "schmup's" at all, you might want to check out Sin & Punishment. Its a Nintendo release and can be had for $15 or less from Amazon .(You might not like action games but I threw this in because its a fun game at a great price).

If you like turn-based RPG's, then Fire Emblem is a must!!

If you like simulator's, then Dawn of Discovery is a fun little "Sim City - Civilization" hybrid.

If you can find it, Star Trek Conquest is a fun little space strategy game that has Atari2600 "Stellar Trek" type gameplay.


Mendon

[ATARI7800fan]

Mendon, on Thu May 5, 2011 8:52 AM, said:

If you like "schmup's" at all, you might want to check out Sin & Punishment. Its a Nintendo release and can be had for $15 or less from Amazon .(You might not like action games but I threw this in because its a fun game at a great price).

If you like turn-based RPG's, then Fire Emblem is a must!!

If you like simulator's, then Dawn of Discovery is a fun little "Sim City - Civilization" hybrid.

If you can find it, Star Trek Conquest is a fun little space strategy game that has Atari2600 "Stellar Trek" type gameplay.


Mendon

If you like light gun games House of the Dead 2 and 3 return is a good one, plus there is Okami
if you like more violent games there is Madworld.
Has a good Fire emblem game or two.
if you like Platformers there is Deblob 2, Plus of course the Nintendo franchises.
if you like shooters Conduit 2 is a must.
Plus Red Steel 2
Wiki has a nice list of games for the system. All just depends on what you like.

Edited by ATARI7800fan, Thu May 5, 2011 10:16 AM.

[cimerians]

Under the radar:

Boom Blox
Cursed Mountain
Endless Ocean
Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
Fire Emblem
House of the Dead: Overkill
No More Heroes
Metal Slug Anthology
Muramasa the Demon Blade
Sin and Punishment
Red Steel 2
Madworld
Zack and Wiki


Must haves:
Animal Crossing
Metroid Prime Trilogy
Resident Evil 4
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Mario Party 8 (nice family game just like the old ones)
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess (although I prefer the GC version)
among others......


Never in my life have I seen the amounts of shovelware for one system, it almost eclipses the Atari 2600, NES and PS1 combined!

[mimo]

Geometry wars galaxy,
excite truck
House of the Dead 2+3
super Mario galaxy 1 or 2

[Reaperman]

Great suggestions.

Fire Emblem has for sure been added to my list, I don't know how I forgot about it. Probably will be my second game purchase. Geometry wars can't be far behind. And I've also been seeing a *lot* of homebrew games that are up my alley (even more than retail games). With homebrew so easy to do these days, I'm all over that (it used to be much more complex to get into, right?).

Spousal fund approval has been obtained, with an "I wondered why you didn't get one of these years ago." Too bad I can't find anybody with the new $150 wii pack for sale tonight, and I really have been looking.

Edit: nevermind, may 15 for the new bundle. I should probably stop looking for it tonight.

Edited by Reaperman, Thu May 5, 2011 8:40 PM.

[Skarrj]

Absolutley get Madworld

then check these out: House of the dead overkill(and 2/3 bundle), Goldeneye, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles, Paper Mario

[Reaperman]

Skarrj, on Fri May 6, 2011 12:35 PM, said:

Paper Mario

I enjoyed paper mario on N64 and Gamecube, but I got the distinct impression that this one was a pretty different game that I might not enjoy. Are there any mixed opinions on the game, or am I way out in left field on this one, and paper mario fans will all cheer?

Oddly I bought MadWorld as a gift for a wii-owning friend a while back. I acknowledge that it's a neat looking game, and is a full-on, 100% gamer's game, but I don't think it's really my thing. Maybe I'll borrow it back for a night or two.

Some of the wii downloadables look pretty good too. Mostly Cave Story. I'm just not used to it costing money.

Edited by Reaperman, Fri May 6, 2011 1:57 PM.

[moycon]

I was going to second (or third) Mad World.
From day one I loved the game. The controls are advanced and it'll take a bit to get adjusted, but once you do. Wow what a fun game. It's gets even better if you down a brew or two before (while) playing. I would certainly recommend you at least try it again especially if you have easy access to it.

I'll throw out another title I don't think has been mentioned and maybe because it's a long forgotten launch title.
Elebits.
I really had a lot of fun with that game right from the start. (My Wii was a bundle with around 3 games and that was one of them.)

[cimerians]

Reaperman, on Fri May 6, 2011 1:55 PM, said:

Skarrj, on Fri May 6, 2011 12:35 PM, said:

Paper Mario

I enjoyed paper mario on N64 and Gamecube, but I got the distinct impression that this one was a pretty different game that I might not enjoy. Are there any mixed opinions on the game, or am I way out in left field on this one, and paper mario fans will all cheer?

Oddly I bought MadWorld as a gift for a wii-owning friend a while back. I acknowledge that it's a neat looking game, and is a full-on, 100% gamer's game, but I don't think it's really my thing. Maybe I'll borrow it back for a night or two.

Some of the wii downloadables look pretty good too. Mostly Cave Story. I'm just not used to it costing money.

I can't stand Paper Mario for the Wii. It's not Paper Mario without turn based combat. I'm sorry but its not Paper Mario.
I could not beleive they removed the turn based combat from this game. It's basically Super Mario Brothers with a 3D world you jump in and out. I finished the game completely and never went back to it and probably never will. I havent sold it because I'm a huge fan of the Paper Mario games and for me this was the worst. (Mainly because of the huge change).

(I'm speaking from the heart. It's not a bad game at all but for me it's NOT a Paper Mario game and I was really upset playing it cause I expected turn based RPG-like elements like the first two games. I hope it makes sense what I'm saying. I know it sounds nerdy but thats just how I feel about it.)

[StanJr]

Elebits is a sure winner, a must have.

Also Alien Syndrome is really deep and a lot of fun as a sci-fi adventure game. Very under appreciated.

Blazing Angels is a great dog fighter game.

For short, but nutty fun, try Let's Tap!

[Reaperman]

Well I really couldn't wait for that shiny new Mario Kart bundle afterall, and pulled the trigger on This package. I figure I get some nice extras by going used, and can be sure of its hackability. It seems in very good condition and from a good seller, even if I didn't really save any money. I also snagged geometry wars as soon as I saw that it was only going to be $8.50 shipped.

Edited by Reaperman, Sat May 7, 2011 1:15 PM.

[Reaperman]

The Wii came. Still waiting on some of the games I ordered though.

So far, Dawn of Discovery seems to be holding my attention better than other games. The tutorial and story are painful, but I can see that there is a lot of good in it. It's the first game that I intend to play when I get home, and that's saying a lot considering that I have unplayed games.

The biggest surprise so far is that I don't like Mario Kart so much. It gets its difficulty entirely from rubberbanding. I suppose I should really give it a chance online before I totally discount it, though.

Edited by Reaperman, Thu May 12, 2011 7:29 AM.

[Mendon]

Mario Kart is tough to play online due to hacking. The last time I played (many moon's ago) three opponents started the game with Star Power and kept it the entire game.

I haven't played it online since.


Mendon

[ATARI7800fan]

Plus Sonic colors.
and Sega and Sonic all stars racing, if you want a Kart racer with characters besides Nintendo that is actually good.

Edited by ATARI7800fan, Sat May 14, 2011 11:17 PM.

[xg4bx]

I've owned a wii before but got rid of it about 2 years ago so I'm trying to get myself back in the loop. I'm getting married in a week and this new bundle is the 1st thing I'm buying lol.

I'm looking to pick up other m, dkc returns, mario anniversary and sin& punishment 2 with it. Goldeneye and the conduit 2 are on my maybe list.

Edit: oh man, I forgot no more heroes 2. Hmmmmm....

Edited by xg4bx, Sun May 15, 2011 2:31 AM.

[Mendon]

xg4bx, on Sun May 15, 2011 2:28 AM, said:

I've owned a wii before but got rid of it about 2 years ago so I'm trying to get myself back in the loop. I'm getting married in a week and this new bundle is the 1st thing I'm buying lol.

I'm looking to pick up other m, dkc returns, mario anniversary and sin& punishment 2 with it. Goldeneye and the conduit 2 are on my maybe list.

Edit: oh man, I forgot no more heroes 2. Hmmmmm....

Don't forget to give Super Mario Bros. Wii a try. Fantastic game!!


Mendon

[Atariboy]

You're already aware of Trackmania Wii which was an entertaining and overlooked game. Another racing game that is fun that never got much attention was Konami's GTI Club Supermini Festa. It's a remake/sequel to a popular Konami coinop from the 1990's and has lots of arcade action to offer.

[Reaperman]

Atariboy, on Sun May 15, 2011 3:50 PM, said:

Another racing game that is fun that never got much attention was Konami's GTI Club Supermini Festa. It's a remake/sequel to a popular Konami coinop from the 1990's and has lots of arcade action to offer.

I had no idea that it was on Wii. I'll have to check that one out, since I enjoyed the ps3 version so much. It makes more sense to have it on wii. There is no rational reason for me to believe that, but I do.

Is Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli any good? I enjoy the ps3 version, which is rather sim-heavy. Is there any significant similarity?

Right now I'm playing a good bit of Geometry Wars (wishing it worked with the GC controller). Elebits was about the cheapest wii game at gamestop, so I couldn't resist that either. It's got a long tutorial and an unskippable story full of characters that I want to die, but after that initial 20 minutes was over, tearing up rooms to find those little creeps is great fun. I may even go back and do it again.

Edited by Reaperman, Mon May 16, 2011 12:19 PM.

[jvgs]

One "under the radar" game comes to mind: Mercury Meltdown Revolution. It's a Marble Madness type game, where you roll around a ball of mercury to reach a goal. There are some puzzle elements, as you have to be a certain color to clear some gates. There are paint shops in some levels that will paint the ball a certain color, and you may have to split your ball of mercury to mix colors. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I think it's a great game that almost nobody knows about.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution video

[Animan]

It isn't really "under the radar", but the first few Rabbids games are very good party games. One of the few minigame collections that are actually good.

NY Gunblade & LA Machineguns is a decent budget game. Doesn't really add anything to the original arcade versions except online leaderboards.

Counter-Force is good if you like Space Harrier type games and mecha.

Toribash is a very original, fun fighting game. Online mode will have you up for hours. WiiWare title for 1000 points. There is a free PC version, but I like the Wii version better

Edited by Animan, Tue May 31, 2011 8:12 AM.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

One game no one has mentioned yet is Deadly Creatures. I haven't played it myself but I plan to someday because it got great reviews and it gets a lot of mention by gamers. Too bad it failed at retail.

And does GhostBusters qualify as "under the radar"? That's another one I intend to play someday.

[WIZZARD77]

The Kororinpa marble games are fun, along with Mushroom Men, Lost in Shadow, Vertigo, And The Muchables.

[DickNixonArisen]

I second muramasa and fragile farewell.

Muramasa was reviewed as "graphically beautiful but gameplay flawed". I never found a flaw in it; I loved it. Fragile farewell IS deeply flawed but very atmospheric and has a compelling story. I also like Baroque, a port from the Saturn, which, similar to fragile, has repetetive, boring combat overlaid in a really good, atmospheric and SAD sci-fi/post apoc story.

The SNK arcade classics anth, samurai shodown, KOF, and metal slug anth's are a great way to play neogeo on the cheap.

My wii stuff:

Animal Crossing: city folk - not as good as GCN version; not worth your $
A boy and his Blob - beautiful but too easy; good for kids, get if cheap
Alien Syndrome - needed a lot more time in the oven but compelling if you like upgradyness
Baroque - aforementioned, well-worth the price, not for everyone! patience required!
Blast Works - lots of fun for a short while; the level editor adds some value. get for cheap.
Blazing Angels - did NOT like. Too much of the whole "try this objective, fail, try same thing again". Good looking, though.
Bleach shattered blade - pretty decent 3d fighter.
Castlevania Judgment - same as shattered blade, actually, not quite as good - doesn't deserve franchise name. very gay (literally, we're talking oiled chests, short shorts, tiny hats with bows, pink heart sunglasses - literally gay).
Castle of Shikigami - great little danmaku
Conduit, the - eh. if you need an FPS on wii, this is it, but do you need that?
Cooking Mama - blech.
Data East Arcade Classics - yes! I feel rich now!
DDR hottest party - wifes
DDR hottest party 2 - wfies
DDR hottest party 3 - wi-fi's
Dewy's Adventure - haven't played, good reviews
Elebits - haven't played, good reviews
Endless Ocean - good for relaxing; decent storyline, slow slow pace, arbitrary goals. Lots of icthyology if you like that!
Endless Ocean: Blue World - not.. MUCH better, but more interesting.
Final Fantasy Crystal Bearers - haven't played. forgot I had. Supposedly much better than initial reviews hold; probably suffered from having the FF name and atypical gameplay.
Fragile Dreams - aforementioned, worth a playthrough. Warning: total OMG moment about halfway through; jawdropping.
Ghost squad - stupid lightgun game, love it.
Geometry wars galaxies - good version of this shooter
Guilty Gear xx accent core - huge huge fan of guilty gear; may be too complex for normal non-fighting-nut people.
Guilty Gear xx accent core Plus - hey, i bought it twice - what does that say?
Harvey Birdman attourney at law - got bored
Harvest Moon tree of tranquility - pretty bad actually. slow, awful sound and music, good for.. learning to wait patiently?
Heavenly Guardian - very poorly programmed, garbage controls. 8 way shooter.
House of the dead 2 + 3 - fun, well-done. Good lightgun game.
House of the dead Overkill - same. this one is actually a little scary, not RE scary, but a little. very F-bomby.
King of Fighters The Orochi saga - yes please
Klonoa - great title; worth your time. one hard jump at end! F YOU JUMP
Mario Kart Wii - third best mario kart? behind the DS and 64? Maybe fourth if you include GCN double dash?
Madworld - very good
Mercury Meltdown Rev - lots of fun, lots of content. challenge!
Metal Slug Anthology - give me all you got
Metroid Prime 3 corruption - STILL haven't played through prime OR echoes, so ...
Mini desktop racing - blech! I wouldn't wish this game on bin laden's corpse!
Monster Hunter Tri - I put a lot of time into this relationship and it worked really well for a while but we just kind of went our separate ways when I realized I wasn't really ... Going anywhere with it. If you like to constantly upgrade and manage items, it's fun. Steep challenge.
Mysims kingdom - kiddie.
Muramasa the demon blade - brilliant! Great fighting mechanics, good story and graphics.
Need for speed pro street - what an ugly baby
Nights journey of dreams (wifes!) - eh. fails to recapture the magic.
No more heroes - lots of fun. I didn't find it that hard to deal with; a little empty on the openworld side maybe.
NO more heroes 2 - don't know, haven't playhed
Okami - is crystalis is a better LOZ, this is a better LOZ: OOT! So remember, LOZOOT!
Phantom Brave: we meet again - wow, here's one for you. If you like fire emblem, shining force, disgaea especially, those NIS weirdoes. Well-told, endearing story about a girl growing up and making friends paired with a deep and challenging MONSTER of a turn-based tactical. WHO POSSIBLY LIKES BOTH OF THOSE THINGS?
Prince of persia rival swords - good. no problems, maybe too much of the swingy wii gimmick control.
Rayman Raving rabbids - yep
Rayman Raving rabbids 2 - yep 2
Rabbids go home - hilarious! great title, good co-op. if you don't like rabbids, reevaluate for this title alone.
Resident evil 4 - don't know, too scary
Resident evil the umbrella chronicles - i liked it; just scary enough for me.
Rune Factory Frontier - takes a long time to get anywhere, even for an RPG fan. Still, fun; good storyline. Nice graphics.
Samba De Amigo - great.
Samurai Shodown - can't deal with it anymore, raises my blood pressure. a REAL fighting game, where if you stumble, you fall. Unforgiving! FEEL MY STEEL!
Snk Arcade Classics - great buy. even the golf game is good....
Sonic Unleashed - haven't played. Didn't... know I owned.
Soulcalibur Legends - bad game, but I enjoyed the light RPG elements. Actually, weapon master mode on the GCN SC2 was better than this whole game...
Super Monkey Ball - eh.
Super Mario Bros. Wii - great
Super Mario Galaxy - greater
Super smash bros brawl - great
Tales of Symphonia: dawn of the new world - patchy. Some good parts, some slow parts. Story kind of all over the place. Still, aren;'t that many RPGS to work with.
Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom - great fighter; accessible but satisfying while combining two divergent elements - like the dropkick murphys.
Twilight princess - kind of an odd zelda. infused with this fading golden dawn dreamlike mood; kind of depressing but hopeful, almost lovecraftian. You have to be in the mood for it
Ultimate shooting collection - GARBAGE. and I put up with a lot from SHMUPS
Wii Fit - works
Wii Fit plus - adds some really fun games. shows the potential for better though
Wario Land shake it - brilliant. one of the best platformers on the system, better than the mario games.
Wii sports resort - fun for a while.
Wii play - fun with friends
Wild Earth African Safari - not fun
Worms: a space oddity - missing something somehow
Zack + wiki - excellent capcom puzzler, don;'t miss



will eventually own:

skyward sword, red steel 2, sin and punishmenht, arc rise fantasia, lost in shadow, epic mickey

[Mendon]

DickNixonArisen, on Tue Jul 12, 2011 6:42 PM, said:

My wii stuff:

.....snip

Great list, Mr. President! And I agree with a LOT of your comments on the games but am curious about The Conduit: was it because you're not into FPS's or you just thought Conduit was a bad game?

Speaking for myself, I enjoyed The Conduit more than I did Conduit 2, with the main reasons being how short the campaign is (about 5 hours, give or take a few minutes) and it seemed that High Voltage was trying to give Mr. Ford a "Duke Nukem macho" flavor.


Mendon

Edited by Mendon, Wed Jul 13, 2011 6:17 AM.