Wii U – Hands On Impressions

It’s been a good while since the Wii was new and everyone was excited (or angry) about its Wiimotes and Miis and strange naming theme. Now it’s time to do it all again with the Wii U! Of course, one with even a passing interest in Nintendo consoles would wonder what it’s like and whether it’s worthwhile to get. And if one is a Pokemon fan, what possibilities it offers for Pokemon may also be of interest.

So why worry? Take this reporter’s word for it, as he got to try it out exclusively at a VIP event, and without killing anyone to get the chance either.

What You Should Know About It Already

The Wii U is the next generation console for Nintendo, like the Wii was to the Gamecube. It allows you to play Wii games and use previous controllers like the Wiimote and Wii Board, although it doesn’t have any GCN support.

So what does it add that’s new? Well, a whole lot of power for starters, and a lot more space on the Wii U game discs too (up to and beyond five times the larger Wii discs would hold) that the Wii would not be able to handle. This is despite the console itself looking only somewhat longer than the previous Wii which is not much bigger at all despite the large power upgrade. It also comes with another controller which has a screen upon it, multiple trigger buttons and two analogue sticks.

The New Controller

On that note, the new gamepad is fairly decently sized, but well made. It certainly felt sturdy and solid, the trigger buttons and analogue sticks were close together to aid gameplay, and the screen was quite responsive and easy to use. No bugs were encountered when I was able to use it, and all in all it felt rather natural. It also allows you to use it like a gyroscope (e.g. using it to look around a room with a scanner akin to the 3DS), a tilt-sensitive controller (controlling a kart in a 2D obstacle course), and so forth. It was also very light, and I imagine easier to use had it not been understandably attached to the stands via security cords.

And now for something completely different in terms of a controller.

It did feel a bit clunky to get used to doing all of the above at the same time though, so one hopes games will not be over-reliant on the new controller and try to do too much with it. Luckily all the games available like ZombiU do a good job in not falling into that trap in my opinion by setting important options that are on the screen near where the player’s hand would be while firing at zombies.

It came with a decently-sized stylus as well, but I found using my finger was simple and accurate enough as well.

Games

I tried a number of the games on display. The Wii U comes in two bundles at launch, one being the pricier Deluxe bundle that includes the minigames collection NintendoLand (as well as other extras). I feel this choice is worth it, especially if you have friends to play NintendoLand with as it is excellent for multiplayer games. 

There were only a few of the minigames from the collection available at the event, but they were all entertaining and not straightforward to beat either. These included a ninja-killing game which involved throwing shurikens via flicking them from the Wii U gamepad, and Animal Crossing and Luigi-mansion themed games that reminded me a lot of Legend of Zelda’s multiplayer in Phantom Hourglass, but they were fun enough in themselves. These games are designed for the Wii Pad but multiplayer support is via the normal Wiimotes, allowing for various ‘one versus the rest’ style games. (For example, Luigi Mansion’s style game had the player with the gamepad playing as the ghost, and the rest as people with flashlights had to work together to protect themselves from the ghost.) A few games may wear out more quickly than others, but I feel this’ll offer more entertainment value than the Wii Play game that came with the Wiimotes for the Wii. And the games here make better use of the system’s capabilities and offer more gameplay too.

Killing ninjas has never been this fun before.

ZombiU very clearly shows the graphical improvements the Wii U offers over the Wii; the demo showed off Buckingham Palace and a lot of detail is evident in the floor, railings and multiple fancy portraits on the walls. And that’s ignoring the Zombies as well, which seem pretty decently programmed in regards to AI for the zombies to boot even for a demo version. A neat feature is that if you die you continue the game as another character in a similar location. Your previous character meanwhile becomes an enemy, while your previous items are now with it.

Don’t be shy, zombies. We just want to play…

New Super Mario Bros Wii U offers more than the Wii version; the fact one can play on the Wii U gamepad to help aid players across gaps (or alternatively troll players into said gaps) adds a fair bit to the game. Besides that it is the same good old Mario games, so if you liked the previous games you’d enjoy this one.

Other games I tried out include Scribblenauts Unlimited which really offers a lot more than previous titles (no limit to objects or adjectives, extra additions, and a heck of an amount of levels and a nice visual upgrade to it as well), Assassin’s Creed (graphically impressively, and the AI…well, more amusingly stupid than anything), Sonic Racers (a somewhat less fun Mario Kart with rather sharp drifting, but still decent fun coupled with smooth visuals), and Rayman Legends (further multiplayer fun and solid gameplay with a lot of content for people who want to 100% the game based off the demos). Certainly the potential is there in the launch titles and games that shortly follow the Wii U’s release. More convincing than the 3DS launch list at any rate.

So What About Pokemon on the Wii U?

One thing I feel is a given to come out sooner or later for the Wii U is a Battling Sim game, although what that fully includes (besides wifi battles, a story or minigames, or both!) remains to be seen. At any rate, you can probably expect another Battle Revolution, Colosseum or Stadium-esque game.

On the subject on minigames, the Wii U easily offers more than the Wii could have, as it basically can do everything the Wii can with far more power, and all that the gamepad can do too. A lot of games could certainly be created using it and with a one-vs-rest theme. Just think of those old Stadium games that could come out of it!

Magikarp at least had a use in providing much entertainment for all.

There’s not much else that it would add to the actual battles of the main game series however, mostly because that doesn’t really need additional gimmicks as it is. In this area the gamepad would not add anything extra besides being one choice someone wants to use, although displaying moves or the party/other menu upon it would certainly be useful.

I feel another Pokepark sequel is also likely; the minigame collection would work fairly well too, and has enjoyed decent sales as well. What started as the ill-recieved Hey You, Pikachu! game looks to have a bright future on your home console in my view.

The gamepad is really where the potential for spinoff games comes in, and that comes in spades. Things like a Pokemon Snap 2 would work great with the Wii U gamepad given its interactive screen and gyroscope capabilities. Pokemon Ranger type games could also work decently, given the screen and the stylus it comes with (it feels far sturdier than the DS screens), and that using one’s finger also works fine. Games with map systems would also benefit (think Conquest or Mystery Dungeon style games). Scramble/Rumble-esque games would also be easy to control with the gamepad as well, and remain perfectly usable on the wiimote as the original proved on the Wii as a downloadable game.

All these however are games that have been part of the past; I wouldn’t expect all to get a remake or sequel on the Wii U necessarily, and certainly not without something new joining those titles. After all, the Wii itself offered a fresh take on the Box series in Ranch, the expansion on Hey You, Pikachu/Pokemon Channel with the Pokepark games, and Scramble which ended up on the 3DS in the form of a larger sequel. The Wii U offers further ways side companies can take the Pokemon franchise, so it will be certainly be interesting to see what turns up, and as long as companies put in a decent effort the potential is certainly there.

After all, nobody saw the likes of a Pokemon and samurai warriors crossover game coming and B2W2 also surprised the majority expecting a Pokemon Grey. To try to accurately predict what will happen with Pokemon these days is a bit foolish. Even smaller app-like games such as the Pokedex and Dream Viewer (also seen at the event, allowing you to capture Pokemon via a gyroscope minigame and transfer them to your B2W2 games) has come about on the 3DS, so what the Wii U offers should be exciting if only for the new directions the Pokemon franchise continues to be taken into.

The possibilities extend as far as your dreams!… thank you, I’m here all night.

Written by bobandbill, with thanks to Nintendo for organising such an event in the first place!