That's Right - I'm Buying a Wii U

[Andre]

Hello fellow fanboys. With my new job, and money to spend on pointless bullshit, I've decided to take the dive and purchase a Wii U. This weekend, I'll be getting the following.

• Wii U Zelda Bundle with Wind Waker HD
• Wii Party U with Wiimote
• Mario Wiimote Plus
• New Super Mario Bros. U

I'll probably also end up picking up Super Mario 3D World at some point, though I might wait until after the afterglow from Mario Kart 8 to deal with that. I'm getting Wii Party U for the extra Wiimote (Nintendoland looks like more fun, but I think they don't do the bundle anymore.) Does anybody have any recommendations or think I should change some picks before I take the plunge? I'm planning to play with friends, thus the NSMBU purchase, and I do love that series. What about eShop titles?

[The Banjonator]

If you haven't played the pikmin franchises, pick up the first two wii-makes with wii controls then get Pikmin 3 for Wii U. Or just go for Pikmin 3 straight away. Amazing game and amazingly fun with someone else.

Wonderful 101 is an underrated gem as well. Takes time to get used to the controls but it's well worth it.

[Derek]

Yeah, like I said while we were discussing this on the podcast, Pikmin 3 is just an all-around good sequel in every regard. It is like a Banjo-Kazooie to Banjo-Tooie kind of sequel where they took everything that people loved and made it bigger and better.

Wonderful 101 is something that I couldn't get into. Played it for maybe two hours and stopped, I might give it another try some day.

I recommend taking a look at some old Zelda games on the eShop. I'm not sure what they have on there exactly, but since you are trying to get into the series right now you could download A Link to the Past or Ocarina of Time. You probably wouldn't want to play multiple Zeldas at the same time, though. Hmm...

Sonic Lost World is a good game. It is a slower Sonic game that focuses more on platforming and exploration. There is no timer which makes for a unique new Sonic experience IMO. Not the best game out there but worth playing through.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is fantastic if you like sinking hours and hours into your game character.

Might as well just list every game worth buying at this point.

Super Mario 3D World
NSMBU
Wind Waker HD
Pikmin 3
Sonic: Lost World
The Wonderful 101
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
NintendoLand
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
ZombiU

10 games. Only 10 worthy games out right now.

[Twi]

Tropical Freeze how is that not already on there?

[Andre]

I definitely want to pick up Tropical Freeze.

[Dylan Yoshi]

If you register Mario Kart 8 on Club Nintendo within the month after it comes out, you can get New Super Mario Bros U or Wii Party U for free. So it's not really worth buying one of those with the console. You can also get Wind Waker HD or Pikmin 3 in this offer, btw.

Oh, and yeah Tropical Freeze is easily the best game on the console and you should get it.

[Masked Hero]

I would seriously wait for the Mario Kart 8 Bundle, Andre. I think that is the much better deal.

[Andre]

Originally Posted by MetalHeroOfTime

I would seriously wait for the Mario Kart 8 Bundle, Andre. I think that is the much better deal.

It is, but it doesn't have that sexy Wii U game pad. And I'll be picking up Wii Party U mainly for the controller, so I won't use my code for that.

[dragon_kazoooie]

Originally Posted by Andre

It is, but it doesn't have that sexy Wii U game pad. And I'll be picking up Wii Party U mainly for the controller, so I won't use my code for that.

Unless I'm misunderstanding you, the Mario Kart 8 Bundle totally comes with the Wii U game pad. It's includes Mario Kart 8, a wii controller, and a deluxe black 32 Gig Wii U (Which comes with the gamepad). Oh and you get that amazing steering wheel peripheral that was totally the best part about Mario Kart Wii.

Here's a picture of the bundle. http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/i...t+11.06.46.png

[Andre]

Originally Posted by dragon_kazoooie

Unless I'm misunderstanding you, the Mario Kart 8 Bundle totally comes with the Wii U game pad. It's includes Mario Kart 8, a wii controller, and a deluxe black 32 Gig Wii U (Which comes with the gamepad). Oh and you get that amazing steering wheel peripheral that was totally the best part about Mario Kart Wii.

Here's a picture of the bundle. http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/i...t+11.06.46.png

You are indeed misunderstanding me. This is what I want. That said, I might end up just waiting for the MK8 bundle, so we'll see.

[dragon_kazoooie]

Originally Posted by Andre

You are indeed misunderstanding me. This is what I want. That said, I might end up just waiting for the MK8 bundle, so we'll see.

Whoops, sorry about that. That's a much cooler version of the gamepad than the standard.

[TRBB]

New Super Mario Bros. U
+ Flying Squirrel Suit is fun to use.
+ Baby Yoshis are a nice addition
+ Boost Rush mode is frantic with friends.
+ Challenge Mode offers some variety.

New Super Luigi U
+ Luigi now has his Mario Bros. 2 physics.
+ All Levels start out with 100 seconds on the clock.
+ All Levels are shorter, but much harder than before.
+ You can find a hidden Luigi in every level.
+ You can switch back to the original physics after beating the game.
- Don't ever play as Nabbit.
- It's fun and challenging, but short.

You can get both NSMBU and NSLU on one disc if you get the Wii U Mario Bundle.
You can also just buy NSMBU and download the NSLU DLC.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
+ Amazing level design, graphics and soundtrack.
+ Dixie and Cranky are fun to use. (Dixie is over powered and Cranky is for speed running.)
+ Water levels return and swimming underwater controls really swell.
+ Hard Mode is better in this than it was in Donkey Kong Country Returns.
- Slow loading times.
- I think the water levels are badly designed and the air meter is useless.
(Big Room > Narrow Tunnel with Bubbles > Big Room > Narrow Tunnel with Bubbles.)
(Despite my complaints I still think it's better than the first game.)

Pikmin 3
+ Gorgeous graphics and soundtrack.
+ Very addictive gameplay.
+ Really great multiplayer modes.
- Not everyone's type of game, can get really frustrating at times. (I don't care for re-doing Days of progress.)

Pikmin puts you on a timer and I feel like I have to rush everything instead of enjoying the game.
(Same problem I had for Majora's Mask.) Pikmin 2 is mostly just underground scavenger hunts with unfair difficulty.
Just skip the first two and go straight for Pikmin 3 in my opinion.

Game & Wario
+ Crazy, whacky and fun.
+ Loads of stuff to unlock.
+ Excellent multiplayer.
+ The most interesting Credits I have ever experienced in a video game.

Nintendo Land
+ Same as Game & Wario (G&W Singleplayer > NL Singleplayer)
- Same as Game & Wario (NL Multiplayer > G&W Multiplayer)

Lego City Undercover
+ Easily the best Lego game to ever come out.
+ Loads of things to do and places to explore.
+ Collecting Legos is addictive and destroying stuff now has a purpose.
+ Non-stop hilarious, over-the-top jokes.
- Slow loading times.

Sonic Lost World
+ Unique installment in the Sonic Franchise.
+ "Charging Homing Attack" and "Kick" moves are a welcome addition.
+ Cutscenes develop Sonic, Tails and Eggman's characters.
+ Deadly Six are generic stereotypes, but they're charming.
+ Yoshi and Zelda DLC. (They're free!)
- Frusterating level gimmicks thrown in. (Beware of World 4 Zone 2 and World 6 Zone 3!)
- Avoid the 3DS version at all costs; it has downright awful level design.

Epic Mickey 2 The Power of Two
+ No body bought this game and I'm the only one in the universe who likes it.

Super Mario 3D World
+ People forget that is made by the creators of Mario Galaxy; it's a very good game.
+ Cat Suit and Double Cherries are awesome power-ups.
+ An impressive soundtrack.
+ All 4 (+1 Secret) Characters are fun to use.
+ Like Super Mario 3D Land, there's loads of bonus worlds that are pretty challenging.

The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker HD
+ Updated graphics and music are great; ignore the bloom haters/spammers.
+ You can now rotate while swinging on a rope instead of having to stop to turn around.
+ Drag and Drop items and weapons using the Wii U Game Pad couldn't be any simpler!
+ Tedious sailing and changing the Wind Direction is sped up.
+ Triforce Scavenger Hunt is much better than it was before.
+ Tingle Bottle Miiverse Message is a pretty awesome feature.
- Personally, I think this is one of the weaker Zeldas, but it's an obvious improvement.

TLoZWW can be found in a Zelda Wind Waker Bundle, but you knew that already.

Edit: I've been thinking about getting ZombiU for a while now, what are your guys opinions on it?

[ConkerKing]

Mine's currently collecting dust (well, for me, my little brother still plays games on it if that counts) until Mario Kart 8/Smash comes out. NintendoLand is good fun if you have other people to play it with, though most of the games are pretty short lived. Don't buy Luigi U, it's not only not worth the money but it's also a shitty business practice that you shouldn't support. Uhhhh. Haven't played Pikmin 3 but I hear that's good.

... Look forward to E3 maybe!

[Mandolin]

Super Mario 3D World and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze are currently the best games on Wii U, and believe me when I say that they'll be very hard to top. 3D World has quickly become my second favorite Mario game after Galaxy, and Tropical Freeze may be my favorite game of all time if it plays its cards right.

[Zondekel]

I was going to share my opinions, but really they'd just echo TRBB's, so, really, listen to that post, even with Sonic Lost World. A lot of people didn't really like it, saying that they should have stuck to the Unleashed/Colors/Generations formula where you boost through everything, but I enjoyed it. They tried something new, and while the new parkour system doesn't always work the way it should, and some of the levels kind of sucked in terms of layout, ultimately, I really enjoyed it. It had fantastic music, and the cutscenes were stellar (Sonic's lines were kind of cheesy and dumb sometimes, but Robotnik really stole the show. I'm so glad they kept Mike Pollock from Sonic X-era onward when they changed all the voice actors again and again- he does such a good job with Robotnik's lines).

It's not out yet, but I'd keep an eye on Bayonetta 2 if you liked / were interested in the first one. It looks like a really good follow up, but obviously we know very little about it, save for the fact that it's Wii U exclusive because Nintendo is funding it and as such will very likely never end up on another console.