Starting in March in the States and February in Europe, Nintendo will begin re-releasing old games for the console. Titled New Play Control!, the budget range of Wii games has taken some of the Gamecube’s finest games (so fine that the console failed..) and has upscaled them, dressed them up and slapped them in the controls with a Wii Remote. Ouch.
Are they really the best idea, and are Nintendo simply throwing in the towel when it comes to “real” games on the Wii? Read my thoughts over the jump…
I’ll be fair, first off, it’s a good idea in principle. There were some brilliant games on the Gamecube, and the console didn’t deserve to die the deadly death it died. Sort of.
Anyway, the idea of getting some of the Gamecube’s best games spruced up with nicer graphics and other touches like 16:9 support – and even with some new gameplay features – is a nice one. Since the games are being released at budget price, there’s not much to complain about in terms of value for money, especially since the line-up includes the first two Metroid Primes and Pikmins 1 & 2.
The one huge problem though? You’ve probably guessed it already: it’s all happening on the Wii. Which means motion controls, and an immediate distillation of a “real” game. I feel I’d be justified in saying that, before you attack me, do you see the Wii being used at professional gaming tournaments? No, you see consoles and computers using real, physical inputs, not an inaccurate flailing of arms. Motion controls, for me, immediately distill the essence of a proper, hardcore game, and that ruins it a little.
Some of the motion control uses are inspired. Having Wiimote and Nunchaku controls to hit bongo drums in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, and the inevitable swinging and serving for Mario Power Tennis, fit within these games perfectly. That’s fine and dandy, because they make sense and they work. The same could apply to RTS Pikmin, letting you point and click with the Wiimote like a mouse, rather than drag a cursor across the screen with an analogue stick. Again, that’s fine and dandy.
For games like Metroid Prime, though? I would much rather have an analogue stick and a joypad to hold, not some nancy Nunchaku control scheme or Wii Zapper set-up. This is where my gripes begin. Over the page we go to see why…
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I don’t know about the rest of you, but I never owned a gamecube, so this seems like a good idea.
You’re right. The Gamecube didn’t deserve to die the way it did. I enjoyed Metroid Prime, Pikmin, and others that I can’t remember, and for Nintendo to wheel out crap like this? It’s just horrible.
Anything to make a buck, eh?
I’m pretty excited to play the first two Prime games with a Prime 3 control scheme. The first two were great but their controls made them hard to enjoy. Being able to aim and shoot will be awesome. Other than those two I’ll only pick up Pikmin and, if they release it, Wind Waker.
@Lono It seems better to buy about 5 good gamecube games used for the price of one with waggle to me.
This is lame IMO. The only redeeming quality here would be to release some decent titles worth looking at in widescreen format, like Rogue Squadron and Killer 7, not Mario Power Tennis and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Wii music with a monkey?). I’ll give you the Metroid titles but the rest should stay in the flea markets for 2 bones on a system you can buy for 20 bucks.
I don’t really see this any worse than Sony pushing PS1 classics on PSN or MS pushing Xbox classics. After all, Nintendo is adding a lot more value to NPC! than Sony and MS.
Going back and getting the original consoles and games isn’t really an option for most folks. Even with the Wii where you can play GCN games flawlessly, you’d still have to hunt down memory cards and controllers if you don’t have them.
Still, I’m still chomping at the bit for Luigi’s Mansion.
Did you play Metroid Prime 3 Yamster? If you did then you’ll know it makes perfect sense to remake the other Metroid Primes with that control scheme.
@blades144
Come to think of it, Killer7 would be EPIC with a proper light gun.
Exactly Aero. Metroid Prime 3 was superior to the other two Prime’s in one respect- the controls. The aiming was far superior using the Wiimote and Nunchuck and I would consider buying them if I didn’t already have the gamecube versions and if I hadn’t played them to death. Awesome games.
@ mykie
I really don’t have a problem with Nintendo re-releasing these games for the Wii, but you really can’t compare them to Sony’s PS1 Classics on the PSN. Those cost about $5.99 each, while these New Play Control! games will cost $30. With that said, it is an excellent opportunity for those who never played Pikmin, Pikmin 2, etc. the first time around (like me). Though, you can probably find the GameCube versions on eBay and the Wii does play GC games.
I’d enjoy using a worn-down analogue stick to play Metroid rather than MP3’s amazingly fluid Wiimote controls?
Er… no.
Yamster, have you even played MP3? It controlled like a dream and I’m stoked to see the first two MP titles getting the same treatment.
Hell, I’d even love to be able to play most of my 360 FPS’s with those same controls.
The way I see it, this is a cunning ploy from Nintendo. Introduce hardcore games from the GameCube era and advertise them as casual games, what will happen? Casual gamers will be attracted. That way, interest in Nintendo’s hardcore games will increase, giving them more merit to make hardcore games, thus satisfying Nintendo’s core audience without losing the casuals.
The only game you complain about is Metroid Prime? The Metroid Prime 3 controls are, without the shadow of doubt, the best Wii controls ever, not to mention tha MP3 is, in my opinion, the best Wii game so far.
At first, I thought this line up was another cheap way for Nintendo to make us crap more money for them; and I still feel a little like that, but only the Metroid games made me give it a little more thought.
As someone else already commented, Metroid Prime 3 played quite well. Much better than it’s gamecube brethren. I personally find the Wii remote to be the only thing that comes close to a keyboard and mouse. Although, admittedly, there have been times that I have wished for better camera control. Although, I am actually pretty stoked about new play control. There have been a number of games that I have missed out on over the life of the gamecube, and more still that after the Wii was released, that I have wished would be released on the Wii. So, this is almost a dream come true. Well, not a dream. lol.