Wii- teach me!

[Pinoikoi]

I guess this goes here.. We got the kids a Wii for Christmas (SHH! Don't say anything!):

Anyway, I have two nunchuks, the wii sports I think and another game..

What games are WORTH it to buy, and what should I avoid?

I don't like very violent games (my oldest is 10- so no tanks, machine guns, etc).

I LOVE action games that are sort of medieval/mystical/magical (one of my favorite games of all time was Shining Force but that was on Sega..) I also like fairy garden type games like Plantasia (free online game)..

One of my other sons loves Spyro, Mario, Crash Bandicoot type games..

Both of my oldest play Pokemon on their Nintendo DS when we are in the car, etc..

So- what's worth it, what's not? I was looking at Guitar Hero, but not sure which version is the better one (I can find the first version on Craigslist, but the third one is easily available in stores)..

I am so far interested in maybe a Sim, maybe a Pirate game, maybe Harry Potter? Suggestions? Also, let me know if there are any additional parts I need (like if I got Guitar Hero I would need a guitar)..

Thanks!

BTW: if this needs to be moved, I am ok with that.. I figured "media" was the best spot for this question, but I wasn't sure)..

[tankgirl73]

Okay, I'll try to answer what I can... We got our Wii last Christmas and it's been so worth it!

For Guitar Hero, GHIII is the only "version" available for the Wii, in the sense that you can't get GHII or the original GH for the Wii. So I'm assuming that's what you mean by "the third one". There is also GH: Aerosmith and GHorld Tour, which are both newer. The Aerosmith one focuses on the music and favourite songs of, obviously, Aerosmith. IIRC, the World Tour one expands on just the guitar and adds drums, etc, so it's closer to Rock Band.

We only have GHIII, we'd like to get Aerosmith but it's not a HIGH priority right now lol... As for the guitar, generally you'll get that in a pack WITH the game. You can get games and guitars separately, of course - we just bought a second guitar, for instance, or if you buy Aerosmith you can buy just the game if you already have a guitar, etc. But for your first time out, your best option is to buy them as a package.

Okay, if you have a son who is into Mario, Pokemon, etc, then he'll probably love Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. There are other Mario games for the Wii but those are the ones I'm personally familiar with. Galaxy is amazing, head-turning and dizzying and mind-bogglingly cool, with interesting puzzles to solve. I actually enjoyed playing through it myself and I am NOT a Mario-type person! Brawl is, like it sounds, a Brawl... you can play as any of a multitude of Nintendo characters, from Link to Mario to Donkey Kong to Pikachu, and they fight each other on various stages, etc. There's online play and custom level building. I personally don't 'get' this one but it's a huge favourite of my 10yo son and his friends.

For the whole family, there's Wii Fit, with the balance board. Very cool stuff. And Big Brain Academy is a hoot. For something relaxing, there's Endless Ocean -- just drifting while scuba diving and cataloguing the sea life you find. My son is an aspiring marine biologist and loves this one. It has meditative background music too, very calming.

The Harry Potter video games aren't very good from what I've heard. Most "movie" games are never any good. I haven't played it myself, just speaking from general 'common sense' gaming history! And Sims is *much* better in the PC version.

You should look into (if you haven't already) getting your Wii connected to your home ethernet. This enables additional channels that you can download. The voting channel is lots of fun, for instance, as well as the Mii channels. But the greatest thing is the downloadable games. Nintendo has converted a HUGE catalogue of their classic games for the Wii. My son, who was not born until 1998, loves playing the original Super Mario Bros. And we got Pacman lol... And there are also new games, generally "smaller" than what you'd bother to buy in a store, but well-done nonetheless. I'm addicted to the new Tetris version they have available, for instance... I can play live online against players around the world and there are ATTACKS you can play on them lol...

Downloading costs "Wii points", which you can buy online with a credit card or buy 'gift cards' in the stores. Generally, 2000 points = $20. Games cost anywhere from 500-1800 points, from what I've seen. Most are 500-1000.

[SAHDS]

Mario Galaxy
Mario Kart
Super Mario Smash Bros.
Mario Party 8

(Yes, we love the plumbers!)

DS and DH like Zelda too.

Wii Fit is amazing.

We got World Tour for the kids for Christmas and I am STOKED to play it. It has the guitar, a drum set and a microphone!

I'd get a remote and nunchuck for each person in the home.

I'd also get the recharging docks.

Wii points for getting the old school Nintendo games too (which I haven't done yet because I am too inept to figure it out).

HAVE FUN!

[1littlebit]

lets see.. are you looking for one player or two player? we love our wii.. lol

for wii sports we have the wii sports pack.. golf club, base ball bat etc... i think it's really helpful and fun

wii fit is great for everyone.. it has a bunch of different games and is pretty much all ages... plus its exercise... sort of lol.. the balance board is important.

mario kart is another good one..its just cool.. now i love this game in general so i am biased but i think its a lot of fun... multi player, non violent, and very strait forward. you don't need the wii wheel but i find it much easier

i like mario and sonic olympics... it's all the olympic sports.. pretty strait forward

we have zelda which i love... your oldest might like it. i don't know how much you know about video games but its a role playing game. you do a lot of walking, looking for things.. there is fighting but it's not graphic fighting.. its hard to explain but its pretty tame. you have to find things and complete tasks... its pretty cool.. and it lasts forever so if they like it its a good buy since it's hard to get bored lol.

hmm... super smash brothers is always a hit.. lol i stink at this game.. on every system... but everyone else loves it.

i am anti guitar hero.. not sure why.. it just drives me batty... but my best friend loves it.. and so does everyone else... it is muchos popular and apparently very entertaining.

[1littlebit]

also... we have the controllers to play the old school nintendo games.., they are great lol.

i also agree about the movie video games... for some reason they are never good.. we have one hp game for xbox... and i hate it... i am really easy to please with video games i played super mario for hours and civilization (xbox) kept me entertained for a month... but i lost interest in the harry potter game after about a half hour.. it just wasn't really any fun.

[Pinoikoi]

Wow, you ladies are AMAZING!

Here's a question.. I looked on ebay for Harry Potter Wii.. a bunch of games came up that were not Harry Potter..Azkaban but were something else and I think they were listed like "(Sega) Wii".. like they were listed as both.. is that just ebay sellers trying to pull a fast one, or are there games that can be played on the Wii that are not actually Wii?

[1littlebit]

this i do not know.. all of our games are wii games.. or games we downloaded onto the wii that are older nintendo games.... it sounds unusual to me.. but we only buy used games at gamestop/eb games

[MusicianDad]

Legend of Zelda and Harvest Moon!

(Yes, they are always the first two games I suggest when talking nintendo).

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by 1littlebit

we have zelda which i love... your oldest might like it. i don't know how much you know about video games but its a role playing game. you do a lot of walking, looking for things.. there is fighting but it's not graphic fighting.. its hard to explain but its pretty tame. you have to find things and complete tasks... its pretty cool.. and it lasts forever so if they like it its a good buy since it's hard to get bored lol.

I DO like roleplaying games.. I used to play Shining force which is kind of an anime version of a roleplaying game.. little cartoony knights and wizards, etc.. and when they "fight" the bad guys, the bad guys would spin and pop out of existence (I like that there was no GORE, kwim).. I also played Xena warrior princess for a long time, but it was pretty bloody.. If it didn't have a buff chick as the main character, I would have outlawed the game from my home, BUT I do like me some Xena..

[Arduinna]

You can always use gamefly, they are the netflix for games.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by MusicianDad

Legend of Zelda and Harvest Moon!

(Yes, they are always the first two games I suggest when talking nintendo).

I have heard about Legend of Zelda, but I have never heard of Harvest Moon..

you know its funny, my students were helping me finish out my Christmas list before break, and they kept interrupting each other to tell me about some other GREAT game I HAD to buy my kids.. They were trying to be helpful, but goodness knows what kind of criteria high school boys use to recommend games, kwim?

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by Arduinna

You can always use gamefly, they are the netflix for games.

hmmm.. I will have to think about that one..

[MusicianDad]

Originally Posted by alaskanteach

I have heard about Legend of Zelda, but I have never heard of Harvest Moon..

you know its funny, my students were helping me finish out my Christmas list before break, and they kept interrupting each other to tell me about some other GREAT game I HAD to buy my kids.. They were trying to be helpful, but goodness knows what kind of criteria high school boys use to recommend games, kwim?

Harvest Moon is the coolest game ever (next to Legend of Zelda). It's hard to explain well though because it sounds really boring. BUT...

Your character (can be boy or girl) gets a farm and you have to grow crops, raise animals and make money. You have make friends with the towns people and eventually get married and have kids. Each one has it's own main plot line too, for the Wii version you have to revive the Tree of Tranquility to save the island you live on. You can also buy more land to grow more crops or raise more animals. You have to buy the barn and chicken coop to get an animal. You can use your kitchen to make food that recovers more stamina. And you have to figure out what each person likes and doesn't like as gifts (especially important for the person you want to marry) giving them something the like will make them like you more, giving them something they don't like makes them like you less.

Seriously addictive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest...of_Tranquility

[Arduinna]

I don't know, dd likes harvest moon but while I think it's kinda cute to watch her play I'm not really interested in playing it myself. Heck I do or have done most of the things in the game IRL. I found the same thing with Animal Crossing.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by Arduinna

Animal Crossing.

elaborate?

This is getting to be my coolest thread EVER!

[Arduinna]

On a superficial level Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon have some similarities. Both involve living in a community, having a home, working, making money and friends ect.

One difference is that in Animal Crossing you can leave your village and visit real friends villages via the networking system. So you can visit your friends that have the game. Some of the game play is different, dd has all the Harvest Moon games for various Nintendo systems even the Japanese one so they tend to blur in my mind as to which one has what. I do remember all the farming, milking, fishing ect. And the wooing of a partner. I can't remember which ones but not all the Harvest Moons can you play as female. The game originally came out male only. So if that matters to your kids check that out before purchasing.


One cool thing about wii is you can play game cube games on it, not just wii games. Plus there are the games you can download.

We personally like Mario Kart, Mario Party, Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, Super Mario Galaxy and we have a bunch of the old NES ect games you can download.

oh and of course the Zelda franchise is very popular at our house in all formats, but don't ask me about the new stuff because I haven't played since Majoras Mask.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by Arduinna

One cool thing about wii is you can play game cube games on it, not just wii games.

Aha! Do I need an adaptor or something or does the gamecube game just plug right in?

[Arduinna]

The gamecube disc goes in the same slot as wii games.

[MusicianDad]

Originally Posted by Arduinna

On a superficial level Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon have some similarities. Both involve living in a community, having a home, working, making money and friends ect.

One difference is that in Animal Crossing you can leave your village and visit real friends villages via the networking system. So you can visit your friends that have the game. Some of the game play is different, dd has all the Harvest Moon games for various Nintendo systems even the Japanese one so they tend to blur in my mind as to which one has what. I do remember all the farming, milking, fishing ect. And the wooing of a partner. I can't remember which ones but not all the Harvest Moons can you play as female. The game originally came out male only. So if that matters to your kids check that out before purchasing.


One cool thing about wii is you can play game cube games on it, not just wii games. Plus there are the games you can download.

We personally like Mario Kart, Mario Party, Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, Super Mario Galaxy and we have a bunch of the old NES ect games you can download.

oh and of course the Zelda franchise is very popular at our house in all formats, but don't ask me about the new stuff because I haven't played since Majoras Mask.

If it's Wii they are buying for then you can choose gender. Easy way to tell. Look at the cover the ones where the main character is only a boy only has a boy on it, if the character is only a girl then there's only a girl on it and if it's both, then there's both on there.

[SAHDS]

Originally Posted by 1littlebit

i like mario and sonic olympics... it's all the olympic sports.. pretty strait forward

We all love this one!

How did I forget it? Forgive me, Mario!