Help out a Wii newbie.
May 30, 2009 2:43 AM   Subscribe

We're getting a Wii! Help me figure out all the parts and pieces to buy for my husband, sons, and me.

We live overseas and will be back in the US this summer. I want to get a Wii and enough games and accessories to entertain us for a year, to avoid any regional issues with buying games overseas.

I'm hoping to find games we'll enjoy as a family and, for the adults, individually.

My boys are 4 and 6 years old. I'm more interested in games we can all enjoy and won't be too difficult for my 4 year old, rather than games they'd play on their own. What games are best for us to play as a family? Will my 4 year old be able to do the sports games? And what stuff do I need to go with those games? (Bonus points if the games involve super heroes.)

My husband likes computer-based strategy games like Civilization and Baldur's Gate (and we have a Mac now so his options have been limited). Are there any Wii games he'd like?

I think I'd like the Wii Fit for me.

What other advice and recommendations do you have for us? Thanks.

By the way, I did see this thread and this thread and this thread.
posted by bluedaisy to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (19 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
Our son is six and has mastered pretty much whatever we've bought, including Wii Fit.

My recommendations for stuff the whole family could enjoy is:

Wii Fit
Wii Sports
Mario Kart

These are all casual games, so, after about a couple of months, the novelty may wear off and the Wii may not be used as much by everyone. However this might be a good thing. We also have Super Mario Galaxy, which is an awesome game, but, to a six year old, it's a little like crack. My son's personality changes (and not in a good way) when he plays it. Still, it's an awesome title, and we got around the crack-like obsession by strictly regulating who much he can play it.

Lego Star Wars is another awesome game that is also like crack. Basically, if you got the other games I mentioned, plus these two, you would be set up for at least a year.

I'm not sure if there are any strategy games for Wii...
posted by KokuRyu at 3:27 AM on May 30, 2009


I agree with KokuRyu's list, for the most part. If you really want to exercise EA Sports Active is considerably better than Wii Fit. Wii Fit is much more fun casually, though.

My 4 year old nephew likes Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero World Tour might be fun for the whole family, but the box is pretty big.

I have not heard of a single good strategy game for the Wii, either, unfortunately. We've enjoyed Elebits and BoomBlocks which are casual but very engaging puzzle games. I don't know if that is up his alley or not. They just released a party version of BoomBlocks which would be a little too hard for the 4 year old but the 6 year old might be able to play with you.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:09 AM on May 30, 2009


You don't say where overseas you live, but keep in mind that the Wii is region-specific, much like DVDs, but more I think. So you will need a U.S. TV to use a U.S. Wii, or go into the grey area of hacking your Wii to remove or change the region settings.
posted by thread_makimaki at 4:54 AM on May 30, 2009


I'm afraid the nearest thing to a strategy game I can think of is the imminent Overlord: Dark Legend. There might be something available online via WiiWare though.
He might also like some of the RPGs; Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is old but still a great game, as is Okami.

Consider getting one of the extra controllers bundled with Wii Play, if only because some people adore the cow racing mini-game. Buy a load of decent-capacity rechargeable batteries and charger. Your 4 year old will be fine with Wii Sports, Wii Play and many other games, the Wii really is a great family console.
posted by malevolent at 5:09 AM on May 30, 2009


My four and six year old like playing each other on Outdoor Challenge. They use the remote and a mat to do sporty games like hurdles, trampoline, snowboarding. Great for burning off energy on a rainy or snowy day. My husband and I can play it too, and some of the games are co-operative instead of against each other.

Some of the games we've really liked have turned out to be afterthoughts of other games. We got Sonic and the Secret rings, which is a pretty straightforward adventure game. But it also includes a separate multi-player tournament mode that we can all play.

All of the lego games (Indiana, Star Wars, Batman) are great for two-player fun.
posted by saffry at 5:57 AM on May 30, 2009


Super Mario Galaxy has a cooperative mode, where there's a main player and a helper player. Main player controls Mario, and the helper collects Star Bits, and helps to hold off monsters. Might be a good fit for two kids with differing video-game skill levels.
posted by Tapioca at 6:30 AM on May 30, 2009


Wario Ware, Boom Blox, and Mario Party 8 are fun short-attention span games that are great for groups.

Your husband might like Super Paper Mario, which is sort of an action RPG that has a lot of puzzles in it. There aren't many rich Baldur's Gate-style RPGs out for the Wii yet, unfortunately.
posted by ignignokt at 6:32 AM on May 30, 2009


My favorites:

~ WiiFit
~ "Lego" series (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Batman)
~ World of Goo (WiiWare)
~ Legend of Zelda--Twilight Princess
~ Raymon's Ravin' Rabbids
posted by litterateur at 7:14 AM on May 30, 2009


Mario Party 8 is great 4player family fun game.
posted by Flood at 7:20 AM on May 30, 2009


Response by poster: Thanks so much! I love these suggestions and am eager to hear more.

Maki_maki, are you sure about the region stuff with regards to the TV? We've dealt with the issue with rour MacBook and DVD player not being able to play certain DVDs, but I thought the TV itself didn't make a difference. I'll check into this--I have friends who Wiis from US and overseas who will certainly know.
posted by bluedaisy at 8:48 AM on May 30, 2009


My four year old niece still has a hard time with the Wii. She does like Outdoor Adventure though. She also likes Mario Kart and Rock Band (thanks to "no fail" mode).
The Rayman Raving Rabbids games are kind of fun for kids. Boom Blox is fun as well.
posted by whatideserve at 9:50 AM on May 30, 2009


Just chiming in to say that the Mario Party games are really fun, even with a little kid who can't read yet. My niece and nephew have been playing it with me starting around 5 or so, and we'd just read what they need to know. It's like playing a board game like Candyland. You may also have to help with some of the mini-games in it, but as long as it's done cheerfully, it's not frustrating for the younger one.

My sister liked playing it so much that I gave her our Gamecube so that they could continue to play it after I moved back to the West coast. They use it all the time for a family night.
posted by ugf at 10:02 AM on May 30, 2009


Super Mario Galaxy!!!

Honestly, it's really fun, and the kids can play around with it and not seriously try to finish every level. You or your husband can unlock the levels--some are pretty darned challenging (my husband's been yelling at the TV and swearing at Mario for quite some time).

Me, I just like to fart around and collect star bits and explore worlds.

Rayman's Rabbids things is fun, too.
posted by Savannah at 10:03 AM on May 30, 2009


wii fit is interesting but not really great for a workout, it gets repetitive and you can't really customize it. ea sports active just came out and is amazing, well worth the money.

games that are super fun: mario kart wii, super mario galaxy, super paper mario, boom blox, wario ware, rayman raving rabbids.
posted by lia at 11:25 AM on May 30, 2009


There are two Rabbid games, though the second one is a bit less fun (I think there's less of a "plot" that ties the games together, but I may be hazy on the details). There are two more Lego Wii games: Lego Batman and Lego Indiana Jones. I think we finally beat Lego Indiana Jones, and we still haven't made it all the way through Lego Batman. I recommend the whole series of Lego Wii games.

When looking for Wii games, you also have the whole back catalog of Nintendo Gamecube games as options. Though lacking the fun Wii control options (you'll need a Gamecube controller or two, which can be fairly inexpensive). You can browse Gamecube games on GameRankings, but they don't break the lists into game styles. Here's a Yahoo list of Gamecube strategy games, including the really enjoyable Pikmin games. I just now noticed that the Original Pikmin is available on Wii, with new play controls. The second Pikmin game added some keen features, so you may want to get the Gamecube edition of the 2nd Pikmin game.

Since you're looking to get into all this, check out Craigslist for whever you'll be this summer. If you're in a smaller community, look to the larger areas, and there'll probably be a good number of people selling used Wiis, which could have all the system pieces you want (bonus Wii controllers and nunchuks, maybe some Gamecube elements).

And do not forget to get enough rechargeable batteries and a good charger! Some chargers can re-charge batteries in 15 minutes, but make sure the chargers will work wherever you'll be living. They are standard AA batteries, so there are plenty of options on the market. One thing to check: mAh capacity. This means how much charge the batteries hold. Good batteries are a great investment, but I don't think you need to go by brand names.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:35 AM on May 30, 2009


Re: TV Regions: There are two different TV specs for SD, PAL and NTSC. Most standard def TVs can only handle one, and North America uses NTSC, while most of Europe uses PAL, while the rest of the world varies from country to country. Many digital/HD TVs can handle both types, though, and many Wii games can be forced to do a new mode with some fairly easy hacking.

If you're at all into homebrew or hacking, I strongly recommend you look into installing the Homebrew channel. All you need is an SD card. Further, you can run games from burned DVDs or a USB hard drive, allowing for backups and faster loading, which can come in handy since you have kids.

To set up homebrew, use the exploit found here, along with the installer here. Set up the Homebrew Channel, DVD-X (DVD player program), and maybe BootMii, which is a new utility to recover your Wii should it get a corrupted System menu or bad update (a bit advanced, I suggest you hold off).

Once you have the Homebrew Channel installed, I suggest you find Wiigator's GC and Wii backup loaders, as well as the USB backup loader, with the Coverflow frontend. The Homebrew Browser is also a useful app for finding up to date software for the Wii, and there are emulators available for almost every system before the N64 available that generally work very well.

In short: Homebrew installation is a lot simpler than it sounds, and enables:
* DVD playback
* Playing backup copies of games from discs or a USB hard drive
* Media playback (videos from an SD card)
* Homebrew games (ie Frets on Fire, a Guitar Hero clone with the ability to add your own songs)
* Emulation of most older systems.

PM me if you want more help or more specific links. And yes, the backup loaders are easy enough for kids to use without understanding Homebrew.

As for games, the Wii is generally provided with family friendly and casual games, and most of the good games come from Nintendo. There aren't too many RPGs, and I don't think there's a single Western RPG (games that are more Dungeons and Dragons than Final Fantasy, I mean). There also aren't too many strategy games, although I do think there was one tower defense game on Wiiware whose name escapes me. Sid Meyer's company is working on a Wii version of Civilization, but it's on "indefinite hold," because of technical difficulties. The Wii's strength seems to be gimmicky and/or simple games, rather than deeply complicated games, which strike me as what most RPGs and strategy games are. Of course, there are some great strategy games for older systems that the Wii can emulate with Homebrew.

I also strongly encourage you to make sure you look into good Gamecube games, as they are backcompatible with the Wii and only need the controller and a memory card to work (wired Gamecube controllers have rumble, the "Wavebird" wireless controllers are cordless and work flawlessly for not much more money, but with no rumble). Plus, many of them can be picked up used for cheap. My friend is a big fan of the Fire Emblem series, which had a few Gamecube games IIRC, and it is a turn-based strategy game so your husband may like it. There is also a gamecube backup loader, if you are comfortable with finding... backups... of harder to find Gamecube games.
posted by mccarty.tim at 11:54 AM on May 30, 2009 [5 favorites]


"There are two Rabbid games...."

There are actually, three Rabbid games, the newest being Raymon Ravin' Rabbids TV Party, which boasts being the "first video game you can play with your butt" (using the Wii Balance Board).
posted by litterateur at 12:05 PM on May 30, 2009


PS: You probably would like to get another Wiimote as well, but keep in mind they are pretty expensive, around $40 at most stores. There is a Wii game called Wii Play that comes with an additional Wiimote, so that may be a good deal. Nunchucks are sold separately, so get one of those to go with the Wiimote ($10-20).

Currently, the most popular multiplayer game for the Wii is Super Smash Brothers Brawl, although it's a fighting game and kind of violent for young kids (it's cartoon violence, no blood/gore, but still violence). If you have friends who are into video games, though, this is a game they are bound to know and most likely like, so it's worth a shot. Pick up some Gamecube controllers to play it, as most people prefer that control scheme, and they're cheaper.

Gamecube controllers can also be used to play Virtual Console games, which are good if you like classic games. The default Wiimote is good for NES games (sideways, it is identical to an NES controller), but it's lacking for SNES games and other systems, so you'll want either a classic controller (plugs into the Wiimote), or a GC controller. N64 games play best with the GC controller, while the classic controller seems best for SNES era games.

I'd also like to nth rechargable batteries, as wireless controllers do eat through them pretty quickly. Energizer rechargables are kind of lacking despite the claims on the package, so stay away from them. The "precharged" varieties tend to be the best at holding a charge, even if they do cost slightly more. Alkalines will get expensive quickly and make you feel a deep sense of environmental guilt.
posted by mccarty.tim at 12:06 PM on May 30, 2009


bluedaisy: when I was looking at the Wii last year, although it was nominally more expensive here (Europe) than in the U.S. or Japan, I decided to go with the one manufactured for the region where I live most of the time. (Note: even though both the U.S. and Japan use the NTSC standard, they have different region codes, annoyingly. And of course Europe is PAL AND in a different region code from the U.S. Actually Japan and Europe are both Region 2 BUT are NTSC vs. PAL.) As mccarty.tim has explained so clearly, it is necessary to hack or mod/chip your Wii to make it region free if you obtain one from one area/region to play in another. (You also have to do this if you want to play hacked games, but that's another story.) It's more complicated than making your PC's DVD player region-free or to change its region code. Whenever you are messing around with things in this manner, there's always a chance, however slight, that you'll end up with a shiny doorstop instead of a working game console. And of course, you can void your warranty.

Anyway, while I'm not a technophobe by any means I decided the hassle and potential problems with the Wii weren't worth the relatively small price difference, and got one locally which is guaranteed to work in my region. The games themselves do tend to be more expensive in Europe vs. U.S....but I really haven't felt the need for tons of games anyway, besides WiiFit and things, so this hasn't affected me much. YMMV, of course.
posted by thread_makimaki at 4:47 AM on May 31, 2009


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