Wii Games for the one-handed?

June 30, 2009 5:25 AM

Wii Games for the one-handed: I broke my wrist last friday and now I have plenty of free time. Can anyone recommend some good games for the wii which don't involve very much movement and can be controlled only by the wiimote (and don't need the nunchuk)? Thanks. :)
posted by donut to shopping (26 comments total)

World Of Goo
posted by col at 5:29 AM on June 30 [1 favorite has favorites]

I take it by "controlled only by the Wiimote" you mean held remote-control style in one hand, rather than NES-style.

Boom Blox is played one-handed, but involves movement (aiming and wrist-flicking). I can't think of any others off the top of my head, though you could probably find some on WiiWare.
posted by NMcCoy at 5:35 AM on June 30 [1 favorite has favorites]

Yup NMcCoy: No NES-Style. I can't use my left hand. Mario Kart Wii would be a no-go, f.i.
posted by donut at 5:39 AM on June 30

Bit.trip beat on wiiware. All you do is tilt the wiimote, but it can be a pretty intense game.
posted by buriednexttoyou at 5:53 AM on June 30

Oh, and artstyle: rotohex and artstyle: cubello. I 2nd World of Goo as well.
posted by buriednexttoyou at 5:55 AM on June 30

Kororinpa. You'll probably finish it in a couple of days though...
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 5:59 AM on June 30

Endless Ocean lets you swim around the open sea, caverns, and sunken ships. It's a little "non-gamey" in the sense that you cannot die and you cannot fail. You can move it's limited plot forward at your own pace, but the meat of the game is just swimming around and seeing different types of fishes, sharks, &c. As far as controls, movement is controlled by the IR in the remote (swim up by pointing up, swim down by pointing down (or can inverse that with a settings toggle)). Also, you can shake the wii remote to pet fish, if you'd like. I liked it, and my girlfriend loved it, but YMMV.

Zack & Wiki is a point-and-click adventure style game that is chunked into a number of levels, with each level being centered around an environmental logic puzzle. It's a very cute game, but unlike a LucasArts type adventure game, timing becomes pretty central and you will die frequently. Although a character's on-screen movement is controlled by pointing the remote and pushing a button, there are some segments were wii remote movement is involved. I forget most of them, but one of the early ones has you move the wii remote back and forth horizontally to saw down a tree; I don't think any of these segments would be difficult to accomplish with one hand.

on preview: Kororinpa is a good suggestion as well.
posted by aiko at 6:07 AM on June 30 [1 favorite has favorites]

Zack & Wiki (despite the absurd name) is a good, engaging point & click puzzle game.
posted by tip120 at 6:10 AM on June 30 [1 favorite has favorites]

House of the Dead: Overkill.
posted by ND¢ at 6:22 AM on June 30

I second House of the Dead Overkill. Picked it up new for $30 and have been replaying it over and over with a buddy. Only downside is that it's short.
posted by yeti at 6:24 AM on June 30

Boom Blox...wiimote only, and one handed for sure
posted by poppo at 6:27 AM on June 30

To expand on my recommendation of House of the Dead: Overkill, it is a shooter on rails, so you don't have to control your movement. All you have to do is aim and shoot zombies. I picked up a gun controller for $10, which added to the fun.
posted by ND¢ at 6:29 AM on June 30

Not quite the question, but many many PC/Mac games are mouse-only.

(The very time-sucking Plants vs Zombies, for example.)
posted by rokusan at 6:43 AM on June 30

Bit.trip (beat and there's a new one coming out soon) and super monkey ball.
posted by neustile at 6:49 AM on June 30

Seconding Zack and Wiki, thirding Kororinpa, eighthing bit.trip.
posted by jennanemone at 7:04 AM on June 30

Dance Dance Revolution. You just use the Wiimote for your initial selections (which you can definitely do one handed) and then after that it's all feet.

Also, while you can play Boom Blox with one hand, it's much easier to maneuver around the puzzles with two, so take that into consideration. Very fun game either way, though.
posted by Rewind at 7:20 AM on June 30

Christ, I should have read the question...

which don't involve very much movement and can be controlled only by the wiimote

Feel free to disregard my answer above. Fun game, though :)
posted by Rewind at 7:24 AM on June 30

Sam and Max Hit the Road is a decently funny adventure game that uses only the Wiimote.
posted by Gortuk at 7:52 AM on June 30

Dr. Mario, I believe, uses only one Wiimote, turned sideways.
posted by kuppajava at 8:25 AM on June 30

Baseball in Wii Sports is technically supposed to be two-handed, but I have a friend who plays it with one-handed flicks of the wrist, both pitching and hitting, from the couch. He somehow gets a home run almost every time.
posted by Ladybug Parade at 8:33 AM on June 30

Boom Blox is my favorite of all these mentioned, by far. HoD: Overkill is also a lot of fun. I'm ashamed to say Zack & Wiki was too hard for me after the first few levels. I got hopelessly stuck on some of the volcano levels, but it was hours of entertainment before that point.

Oh, and World of Goo is great too. But really, Boom Blox is the most bang for your buck.
posted by booknerd at 9:24 AM on June 30

World of Goo is fantastic. Tennis in Wii Sports works one handed. The Marble Madness/Super Monkey Ball esque games are one handed with very little movement involved.
posted by mmascolino at 10:25 AM on June 30

I would think that Bowling (wii sports?) would work out pretty well, although if you don't want to be up & walking around maybe not so much. Although I did once watch a friend play it lounging in a recliner throwing overhand, a little bit like fishing.
posted by epersonae at 10:39 AM on June 30

Animal Crossing: City Folk uses only the Wiimote. You can also use the nunchuk and ignore the Wiimote (they must be coneccted, of course). You don't need much movement, it's mostly collecting and socializing. For some reason it's very addictive.
posted by clearlydemon at 10:47 AM on June 30

Wii ware:
tetris party - You may have to hold the remote a bit funny, but can totally be controlled one handed.
Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People - I think there are 5 episodes. Point and click goodness.
World of good. Previously suggested, but needs to be stressed again.
Swords and Soldiers - Weird side scrolling take on RTS's. My son and I play the shit ouf of this game, and the campaigns are fun. Totally worth the few bucks.
Wild West Guns - (I think thats the title) A small shooter game.


Actual games:
Final Fantasy Chocobo's Dungeon. I played this a TON not too long ago, just because it was so easy to play one handed. No. Not so I could touch myself to Final Fantasy, I had to hold our new baby alot.. It's a take on Nethack/Rogue with a "Job" system for classes, so you can switch between classes.
Zack and Wiki - TOTALLY one of the best games on the system.


If your wii is modded:
ScummVM with any assortment of old Point and Click adventures. Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, etc, etc.
posted by JonnyRotten at 11:25 AM on June 30

Thanks everyone! Far more games than I expected. :) I will definitly try a few of those.
posted by donut at 3:36 AM on July 1