Wii and Amputee

June 4, 2007 5:01 PM

Wii and amputee: Can anyone help out with which games are one-hand friendly?

A friend would like to get her husband a Wii. He had his left arm amputated (leaving approx 3 inches of forearm below the elbow) and so the nunchuk could be strapped to the area we affectionately call "Stumpy". Besides the normal Wii sports and most of Rayman Raving Rabbids, which fun games could he play?

posted by lil' ears to sports, hobbies, & recreation (16 comments total)

If you look at the game boxes, they have a symbol saying if they require the nuchuck. Any game that doesn't have that symbol should be good.

Of the games I currently have, WarioWare is by far the best one that does not require the nunchuck. Super Monkey Ball is also another great game that ony uses it for a few minigames.
posted by AaRdVarK at 5:05 PM on June 4, 2007

Not sure I agree if the nnuchuck symbol on the box is a guarantee of one-handed playability: I've been working through Paper Super Mario and it's definitely a two-handed game with the Wii Remote...and some of the button combos could use a third hand.
posted by jamaro at 5:14 PM on June 4, 2007

Actually, you'll find that a lot of controller-only games aren't friendly for one hand. Super Paper Mario, for instance, needs the Remote to be held sideways and really takes two hands to operate. You'd have to check that before buying. I don't know of many besides Wii Sports that are good for one hand, though.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 5:16 PM on June 4, 2007

Depending on his degree of articulation with Stumpy, Excite Truck can be played with about 1.25 hands—the core of the game is fine-tilt control of the wiimote held lengthwise, with accel and brake buttons thumbed with the right hand. There's some special-move management that involves mashing the dpad on the left side of the lengthwise control that isn't necessary for fun but can be pretty important for higher-level play.

If Stumpy is up to that, it's a gimme—it's easily one of the most fun pick-up-and-play games I've owned in years, and I've played it one handed on a lark now and then with not-miserable results.
posted by cortex at 5:17 PM on June 4, 2007

Tennis, bowling, and golf from Wii sports work without the nunchuck.

And I think most of Wii Play should be fine. The cow racing one has you holding the remote sideways. And the tank game uses the nunchuck for movement.
posted by mileena at 5:25 PM on June 4, 2007

Thanks for these answers! I should have written more in detail about the sideways remote part, we have Sonic and it would definitely be impossible to do one handed even with the single remote.

Keep the answers coming if there are others that are fun and/or one-handed tested!
posted by lil' ears at 5:43 PM on June 4, 2007

Wario Ware should fit the bill, the mini games require you to hold the controller a special way and move your body
posted by hindmost at 5:49 PM on June 4, 2007

The Wario game is a bit like Rayman or WiiPlay, in that it's a bunch of mini games involving holding the Wiimote in different ways. Most of them should be one-hand compatible, I think.
posted by robcorr at 5:50 PM on June 4, 2007

Seconding Super Monkey Ball. Love that game, and I only play it with one hand (the other hand normally holds a beer, which I know feel strangely guilty about!)
posted by neustile at 5:50 PM on June 4, 2007

Baseball in Wii sports doesn't need the nunchuck either.
posted by idb at 5:59 PM on June 4, 2007

I -think- Mario Party is in the same boat as Excite Truck. You tilt the controller for most of the driving games, and hit the buttons with the right hand. A lot of the mini games are also of the point and click variety, only using one hand. Finally, at least one mini game involves furiously masturbating with the controller, to simulate shaking up a soda can.
posted by Loto at 6:41 PM on June 4, 2007

Thanks again everyone! One more question, does anyone have experience with Madden football? Is this Wii-able, and if so, is it one-hand-able?
posted by lil' ears at 8:07 PM on June 4, 2007

Alas, you need the nunchuk for Madden.

I also agree with Cortex that Excite Truck is awesome fun, so I hope it will work for him!
posted by robcorr at 9:11 PM on June 4, 2007

I had one of my hands in a cast for the last three weeks and I found the only wii games I could still play was the wii sports, warioware(?) and super swing golf. Which is my favorite. Most people (with two hands) don't like this game because the storyline is pretty ridiculous. And anime-ey and cute. Hope I helped!
posted by rubberkey at 9:43 PM on June 4, 2007

I don't think any of the Wii Sports or Wii Play games require the nunchuk.

Also, look for strategy, turn-based games or games that don't require twitch control. I'm thinking of things like the Sims, Cooking Mama, Elebits, etc.
posted by frogan at 9:44 PM on June 4, 2007

Tiger Woods can be played pretty easily with one hand. (I play like this by preference).
posted by Jakey at 2:08 AM on June 5, 2007