Hey Hive!
If you didn't catch the last couple of posts, this is a new series where I write about games that I've played; what they're about and my experience playing them! I'll try my best to keep these posts short and sweet, hence the name; it's a reference to Games Done Quick (GDQ) - a charity speedrunning event!
The past couple of months have been pretty tough for everyone I think, being in quarantine and all. And I see a lot of people trying out various home workouts, which reminded me of this old gem from way back when - Wii Fit!
Source: Image Abyss
If you're unfamiliar, Wii Fit is a fitness game developed and designed by Nintendo for the Wii. It is an exercise game with several activities using the Wii Balance Board peripheral, on which the player stands during exercise/gameplay. The Board is not a rocking balance board but a device that tracks the user's center of balance. The game features yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance games.
Source: FayerWayer
Wii Fit's director, Hiroshi Matsunaga, described the game as a "way to help get families exercising together". Wii Fit has been used for physiotherapy rehabilitation and has been adopted by various health clubs around the world. It has also been used in nursing homes to improve posture in the elderly.
Here's a trailer:
STORY
There's no real story or plot to Wii Fit, since it's just you and your family/friends working towards your customised fitness goals. Almost all the minigames and exercises require you to be standing the Wii Balance Board preferably barefoot so that the Board can accurately measure you. Before every session, you'd do a body test to gauge your center of balance, BMI and Wii Fit age. You'd have to input your height and weight goals yourself.
Source: New Atlas
GAMEPLAY
Wii Fit has 4 modes to choose from - Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics and Balance Games. All of which involve you either standing, sitting or otherwise leaning on the Wii Balance Board.
In Yoga and Strength Training, there is an on-screen personal trainer whom you'd have to imitate precisely to get a good score. For Yoga you'd have to hold the pose for a set amount of time. And for Strength Training, you'd have to do a certain number of reps depending on what difficulty you chose.
And the exercises are really legit; with actual Yoga poses like Sun Salutation and Push-up with Side Planks in Strength Training.
Aerobics and Balance Games consist of 18 minigames that feature Miis as playable characters. Aerobics focus on activities that require more vigorous movement, and are divided into three distinct types: hula hooping, step aerobics, and jogging.
Balance Games consist of nine activities that focus on directly controlling the game using the player's Center of Balance, i.e. tilting and leaning to perform a specific action.
GRAPHICS
Visually, Wii Fit actually looks really good! The textures are pretty smooth even though the Wii didn't come equipped with HD output. But everything look pretty good for a game of that era, and the Miis were pretty much the same as that of Wii Sports.
RELEASE
Wii Fit was released by May 2008, and an expanded version of the game, Wii Fit Plus, was released to major markets in October 2009. The sequel included approximately twenty new Balance Board games and activities.
The series third installment, Wii Fit U, was released for the Wii U in December 2013. While maintaining most of the overall features of its predecessors, the game utilizes the Wii U Gamepad and can also sync data with the optional Fit Meter, a pedometer accessory.
A brand new exercising game was released for the Switch in October 2019 - Ring Fit Adventure. However, it does not feature the same characters since it uses the Ring-Con; a wheel peripheral, instead of the Wii Balance Board. The game introduces a new protagonist (Ring Fit Trainee) who performs these exercises to go on a role-playing adventure.
RECEPTION
Wii Fit was very well received by video game critics. As of March 2012 Wii Fit was the third best selling console game not packaged with the console, with 22.67 million copies sold! The game has received generally positive reviews, despite criticism over the lack of intensity in some of its workout activities.
I remember playing so much of Wii Fit back in 2008. My mother had bought the game for our family to play and initially I was pretty skeptical, but when I actually saw the different modes, it looked pretty legit! My family really got into it and we loved it so much my mum bought Wii Fit Plus as well! And she would play it quite a bit every so often. It was pretty much the only game my mum played on the Wii, but I'm glad she really enjoyed it. 😊
I still remember her favourite game was probably the aerobics Step game but she'd play this chicken game a lot too:
And while I do agree that most of the exercises and games are pretty low-intensity for it to be supposedly catering to all ages, the games are still really fun imo. And it's still better than sitting down all day.
Ring Fit actually looks really legit as well. And from the footage I've seen, that game is much more tailored to your specific fitness level, and it can get pretty tough with how long the stages can get!
Have you played any fitness games? Let me know!
Thanks so much for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
