A few weeks ago, I started on a quest to find out which year was the best year, in terms of games, for (almost) all of Nintendo's systems. I have already covered the SNES, N64, GBA, Gamecube and DS in my previous posts. If you are curious you can check them out by clicking on the links at the end of this article.
Today's focus will be on the Wii. Just like the DS, the Wii is a record-holder for the company. With over 101 million systems sold, it is to this day, the most successful home console from Nintendo. Even when comparing these numbers to other systems, the Wii manages to squeeze into the top 5.
The successful sales aren't the only parallel between the dual-screen portable and the motion-controlled console. Both were able to revolutionize the gaming industry with their new ways of playing games. This was Nintendo's approach to gain a bigger market share. They called it the "blue ocean strategy" and with this plan they wanted to attract as many casual and non-gamers as possible. If you look at the sales numbers for both systems, you will probably agree, that their strategy paid off.
Whilst Nintendo enjoyed success with casual gamers, longtime players were continually turned off by the system. The software output on the console wasn't exactly a hardcore gamers dream. Sure there were lots of standout titles from Nintendo, some of which could even be considered "best of generation"-material, but they couldn't hide the fact that the Wii was drowning in shovelware. While third parties did make some quality efforts (Muramasa, Little Kings Story and Zack & Wiki come to mind), the sales for these titles were, at best, mediocre. It is understandable then that they shifted their focus on mini-game collections or waggle-fests like "Carnival Games". Titles that appealed to the casual crowd.
But what if we removed all the quick cash-grabs and shovelware titles? Which year would come out on top? Which 365 days brought the most enjoyment for core gamers? Lets get our Wiimotes ready and find out!
Best year: 2010
Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii
I had less trouble figuring out which year was the best for Wii, than any other system before it. When looking at all of the game releases for the console, I quickly reduced my choices down to two: 2007 and 2010. In the end, I settled with 2010. That year kind of caught me by surprise; in a good way. After 2008 and 2009 I didn't expect the Wii to deliver on the core games front. But after the firework shows ended and 2011 was here, I noticed that I was wrong. 2010 actually delivered. And it wasn't just Nintendo that brought out quality games. Surprisingly third parties showed a strong performance as well.
Where were you the whole time?
In 2010 third parties finally showed up with games that appealed to true gamers. Capcom brought Monster Hunter Tri to the west and gave Nintendo fans their first chance to hunt gigantic wild beasts. The Japanese publisher also released Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars at the beginning of the year. Wii owners didn't get many fighting games, so this was a true blessing for those who loved to kick, punch and string combos together.
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle and Red Steel 2 are both sequels to Wii-exclusive franchises that were greatly improved from their predecessors. This is especially true of the latter title. The first-person-shooter from Ubisoft took a 180-degree-turn in 2010. It dropped the realistic graphics of the first game in favor of a cel-shaded art style. The game also had changed its setting to the Wild West and took great advantage of WiiMotion Plus. The accessory provided better accuracy for shooting all those evil thugs.
Legendary game designer Warren Specter also dropped a Wii game on us in 2010. In a move that surprised the industry, he started a joint project with Disney called Epic Mickey. The Wii-exclusive game launched just in time for the Christmas period and while it didn't live up to expectations, it was still a solid platforming experience. Speaking of solid platforming experiences, Sega put out yet another Sonic title. While the latest 3D-iterations of the blue hedgehog weren't exactly quality games, Sonic Colors regained some of the lost reputation. Many considered this to be one of the better titles from the blue blur.
Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
Image Source: https://gamebabble.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/tatsunoko-vs-capcom-vs-street-fighter-iv/
Red Steel 2
Image Source: https://www.wired.com/2010/03/red-steel-2-review/
Epic Mickey
####### Image Source: https://gamerant.com/epic-trailer-release-date-disney-epic-mickey-tao-41226/
WiiWare: Quality over Quantity
While not up to par with XBLA and PSN, Wii's downloadable offerings were still solid in 2010. On offer were new installments from retro franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and Mega Man 10, throwbacks like Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 5 and stellar ports like Cave Story.
Mega Man 10
Image Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/03/31/mega-man-10-review
Cave Story
Image Source: https://cheatcc.com/wii/rev/cavestoryreview.html
The return of legendary franchises
2010 on the Wii was somewhat of a renaissance period for older franchises. The on-rails shooter Sin & Punishment received a solid sequel in Sin & Punishment: Star Successor in June. New installments in the Kirby and Donkey Kong Country franchise warmed the hearts of 2D platformer fans in the fall. Nintendo managed to satisfy both casual and core gamers alike with this combo. The cute yarn aesthetic and the fact that you can’t die in the game made Kirbys Epic Yarn the perfect fit for inexperienced players to get into more core games. On the opposite end of the spectrum lies Donkey Kong Country Returns with its challenging level design and overall high difficulty. To fully complete the game you had to have good reflexes and experience with 2D platformers.
But it wasn’t just Nintendo, who was waking up dormant franchises. Third parties also followed suit. EA revived the NBA Jam franchise with a new title, while Activision remade Goldeneye 007. The classic FPS received a major facelift and replaced Pierce Brosnan with Daniel Craig in the role of 007.
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Image Source: http://www.nintendolife.com/games/wii/donkey_kong_country_returns
Goldeneye 007
Image Source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/first-look-the-new-goldeneye-007-for-wii/
Two heavy-hitters join the lineup
At E3 2009 Nintendo closed its show with two major announcements: Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M. The unveiling of these games got every Nintendo fan cheering and both launched in 2010. Unfortunately, the latter was met with a bit of disappointment. The sales pitch for the game sounded phenomenal: a new Metroid title developed by Team Ninja played from a 3rd person perspective with a larger focus on the backstory of our beloved heroince. Sadly it was the highly touted story that critics and fans didn't enjoy. The uninspiring enemy design and short length of the game, increased the disappointment. Of course, it wasn't all bad, but compared to the high standards the Metroid franchise had set in the past, it simply fell flat.
While Metroid: Other M didn’t live up to expectations, Super Mario Galaxy 2 exceeded them. The sequel to the hit game from 2007 offered more creative stages, new power-ups and brought back a rideable Yoshi. Critics and fans were floored by the quality of the title and many consider it the best 3D platformer of all time. The game, along with its predecessor, is the highest rated Wii title on Metacritic with a score of 97.
Metroid: Other M
Image Source: https://kotaku.com/5623566/metroid-other-m-review-our-unexpected-future
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Image Source: https://gamingheartscollection.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/super-mario-galaxy-2-vs-sonic-colors-which-game-was-more-popular/
As you can see 2010 was a standout year for a console that was mostly known for its fitness and party games. Third parties put out quality content, WiiWare kept its steady pace of noteworthy titles, legendary franchises made promising returns and as a cherry on top Nintendo fans got one of the best 3D platformers ever made.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. What do you think? Was 2010 truly the best year for the Wii? Looking forward to your comments!
Next time I will be going into the 3rd dimension and take a deeper look at the 3DS.
Until then have a great time!
Yours
I Am K
As promised here are the links to the previous parts:
Part 1: https://steemit.com/gaming/@iamk/best-year-nintendo-systems-pt-1-snes-and-n64
Part 2: https://steemit.com/gaming/@iamk/best-year-nintendo-systems-pt-2-gameboy-advance-and-gamecube
Part 3: https://steemit.com/gaming/@iamk/best-year-nintendo-systems-part-3-nintendo-ds