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! Since Tasteem is not up and running yet, my foodie series will be put on hiatus indefinitely, and this series will take its place on Wednesdays!
I guess the theme for these GRDQs is games that many people might not be aware of/might have forgotten... or at least, until I run out of ideas. So the game for today is Nintendo Land!
Nintendo Land is a party game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Wii U console in 2012. The game features twelve minigames, each based on an existing Nintendo game franchise such as Mario and The Legend of Zelda, depicted as attractions in the eponymous fictional amusement park with an Attraction Tour train designed as a tournament that utilizes all minigames. The minigames are designed to demonstrate the concept of Wii U and its Wii U GamePad controller to new players, kinda like what Wii Sports did for the Wii back in 2006.
If you've never owned a Wii U, you probably never heard of this game before. Heck, I had a Wii U and I never heard of this game until I saw the Game Grumps play it. Nintendo Land was released as a launch title in the US bundled together with the Wii U but mine came with New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U instead, which I guess was better since it was 2 games in 1 but still.
Sorry for the tacky collage.
When I saw the Game Grumps play Nintendo Land it looked really fun and I was so excited to play it (even 4 years after it came out), so I bought the game and tried it out for myself!
Gameplay-wise, Nintendo Land is actually really fun! The 12 minigames are split into 3 categories: solo, cooperative and competitive. Even though there are more solo games, I'd say the content is pretty equal for all 3 categories, as the multiplayer games definitely have a lot more replay value.
I'll just go over some of minigames really quick, so you can have an idea of what it's like if you've never played it before.
The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest
This is one of the cooperative games. Up to three players (respectively dressed in red, blue, and yellow) use their Wii Remotes as swords to fight AI enemies from the Zelda universe, like you standard bokoblins, moblins and Chu Chus. One more player (in green) uses the Wii U GamePad to control an archer.
Movement for all characters is automated, so all the swordsmen have to do is swing their swords and hold up shields to block. The archer can move the Gamepad around to adjust their view and find secrets like hearts from Cuccos, or snipe enemy archers.
Metroid Blast
Another one of the games under Team Attractions (even though there is a VS mode), this was based on the Metroid series and the "Battle Mii" tech demo from E3 2011. It is an action-adventure game, similar to its original series. The player using the Wii U GamePad controls Samus' Gunship, while up to four players with Wii Remotes and Nunchuks control Mii characters on foot, wearing Varia Suits.
There are three modes, "Assault Mission", "Surface-Air Combat", and "Ground Battle". In "Assault Mission", the players cooperate to defeat waves of enemies and complete missions. In "Surface-Air Combat", the players with Wii Remotes and Nunchuks try to shoot down the player with the GamePad. In "Ground Battle" all players use Wii Remotes and Nunchuks in a battle for tokens.
Luigi's Ghost Mansion
A competitive game in which up to four players (dressed like Mario, Luigi, Wario and Waluigi) assume the roles of "ghost trackers" and explore a haunted house to hunt and capture a ghost, with the ghost being controlled by the player using the GamePad.
The trackers must find the ghost player, who remains invisible on the television screen, and decrease its health (a numerical value from 0 to 100) by shining their flashlights upon it. Meanwhile, the ghost must sneak up and ambush each tracker to make them faint. The ghost's proximity to a tracker is made known when that player's Wii Remote begins to vibrate, and different events or conditions may cause the ghost to temporarily become visible to all trackers (i.e. lightning flashes or a flashlight power up).
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These 3 games are probably my favourites in Nintendo Land, but there are a couple others that are really fun too. The game is definitely a lot more fun when playing with other people though, as the solo minigames don't offer much imo.
Visually, Nintendo Land is really polished and well done. I actually like the theme park aesthetic a lot. And the fact that they made the whole park look hand-made; with yarn-crafted enemies in Zelda, and the skid marks on Toad helmets in Mario Chase, was a really nice touch.
Even the plaza looks really nice too, displaying all the knick-knacks and doodads you collected from playing the minigames. I especially like that you can change the time of day, resulting in a different background and song too!
Speaking of music, the soundtrack for Nintendo Land is actually pretty good! All the songs fit the minigames and their respective areas so well. Of course it's no surprise that it's good, since it was composed by Ryo Nagamatsu, the legend who also worked on the soundtracks for Smash 4, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Mario Galaxy 2.
Side note: I actually wrote about a song from Nintendo Land a few months ago if you wanna check it out here.
Nintendo Land received positive reviews from video games critics, praising the party atmosphere and attractions, especially the way they are developed and built up, with few being critical of simply showing Wii U GamePad capabilities. The game sold over 5 million copies though, so it definitely did well, despite the initial skepticism during the E3 showcase.
I'm glad I got this game actually. I never really had much fun with the Wii U before I played Nintendo Land, but the minigames really sold me on the Wii U Gamepad. The Motion Plus made the Zelda game so much fun to play, and I had a real blast trying to get through all the stages with my bf back in the day. The multiplayer minigames are definitely the most fun though, and brings back the good 'ol days of couch co-op play which to me, has always been a huge essence of Nintendo games.
Thanks so much for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
Check out my previous post in this series!
