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Retro|Spective 080: U and Those Wii Left Behind

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    Retro|Spective 080: U and Those Wii Left Behind

    I've delayed the next developer focused thread because, frankly, the developer it will be focused on has a pretty extensive history that requires some more preparation. So, we get a second focus on one off platform exclusives instead, this time rolling Nintendo's two Wii consoles together to give us the below roster. Here is a list of Wii and WiiU games that launched but never found life beyond their initial release...



    Entry 01 - Captain Rainbow
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    Exclusive to the Wii and even then only Japan, it took years for a fan translation to land. The game stars Nick, a former Super Hero who undertakes tasks and missions on an island to gain Kirarin that he can exchange for wishes for himself or other island dwellers. The game was received well but failed to sell and it's sometimes risqué humour helped push a cancellation on a considered EU release.



    Entry 02 - Disaster: Day of Crisis
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    Battling terrorists and natural disasters, you shot and mini-gamed your way through threat after threat. Released in Japan and the EU, Americans found themselves being overlooked for this action title that carried some systems similar to the Disaster Report games but in a less sim way. It received average to reasonable scores and failed to sell well but remains a very distinct title in the Wii's catalogue.



    Entry 03 - Ghost Squad
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    The Wii remote leant itself strongly to shooters and made the system an easy home for Sega's lightgun conversions. Ghost Squad came across in the shadow of other titles like House of the Dead but proved itself to those who played it, building a strong reputation amongst its players. The game had the remote used in various ways such as defusing bombs in addition to shooting and though reviews were mixed it is probably the highest regarded light gun shooter on the system.



    Entry 04 - The Last Story
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    In the dying days of the Wii it received a trio of JRPG's, Last Story was one of these but only Xenoblade Chronicles would find life beyond the system. Co-written and directed by the creator of Final Fantasy, the game was an action RPG within a fantasy setting and released in Japan and the EU though a concerted effort on players behalf was required to get an eventual release in the US. The game was generally well received and sold well on top of it, it also enjoyed higher opening sales than Xenoblade but later figures suggested the game was very front loaded and stopped selling soon after, presumably why it has drifted away with time.



    Entry 05 - Pandora's Tower
    Other Formats:
    WiiU
    Alongside Last Story and Xenoblade, the third of the end of life Wii RPG trio was this action RPG. The game went through a long development and like Last Story had to undergo the same release approach in the US. Whilst Last Story was praised for getting mileage out of the Wii's dated hardware, Pandora's Tower was more mixed on that front even if the game was still reasonably well received. The game didn't do as strongly on release though, however it did get a straight release via WiiU's estore a few years later.



    Entry 06 - Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
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    Arcade
    Yes, a rare occasion when a Street Fighter starring title hasn't been ported to every format under the sun. Tatsunoko licensing keeps this title bound down. Featuring a simplified fight system to fit onto the Wii remote, TvC used 2.5D visuals to face the two casts off against each other. The Japanese and Western versions varied slightly in their mini-games, online support and to an extent characters with some added to the western version but one remaining locked to the Japanese instalment.



    Entry 07 - Devil's Third
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    A third person action title that shifts to first person for aiming, Devil's Third was a clunky budget looking title mixing brawling with gunplay. It's online modes received an stand alone Japanese PC release which was the final sign of life for the game that had been in development hell for years but Nintendo ended up supporting because the WiiU lacked online titles of the ilk Nintendo itself could not make. The final game suffered poor reviews though and also poor sales.



    Entry 08 - The Wonderful 101
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    Still ever waiting a reprieve for Platinum like Bayonetta 2 received, the isometric title saw players control a growing band of superheroes as they explore stages and rescue citizens. With rechargeable morph moves that required drawing on the WiiU Gamepads screen, players worked through the brightly coloured levels fending off alien attackers. Received with generally positive reviews, the game failed to replicate the same response in sales.



    Share your thoughts and memories of these Wii and WiiU era titles

    #2
    Interestingly, I have 5 of the 8 titles here but never played Last Story (requires 480p which at the time I tried it I was still using a CRT!) and Wonderful 101 is still sealed (didn't have time to dedicate to it, after watching Mr Fallows' [MENTION=1482]dataDave[/MENTION] YouTube tutorial).

    Day of Disaster and Ghost Squad are two of my favourite Wii games. Really, really good.

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      #3
      My copy of The Last Story is still sealed - should really get around to playing it sometime.

      TvC is a far better beat-em-up than it is given credit for. It's a shame that Capcom couldn't develop the franchise further (I would've loved to have seen the Samurai Pizza Cats in a TvC2!) but given how complicated the Tatsunoko licensing is/was then it's probably not a surprise - Capcom did well enough to get it released in the west. For me, Capcom's vs. fighters are much better in a 2v2 format as opposed to the utterly chaotic 3v3 affairs that they became later on, which is probably why I enjoyed TvC so much.

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        #4
        Captain Rainbow was fascinating for a little while but I never got to play it as the fan translation took so long to arrive I'd forgotten it was even a thing. Now, Disaster: Day of Crisis isn't a great game but man, do I have a soft spot for it. It had that low budget appeal you sometimes get and the right amount of unintentional cheese, would be nice to revisit it one day.

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          #5
          I think Disaster Day Of Crisis is really naff, but I really enjoyed playing through it. I don't think I'd personally keep it, but I really enjoyed completing it last year. Munching on the burgers or getting set on fire after opening a bin while underwater never ceases to make me laugh. Utterly silly game. I really enjoyed Pandora's Tower but stopped playing it. Must go back to it.

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            #6
            Originally posted by gunrock View Post
            Interestingly, I have 5 of the 8 titles here but never played Last Story (requires 480p which at the time I tried it I was still using a CRT!) and Wonderful 101 is still sealed (didn't have time to dedicate to it, after watching Mr Fallows' [MENTION=1482]dataDave[/MENTION] YouTube tutorial).
            Probably Saurian's vids. No way do I have the time for any of that.

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              #7
              Originally posted by Superman Falls View Post
              Captain Rainbow was fascinating for a little while but I never got to play it as the fan translation took so long to arrive I'd forgotten it was even a thing.
              Precisely my situation with Captain Rainbow.

              Fortunately, it appears to be easy and cheap to get hold of so I might just do that someday.

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                #8
                I owned both systems and haven't played a single game on this list. But I really want to get Tatsunoko vs Capcom. I'm disappointed that it hasn't made it to any other system. I'd happily get it on Switch but I might have to see if I can track down an older copy, if that's possible.

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                  #9
                  Devils' Third was... well crud. I remember reading so much about the Wii trilogy of late RPG's but still haven't played any of them

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by Dogg Thang View Post
                    I owned both systems and haven't played a single game on this list. But I really want to get Tatsunoko vs Capcom. I'm disappointed that it hasn't made it to any other system. I'd happily get it on Switch but I might have to see if I can track down an older copy, if that's possible.
                    TvC isn't likely to make it to any other system any time soon because the license agreement that Capcom had with Tatsunoko expired back in 2012, an expiry that actually led to Capcom having to remove the game from retail completely at the time.

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                      #11
                      Big shame that Devils Third online was short lived and undervalued, it was lot of fun and quite a bit too it.

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by dataDave View Post
                        Probably Saurian's vids. No way do I have the time for any of that.
                        Yeah, actually thinking back, I think you were extolling the virtues of the attack system and linked to a Saurian video or two. It's all lost in the [MENTION=25]charlesr[/MENTION] purge.

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                          #13
                          Ghost Squad - Not many games give so much bang for so little buck. Everything you love about a Sega light-gun game but with added depth and content to make it great to play at home too.

                          The Wonderful 101 - I always think I'm going to have fun with this game but inevitably end up being slightly frustrated. At times it's utterly brilliant ... but something simple like drawing a bridge can slow you (me) right down as it's just more fiddly than it should be. And the controller screen bits are pretty awful to navigate too. I'd love a re-mastered version with sharper controls. Whether we get that or a full blown sequel on the Switch I'll dive back in, for sure. Because when it's good it's really good.

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                            #14
                            Solved my WiiU conundrum by finding one on ebay for £120 already hacked with a Pro Controller included and a 320GB HDD

                            Back of the Net!

                            For 081
                            - That developer special

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Atticus View Post
                              The Wonderful 101 - I always think I'm going to have fun with this game but inevitably end up being slightly frustrated. At times it's utterly brilliant ... but something simple like drawing a bridge can slow you (me) right down as it's just more fiddly than it should be. And the controller screen bits are pretty awful to navigate too. I'd love a re-mastered version with sharper controls. Whether we get that or a full blown sequel on the Switch I'll dive back in, for sure. Because when it's good it's really good.
                              Instead of drawing on the screen try using the stick to make the shapes. After a little practice drawing glyphs begins to feel like directional inputs for special moves on a fighting game. This is how you easily chain morphs together.

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