The Wii U Retrospective

[Leon Retro]

The only reason I bought a Wii U back in May 2014, was because Asda were selling the Mario Kart 8 bundle edition that also came with New Super Mario Bros. U, for £199. I was really bored and MK8 looked great, so I thought £199 for a newish console with two quality games was an attractive price. Luckily, I loved MK8 and played it online through the summer onwards having a great time. I will cherish those memories because MK8 is such a fantastic game in all areas; it's a modern game I actually really enjoy and still go back to.

After that, I bought a few Wii U games that I thought looked good and were fun to play. Then when Nintendo said it was going to end production of the machine and bring out the Switch, I looked at the machine's catalogue and ended up with a collection of around 22 games that appeal to me.

It's a shame that Breath of the Wild hadn't been available in 2013, because it would have really helped the Wii U find an audience. I don't think it would have ever been a popular console for various reasons, but it could have had more success if Nintendo had delivered more enticing games during the first two years of its life.

[DeathAdder]

I'm going to pick up Sonic All Stars on the back of that write-up

[Protocol Penguin]

Sonic All-Stars Transformed is well worth a tenner (or less). My most-played Wii U game before SM3DW and Wind Waker HD came along. It’s not perfect, but you won’t be disappointed.

[DeathAdder]

Already ordered - I don't do digital if possible. It will probably be my last Wii U game, which is a bit sad.

[dataDave]

How robust are these things, second hand?

They're solid.

[wakka]

They're pretty solid yeah. I would watch out for the screen being scratched up though. I could see a kid effing that up if they weren't being careful with it.

[replicashooter]

[MENTION=6476]JazzFunk[/MENTION] Most of the ones I’ve seen around are pretty much brand new as no one used them

Build quality is superb and people say they look like kids toys but were evidently designed to take a few knocks and keep ticking.

[MENTION=6619]Marius[/MENTION] share your impressions once the sonic game lands please. Once it clicks it really is quite good as it feels so Sega.

[Cepp]

It's a shame that Breath of the Wild hadn't been available in 2013, because it would have really helped the Wii U find an audience. I don't think it would have ever been a popular console for various reasons, but it could have had more success if Nintendo had delivered more enticing games during the first two years of its life.

That first E3 demo blew me away, I would have killed for it to come out sooner.

It's probably better for Nintendo that it didn't though, it really seemed to help shift units when it launched.

[replicashooter]

Just installed CFW on the Wii U using this guide:

https://wiiu.hacks.guide

Going to rip some of my games to the internal memory now but seeing as there is only 32GB unless you add an external drive you've got to be selective, handy list of ISO sizes here:

https://www.destructoid.com/the-destructoid-wii-u-game-file-size-guide-291062.phtml

Might check out the emulator selection later but for me the main aim of this mod was so I could install Padcon:

https://gbatemp.net/threads/padcon-standalone-elf.446051/

As it allows you to turn off the gamepad screen, woohoo! Finally I can play SM3DW without the useless and distracting mirroring going on on the second screen as it still allows you to use all the inputs.

[Neon Ignition]

If BOTW had come out just on WiiU sooner I'm doubtful WiiU would have sold more than 1m more. It would have just caused BOTW to suffer.

[replicashooter]

No doubt, the Wii U was way beyond salvaging already at that point. It could've had the next COD wrapped with GTA with a sprinkle of GOW killer app and it still would've ended up as it did. Just goes to show how important branding is because I think if it had released a bit earlier and called something simple like Wii HD it would've cleaned up.

Whilst I'm tapping, you folks really need to get the Sonic Transformed game. Not only is its fun level increasing the more I play it but its the sheer level of fan service soaked nostalgia prodding is heaped on with stages that look like this:

That make you want Sega to dust off their library and give it a next gen makeover because the visuals are amazing and capture the vibe perfectly plus the gameplay is pure arcade racer. I really do wonder how Mario Kart is going to compare to this one as this is by far the best fiver deal I've ever snagged.

[Protocol Penguin]

No doubt, the Wii U was way beyond salvaging already at that point. It could've had the next COD wrapped with GTA with a sprinkle of GOW killer app and it still would've ended up as it did. Just goes to show how important branding is because I think if it had released a bit earlier and called something simple like Wii HD it would've cleaned up.

The branding killed it . The brand name just confused casual gamers from the get-go – I had to explain to anyone who saw the Wii U in my living room that it wasn't a Wii "with a tablet", it was a whole new console. Although what I found interesting was that non-gamers and casual gamers seemed to be more impressed by the controller gimmick than I ever was...

[dataDave]

I really do wonder how Mario Kart is going to compare to this one as this is by far the best fiver deal I've ever snagged.

What, have you never played MK8 before? lol

[replicashooter]

What, have you never played MK8 before? lol

Nope. Haven’t really played any beyond 64 as the cube one felt a bit half baked and pale in comparison to f zero on that platform and when 7 came out it seemed like more of the same and wipeout was enjoying a renaissance at the time and now sonic. 8 does look like a good title and was one of the reasons I got a Wii u, just never got round to buying it as I only recently started using the platform.

[replicashooter]

Just discovered this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nintendo-Game-High-Capacity-Battery/dp/B00EZPU0E2

£24 for an official 2500mAh battery that gives you around 7 and half hours playtime over the three and change the standard 1500mAh offers. Anyone done this yet? How come no one speaks about this upgrade as I was searching about to DIY it when I saw it.

Whats also interesting is that when you open up the pad to replace the battery the Wii U was actually intended to have the larger pack as standard as it fits perfectly into the gap around the regular one.