Nintendo Stats

Nintendo sent my the yearly gaming wrap up. They aren't as fun this year. I liked the stats they showed in previous years better.

Pikmin

My Overall Thoughts:

-    I played, nay, conquered Pikmin 2 and 3. I've played them both several times through, but I've never picked up the very first Pikmin game. After watching Arlo play through, I had a major itch to play Pikmin. Luckily our friend had a copy, and I was able to play. 

-    You can tell it is an older game, but it holds up alright.

My Thoughts on Game Play:

-    The story is fun, and Pikmin 2 picks up the story perfectly. Olimar crashes on a planet, and he needs to repair his ship by collecting all his ship parts. The catch is you only have 30 days to collect all the parts. Some of these parts aren't necessary, but it isn't hard to collect all 30. 

-    At first I thought the 30 days would be hard to beat, but it wasn't. I was playing pretty casually, and I was able to collect 1-3 parts a day. I had plenty of days left over when I finished.

-  There are no extra pikmin in this one. There are just the standard red, yellow, and blue pikmin. I loved how quickly I was able to collect all three. 

My Thoughts on Control:

-    I will admit that I didn't pick up the first Pikmin game because I was afraid the controls weren't going to be as good as 2 and 3. It wasn't too bad. The pikmin were a little dumber, but it was okay. For instance, when you throw a pikmin on a pellet, it doesn't automatically take the pellet back to the onion, you have to throw another pikmin to pick it up. Also, when going over a bridge, some of the pikmin fall off the sides. The pikmin controls just weren't as intuitive as 2 and 3. After I got used to it though, it was fine. I was still able to thoroughly enjoy the game.

-    It was fun picking up that gamecube controller again. I loved it! It is my favorite Nintendo controller. I was so excited to have that c-stick again! Being able to move my little army around me and run them into things with the c-stick was pure joy.

-    Sometimes the camera was in an awkward position and it took me a few tries to get it where I wanted, but for the most part, the camera controls were great.

My Thoughts on Graphics:

-    The graphics are older, but I think they still look great. Pikmin has great environments and characters. If they ever remaster this for Nintendo Switch, it wouldn't take much. They would need to up the graphics to HD and fix some of the lighting. I know that is a big job, and it will take a while, but I don't think anything would need to be re-rendered or re-created. I would LOVE for Pikmin 1 and 2 to be remastered!!! 

My Thoughts on Sound:

-    The music was good ole Pikmin music. It is very soothing and fun. I enjoyed it. I think the music is broken in places though. Sometimes when I was just walking around, the boss/baddie music would just start playing, and I'd look around, but nothing was there. It weirded me out.

-    The Pikmin don't sing as they walk like they do in Pikmin 2. I missed that.

Pikmin 3

My Overall Thoughts:

                

-    I was really excited for another Pikmin game because we haven’t had one forever! This was really fun, but I still love Pikmin 2 the best.  

-    I admit I got a little addicted. I just couldn’t stop thinking about it or playing it. I stayed up WAY too late some nights trying to accomplish new tasks. 

-    I wish the game were longer. There needs to be more fruit to collect. 66 aren’t enough! I was sad when it ended so quickly. 

-    On the plus side, I will probably replay it a few times.

My Thoughts on Game play:

                

-    I loved the storyline! Our main characters are searching the planet for fruit because their home planet is almost out of food. While searching the planet, they find different types of Pikmin who help them with their tasks. Pikmin function like a little army of workers. It was fun finding and collecting the food. Adding a third character was interesting and enjoyable. It created a new dynamic in getting to different areas and fruit. Of course the crew run into a few problems, and they need to find a mysterious Captain Olimar. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that this ties into the Pikmin 2 storyline! I was so excited to see the old characters!

                

-    I loved the map on the gamepad! It was so helpful in finding Pikmin and fruit! It is one of the best features for sure!

                

-    The yellow, red, and blue Pikmin function the same. There are some fun added uses for them. There are two new Pikmin introduced in this game. The rock Pikmin were super useful in breaking things down, and they were great for killing small bugs in one shot. The flying Pikmin could fly over water, lift gates, and pick certain plants. They were also very useful in killing flying bugs. I thought the new Pikmin were cool, but I also missed the purple and white Pikmin, mostly the purple.  I am happy to say that the purple and white Pikmin make an appearance in mission mode!

                

-    Mission Mode consists of several different challenge stages. One set of challenges is collecting as much fruit as possible in a given time. Another set is killing as many bugs/foes as possible in a given time. The last mode is fighting the bosses from the game. All missions may be played as co-op where you and your friend work together.

                

-    There is also Bingo Mode. This is a competitive game where Alph and Olimar go head-to-head to collect fruit and bugs.  You are given a bingo card with pictures of all the things you can collect. Whoever gets 4 in a row first wins. It can be highly competitive and very fun. There are 12 stages to choose from and there is a random option that will generate a random stage.

                

-    Pikmin 3 has a lot of replay value, and I love that about Nintendo games. You just want to play them over and over again.

My Thoughts on Control:

-    You can play with different controllers, but I recommend sticking with the Wii U Gamepad. The map on the gamepad is essential! I love the added “go here” move. It was very helpful to multitask.

                

-    The controls were my biggest complaint about the game. In Pikmin 2 you could use the C Stick to move your army of Pikmin around. I didn’t have that control power in Pikmin 3, and it was frustrating. A lot of Pikmin died because I wasn’t able to move them out of harm’s way as easily. Instead, the game lets you lock onto targets and charge your Pikmin. That was useful for a lot of things, but I still wish I could have just moved my army into things at will. Throwing individual Pikmin got old fast! The game also lets you unlock a dodging move where you and all your Pikmin tuck and roll to the side. Again, it was useful but not as good as the old C Stick control.

                

-    The targeting system was frustrating at times. I wish it had been more like Pikmin 2. I struggled to target things sometimes.

                

-    Camera control and everything else was fine.    

My Thoughts on Graphics:

-    Nintendo has upgraded to HD, and everything looks awesome! The environments were amazing! I loved how unique and colorful everything was. I enjoyed all the unique fruits and bugs. I love the Pikmin! They are so cute! It is a very visually fun game.

My Thoughts on Sound:

                

-    The language the characters use sounds an awful lot like Japanese. I got a kick out of listening to Alph and Brittany talk. I especially loved it when Alph would say Brittany’s name.

                

-    The music was good. I didn’t notice it too much, but I liked how soothing it was.

                

-    The Pikmin used to sing while you marched places, and they didn’t do that in this one. I was sad about that. They sing a little, but nothing like Pikmin 2.

Kirby's Epic Yarn

My Overall Thoughts:

-    The happiest game on earth!!  You have a grin on your face the whole time you play.  This game is seriously charming, and it is really fun to play.  Whenever you have a bad day, just pop in Kirby and all your problems will disappear.

My Thoughts on Gameplay:

-    The story is read to you by a very soothing male voice, and everything is portrayed in storybook form.  It’s fantastic. 

                

-    The evil Yin-Yarn dude is turning everything into yarn/fabric.  Kirby gets sucked out of Dreamland into a different world.  This world is falling apart, and Kirby has to help Prince Fluff find the magic yarn. 

-    You get to fight a couple of classic villains as well as the new guy.  

-    You can’t die.  When you fall down a pit or something, you just lose beads.  Beads are collected along the way, and you only have to collect them if you want the Gold Star at the end.  

-    The game is super family friendly, and it is cute as it can be. 

                

-    Kirby has his own apartment, and you collect furniture in the different levels to put in your apartment.  You also decorate other apartments so friends can move in.  You would never guess it, but it was fun to collect all the furniture.

                

-    There are several different challenges to play.  They are fun, but they aren’t really important.  The only thing you get from them is fabric to reupholster your furniture.  The challenges include things like Hide-n-Go-Seek, Racing, Collecting a certain amount of beads in a certain amount of time, etc.  

My Thoughts on Controls:

-    You only need to use the Wii Remote, and the controls are really easy to learn and use.  My favorite was the double tap forward that turns you into a cool car that goes “beep beep.” 

-    Instead of sucking things in his mouth, Kirby whips things with a yarn rope.  He can grab things and throw them, and he also can turn into several different vehicle things.  The vehicle things are fantastic!  They are easy to control and super fun to use.  They include surfing, fire truck, tank, space ship, rocket, train, car, monster truck, digger, and a few more.  The train is a little frustrating, but it’s doable.   

My Thoughts on Graphics:

-    The graphics are super cute and pleasing to the eye.  Everything is made of yarn/fabric.  It is so original and fun!!  I think Nintendo should make a lot more yarn games.  I would personally love to see a Mario Bros. yard game.  This is seriously one of the most unique graphic games I’ve ever seen. 

-    Fun Side Note:  When Kirby goes behind a piece of fabric, there is a little bump where he is!!  

My Thoughts on Sound:

-    The music is awesome!!  Every stage has really fun songs to hum along too.  Some of the levels sounded like Ben Folds to me.  They were upbeat and played on a piano.  I seriously loved the background music.

                

-    The character noises were classic Kirby.  Everything is so happy!  

-    My favorite noise is the car “beep beep.”  

Dr. Mario Online Rx

My Overall Thoughts:

-    Dr. Mario is one of my all time favorite games, and I’m super super happy that they released it on the Wii!  

-    This game is a classic, and they held true to the Dr. Mario game for the Wii version.  

-    I love this game! I am also very addicted…have been since the NES.

My Thoughts on Gameplay:

-    This is a classic Dr. Mario game.  Throw the pills, stack 4, and kill viruses.  It’s as addicting as Tetris.  *Side Note:  Nintendo did not do their research when making this game.  Viruses can't be killed with pills.  They have to run their course.  Bacteria can be killed with medicine though*

                

     There are 4 different ways you can play the game: 

-    You can play with a friend and battle it out.  I wish it would show your winning streak, cause I enjoy seeing how much I’m winning; However, I am satisfied with watching the opponents Mii look all sad after they’ve been beaten. 

-    You can, of course, play by yourself and see which level you can make it to.  Guess what?  The levels don’t stop at 20.  I haven’t found an end to the game yet, but I’ve only played to lvl 35.  I usually run out of time or something and have to stop, but one of these days, I’ll just sit and play until the end! 

-    You can go online and duke it out with people from around the globe.  You start out with 4000 points and gain points by winning and lose points by losing.  Trust me, there are some crazy people out there that kick trash!!  I get my butt handed to me all the time, and I consider myself a pretty good Dr. Mario player.

-    You can play with 4 people, but it’s weird.  It isn’t classic Dr. Mario anymore.  The game objective is the same, but you work together to kill viruses.  You grab the pills, yes grab, and place them where you want.  I would have preferred competing against each other.  I think it would have been more fun and added more game value.  

My Thoughts on Controls:

-    You only need the Wii Remote for this game.  You hold it sideways and play like an old school Nintendo controller, but for the 4 player thingy, you hold it normal and point and click at the screen. 

                

-    I think the controls are super easy to figure out, and there really isn’t any need for explanation, especially if you’re a Dr. Mario veteran.

My Thoughts on Graphics:

-    Graphics are everything you remember from all the other Dr. Marios (is it Marios or Marioes?), same colors, same Mario, but just a little updated.  

-    The menus look nice and fun, and they are easy to use and figure out.  

-    You get to use your Mii for some of the stuff, and your Mii has a doctor coat like Mario.  Woo!

My Thoughts on Sound:

-    I love the music from this game.  They kept all the good ol' classic music selections.  You get to choose your favorite song while you play, or you can put it on random and be surprised.  If you’re boring, you can turn the music off, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that.  My favorite is Chill. 

-    You also get all the classic noises that come along with the game.   Like the little warning noise that tells you your opponent is sending you junk, or the siren that goes off when you are too close the top.

-    I wish Mario would say something in the game, like “good job,” “way to go,” or something to indicate that he is alive.  

Tyson's Thought:

-    I want to know where Mario got his doctor's degree?  

-    He is a pill pusher.