by Ziggy587 Sun Mar 12, 2023 11:16 am
I had such a blast with the Wii during its life. So much so that it is one of my all-time favorite consoles. And that was really surprising to me as a realization. But in a couple of years, the Wii will be 20 years old! At the time that the Wii launched, if you asked me what my favorite console was I would have said the SNES followed by the N64 as a close second. Well in 2006, the SNES was about 15 years old and the N64 was about 10 years old. At the time, being a young adult, 10 and 15 years seemed like a really long time. Those two Nintendo consoles were part of my childhood, and that is an impossible thing to compete with. But being that the Wii is around 17 years old now, about the same amount of time has passed between then and now as it did with the SNES/N64 and the launch of the Wii. At the present, I can look back at myself at the launch of the Wii and think of myself as a child (in a way). I mean, don't get me wrong, having tons of great games is what makes a console one of your favorites. But there's also some other factor. Something that you spent a lot of positive time with years back will become a happy memory, and that's where the nostalgia factor comes into play. I always kind of looked at nostalgia as something from your childhood. But then I realized, it's simply something from your past. No matter how old you are, something could impact you now that, if you live long enough, you can become nostalgic for. And maybe that's another weird part of why the Wii is one of my favorite consoles. That realization was part of a bigger life transformation. Me being a young adult, coming to realizations about a great many things. The Wii was a part of that time in my life, much the same as the SNES and N64 were a part of my life in childhood.
Yes, I've actually analyzed why the Wii is my favorite console on a deeper sub-conscience level LOL.
As a whole though, I have very fond memories of the 7th generation. For me, it was sort of a renascence for video games. And in my opinion, the last truly GREAT generation of consoles. As I said, I grew up with the SNES and N64. But during the 6th generation, the Gamecube wasn't my main console. I had a Playstation 2. And perhaps, being in high school at the time, I was the right age to be more into GTA and FPS. I still very much liked Nintendo (SNES and N64 being my favorite even then, which I still played along side PS2) but I just wasn't as interested in the Gamecube. I briefly owned one during it's life, but I was just more interested in the PS2 at the time. And that's one of the reasons the 7th gen was a renascence for me. Nintendo became my favorite console again, and I was fully invested in many first party Nintendo games. I also owned a PS3 during the 7th gen, but it was a clear second place to my Wii. I spent way more time on the Wii than the PS3.
And just to touch a little on the 7th generation as a whole... Being a young adult, this was the first time I could afford to have TWO current gen consoles. The Wii was my first 7th gen console, and although I was enjoying it immensely, I still wanted either a PS3 or Xbox 360 for the types of games I would be missing on the Wii. At the time, most of my friends owned a 360. And I think I totally would have bought a 360 over PS3 if it weren't for the RROD. But in fact, if I had enough disposable income, I totally would have had all 3 consoles! I mention all of this only to highlight how awesome this generation truly was. All three consoles were worth owning. I guess you can make that argument about each generation of consoles since then, but I don't feel like it would be as strong of an argument as it was for the 7th gen. These were all amazing consoles for their own reasons, with brand new things like online play and digital purchases being standard, and HD (or at least 480p widescreen in the case of the Wii), and tons of amazing games coming out left and right. I feel like video game hardware, in terms of innovation, really peaked during this generation. Strictly in terms of innovation, the PS4 and PS5 as well as the Xbox One and Series S/X just seem like more powerful versions of the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Anyways, I don't mean to go too off-topic from the Wii. It's just important to talk about that generation as a whole when talking about the Wii. It was the weirdest time in video game history, if you ask me, and I think that was a good thing. Every generation before that, it was always about improving graphics and sound quality. Then the Wii comes along, and Nintendo draws a line in the sand. They clearly, un-apologetically, and quite frankly boldly defined exactly who they are. If you want to call the Wii a beefed up Gamecube with motion controls tacked on, you wouldn't be wrong. And that's what got the Wii a bad wrap from the hardcore gaming scene. Here is the PS3 and 360 pushing the envelope in terms of graphical power. And then here's the Wii, looking mostly like last gen graphics and you have to wave your hands around like an idiot. What a strange choice for Nintendo to make, not to compete graphically. But Nintendo is about having fun playing video games, which doesn't automatically mean cutting edge graphics. The Gameboy and the Wii are two of Nintendo's most under spec'ed pieces of hardware, and yet two of their most cherished and best selling pieces of hardware.
That said, I have to admit that I originally bought a Wii because of the motion control gimmick. Didn't everyone? I had a cousin that was able to score a Wii during the launch holiday season, so I got to experience Wii Sports. Very soon after, I purchased a Wii at a markup on eBay (it was impossible to find at retail at the time). But I didn't realize that there would be tons of great games coming out for it, some of which barely use the motion controls (if at all). So my early time with the Wii was showing people Wii Sports and some not-so-great games.
After I first bought my Wii, I only had money for one game. There wasn't a whole lot out for the console yet, and very few of the games at the time appealed to me. So I ended up getting Far Cry Vengeance. I was playing a lot of FPS at the time, in fact it was my favorite genre then. I had played the first Far Cry on the PC, so I figured let me give this one a try. What an awful game, really. I don't know if it was rushed or what, but the graphics are horrible and it's buggy as all hell. I haven't played it since then, but I do recall the gameplay at least being fun. It showed me that FPS on the Wii can be amazing. Using the Wiimote and Nunchuk, it's basically the perfect union of mouse and keyboard with a tradition controller. You get the benefits of mouse aiming, and the benefits of a joystick for movement, and with something that feels somehow more like a controller than it does a keyboard and mouse. For example, you can use this control scheme on a couch whereas that's not very practical for a keyboard and mouse.
I don't want to make this post too long, so I'll cut it off here for now. I think I lost my train of thought anyway. Next, I'll talk about some games that I really enjoyed.
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.