Well we’ve made it through all the parts of my blog series honoring the best games of the Wii before the launch of the Wii U. So for the final part, we’ll look at my favorite 2-D adventures on the Wii. You know, some of my most favorite Wii games are in 2-D. Including SSB: Brawl (which I put in the fighter category). So turn your Wii remote sideways, and let’s get started!

A Boy and His Blob

Back in the NES days, the creator of Pitfall made a Nintendo game that was rather flawed and rough around the edges, but had an extremely creative idea. The creator was David Crane (I met him once), and the game was A Boy and His Blob. In this game you controlled a boy who had to bypass all sorts of 2-D obstacles, but he couldn’t jump or use any special powers. But he had an alien blob friend to help him out. The boy could feed the blob different flavored jellybeans and the blob would turn into a corresponding item, depending on what flavor bean you gave him. It was a pretty original idea at the time, and the game had more personality than the NES usually allotted for. I loved it back in the day, anyway.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago on the Wii. WayForward, makers of great titles like Shantae, BloodRayne Betrayal, and Double Dragon Neon, made an updated A Boy and His Blob game with hand-drawn graphics and improved gameplay. They came up with a game that wasn’t too hard, but not TOO easy either, so everyone could have fun. And it did the original game justice. I was floored when you went through the original subway caves level from the first game, and it even had the remixed music. The game was so endearing, too. They even made a hug button so the boy could give the blob a hug, which served no purpose other than to be cute.

SPOILER ALERT

Don’t read this next paragraph if you don’t want the ending spoiled for you. The ending was really touching and satisfying at the same time. Near the end, the final boss crushes the blob into bits, but the boy’s tears bring him back to life. Not only that, but the blob gives the boy a special jellybean that turns the blob into a giant mech for the boy to ride in. So you spend the last part of the level wailing on enemies that you otherwise had to avoid, and the final boss, too! What a fantastic game that was!

Donkey Kong Country Returns

I’m a big fan of Retro Studios for their Metroid Prime games, and the fact that they are located in Austin, TX, where I went to college. I loved that Nintendo picked them to revive this classic SNES series. Only problem is I thought the game was WAY too hard. But then, the original DKC was pretty tough, too. There is a 2-D DK game that I think is MUCH better, though. It was Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat. I played it on the GameCube, and it’s a fantastic and original concept. They made a “Play it on Wii” version, but I never got around to getting it.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn

This original wasn’t a Kirby game. At first it just starred Prince Fluff, the second player, and the game was called World of Fluff. But I think Nintendo thought it would sell better if they put Kirby in it. And I bet they’re right. This was a really endearing game with eye-popping fabric and yarn graphics and a fun two player mode. I also enjoyed the gentile music, which consisted of a lot of piano tunes.

Kirby’s Return to Dreamland

While not as creative as Epic Yarn, last year’s Kirby caper returned to the series enemy sucking and copying powers roots. Plus it also had a great four player mode that was WAY better than the four player mess that was New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

I loved Odin Sphere on the PS2. Muramasa was made by the same folks (VanillaWare) and plays a bit like it. I feel that Muramasa is a bit more arcade-y than Odin Sphere, but it still has a robust weapon upgrade system and a large 2-D Metroid-like world to explore. While Odin Sphere had a Norse mythology vibe to it, Muramasa is more about Japanese myths and legends and stories. Although some of the characters are a bit disturbing (like the fox lady). The artwork was still beautiful, though. For some reason, it also reminded me of the old Taito arcade game: The Legend of Kage.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

My favorite part of this one was the return of the Koopa Kids. It was a fun 2-D Mario platformer, but I thought it was rather hard and frustrating. Especially when you had four players on the screen at once. That was just a mess, really. If you ever wanted to lose a lot of lives, just invite friends over to play. I guess it was still kind of fun, if you knew you weren’t going to get anywhere. Kirby: Return to Dreamland has a much better four player mode.

Super Paper Mario

This was a really weird mix of 2-D platforming and Paper Mario RPG gameplay. Definitely a different kind of game. I loved it when you got a Starman and would turn into a giant 8-bit version of yourself. It was a pretty easy game, too, especially if you knew how to use special items right. Only problem I had with this game was it felt like it was originally supposed to be a GameCube title. But then, a lot of Wii games, especially early ones, felt that way.

Wario Land: Shake It!

This wasn’t the best Wario Land game made, but it was still fun. The hand-drawn animated artwork was fantastic. I also appreciated the return of Captain Syrup. Nintendo should use her more in their games!

Klonoa

Originally a PSOne classic, Namco remade it on the Wii to give the game a much-deserved second chance. Aside from SSB: Brawl, this is one of my top favorite Wii games. The game really impacted me, especially the original on the PlayStation. Why do you think my Xbox LIVE gamertag is Klonoa360? Namco really respected the old fans with the Wii remake. Even though they gave Klonoa a new costume, you can unlock the old ones from both 1 & 2 if you beat it. The original Klonoa was also unique because the characters spoke their own made up language. In the Wii remake, they gave the characters English voices (which sounds blasphemous if you’re a fan), but there is an option to have their old “Phantomilian” language as well. They reconstructed the worlds so that even though it’s all new graphics, the levels feel like the original. If you haven’t played Klonoa, you really should. Especially to witness the surprisingly bittersweet sad ending (for such a cutesy and colorful game). Used to, it was really hard to play Klonoa as it was initially a very rare game. But now there are many ways to play it easily. You can play the Wii remake if you can find it. And if you do spot it, I bet it’ll be pretty cheap. But if that fails, you can download the original PSOne game on the PS3 or Vita. The graphics aren’t as good, but I like the pixelly charm of the original a little better anyway. So yeah, fantastic game, one of my favorites, and I really wish I had Klonoa’s hat.

And That’s a Wii Wrap!

And that’s all of my ‘Cary’s favorite Wii games’ blogs! What did you think of them? What are your favorite Wii 2-D adventures? Now that this is all over, we can start looking forward to the Wii U. I’m glad I reserved my Wii U when I did! What Wii U games are you looking forward to? I’m most looking forward to Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Scribblenauts Unlimited, Tank! Tank! Tank!, and later on: Game & Wario.

Tags: Misc