Nintendo Wii Classic Controller Alternatives

April 10th, 2008

wii classic controller

Some time ago I posted my thoughts on Hard Copy Collection Vs Digital Distribution. Although there are pros and cons for each, I myself still remain stuck in my ways as a hard copy collector. One of the reasons being the issues with playing retro games on a controller designed for modern gaming.

The Wii’s Virtual Console is the digital distribution service for old school gaming, unfortunately Nintendo’s mish-mash of previous controllers; the Classic Controller can detract from the overall retro experience. So I’ve been looking around for some good alternatives. Heres what I found:

The Obvious Choices

GameCube Pad/WaveBird

I’m sure everyone knows this by now; so I will quickly go through the motions. You don’t need to recycle your old, faithful Gamecube pads as they can be also reused to play your favourite Virtual Console and Gamecube games as well as a whole bunch of Wii titles.

With this you can also take advantage of the Gamecube’s excellent wireless WaveBird pad. If you don’t already own one of these controllers then chances are you’ll have a hard time finding one. Nintendo ceased production of WaveBirds over a year ago and thanks to the Wii’s run away success, the demand for WaveBirds has also increased despite the number low Wavebird numbers. But don’t fear as there is an alternative to the WaveBird which I shall get to later.

The GameCube pad is great for Nintendo 64 titles in fact it’s probably superior than the N64 controller as the Gamecube’s dual analogue sticks lack the grindy feel of the N64′s. The N64 controller essentially has three main buttons (A,B and Z) which translates well onto the Gamecube’s 4 face buttons. The only disadvantage for N64 games may be the Gamecube’s shoulder triggers. The N64′s triggers are soft and light, conversely the Gamecube’s triggers are large and springy. This nuisance depends on the game at hand though as few N64 titles utilized the shoulder buttons.

The overwhelming majority of Virtual Console games aren’t 3D which is where things get a little frustrating. The Gamecube’s D-pad is just downright awkward for these games so you’ll have to toss up whether you want to use an analogue stick for 2D games. Personally I love using analogue sticks for 2D fighters to avoid blisters from all of those quarter circles but for other games like RPGs and platformers, where direct position movement feel more natural, it can feel a little odd.

Where to Buy?

GameCube Pads can easily be found online at eBay or at local pawn shops.

Arcade Sticks

I’ve spoken about Wii arcade sticks before in my Reliving an Authentic Arcade Experience on the Wii article. Just like before there are still only a handful of sticks available on the market. Primarily the two major players are the Hori Fighting Stick and the Wii Neo Geo Stick 2, the latter of which is yet to be released). Both of these sticks are essentially Wii iterations of previously released PS2 arcade sticks. The Hori Fighting Stick currently retails for $49.99 while the Wii Neo Geo Stick 2 is set for roughly $70.

wii arcade sticks

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3D Vs 2D, Capcom Vs SNK, Street Fighter IV Vs The King of Fighters XII

February 23rd, 2008

capcom vs snk

A Brief History Lesson

Back in the 90s Capcom’s legendary Street Fighter series and SNK’s also legendary King of Fighters series were two of the best 2D fighters on the console and arcade scene. Street Fighter 2 set the standard for 2D fighters to come and for a long time was the copy and paste formula used for all developers when making 2D fighters. One of these developers which were known for this was SNK whom borrowed heavily from Capcom’s winning formula on several occasions. SNK managed to crave its own niche into the genre with it’s 3 on 3 fighter, best of the rest, The King of Fighters for the Arcade and NeoGeo CD.

For many years in the 90s these two franchises stood toe to toe with each other, dividing the fighting community with each game’s own unique style. The two developers noticed the divide and agreed on working together to build the Capcom Vs SNK fighting series. Which eventually resulted in 3 titles; Capcom Vs SNK, Capcom Vs SNK 2 and SVC Chaos.

Since the mark of the millennium (did you catch that one) this long rivalry slowly began to fade away. The dying down of the arcade scene and the lack of a new Street Fighter title in recent years has almost killed this fascinating rivalry. That was until now.

Recent Developments

fatal furyBack in December I posted about the first Street Fighter 4 screenshot. One which finally revealed the real direction that the series was indeed taking. Abandoning Street Fighter’s faithful 2D sprite heritage Capcom decided to make Street Fighter 4 a three dimensional fighter.

I’d like to say something like “this divided long time series fans” but to be fair I don’t really follow the fighting community so I’m not really sure if it did. But I think that it would be safe enough to assume that a few people were upset. As much as some may deny it the 3D character models do totally change the gameplay completely. Thats not to say that Street Fighter 4 won’t feel like the previous games of the series (judging by impressions of the game so far it does actually feel like a tribute to SF2).

I’m getting of track here. With the prior announcement of a high definition remake of the original Street Fighter 2 the gaming community were expecting Street Fighter 4 to go down the same route. But it didn’t and for a lot of people this would have hurt pretty badly (I know it did for me). It would have been incredible to see how Capcom’s sprite work would have translated into gorgeous, detailed, smooth scrolling and animating HD sprites. True high definition sprite work for many traditional/old school/purist gamers is something of a dream, a dream which we may have considered never coming true.

I say may because this is where SNK and their King of Fighters come in. Just recently at the AOU convention in Japan, off screen media was leaked of gameplay video of the new game (KOF XII) for Taito’s Type X2 arcade platform. You can watch the video below or read a fantastic breakdown from Arcade Renaissance here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjScFUY1uL

Although this is off screen video it already paints a picture of exactly what to expect. That is the dream has come true; high definition, ultra smooth 2D sprites. I must say it simply looks fantastic, doesn’t it? I mean imagine what it would look like on screen.

I’m excited and so I should be. SNK have made a very bold move here and have thrown down the gauntlet. They have done something usually reserved for long time rivals; Capcom. The pure quality of sprite work and animation seen in the video are simply firsts in it’s field. Look at the crowd scene in the fight between Kyo and Ash. The subtle effects look fantastic too.

In reality SNK aren’t really taking much of a risk as they are just upgrading the same fighting game that they have been upgrading for the last 14 years. What they are doing though is saying: “Hey all of you Street Fighter fans whom wanted a HD 2D Street Fighter 4. Why don’t you come here and take a look?”. SNK are doing a Capcom and it is putting themselves in an advantageous situation.

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Reliving an Authentic Arcade Experience on the Wii

February 3rd, 2008

Unfortunately when I was a kid I was never big on the arcades. I guess that I can chalk it down to being too young at the time when arcades were on their last hurrah. I also don’t remember there being any arcades in our local area. But despite all this I managed to find a few arcades a little further away or at least other outlets with arcade machines.

With the cost of one play now being $AUD2.00 rather than the previous 20c spending a few hours at the arcade is simply not value for money. So I decided to throw together a few very simple, cost effective ideas on how to recreate the arcade experience at home on your Wii.

Rail Shooters

One of my favourite arcade experiences would have to be the House of the Dead series (right alongside Daytona). As I mentioned in the Best Upcoming Fan-Service games of 2008 article I love playing the original House of the Dead and its sequel at the arcades and on the consoles. Actually just last month a few friends and I snuffed out a small arcade near one of my University campuses with a House of the Dead machine.

Basically these are all the tools you need to recreate a solid rail shooter experience at home:

Sure its not an arcade machine but you don’t really need a cabinet unless you want to go the whole way. In which I’d suggest this article isn’t for you then.

The Nyko Perfect Shot is an arcade style gun mold for the Wii mote. Unlike the Wii Zapper which is much more akin to say a tommy gun, the Perfect Shot’s design is based around a hand gun much like many arcade rail shooters. The Wii nun chuck can be attached as well but not all games require the use of the nunchuck.

nyko perfect shot

If I were choosing a gun mold for the Wii I would buy the Perfect Shot as there are more arcade shooters that use this style of gun. Currently I think that only Link’s Crossbow Training and Medal of Honour Heros would work better with the zapper. It all depends on the types of light gun games you want to play.

The great thing about rail shooters on the Wii is that there already is a strong software line supporting this genre.

All of the games on that list excluding one were all discounted on release. Then there is also House of the Dead on the way and if Sega listens to the cries of fans we may see additional Virtua Cop compilations.

Arcade Stick Gamesk' king of fighters

At the current time there is only one Wii arcade stick on the market which is a Hori Fighting Stick. Just recently though Arcade Renaissance broke news that NeoGeo will be releasing the NEO GEO Stick 2 for the Wii as well.

Both sticks are compatible with all games that allow use of the Wii Classic controller. As for arcade games on offer there is only a few currently on the market such as Metal Slug Anthology and Guilty Gear but later this year more are on the way. SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1 and King of Fighters Orochi Saga spring to mind.

Otherwise you can check out whats on the Wii’s Virtual Console for the time being. NeoGeo are slowing porting some of their NeoGeo fighters across. Theres already an excellent range of great shmps and a few good 2D fighters as well. It all comes down to choosing something that interests you.

Conclusion

If you are serious about arcade fighters then pick up a PS2 as almost every great fighter in existance is on the system in one form or another. As for rail shooters though the Wii is already building up a strong library of titles and its cheap to buy the accessories required to give it theat authentic arcade feel. If the Wii is all you have then know that its still the best current generation console for arcade games and a lot of be fun can be had from it.

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