It’s a Steep Price to Be Trendy
February 11th, 2009
The other day I went on a mini-spending sphere on the Wii Virtual Console and Playstation Store, the second time that I’ve done so. My stroll through downloadable content land brought with it two unnecessary grievances that really shouldn’t have to burden me. I guess the new-gen kids would call them commodities, I’m not so sure.
Classic Controller Requirement
The first time I went to the Wii Shop was to buy a trio of 16-bit titles, some of which were keen to inform me on start up that I’d need a Classic Controller to play. “I don’t remember the Wii Shop stating anything about this being mandatory” I thought to myself. Fortunately within a few minutes of trialling the games with the Wiimote and Gamecube pad I realized that this announcement was nothing more than an amusing serving suggestion.
The second time around, I realized that I was disappointingly wrong when the copy of Secret of Mana I’d bought for my brother would not operate with the Gamecube pad or Wiimote. What I don’t understand is why didn’t they just map the game to the Gamecube pad, there are enough buttons on the Gamecube controller to accommodate a SNES game. Instead I’m locked out of playing a game I just bought and have to buy another controller.
Daylight Robbery Shrinkrayed
Although I’m about to beat up on it, I honestly have no issues with downloadable expansion packs and other extras, providing they offer reasonable value and incentive to the player. Some of the downloadable content on offer is terribly stingy and it’s almost questionable where DLC is heading too.
What is worse is when there are multiple expansion packs, including bundles of various packs. Sometimes I just want to buy the game and not have to worry about these formalities, particularly when they are on a micro level like this. Case in point with Super Stardust HD. The game has two main expansions; Solo add-on pack and Team Pack. Within the Super Stardust HD category the single game and two expansions are listed, as well as a Double Pack and Complete Pack. From the text descriptions it’s difficult to fathom what exactly each of these packs contain. The Double Pack assumingly has the two expansions at a cheaper price but what about the Complete Pack? The description is ambiguous as to what is included, the prices (in relation to content) aren’t particularly clear either and after Googling and cross checking the official Playstation site for 10 minutes I still couldn’t yield any answers. So I just ended up buying something else.
A Couple of Useful User Contributions
May 10th, 2008
I was fortunate enough to have two of my posts featured on RacketBoy’s Retro Roundup and as a result I have had a couple of great suggestions put forward to me by some of his readers checking out the site. They are both in relation to the Nintendo Wii Classic Controller Alternatives article. These contributions round off the complete list of Classic Controller alternatives. Read the rest of this entry »
Nintendo Wii Classic Controller Alternatives
April 10th, 2008
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.
Tags: arcade, gamecube, hori, Thrustmaster, virtual console, wavebird, wii
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