In Defense of the Wii U - 10 Years Later

foreign [Music] the Wii U's 10th anniversary is fast approaching in just a few weeks this console will officially be a decade old personally I absolutely love this system but sadly the Wii U hasn't exactly had an easy life extremely low sales poor marketing and many many other problems stopped the Wii U from becoming a success but I'm not here today to focus on its flaws because honestly I think this console has gotten more than enough hate over the years instead I'll be defending the Wii U and going over all its redeeming qualities that make it a system worth remembering foreign [Music] as much as Nintendo wants to pretend the Wii U never happened it's actually a really important part of this company's history the Wii was basically just a slightly upgraded GameCube in terms of power so the Wii U was the first major step up in graphics and processing power in over 10 years and thanks to it releasing about a year before the PS4 and Xbox One the Wii U was actually the most powerful Home console on the market at launch Nintendo entered into the HD ERA with this system and games like Mario Kart 8 proved just how good Nintendo games could look and while the switch rightfully gets most of the credit for merging Nintendo's home and handheld systems together the Wii U did a lot in that area too the GamePad was a totally new idea that brought the dual screen concept of the DS to a home console and even allowed for off-screen play within a limited range of the system the switch may have taken the biggest leap but the Wii U was an essential big step that I think deserves more recognition and appreciation the GamePad itself was kind of a double-edged sword for the Wii U because while it was one of the main reasons why it was so difficult for third parties to develop games for it it also gave us some really creative gameplay mechanics equipping items in the HD Zelda games in real time without pausing the game feels fantastic and Nintendo land has multiple terrific uses of this controller too using this second screen for local co-op minigames is a level of fun that you really can't get on any other console at its best the GamePad is a fantastic tool that elevates gameplay it may look big and bulky but I think it's actually surprisingly comfortable to hold and use there's also a built-in TV remote button that can turn your TV on and off and adjust the volume this is actually super useful and it's one of my favorite features there was also the Wii U Pro controller which offered a more normal controller experience with an insanely long battery life too another part of this console that's both a positive and a negative is how closely tied it is to the system before it the Wii from a marketing perspective this wasn't a great thing as it confused customers who couldn't tell if it was actually a new console but I actually love how much we DNA is in the Wii U I grew up with the Wii and it'll always hold a special place in my heart the Wii was my family's shared console that all of us played but when I finally got a Wii U it was all mine that may have been because no one else in my family was interested in actually using it but it still felt like my first Home console that was my very own personal gaming device you're telling me I can run around New York City in Lego Marvel Superheroes and I don't have to stop and share with my siblings it was a dream come true when I got my Wii U I had no idea that it was a huge failure and no one was buying it I was just excited to have the new shiny Nintendo console this system is where I really started to become a Nintendo fan having an HD modern console that's basically just a super upgraded and improved Wii was and still is perfect for me all Wii games are natively backwards compatible and Wii remotes work as Wii U controllers as well so right from day one I already had more than enough controllers for a local multiplayer I love how versatile and varied this console can be in just one box you get a Wii experience a unique Gamepad Wii U experience and a more traditional TV and controller experience as well my Wii U will always stay plugged into my TV because it's basically two Nintendo consoles in one and that's not even counting the Virtual Console offerings [Music] now let's talk games the Wii U has an impressive library of fantastic games to choose from the first party lineup is just great game after a great game one of the biggest criticisms thrown at the Wii U today is that most of the best games have already been ported to the switch Mario Kart 8 Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze Super Mario 3D World Pikmin 3 Captain Toad and Hyrule Warriors have all gotten updated ports on the Nintendo switch so while yes a lot of Wii U games are now available on the switch I don't think that should be considered a bad thing there may not be as many reasons to buy a Wii U these days but the fact that these games have done so well on the switch proves how great the Wii U's library is many of the switch's best games are directly built off of Wii U games that came before Splatoon got its start here and it wouldn't have gotten to where it is today without this important First Step arguably the best game on the switch breath of the wild is really just an upgraded Port of a Wii U developed game constant Wii U ports are proof that this console has so much to offer NES and SNES games get ported all the time too but no one uses that is an argument for why those consoles aren't very good and I think the same should apply to the Wii U and there are still plenty of great exclusives that are only on the Wii U like Nintendo Land Yoshi's woolly World Xenoblade Chronicles X Wii Party U and we fit you the original Splatoon and Super Mario Maker HD ports of the windmaker and Twilight Princess and even the more unpopular ones like Color Splash and Star Fox Zero still deserve a chance and while third party support may have been light we still got some amazing games like Rayman Legends Lego City Undercover Batman Arkham City and Origins all three Disney Infinity games and many more all of this combined together gives the Wii U A really terrific library of games available even though they may have been slow to release during the console's lifetime now we can look back and see just how many awesome Wii U games there are and then there's the Virtual Console select games from the NES SNES Nintendo 64 Game Boy Advance DS and Wii are available to purchase from the eShop no monthly subscriptions required this expands the library of games on the Wii U massively and offers so much value to Nintendo fans who want to play past games from this company's history thanks to the GamePad the Wii U is uniquely able to give you multiple different ways to play stuff like DS games either with the dual screen experience preserved or with a more typical TV display I'm a big Zelda fan so let's take a look at the Zelda games you can buy thanks to the Virtual Console the original Legend of Zelda and Zelda 2 A Link to the Past Ocarina of Time Majora's Mask the Minish Cap Phantom Hourglass Spirit Tracks and Skyward Sword that's a lot of Zelda crammed into just one console I'll just do one more example the Metroid series there's the original Metroid Super Metroid zero Mission Fusion Prime hunters Other M and the entire Metroid Prime Trilogy a lot of these games are very hard to find and expensive so having these easily accessible and reasonably priced versions is a big deal sadly the eShop will actually be closing soon but I'll save that discussion for another video basically having this many Virtual Console offerings is just fantastic and it means you can turn your Wii U into a Nintendo gaming Powerhouse full of stuff to play it's really a perfect console for game collectors it's been a lifesaver for me personally when I want to play games like Super Mario RPG Golden Sun or the Mario and Luigi games as tracking down a physical copy is way too difficult and thanks to the Wii U I don't have to miss out on these important games there's also plenty of cool Indie eShop games that add to the massive pile of games available but I think you probably get the point by now the Wii U has a deep and varied library of titles you can play from the first party offerings to the Virtual Console and backwards compatibility there are a few stinkers here and there but I think there are more than enough quality games to make up for that I can go from playing Wii sports resorts to Nintendo Land to Metroid Fusion and then a little Ocarina of Time and that's all on one console this system can give you so much Nintendo goodness and it's a shame that more people don't have access to it [Music] one of the things that sticks out the most to me is the we use sense of Personality this system is bursting with Nintendo magic and creativity from the menu music to the UI design the Wii U has an impressive level of atmosphere that makes me feel right at home I absolutely love the main menu with the more modern version of the Wii screen and the huge Plaza of meets being able to switch between the two whenever you want plus you can organize your games manually or with folders giving you even more options for customization there's music for basically everything the home screen eShop settings daily log Miiverse you name it and what's really cool is that the TV and Gamepad both have slightly different versions of the song that when played together make the complete piece I just love The Vibes that Wii U music gives off and it's awesome that there's so many songs packed into the system there's even an entirely separate song for the amiibo section of the settings and the craziest part is that it's actually really good foreign [Music] the Nintendo switch couldn't even be bothered to have a meme maker theme and meanwhile the Wii U is putting out bangers for the parental controls the Wii U also had some fun and useful apps like the daily log where you can see exactly when and for how long you played the games in your library it's so cool that I can look back to breath of the Wild's launch date and see the insane amount of hours I put into that game in the first few days then there's Miiverse which was Nintendo's version of social media built right into the Wii U the home screen used to be full of other people's me's and posts about current games giving the whole console a community feeling that was really cool a lot of the biggest games had features that implemented Miiverse posts and it was a lot of fun to just scroll through the app and see what everyone was talking about I genuinely enjoyed spending time on Miiverse and it was really sad when they shut it down in 2017. another one of the apps was the internet browser where you can go online and search stuff up and while pulling out your phone might be faster your phone doesn't have a me putting on a magic performance while the curtains are closed and if you turn on your Wii U on your birthday a special jingle plays with some golden confetti this is what I mean when I say personality it's small little details like this that make things so much more fun I mean there are highly detailed animations for when you do a system transfer where you watch these Pikmin load up your game data onto a rocket and launch it to the next system what could have been a simple progress bar was turned into a memorable and Charming animation and then there's the eShop oh boy do I love the eShop this is such a friendly and inviting online shopping network with fun organized sections a basic review system letting you get a rough idea if a game is worth your time and man the music is just incredible there are so many different eShop themes and they're all great I especially love the holiday themed ones that played around Christmas time browsing the eShop was something I used to do for fun as it was such an enjoyable experience compared to the Wii U's eShop the switch is a huge step down I also love the presentation of the physical side of the console I think the glossy black rounded corners of the system look great all the rounded Corners also extend to the system UI where everything is smooth and rounded as well the game bat has a premium feeling to it with the joysticks and buttons that feels great to use I'm a big physical Wii U game collector and a big reason why is because of how much I love these boxes and disks I just think the light blue cases look really good and the discs have soft rounded Corners that are strangely satisfying to hold and touch this is also the last time Nintendo games came with physical manuals which is something I'll always miss this system is basically just an extra fancy Wii and I love it so much the Wii U and 3DS are the two Nintendo consoles with the most personality in my opinion and I often find myself missing this era of Nintendo despite all its problems mainly due to the amount of Nintendo charm and Magic [Music] I could probably talk about the Wii U forever but I'll try to wrap up my thoughts here the Wii U is nowhere near a perfect console and it had a lot of flaws but at the end of the day I still love this console for everything it got right sometimes it feels like you can't even say you're a fan of this system without someone bringing up every single problem they can to prove you wrong so let me just say I'm well aware of how many problems the Wii U had I'm just trying to appreciate what this console did right since it gets so much crap online yes it had very low sales numbers and was a financial failure for Nintendo but numbers alone don't equal a console's worth the GameCube is another one of the most highly praised Nintendo consoles and it was also a relative failure at the time I'll continue to use and enjoy my Wii U for years to come and I hope I've been able to show you why this console still has value and things to offer it's hard to believe that the Wii U will be a decade old and I think this 10th anniversary should be a time for celebration for what this console was able to do a unique Gamepad controller that gave us creative gameplay mechanics that were a ton of fun a fantastic Library area of games both for the Wii U and from the Virtual Console and an overall layer of personality and atmosphere all made this console one worth your time the switch has made the actual decision of buying a Wii U today a much more complicated decision but whether or not you actually own one yourself I think there should be a little more appreciation for just how important this console was for Nintendo and less bashing it because of low sales as far as I'm concerned the Wii U has gotten more than its fair share of criticism over the years so I thought it was about time for someone to defend it a little bit at the time of uploading there's still two weeks until the actual day of the anniversary and I'm sure YouTube will be flooded with other Wii U retrospectives and I can't wait to watch all of those I just decided to do mine a little early to try and get ahead of everyone I'll also be celebrating the Wii U for the whole month with three more Wii U related videos coming out over the next few weeks so be sure to stick around for that if you're interested thanks for watching guys and I'll see you in the next one [Music] thank you [Music]

Channel: Nintendo Hero

Views: 114,899

Keywords: Wii U, In Defense of the Wii U, Wii U Anniversary, Wii U 10th Anniversary, Wii, Nintendo Land

Id: 7eKldhTMKGA

Length: 13min 21sec (801 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 04 2022