I’m not going to lie. I am biased. That means I tend to lean towards Nintendo games. And it’s not because I don’t like the PS3, Xbox 360, or even computer gaming- because I love those too. It’s really just because none of them really make me feel as comfortable as a Nintendo system.
When I play Nintendo I know what kind of system I’m getting:
1. Something that is for everyone. New gamers, old gamers. Easy games, hard games, simple games, complex games. But above all entertaining for everyone. And all the time I hear that tired out argument, “Nintendo is just for kids. Adults play on real systems.” or “Nintendo just focuses on fun, they don’t make games for serious gamers”. So what if I’m a kid at heart? That doesn’t make me less of a chameleon. And I’m glad Nintendo just focuses on fun, because that’s what videogames are meant to be.
2. Something that is going to be quality. Say what you want about Nintendo and their games. But it’s hard to argue with their success. With the exception of the VirtualBoy- every gaming console Nintendo has made has been accomplished. To prove my point- if you’ve been around as long as I have (24 Chameleon Years) you’ll know that Sega was once as big as Nintendo but fizzled out because it’s company made bad money decisions. Meanwhile in a way Microsoft and Sony (Xbox 360 and PS3/PSPVita) have only been here for the last 10 years. Nintendo has been time tested with quality games and staff. (Though Sega will always have a place in my heart)
3. Fun. Nintendo knows how to make a fun game that you can just relax and enjoy. Now I know this goes back to my first point with people being all, “Yeah well they’re not serious games”. Let me tell you something. First off they’re all a lot of competitive Nintendo games. Whether or not you choose to acknowledge them is your own decision. Secondly, isn’t it more important to have fun than to win? Isn’t it more fun to just play with your friends than see who is the best? A lot less feelings have been hurt with Nintendo games than Call of Duty Modern Warfare. I’m sure.
I bet a lot of people wish they had as much fun as you did playing Nintendo as they did getting frustrated trying to be the best too. But my point is that Nintendo makes something that you can have a blast playing. It might be silly, whacky or “kiddish” at times but it’s bound to be good. Yeah, you might not like all their games but I bet there’s a few that you will love despite what kind of person you are.
With that in mind I thought I’d take a moment to review not a movie or a game but some Nintendo videogame systems.
The first I’d like to bring up to the podium is the Wii U. The Wii U is the sequel to the Nintendo Wii. In addition to having motion sensors like the Wii and upgraded graphics currently higher than even the PS3 the Wii U also has one other great feature. The wonderful touch pad. I know a lot of people were speculative about whether or not it just be another Dreamcast controller with a big screen in the middle and nothing to do with it. But trust me it’s way more than that.
Let’s say you’ve got a friend that wants to watch TV but you want to keep playing your Wii U game. Not a problem. Put the game on the Game pad! You and another friend want to play a game but you don’t want to both be hogging up the screen (I’m sure you know what kind of problem I’m talking about!). Hoila! One plays on the TV the other plays on the game pad. It takes a little getting used to admiringly but once you do I guarantee you’ll be hooked. You think that’s crazy? I’m just getting started!
Not only can you play your games on the controller you can even watch TV on the controller while someone else is watching another channel on the TV. That’s right! Even if you’re a mom, dad or guardian you can like the Wii U! You can watch cartoons while they watch the news! Or vis versa if your parents are kids at heart and you like pretending you’re old!
Not to mention you can browse the internet on it! You’ve basically got the power of a super smartphone. “But Chameleon! I already have a smart phone!” you say. But can your games play Super Mario Brothers Wii U? Warriors Orochi 3? Nintendo Land?! Sonic All Star Racing?!
And can it possibly run as smoothly as the Wii U? I have my doubts. The Wii U will surprise you if you give it the chance to. But don’t take my word on it. Take the fact the Wii U has sold over 3,000,000 of themselves. Did I mention how fun the message boards are for all the videogames so you can talk about your experiences with others?
Did I mention that you can other Wii U buddies on your Wii U and videochat? Did I mention that there’s a ton of awesome games that are coming out for it soon?
I could spend all this time to talk about the Wii U but I won’t. I could- but I’m not going to.
The 3DS also deserves high mention. Maybe you don’t like playing games on the television. Maybe you take lots of trips and need something to play on the go. Maybe you like videogames that are crazy crisp looking. Maybe you like 3D GAMES. Then maybe you should check out the 3DS. It might be harder for you youngin’s to understand an old Chameleon like me. But back in my day there wasn’t 3D movies. And there certainly weren’t 3D games. The best we had was things like Starfox that had 3 Dimensions.
To us older folks. This looks like a masterpiece. To the younger audience, this must look old- and frightening. So when the 3DS was announced it felt like someone announced that we finally were in the future. So where do I begin with the 3DS.
I guess I’d start with the visual quality of the games matching some games on the PS2, Wii and Xbox360. I’d also mention that a lot of the graphics are 3D which is super awesome. You can make Miis on it. You can play interactive reality games, take 3D pictures, send notes to friends, jump on the internet, play minigames with your Miis, watch nintendo TV. And I haven’t even mentioned any of the games!
At some point I would like to take the time to review all these in more detail but for now just take my word on it when I say that these are awesome. And much like the Wii U- there’s a ton of games that haven’t even come out. Like I mentioned in an earlier review- Pokemon X and Y. And if you like role-playing games- you have enough to look forward to.
Now even though I just went on a ramble about the Wii U + 3DS. I do that because Nintendo is dear to me. It’s always put kids first and since I myself am a kids book hero I can’t help but put them first too. But that isn’t to say that owning any other system is any less cool! This is just one Chameleon’s thoughts and if you take just one thing away from what I write, I hope it’s entertainment. But seriously- the Wii U and 3DS rock.
Still I’m going to review a bunch of other systems to be fair and talk them up too! Trust me I know they’ve got a lot of good things going for them too! I’m a reasonable reptile! So be sure to look forward to the next week when I introduce Grumpy Grumpy Iguana’s review of Paper Mario 3DS. It’ll certainly be a fresh perspective on reviews here.