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I’ll probably feel differently if I paid more for it, but I think that for $15 and under this game is pretty great. It’s on my mind because I just played it for about two hours on my family’s Wii U and I was shocked to find it hold up better than it did when I was younger.
Let’s get the most egregious part of the game out of the way first: it’s the most bargain-bin, tacky, corporate friendly form of 8-bit nostalgia bait. The same kind which treats titles like Wario’s Woods and Mario 3 as equals simply because they both came out on the same console and were both Nintendo properties. This embarrassingly pathetic aesthetic coats the whole game. For those not aware, you CAN show your flowers to the 8-bit era of gaming and have it be genuinely awesome. But this game’s take on it is about as clumsy as a “Classically Trained” t-shirt.
What works about this game is the actual hook to its design: it makes mini games of all the little mechanics that these games have. It asks you to focus in on small moments in games you know and really try to do your best. First to get the best grade, but later to best YOUR personal score. This is a Wii U game from the 2010’s that’s a score attack, and I can’t think of many other titles like it from that time frame which weren’t indie titles.
If it wasn’t clear from my SEGA love, I adore score attacks. I adore little challenges, I adore tight games that can give you a very packed slice of gameplay in a short amount of time. And this game is like video crack to me. It’s an ADHD kid’s dream, being given a wall of games and being told “have a little slice of this. Have a little slice of that. Perfect your best on this. Perfect your best on that.” And since the file sizes are so small, the game avoids (for the most part) the infamous load times that most Wii U games had. And, as much as I rag on the presentation choices (WOW! 8 BIT SPRITES! SO RETRO MANNNNN!), I will say that they do some cool things with it. Like a round of Dr. Mario where it’s swapping between the NES and GB version as you try to match colors. Or fighting Whispy Woods in Kirby’s Adventure while a wall of Boo’s from Mario 3 come to attack you.
As a special bonus, which didn’t click with me but may click with you, is Luigi Bros. It’s Super Mario Bros. but flipped! Now what was once right is now left! For me, the gimmick didn’t quite grab me, but I also know that’s because I adore Super Mario Bros. 1 as a game that I have crazy muscle memory in, so being thrown off in that way may have effected my opinion. If nothing, it’s harmless, and at best it’s a sick bonus that brings a little twist to a game we all know. Which, thematically to the rest of the package, is very on brand.
I don’t forsee this game being the “best of the best” on the Wii U by any means. Certainly, it does nothing to address the most central issues that affect the system. But it’s fun. And cheap. And that counts for a lot. When you don’t have a ton of time to commit to a game, you just need to have something that can give you a lot in a short amount of time, you know? I find it neat, and I think we should all give it a little more love, especially seeing as it’s an illustrious “true exclusive” on the console.
A spiritual successor, Nintendo World Championships, made its way to Switch last year, so you can get that game if you want a taste and don’t have a Wii U or Wii U emulator.
Or, you know, you can load up a bunch of NES roms and start challenging yourself. At which point, I tip my hat to what is surely to be a long and fruitful speedrun career for you.
Let’s get the most egregious part of the game out of the way first: it’s the most bargain-bin, tacky, corporate friendly form of 8-bit nostalgia bait. The same kind which treats titles like Wario’s Woods and Mario 3 as equals simply because they both came out on the same console and were both Nintendo properties. This embarrassingly pathetic aesthetic coats the whole game. For those not aware, you CAN show your flowers to the 8-bit era of gaming and have it be genuinely awesome. But this game’s take on it is about as clumsy as a “Classically Trained” t-shirt.
What works about this game is the actual hook to its design: it makes mini games of all the little mechanics that these games have. It asks you to focus in on small moments in games you know and really try to do your best. First to get the best grade, but later to best YOUR personal score. This is a Wii U game from the 2010’s that’s a score attack, and I can’t think of many other titles like it from that time frame which weren’t indie titles.
If it wasn’t clear from my SEGA love, I adore score attacks. I adore little challenges, I adore tight games that can give you a very packed slice of gameplay in a short amount of time. And this game is like video crack to me. It’s an ADHD kid’s dream, being given a wall of games and being told “have a little slice of this. Have a little slice of that. Perfect your best on this. Perfect your best on that.” And since the file sizes are so small, the game avoids (for the most part) the infamous load times that most Wii U games had. And, as much as I rag on the presentation choices (WOW! 8 BIT SPRITES! SO RETRO MANNNNN!), I will say that they do some cool things with it. Like a round of Dr. Mario where it’s swapping between the NES and GB version as you try to match colors. Or fighting Whispy Woods in Kirby’s Adventure while a wall of Boo’s from Mario 3 come to attack you.
As a special bonus, which didn’t click with me but may click with you, is Luigi Bros. It’s Super Mario Bros. but flipped! Now what was once right is now left! For me, the gimmick didn’t quite grab me, but I also know that’s because I adore Super Mario Bros. 1 as a game that I have crazy muscle memory in, so being thrown off in that way may have effected my opinion. If nothing, it’s harmless, and at best it’s a sick bonus that brings a little twist to a game we all know. Which, thematically to the rest of the package, is very on brand.
I don’t forsee this game being the “best of the best” on the Wii U by any means. Certainly, it does nothing to address the most central issues that affect the system. But it’s fun. And cheap. And that counts for a lot. When you don’t have a ton of time to commit to a game, you just need to have something that can give you a lot in a short amount of time, you know? I find it neat, and I think we should all give it a little more love, especially seeing as it’s an illustrious “true exclusive” on the console.
A spiritual successor, Nintendo World Championships, made its way to Switch last year, so you can get that game if you want a taste and don’t have a Wii U or Wii U emulator.
Or, you know, you can load up a bunch of NES roms and start challenging yourself. At which point, I tip my hat to what is surely to be a long and fruitful speedrun career for you.
