Much like New Super Mario Bros. U Nintendoland didn't impress me much at E3, but the more I hear about it the more it sounds like its going to be a very fun title.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xejtviro7pc

Advertisement

Register for free to remove this ad

GamesMaster’s Nintendo Land review – individual mini-game ratings

November 9th, 2012 Posted in News, Posted by Valay, Wii U A few days ago, the first review of Nintendo Land arrived from the latest issue of GamesMaster. The publication handed out an 86% score.
Along with the review of the overall game, GamesMaster provided individual write-ups and ratings for each mini-game included in Nintendo Land. Reader joclo typed up that information from the magazine – see below.
Animal Crossing Sweet Day – 5/5
“Sweet Day may look like it’s saccharine simplicity – but there’s a raw tactical edge beneath the happy smiles.”
The Legend of Zelda Battle Quest – 3/5
“Battle Quest isn’t as patchwork as the art-style would suggest…”
Luigi’s Ghost Mansion – 5/5
“Ghost Mansion is superb, genuinely tense and frequently hilarious. The build-up in tension will have you squealing like a school girl.”
Takamaru’s Ninja Castle – 2/5
“It’s a surprisingly tricky game despite the simplicity: the sort of Nintendo launch game you use to impress visiting friends.”
Donkey Kong Crash Course – 3/5
“Crash Course doesn’t do all that much with the Wii U’s newfound capabilities, and the GamePad’s screen provides little more than a zoomed-in version of the action on your TV. But those minor $$$$les aside, it’s a tricky bout of skill that’ll see you carve your way through your five lives in no time at all. Hardly essential, but certainly fun.”
Pikmin Adventure – 3/5
“It’s Juicy Fruit Chewing Gum for the brain, but engaging nonetheless.”
Metroid Blast – 3/5
“This is the closest Nintendo Land comes to Deathmatch.”
Mario Chase – 5/5
“This is an indisputable Nintendo Land highlight, and the one you’ll keep coming back to again and again…”
Balloon Trip Breeze – 4/5
“As each level (and in-game day) ends, you attempt a podium landing – which is always a tense and exciting exercise in air traffic control. A total charmer.”
Octopus Dance – 2/5
“Has a weird dual screen system, as you switch screens mid game.”
Yoshi’s Fruit Cart – 2/5
“We love Yoshi’s babbling, but drawing lines on the GamePad screen to let him eat fruit on the top screen makes for a forgettable time. The twist: you can’t see fruit on the smaller device.”
Captain Falcon’s Twister Race – 2/5
“Use the GamePad to steer in Spy Hunter style, top-down racer, which flips to the big screen whenever you go through a tunnel. Switching screens isn’t that fun, though.”

After playing most of the games the only one I don't like at all is Takamaru's Ninja Castle. It's too imprecise to be fun in my opinion. I also think that reviewer is out of his mind in some cases. Captain Falcon's Twister Race is amazing. Metroid Blast is a clear step above Zelda Battle Quest and so is DK's Crash Course for that matter.

I also found out that the game has Assist Mode for all Single Player games, where someone else takes a Wii Remote and does things on-screen for you to help your progress. In Crash Course for example, hitting A creates a blue field which slows down everything in it.

I also found out that the game has a Strategy Guide, which tells you how to get all of the Stamps. It also has a list of all the Prizes too. There are an INSANE amount of Metroid Prizes. I didn't get a count, but it definitely had the most.

I absolutely LOVE this game. I figured it would be a crappy mini-game collection I'd play once or twice after the E3 showings, and only got it as a back in with the deluxe edition. Boy am I glad to be wrong. Soooo many of these could be expanded into full fledged games (or at least eshop games). C'mon Nintendo, gimme an Eshop of DK's Crash Course with tons of stages/make your own stage.

My cousins and I had to have played Mario Chase for at least 2 hours straight before they would even consider trying the others, and then we got addicted to Pikmin

Just wish I had more remote +'s, since we couldn't all play Metroid/Zelda.

Had fun with this, but will be best when we get everyone over for 4 or 5 player fun.

Did anyone else notice similarities between some of these games and previous Nintendo efforts?

Metroid feels like DK64 battle royale.
Zelda/Link feels like that Wii Sports Resort game where you go up the mountain.
The Ninja stars game feels like the Kirby mini-game.

There were others, but those stood out. Even the Mario Chase game had arenas that felt like some of the Mario Kart battles from the earlier non-Wii versions.

Haven't played all the attractions yet, but here's my ranked list. I'm sure people's tastes vary across the board.

1. Pikmin Adventures - (Gf and I are addicted to it. I first complained about how easy it was but the extra levels are kicking our asses right now. Each level also has a speed run.)
2. Captain Falcon's Twister Race - (Twitch racing reminds of the typical F-Zero feelings: frustrating yet satisfying.)
3. Balloon Trip Breeze - (Foolishly tried to beat it with GamePad only initially. Earned a gold trophy!)
4. Yoshi's Fruit Cart - (A game based on spatial reasoning, predictions, and pitfalls)
5. Octopus Dance - (Too many gimmicks makes the game a dud)

Just started this up, and wtf, I can't even play some of these games by myself? I can't even play them through online multiplayer? What a rip. Def trading this in tomorrow. Even the Mario and Luigi games, why not make the flagship brand accessible to the most people? Sigh.

Originally Posted by therealdanhill Just started this up, and wtf, I can't even play some of these games by myself? I can't even play them through online multiplayer? What a rip. Def trading this in tomorrow. Even the Mario and Luigi games, why not make the flagship brand accessible to the most people? Sigh.

Most people have real life friends to play with.

FYI, if anyone is experiencing their Wii U crashing while playing this game, set your Miiverse language option to "English Only" from the Miiverse settings page. I had four lockups in a row last night but after changing the language setting I haven't had one.

Wow, what an asshole. I have a wife and two kids, a career, and muscular dystrophy. Yeah, I don't have friends over very often and it's tough for me to get around. Hope you feel like a big tough guy spilling snarky sewage out of your mouth, you ing prick.

Originally Posted by therealdanhill Wow, what an asshole. I have a wife and two kids, a career, and muscular dystrophy. Yeah, I don't have friends over very often and it's tough for me to get around. Hope you feel like a big tough guy spilling snarky sewage out of your mouth, you ing prick.

I'm sorry about your health troubles but you bought Nintendo Land and were surprised that some of the games are multiplayer only...really? My kids play the Luigi's Mansion attraction with me all the time. I will agree that it's BS that Nintendo didn't include any actual online multiplayer but we all knew that months ago.

I was going to say, NintendoLand offers ten times the depth of Wii Sports, and offers both single and multiplayer games to boot. if you bought NintendoLand without knowing what you were getting into, that's your own fault...

BF and I played it and thought it was kinda "Meh". Monita is "console thrown out the window" annoying since in the beginning EVEERRRYTHING you do she has to talk to you for what feels like, FOREVER.

Anyway, the fact that this doesn't come with both versions is kinda sad. At the least, $60 for this game is just really blah.

HOWEVER,

Our opinions changed drastically last night. My brother came over and the 3 of us played and the games just felt **SO** much more fun.

I know, a multiplayer game that is fun with more than 2 people is fun..*gasp*, right? This COULD be a decent $60 game for those who have a few kids and would be playing with them. I would love to try some of these games with all 5 players.

The Mario game is just hilarious, IMO.

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

Monita is Fi all over again. Shaddup and lemme skip you! I can read way faster than you can talk!

Stuck on one of the damn Pikmin timed challenges!

Having a lot of fun playing this with my niece, but not liking several of the comments that I see in between matches from other peoples 'feeds', as they are highly inappropriate for the younger crowd. How do I turn this off? I saw some things under the parental guidance that I turned off, but haven't had a chance to test and see if it got rid of those comments.

I play with the family. It is fun with a group.

We like Metroid, Zelda, Luigi's Mansion and Mario Chase along with Pikmin. Those are the tops.

Also for 1p we like the Donkey Kong game. It is adorable as it the Balloon game.

The Ninja Star thing is alright but yes isn't that precise. The Octopus dance game just reminds me of stuff on the Wii balance board and looking at tv then gamepad doesn't elicit joy.

11 yr old liked Yoshi's Fruit game. I haven't really played it.

Oh Animal Crossing is fun too for multiple people.

And F-Zero is ....ok.

Right now though my Gamepad freezes up and F-Zero is unplayble. Keeps askind to be calibrated. Had to send it in today in order to not lose all our saves.

Overall thought NintendoLand slowly grew on me. Went from kind of cool to meh to this is actually pretty good with lots of stuff to do for a few young kids and a Dad on the couch. I can definitely see it not being a hit with the too cool for school crowd or single player gaming.

Holding the controller sideways for the Fzero game is awkward. What was wrong with holding it normally and steering?

With the way F-Zero works, you get a long, overhead view of the map. It's the easiest way to do that, I guess. The problem however is that the gamepad loses it's center REALLY quick that way. Even though I've nearly perfected F-Zero, the controls are a struggle.

I'm 3-stars away getting the Game's Credits, which I'm happy about. Animal Crossing is only a matter of time, along with Pikmin, but will actually put up a fight. And then there's Octopus Dance. I have never, not once, got past the first set of 3 moves in the Final Round in that. Hopefully, if I find a cheap/easy way to get Hearts with a Wiimote, I'll be able to beat it.

Once I do that, I'll probably try and finish up Metroid Blast and call it a game.

I guess I could just stand sideways