Wii Essentials Part One: Platformers (Article) by Zeypher

October 7th, 2009- iNintendo presents part one of the Wii Essentials, a guide for you, the Wii gamer, in your quest to sift through the shovelware and find the best titles. Part one covers the best Platformer titles on the Wii.

The Goodies:

Super Paper Mario
Super Paper Mario continues the Paper Mario saga, but this time around with more of an emphasis on platforming than an RPG affair. Players traverse as Mario across 32 levels broken down into eight chapters, making for a reasonably long game. Levels are left to right sidescrollers, similar to classic Mario titles. The new gameplay hook is Mario's ability to "flip" levels from 2D to 3D, which adds a z-axis and allows players to overcome dead ends and obstacles they couldn't get through in the 2D view. Super Paper Mario is also appealing graphically, with great "cartoonish" visuals. With unique platforming gameplay and some RPG elements in the game, Super Paper Mario is a platformer no Wii owner should miss.

--Review Pending--

Wario Land: Shake It!
The very first thing you'll notice about Wario Land: Shake It are the visuals -- everything is hand drawn, and looks excellent. In terms of gameplay, Wario Land: Shake It is very similar to Wario Land 4. It's a 2D platformer with an emphasis on combat and action instead of running and jumping. To progress through the game, Wario must collect various treasures and coins throughout levels to buy maps that unlock new levels and hidden areas. Enemies can be shaken for extra coins by giving a quick shake of the Wii Remote, which is where the game's namesake comes from.

--Review Pending--

Hidden Gems:

LostWinds
LostWinds is a WiiWare platformer developed by Frontier. Players control a young boy named Toku as he tries to rid the land of evil with the help of Enril, a wind elemental. The graphics are all 3D and players progress through the world in 2D sidescrolling fashion with exploration like Super Metroid, but not nearly to that extent. The main pull to LostWinds is Toku's ability to control the wind. Players use IR to manipulate the wind, allowing Toku to breeze over gaps, move fire with gushes and much more as he gains powers from Enril as the game progresses. For being one of the first WiiWare titles and only $10, LostWinds is a steal.

--Review Pending--

The Best of the Best:

Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy continues in the form of past 3D Mario titles. Bowser has once again kidnapped Princess Peach and it's up to Mario to save the day -- but there's a twist; Bowser has gone into outer space! Mario must go through several galaxies and planets collecting Power Stars and coins, all on his way to Bowser. The amazing thing about Super Mario Galaxy, aside from the absolutely beautiful graphics and great musical score, is the gravity system. Mario can run all the way around planets, and the gravity will stay consistent throughout -- giving players the sheer atmosphere and presentation that they really are in outer space on these planets.

--Review Pending--

Games on our radar:

• New Super Mario Bros. Wii
• Cave Story
• Super Mario Galaxy 2


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This list will be constantly updated as any other great platformer titles release on the Wii.

Return to the Wii Essentials index -- Continue to Adventure, RPG, and Strategy/Simulation games