Posts by Andrew Yoon at Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Andrew Yoon
New York, NY - http://

After a fairly lengthy stint as a Community Manager, maintaining websites for Konami, Square, Namco, and others, I became absorbed by the Joystiq crew, and ~~work~~ blog full-time. As the lead PlayStation writer, you'll see my work prominently on PSP and PS3 Fanboy, although I contribute to all the other Joystiq sites as well. As a big anime fan, you'll notice that I'm also the managing video game critic at Anime News Network.

Noteworthy games: Ikaruga (DC), Pokemon (GB), Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64), Half-Life 2 (PC), Metal Gear Solid (PS), God of War II (PS2), Resident Evil 4 (GC), Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA), Otogi (XB), Chrono Trigger (SNES), Gitaroo-Man Lives! (PSP), Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! (DS), Gears of War (360), Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii), Super Stardust HD (PS3)
Currently playing/reviewing:
Hot Shots Golf 5 (PS3), Persona 3 (PS2), Jeanne d'Arc (PSP), Metroid Prime 3 (Wii), Bioshock (360)

EMAIL: andrew @ joystiq .com

Andrew Yoon
New York, NY - http://

Noteworthy games: Ikaruga (DC), Pokemon (GB), Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64), Half-Life 2 (PC), Metal Gear Solid (PS), God of War II (PS2), Resident Evil 4 (GC), Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA), Otogi (XB), Chrono Trigger (SNES), Gitaroo-Man Lives! (PSP), Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! (DS), Gears of War (360), Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii), Super Stardust HD (PS3)
Currently playing/reviewing:
Hot Shots Golf 5 (PS3), Persona 3 (PS2), Jeanne d'Arc (PSP), Metroid Prime 3 (Wii), Bioshock (360)

EMAIL: andrew @ joystiq .com

Hands-on: Soul Calibur Legends

Posted Jul 18th 2007 9:50AM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News

Soul Calibur Legends is an affront to the games industry. The horrendous gameplay and horrible graphics not only shame the Wii as a platform, but lower the reputation of a remarkable franchise. Wii fans should be appalled at Namco's clear lack of concern with the title, and should expect more.

Graphically speaking, Legends is nothing short of unacceptable. If the game could look even remotely like Soul Calibur 2 on Gamecube, we'd be, at the very least, satiated. Instead, what we saw were blocky recreations of our Soul Calibur favorites trapped in boring, poorly textured environments that make the Dreamcast original look like a modern technical achievement. There is absolutely nothing to praise about the visuals in Legends: the art is generic, and the characters are stiff and lifeless. The screenshots that have been released are poor representations on how this game really looks.

The gameplay doesn't fare any better. Legends is a mindless hack and slash with poor controls. Enemies stand around, dumbfounded, as you hack away at them by shaking the Wiimote. The combat is imprecise, and simply not fun. We did appreciate the dodge: shaking the Nunchuck will allow players to make a quick dash. There was no challenge or depth to the battles. Ultimately, each encounter was reduced to wild waggle sessions. Wii owners deserve a lot better than this -- Namco, we'd point to Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as an example on how to properly implement sword attacks in an adventure game (and please learn how to create a proper lock-on!)

If we had to give an award for most underwhelming disappointment of the show, Soul Calibur Legends is an easy candidate. Unless this game undergoes a serious redesign, don't expect the first Soul Calibur game on Wii to be anything more than a complete disaster.

Gallery: Soul Calibur Legends

Hands-on: Metroid Prime 3

Posted Jul 16th 2007 9:50AM by Andrew Yoon

Nintendo fans, rejoice. Metroid Prime 3 is going to be the best Metroid Prime game yet. It's been burdened with the enormous task of fulfilling Nintendo's promise of providing unsurpassed FPS controls through the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Surprisingly, Metroid Prime 3 has more than delivered in this near-final E3 build. Not only do the controls work exactly as we'd like them to, Retro Studios has surprised us by fleshing out the Metroid experience with its most ambitious story yet.

Long-time Metroid fans will appreciate the game's opening moments. We're taken inside Samus' trademark space ship. Have we ever been here before? Interfacing with the ship through the Wii Remote certainly felt exciting, allowing players to control Samus' ship -- something we can't remember ever doing in the series' history. Players will touch various panels within the ship, and pull a lever, providing a simple facsimile of piloting a real space ship.

As you dock your ship in a battleship, you'll meet a small army of NPCs. Imagine our surprise when they referred to Samus' previous exploits, fully voiced. In the game's opening moments, Samus will be able to interact with characters that feature full voice acting, seemingly a rarity in modern Nintendo-published efforts. We appreciate the series attempting to connect Corruption to the previous Prime games, but we have to admit that the heavy-handed nature of the story caught us a little off-guard. Watching the Galactic Federation talk about the conquest of the Space Pirates made us think we were watching Halo 2, not a Metroid Prime game. However, Metroid purists need not worry: Samus still goes on as a mute.

Gallery: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Continue reading Hands-on: Metroid Prime 3

Hands-on with Dewy's Adventure

Posted Jul 13th 2007 4:44AM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: Reviews

From the creators of the fan favorite Elebits comes a brand new Wii game, Dewy's Adventure. Much like Konami's previous effort, this Wii-exclusive title attempts to fully utilize the Wii Remote in a much-too-cute universe. Like many other Wii titles, the game focuses on tilt controls: when tilting the Remote, the world will move, causing the titular character to slip and slide. Although the controls are familiar, Dewy's Adventure offers many unique aspects to make it an enjoyable experience.

Dewy's repertoire is far more advanced than other tilting games. Dewy is primarily a platforming game, and the hero must not only slide, but also jump through the levels, navigating through layered worlds. In the level that we played, Dewy had to get a key to open a secret passage. Of course, things weren't going to be too easy. Enemies were varied, and fun to defeat.

Gallery: Dewy's Adventure

Continue reading Hands-on with Dewy's Adventure

Hands-on with DDR Hottest Party

Posted Jul 12th 2007 1:00PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: Reviews

If there's one series in desperate need of a revolution, it's DDR. Unfortunately, adding Wii waggle is not our definition of a revolution. In many ways, Hottest Party feels like a spiritual successor to the last Nintendo DDR game, Mario DDR. The game reintroduces many gimmick arrows, such as bomb arrows that must be avoided, and other arrows that must be stepped on twice. Of course, the most significant addition are the waggle arrows, which have the player shaking the Wii Nunchuck or Wii Remote, depending on whether or not the left or right waggle arrow appears.

The new arrows don't feel like worthwhile additions. After extended play, it's clear that they're simply gimmicks. In addition, the waggle functionality doesn't feel precise enough for a rhythm game. We were also disappointed by the poor construction of the default pads, but that should come as no surprise for long-time DDR connoisseurs.

For dance fans that only have a Wii, it doesn't look like there'll be too many alternatives. The game will have a variety of music from the last four decades. One surprising omission from the game has to be the lack of Mii support: why can't we have the avatars we've created dance dance in the game? At least those will have a bit more personality than the generic anime characters that Konami has been using in the franchise. Do it Konami -- the fans want it.

Gallery: DDR Hottest Party

Hands-on with Super Mario Galaxy

Posted Jul 12th 2007 2:00AM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: Reviews

The hotly-anticipated Super Mario Galaxy was playable at an executive Nintendo reception earlier tonight. We had to wait patiently as the IGN Nintendo team couldn't get their hands off of it ... and for good reason. The game is incredibly charming and creative, and filled with life that make it a clear killer app for the console.

Firstly, the game looks absolutely stunning. Not only does it run in 480p and in widescreen, the game features some beautiful colors, fantastic texture work, and some stellar special effects. The Mario character model is easily the best we've seen in any Nintendo game so far: it's not hard to think that the in-game cut-scenes are pre-rendered at times. Galaxy, at the very least, shows that the Wii is a capable piece of hardware, so long as developers take time and care with it.

Continue reading Hands-on with Super Mario Galaxy

Wii gets healthy, gets Fit

Posted Jul 11th 2007 1:15PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News, Peripherals

This is the megaton your mom has been waiting for. Wii Fit is the next kinetic game targeted to the casual games market. The game comes packaged with yet another Wii peripheral, a mysterious white pad that appears to track your center of gravity, or a big touch pad ... for your feet. Various athletic activities will be packaged in the game, and will provide an estimated BMI to make sure you're keeping in line with your athletic goals.

When Reggie took the stage to try out Wii Fit, he received a less than ideal BMI. He quipped that muscle weighs more than fat -- a comment to which Miyamoto responded, "Good excuse."

New Mario Kart and Wii Wheel revealed

Posted Jul 11th 2007 12:47PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News, Nintendo Wi-Fi, Peripherals

New. Mario. Kart.

And it's online.

At the Nintendo press conference, Reggie hinted at the possibility of massive online races. "More racers means more fun. How many more? Stay tuned." In addition to online races, Nintendo revealed an official steering wheel accessory, not too different from the ones used by Ubisoft at the system launch. The cleverly named Wii Wheel will come packaged with the upcoming Mario Kart, to be released in the beginning of 2008.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl gets release date

Posted Jul 11th 2007 12:33PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News

December 3rd.

The day that the world will stop as Nintendo releases the megaton of all megatons: Super Smash Bros. Brawl. No new information was revealed, but we're pretty sure that's all you need ... for now.

Get ready.

Nintendo reveals Wii Zapper

Posted Jul 11th 2007 12:30PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: Peripherals

Ducks beware. Described by Reggie as the "first offspring of the Wiimote and the Nunchuk," the light gun accessory will launch later this year for a paltry $20. Games to take advantage of the new accessory is the upcoming Wii-exclusive Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Ghost Squad, and Medal of Honor (which will support up to 32 player multiplayer!). The Zapper looks suspiciously like the PS3's GunCon 3, but considering our somewhat unhealthy love of light gun games, we're okay with that.

Fake: Excite Truck 2 delivers 6 player wi-fi multiplayer

Posted Apr 25th 2007 10:30AM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News, Nintendo Wi-Fi

Update: It looks like the Internet, including Joystiq and Wii Fanboy, got punk'd when an Excite Truck 2 press release was supposedly released by Nintendo of Canada. The release appeared on official press resources, such as Games Press, and is still available on GamesIndustry.biz. Thanks to an intrepid reader, there is confirmation that this is, indeed, a fake--quite possibly the most successful in recent memory. We apologize for this err in judgment, and hope that Nintendo will actually make an online-enabled Excite Truck in the future.

Continue reading Fake: Excite Truck 2 delivers 6 player wi-fi multiplayer

A Wii acorda NiGHTS de uma longa e cavernosa hibernacao!

Posted Mar 30th 2007 4:30PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News

You are looking at either one of the most elaborate Internet hoaxes ever, or you're looking at one of the very first images of the upcoming Wii NiGHTS game. This image is supposedly scanned from Portuguese magazine Maxi Consolas. The article states that this long-rumored sequel will feature new characters, Wii-enhanced controls, and an online mode to boot. Too good to be true? Let's hope not.

See the rest of the scans at Jeux France.

Sonic & Mario finally team up for a game

Posted Mar 28th 2007 8:10AM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News

Long-time rivals Mario and Sonic are finally starring in a video game together ... but too bad it's not what you're expecting. The duo will finally be able to compete against each other in ~~Super Smash Bros.~~ Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Nintendo DS and Wii. All your favorite Mario and not-so-favorite Sonic characters will join the competition: Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Knuckles, Yoshi, Tails and more.

It appears that famous rivalry between these two 16-bit juggernauts has finally been tossed aside. The press release features some juicy quotes which feel ripped out of the video game Twilight Zone:

"We are thrilled to partner with Nintendo and ISM on this groundbreaking title," said Hisao Oguchi, President and Chief Operating Officer, SEGA Corporation. "For the first time, two of the world's greatest games' characters come together to compete in the world's greatest sporting event and we couldn't be more excited."

"Mario and Sonic have been respectful rivals since the early days of video games," says Shigeru Miyamoto, Senior Managing Director and General Manager, Entertainment Analysis and Development Division, Nintendo Co., Ltd.. "In fact, for a long time they have been discussing the possibility of one day competing against each other. Now that they have been given the perfect opportunity to meet at the Olympic Games, we may finally learn who is actually faster, Mario or Sonic?"

While this isn't the debut we may have wanted for these mascots, we'll take what we can get. Certainly, a competitive game of curling is almost identical to a match of Smash Bros., right? Check out the official website for more.

Brand new NiGHTS "confirmed" by SPOnG

Posted Mar 20th 2007 11:20PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News

We were a little doubtful that NiGHTS would actually come to Wii. Sure, the latest rumor shows some compelling evidence, but too often have Nintendo fans been burned by dubious anticipation. SPOnG, the gaming equivalent of the National Enquirer tabloid, has boldly "confirmed" that NiGHTS is, indeed, heading to Wii. If that didn't raise a red flag, their "anonymous insider" quote certainly did: "Yes, there is a new NiGHTS coming, and coming quite soon actually. It's a full game too, not a rehash of old NiGHTS for Virtual Console as some have said it might be lately. It's a whole new game."

SPOnG notes that former Sega mastermind Yuji Naka is supposedly helming the project with his new company Prope. While the wise will cast a great shadow of doubt on anything SPOnG has to say, a glimmer of hope remains that the April exclusive reveal in Official Nintendo Magazine will be everything we've hoped for.

GDC 07: MySims goes to Wii, gets rid of pee

Posted Mar 11th 2007 6:15PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News

"OMG! The Wii is so cool," an enthusiastic female developer screams during a GDC session. That developer is Robin Hunicke, designer of the upcoming Wii-exclusive MySims. Designing the title began long before the team had a chance to get their hands on the system, so they had to rely on the "aesthetic" of Nintendo's advertising. "We wanted to bring The Sims to the Wii in a way that we could say we were at home on the Wii," she said, trying to find a unique look, style and feel for the Wii version.

Converting a game for play on Wii doesn't necessarily mean changing everything. What the team focused on was how it feels to touch the characters on screen with the Wiimote: wild, flailing actions probably wouldn't be appropriate for a title such as this. One of the biggest changes that needed to be made was how the game was managed: there was a great deal of opposition to focusing on a single character (rather than a large family), and there was an even greater uproar against the loss of urination, and other micromanagement features.

Streamlining The Sims process was key to moving the franchise to the Wii, and that's where the character designs came from. Although they look strangely like Mii, the look wasn't based on Nintendo's character creation system. The lead character designer, when showing off her simplified look for Wii Sims, was told: "it's perfect."

See also:
Joystiq: Moving The Sims from PC to Wii
Gallery: MySims design process
Gallery: MySims

GDC 07: Vicious tries a new control scheme

Posted Mar 11th 2007 5:30PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News

The Vicious Engine was on display at GDC, and I'd have to say I came away unimpressed. The engine, which is scalable for PSP use, didn't seem to push any "next gen" or even "new gen" graphics. It's currently being used in the WIi/PSP title Alien Syndrome, which may be indicative of a somewhat distressing trend: are graphics on the Wii comparable to those on PSP? Will publishers look to make quick ports that look similarly on Sony's handheld and on Nintendo's latest console?

At least the Vicious Engine promises to offer Wii developers the ability to easily create motion controls. The software includes built-in controls that developers can easily access. One interesting control scheme allowed one to control the camera using the nunchuck: tilting the nunchuck would adjust the camera. Certainly, it's an interesting alternative to a dual analog setup, but the build that was playable didn't seem to feel 100% intuitive.

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Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Hands-on: Soul Calibur Legends

Hands-on: Metroid Prime 3

Hands-on with Dewy's Adventure

Hands-on with DDR Hottest Party

Hands-on with Super Mario Galaxy

Wii gets healthy, gets Fit

New Mario Kart and Wii Wheel revealed

Super Smash Bros. Brawl gets release date

Nintendo reveals Wii Zapper

Fake: Excite Truck 2 delivers 6 player wi-fi multiplayer

A Wii acorda NiGHTS de uma longa e cavernosa hibernacao!

Sonic & Mario finally team up for a game

Brand new NiGHTS "confirmed" by SPOnG

GDC 07: MySims goes to Wii, gets rid of pee

GDC 07: Vicious tries a new control scheme

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