Nintendo Land Review

By Andrew Gonzalez - March, 12th 2013

Nintendo Land is a mini game collection that works.  Nintendo Land shows what the Wii-U is capable of with surprising results.  I can honestly say that every game has brought me some sort of joy which is weird because usually in a mini game collection, there are a few bombs in the bunch. There is only one bomb to me even though I had a little fun with it.  What makes me happy is that Nintendo Land brings us to our favorite Nintendo worlds including some worlds that we haven’t visited in a while!  This will keep me busy until we get a new Zelda, Metroid and until Pikmin 3 launches.  All the games are connected by the plaza where you can walk to the other games, interact with other Miis, unlock items and more.  We’ve never experienced a Nintendo game in HD before and for that, Nintendo Land sure looks good.  There are 12 mini games that can be played.  6 of them are single player games.  3 of the cooperative games can be played alone and 3 games are strictly competitive games.  I’ve been thinking about how to properly review this so I will review each game individually throughout the review and then I will give Nintendo Land an overall review at the end.

Donkey Kong’s Crash Course

Donkey Kong’s Crash Course is easily my FAVORITE game of the bunch.  The premise is simple, but the execution takes tons of skill and practice.  In this mini game, players use the Gamepad to move the vehicle through the obstacle course.  The more you tilt the Gamepad, the faster and more reckless the vehicle moves.  In addition to tilting you can use the L and R buttons and other buttons to activate levers, elevators and more.  The first course is pretty difficult, but after the first course, the next one feels like Hell.  I’ve tried for two months to finish it, but I just can’t. Oh, and each course is 10 checkpoints long. That’s the joy of the game though.  It’s so tough, yet it’s ALWAYS fun!   10/10

Captain Falcon’s Twister Race

Captain Falcon’s Twister Race is a pretty intense mini game.  You hold the Gamepad vertically and you tilt it to move Captain Falcon’s ship.  If  you look at the Gamepad while playing, you are given an aerial view of the racetrack which is highly effective.  Or you can just look at the screen and steer with the Gamepad.  You must look at the Gamepad during tunnel runs because the TV won’t show the inside of the tunnel.  In addition to driving fast, players must also navigate past crashing vehicles, burning vehicles, mines, stoppers and much more.  This game doesn’t have a big learning curve, but to conquer it, patience is needed.  8/10

Octopus Dance

This game is the rhythm game of the bunch.  Players control their Mii and must duplicate the dance moves of the person next to them.  They must use a combination of the TV and Gamepad.  Players will also tilt the Gamepad and move the analog sticks in the given direction.  It’s slightly difficult in the final sections due to speed, but still fun. 7.5/10

Yoshi’s Fruit Cart

Yoshi’s Fruit Cart is a very difficult and extremely rewarding mini game.  This is another game where the premise is simple, but the execution takes time and patience!  Players must collect all of the fruit and then make it to the door.  The cart has gas that will be refilled by eating the fruit.  You MUST collect all of the fruit before exiting the level.  There’s a catch though.  You can see EVERYTHING on the TV, but the fruit is eliminated from the Gamepad.  You must draw the route that the fruit cart must take on the Gamepad.  It requires a good amount of memory.  It’s an extremely difficult game in the later stages.  This game is one of the standouts of the whole collection. 10/10

Takamaru’s Ninja Castle

Many people who I know like Takamaru’s Ninja Castle.  I mean it’s a fun game, but overall I just don’t have THAT much fun with it.  The premise is that you’re going through levels and ninjas are attacking so you’re using throwing stars to take down enemies.  When enemies are close range, you use a katana.  By holding the Gamepad vertically, you can aim where the throwing star will go.  You then slide the stylus across the screen to throw them.  It’s fun for a little while, but this game over-stays its welcome pretty fast.  Maybe others will have fun with it, but I didn’t find it as good or as hectic as it could’ve been. 4.5/10

Balloon Trip Breeze

This game took a while for me to love, but not I can’t stop playing it. You travel across levels which are separated by the times of the day while trying to get to your exit.  You create gusts of wind with the stylus to help navigate you character.  In addition to just trying to get him/her to the exit, you have to dodge enemies, mines, weather and more.  It has a steep learning curve, but Balloon Trip Breeze is a hit.  If this mini game were multiplayer, there would be many more possibilities, but for a single player game, it’s pretty great! 8/10

The Legend Of Zelda: Battle Quest

This game is GREAT!  You can play a bunch of missions on your own or cooperatively.  If you play alone, you play as your Mii equipped with a bow and arrow.  You just go through levels taking down enemies.  If you play cooperatively, it’s the same premise, but the people using the Wiimotes will be swordsmen while the Gamepad user is still using a bow and arrow.  There’s a lot of strategy to be used as a Bowman because you need to know when and if you should reload.  Also, when enemies surround you in single player, you must know what enemies to take out first. There are 14 missions and each of them have conditions to master the level.  To do that, major skill us required!  This is a good distraction until a proper Zelda sequel is released.  9/10

Metroid Blast

Metroid Blast is one DEEP game!  First off, there are a variety of missions.  It can be played alone, cooperatively and competitively.  Players can control Samus’ ship with the Gamepad and with the Wiimotes, Miis are dressed up like Samus blasting away enemies.  I played this game a lot more by myself and I had a fun time.  If you play Assault Mission, that’s the cooperative aspect of the game, you go through missions fighting waves of enemies and eventually bosses.  With the Gamepad, players used the tilt controls and the analog sticks as well as the buttons all at once to steer, boost and shoot with the ship.  The ground players use an arsenal of weapons and use the Wiimote to point at the screen and to attack. Surface-Air Combat and Ground Battle are the competitive aspects of the game and play like deathmatch.  It’s a great party game. 9/10

Pikmin Adventure

Pikmin Adventure gets a perfect 10!  I LOVE Pikmin so anytime I spend in this world makes me happy.  The player on the Gamepad controls Olimar and the Wiimote players control the Pikmin.  Players go through levels trying to reach the exit by defeating enemies.  Enemies drop nectar which are used to level up the Pikmin during the level.  Olimar can whistle and gather the player controlled Pikmin to use them as a weapon.  He can also pluck Pikmin from the ground and throw them.  While this is clearly a mini game, it has the Pikmin charm and Pikmin vibe to it.  There is so much fun to be has here and it has so much replay-ability.  It makes me desperately want Pikmin 3 to be released NOW! 10/10

Mario Chase

The next three games have very similar premises so I’ll only talk about the differences about the games.  They’ll all get 8/10, but each game has a slight difference to them. They all are strictly competitive!  Mario Chase is the simplistic one of the bunch.  The Gamepad player controls Mario while the Wiimote players control Miis in Toad costumes.  The player on the Gamepad can see a map alerting him/her to the locations of all the other players.  The advantage that the three Wiimote players have is the fact that they can tell how close or how far away they are from Mario.  This makes it a little easier for them to catch Mario.  The real advantage should be for Mario since they will know the location of the toads, but if you’re playing against three skilled players, the quest for victory will be tough. 8/10

Luigi’s Ghost Mansion

Luigi is in the spotlight this time.  The Gamepad player controls a ghost while the Wiimote players control ghost hunters trying to defeat the ghost.  The players can’t see the ghost on the TV, instead they walk around aimlessly searching for him.  When the Wiimote vibrates, players know that the ghost is nearby.  That’s when players use their flashlight to hunt down the ghost.  If the ghost touches a hunter, they faint.  In addition to using their flashlight, batteries can run out meaning that you need to recharge it by finding batteries.  If you’re having bad luck, random flashes of lightning will engulf the room showing the location of the ghost for a brief moment.  It’s another fun party game. 8/10

Animal Crossing: Sweet Day

The final game in the collection is set in the Animal Crossing universe.  The person on the Gamepad controls two guards with the analog sticks while the Wiimote players control characters trying to retrieve a set number of candy.  The catch is this… the more candy you have, the slower you walk.  If a guard catches you, the player loses a bunch of candy.  To win, the Wiimote players need to meet a quota of candy.  It’s another fun game to switch it up if you’re bored with the other chase games. 8/10

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