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Ever since the Wii U was announced in 2011, Nintendo has made a point to show off at least one game for the console that shows of their disconnection with the gaming enthusiast community. At E3 2011, it was Measure Up, a game where you use the Wii U's capacity for HD graphics to... draw lines on a white screen. At E3 2012 it was Panoramaview, a "game" where you look at people, and also, at things. There are definitely people that would love these Wii U applications. It's just that very few of them work in the videogame press.
At Thursday's Wii U event in New York City, the game that didn't seem to gel with the crowd was Nintendo Land: Balloon Trip Breeze. Thankfully, it wasn't shunned to the same degree that Panoramaview and Measure Up were. Part of that is because Balloon Trip Breeze has beautiful, LittleBigPlanet style graphics (which sadly aren't entirely clear in this video) and shares ties to one of Nintendo's oldest arcade titles.
The problem is, even old jerks like myself have trouble getting really excited about Balloon Fight. It's a great little game, with the emphasis on little. There are shades of 3D Classics: Urban Champion here. Balloon Trip Breeze is another example of the bare bones re-activation of a series that Nintendo is clearly excited about, but the rest of the human race may not care about. Nintendo must think that enthusiasm for Balloon Fight will be contagious, but it takes enthusiasm and new ideas to get consumers today to really take interest.
You wont find too many new ideas in Balloon Trip Breeze. It feels like a direct sequel to the original game's campaign mode. The only difference I saw were a few new pick-ups, the HD graphics, and the use of touch-screen controls. For those who have never played Balloon Fight: Balloon Trip, it's simple side-scrolling, flight-based obstacle-course game. The goal is to grab as many pick-ups as you can without getting taken out by an enemy or an obstacle. That's pretty much it. It's good clean fun, but sitting next to ZombiU, Pikmin Adventure, Metroid Blast, and CoD: Black Ops II, it's not exactly attention grabbing.
Balloon Trip Breeze feels like a great $.99 iOS game, which would be fine if the game didn't require use of the TV and the Wii U GamePad screens. It's hard to think of a time when Balloon Trip Breeze is going to be the best possible way for me to use both of those displays. that said, if Balloon Trip Breeze ends up having "off TV" play and a good amount of content, I'll have a good time trying to beat it the next time my TV gets monopolized by other members of the family for a Porky's movie marathon.
I love Balloon Fight so this makes me very happy. It's not the Excite Bike World Rally style remake I'm hoping for, but it is close enough!
I still need to get Tingle's Balloon Fight...
It's one of, like, twelve mini-games in a single compilation, right? I don't see how it not being the most compelling thing ever is exactly newsworthy. XD
Balloon Fight has never been the kind of game to get fans really excited, but I still love it. I had never tried it before picking up a Famicom Mini GBA copy when I visited Japan in 2005. (Side note: Famicom Mini boxes are so cool!) The main game (i.e. not the Balloon Trip part) is total rip-off of Joust, but I think it's controls are much more fun. I liked it enough to buy it again during the Wii launch, when there was barely anything on Virtual Console.
I guess I'm one of the few people out there who is excited to see that this is part of Nintendo Land! Then again, I was also far too excited to see the fish that eats you show up in Super Smash Bros. Brawl's Ice Climber level, so I'm sure there's something wrong with me.
Oh man, I first discovered Ballon Fight and the Ballon Trip mode within while playing the original Animal Crossing. I spent so much time trying to beat my scores. It's probably my most played NES game out of the 20 or so they had.
So even if most people aren't all that interested, I am! To be honest, not much else in NintendoLand has gotten me all that excited.
Ballon Fight was freakn great Holmes. I got it on 3ds, It's better than Joust. This looks like the bonus game to it that I never play. I hope they put the main game mode in.
As a minigame, it might be okay... But I don't think I like the touchscreen/fullscreen gimmick.
You control it with the touch screen, and can pop enemies with the touch screen. But if you want to see stuff, you have to look at the TV screen, because the touch screen only shows a fraction of the play field.
Why not just have the touch screen show the entire field? I halfway wonder if it was originally planned for the Wii's motion control and sensor, and the dual view stuff was added in only so you couldn't say "Why couldn't this be done on the Wii?" (Although, while you could get the same game play on the Wii with remote swiping and stabbing (with the IR pointer targeting), the poor motion control of the Wii might render the game unplayable.)
Am actually hoping Nintendo Land is better than I expect it to be though. There's a 50/50 chance that I won't be able to afford any other games for it for a month unless my new job money comes through by then (holllaaaaaaa)
Ugh don't mention that goddamn 3D remake of Urban Champion! Talk about a waste of money from all ends!!! Meanwhile Super Mario, Donkey Kong Jr. Zelda and Metroid are all trapped in 2d on the 3DS... (kind of like how Super Mario Sunshine and Zelda Wind Waker never made it to New Play Control status) there is no justice in the world.
If they insisted on going retro... Ice Climber would have made a kick ass 3D classic! Hell even Wrecking Crew would have been an improvement on Urban Champion.
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