Wii Sports (2006)

Wii Sports was the launch title of the Wii and, just like other launch titles for new consoles, it was revolutionary and mind blowing.

In its core, it just a collection of generic sport games that you play with the Wii remote controller. It worked perfectly however, and playing tennis or bowling felt responsive and fun. It just was a unique experience.

You can play golf, boxing, baseball, tennis and bowling. Each game requires you to wiggle your Wii mote at a certain speed to increase velocity of your throw or hit and in the boxing matches, you wiggle the Wii mote left and right to make sideway punches.

The boxing game was my favorite and I still respect how well it works. You character is see-through, making it easy to see and focus on your opponent. The health meters are a little vague and ghost all of the time in your screen, but it works fine overall.

The graphics are ugly. Even back then, when the Wii was the newest console, the limitations on the console and the “unique” art style of the Nintendo games other than Mario, were immediately visible. The art style itself is cartoonish and jolly, but even then, the facial expressions, the outlines and animations are stiff and look like a tech demo from 2002. The Wii taught me that graphics aren’t anything, but it also taught me that you can drop graphical quality just because your company is called Nintendo, and everyone is fine with it. This reputation was fixed however, with the Nintendo Switch.

You make a special character called a Mii, which represents yourself throughout all the sports games and can also be used in other Wii games. There are limited customization options and nine times out of ten, the Mii does not look anything like you. This is mainly because of the God awful graphics that the game (and the Wii in general) offers and the facial expressions that are dug up from the pits of Hel and stare directly into your soul.

One downside of Wii Sports became quickly noticeable back then and to this day. The mechanics are easily exploitable, making the games ridiculously easy and pointless really quick.

For example, when playing tennis, bounce the ball a few times and let it be tossed back to the right side of the field, just over the net. When giving a good wank on the Wii mote, you instantly fire a unstoppable bullet to the left side of the playing field, scoring every time. The same goes for bowling; a slight tap to the right of the lane and a slight turn to the left, and then throw the ball at full speed, guaranteeing a strike every time. With boxing, just hit left and right and your opponent (or at least a CPU opponent) does not stand a chance.

The games themselves become repetitive as well. There is no variation in terms of different stages, different modes for a certain sports game or anything. Although still fine, after a few hours you are kind of done with it.

Like mentioned, Wii Sports is an ancient relic today, but I still cherish the memory of back then, when I first played it. It is one of those games that you can play anytime on a party or with friends with a couple of beers and never bores.

Definitely recommend this blast from the past.