Five Wii games you should have played, but probably didn't

Unlike the DS, there's still a smidge of life left in the ol' Wii--thanks to 2012 releases like Mario Party 9, Rhythm Heaven Fever and Xenoblade Chronicles. That trio of titles is about all that's worth picking up for Nintendo's little white wonder next year, though, which means it'll be all but dead by the time the Wii U hits store shelves later this year.

As such, this is a good time for new and old Wii owners alike to pick up a few of the system's should-have-been-classics (in my opinion, of course)--like the ones included on the following list--before they become impossible to find or impossible to afford:

1. Art Style: Cubello--This often-frenetic puzzler (called Cubeleo in Japan, for some strange reason) was one of the first WiiWare titles, yet it's still among the very best the service has to offer. All you really need to know about this pleasingly and colorfully 3D release: It was made by the folks at skip Ltd.--aka the same folks responsible for the Chibi-Robo! series as well as wackadoodle titles like Captain Rainbow and GiFTPiA.

2. Endless Ocean--Here's another game, like Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, that I've mentioned so many times that half of you (if not more) probably let out a huge sigh when you saw I was going to talk about it again. Sorry about that. It's just that this "scuba simulator" was all but ignored in every region, as far as I'm aware. Curiously, this game's sequel, Endless Ocean: Blue World, is cheaper at the moment, so you may want to pick up that version instead. Just be warned that I've yet to play it, so I can't say if it's better or worse than developer Arika's original effort.

3. Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon--This recommendation comes with a disclaimer: If you're not at all interested in or at least curious about roguelikes and/or dungeon-crawling RPGs, you're probably not going to get much enjoyment out of this game. To everyone else: Go into this one (order it here) with an open mind and expect to grind, old-school style. Oh, and don't be afraid to say "awww" whenever the titular Chocobo does something cute (which will be often).

A few more thoughts on Ivy the Kiwi? (No, that's not a question)

I spent some additional quality time with the Wii version of Ivy the Kiwi? this past weekend, and as a result of that experience I've decided to expand upon my earlier impressions of this Prope-made platformer.

* For starters, forget what I said earlier about the colorized backdrops that appear in the North American iteration of this game. Not only have they grown on me, but I think I now prefer them to the mostly monochromatic ones found in the Japanese version.

* Although I'm not willing to do a similar 180 on what I said a few days ago about the title's background music--I still think it's too loud compared to the sound effects--I am willing to augment those thoughts by saying the tunes are pretty spectacular. I especially like the moodier tracks, which remind me, in a way, of some of the music found in the Professor Layton series.

* Speaking of Professor Layton, this game's difficulty curve, much like Level-5's popular puzzler, is a bit like an up-and-down roller-coaster ride. Sometimes you'll lose a whole slew of lives trying to finish a level--such as 5-3, if you're like me--and then breeze through the follow-up with nary an issue. It's more of an interesting fact than an annoying one, though, so don't worry about it if you're on the fence about the game.

See also: 'No question about it ...'

No question about it ...

... the recently released Wii version of Prope's Ivy the Kiwi? is a nice little platformer.

What's to like about it? There are the title's graphics, for starters, which have a sepia-toned, watercolor-ish sheen to them. And then there are its controls, which are surprisingly tight considering you don't directly control your character.



What's not to like? You remember those sepia-toned graphics I mentioned a second ago? Well, I would have preferred it if the folks at Prope had left them mostly monochromatic (as they were in the Japanese release, above). The colors that have been added to the North American version are distracting, not to mention garish, if you ask me. Oh, and speaking of distracting: The game's background music, while suitably charming, is a bit boisterous compared to its sound effects.

Given the good and bad, I'd say Ivy the Kiwi? is a keeper--although it would be more of an impulse keeper (if such a thing exists) if it were, say, $10 cheaper. (It currently retails for $29.99 in my neck of the woods.)

Buy: Ivy the Kiwi? (Japanese) or Ivy the Kiwi? (North American)

Do kiwis dream in color?

When Yuji Naka's latest platformer Ivy the Kiwi? hit the streets in Japan a few weeks ago, it was a little slice of sepia-toned heaven. When the storybook-ish DS/Wii title hits the streets in the States (courtesy of XSeed) this summer, though, it'll have a shiny, Technicolor sheen to it.

What does that mean? Well, here's a screenshot from the Japanese version of the game:

And here's a screenshot from the North American version of the game:

Although I understand why Naka and his cohorts at Prope Ltd. added a bit of color to the title before bringing it to our shores, I personally prefer the subdued tones of the original--in part because the backgrounds of the new-and-supposedly-improved North American version seem to swallow up the titular Ivy.

See also: 'Screw Sonic, I'll take Ivy the Kiwi instead' and 'I still don't understand why there's a question mark in this game's title'

Is there any chance I'll get to be this good at Ivy the Kiwi?

Hey, for once the question mark at the end of Ivy the Kiwi? worked for me instead of against me!

Anyway, back to the point at hand: Prope's upcoming DS/DSiWare/Wii/
WiiWare title, Ivy the Kiwi? Specifically, how much I'm going to suck at said game (assuming, of course, I actually buy it).

Why do I think I'm going to suck at it? Take a gander at the following:



Now, I'm guessing the person playing the game in the video above is one of its developers, but I'd be lying if I told you that made me feel better about my own prospects with this so-cute-I-could-puke platformer.

(Via siliconera.com)

I still don't understand why there's a question mark in this game's title

Is it possible the protagonist in Yuji Naka's upcoming DS/Wii platformer, Ivy the Kiwi?, isn't, in fact, a member of the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae?

Hopefully the Prope founder will answer that burning question before the titles are released on April 22. In the meantime, enjoy this "fresh out of the oven" trailer for the DS version of the game:



See also: 'Screw Sonic, I'll take Ivy the Kiwi instead'