Game Info
Game Name: Nintendo Land
Developer(s): Nintendo EAD Group No. 2
Publisher(s): Nintendo
Platform(s): Wii U
Genre(s): Compilation/Party Game
Release Date(s): November 18, 2012
ESRB Rating: E10+
Welcome to Nintendo Land! What’s your pleasure?
Welcome to Nintendo Land where your gaming dreams become reality! It is a place where you can travel through Hyrule or help Yoshi eat his weight in fruit. You might spend the day floating on balloons in the world of Balloon Fight or time your dancing with an octopus. The options are almost limitless and the world is yours to explore!
Nintendo Land (ニンテンドーランド or Nintendō Randois) a Wii U game meant to explore the abilities and functions of the Wii U. Released by Nintendo on November 18, 2012, the game features single and multiplayer mini-games based on popular Nintendo titles. The game was frequently bundled with the Wii U and received positive reviews.
Nintendo Land is Wii Sports for the Wii U. It is a game meant to be entertaining, yet it also is meant to highlight the abilities of the system. It is like a bunch of illegal mini-games…but licensed by Nintendo!
…and you though Donkey Kong was fun & frustrating
Mini-games are very popular now. Online gaming and even platforms like Facebook provide tons of games for people to play. Unfortunately, Nintendo is very tight with their licensing so to get real “Nintendo” games, you have to put up money…and Nintendo Land is a prime example of why Nintendo is great at what they do. It is fun, quick, and has all the characters you want and expect from Nintendo. A lot of the games are really fun, others are hit or miss, and some can only be played with a group…it does have a wide spectrum.
The controls really feature the Wii U’s ability and the Wii U pad. It also demonstrates why the Wii U never really caught on as Nintendo had hoped. I find it a bit weird to be staring at a small handheld game when there is a big TV in front of me. It is often the case with Nintendo Land which has people not only watching the pad, but out-and-out playing off of it instead of the TV. It does really utilize the pad by having you turn, twist, and manipulate things with the stylist, but there is something backwards about the entire idea no matter how good the controls are.
Fun and great use of the Wii U pad AND the TV!!!
The graphics really don’t do the system justice. I’ve seen some really great graphics from the Wii U that challenge some Xbox One and PS4 games, but Nintendo Land really isn’t one of them. It does utilize the Mii and sometimes throws you (as the gamer) into the scene through the camera on the controller (like in “Octopus Dance”)…you might not always want your ugly mug staring back at you, but it is there.
Nintendo Land is worth checking out if you pick up a Wii U and get it for cheap, cheap. Otherwise, don’t bother hunting this game down. The Wii U NES Remix series does a lot of retro gaming with Nintendo franchises and probably is a better buy. While Nintendo Land is a good intro to the Wii U, real gamers will probably scoff at the games provided.
