Official Wii U Thread

[bVork]

Waggle. To. Roll.

Motion controls for non-motion actions suck. I'm so glad Tropical Freeze didn't make the same game-ruining mistake.

[Hero]

Yeah, but I think the waggle thing only made an amazing game merely good. I wouldn't put it down with DK64 on terms of sheer disappointment and awfulness.

[Mzo]

Mario Galaxy was the pinnacle of their 3D games so far. It can hang with the 2D Marios easily.

[Changeling]

Do you consider Galaxy 2 as part of that statement?

[Mzo]

Galaxy 2 is more like an expansion of the first game. It didn't have the story or the hub world that I greatly enjoyed, but it had more refined level design and a higher difficulty curve that I appreciated.

They may as well be the same game.

[NeoZeedeater]

I think Mario 64 has aged very well. Purely for platform jumping it's no Galaxy but it's excellent as an an exploratory action adventure. It almost feels like a spin off of the series in retrospect.

[Changeling]

Galaxy 2 is more like an expansion of the first game. It didn't have the story or the hub world that I greatly enjoyed, but it had more refined level design and a higher difficulty curve that I appreciated.

They may as well be the same game.

That being said, I played though Galaxy 2 and loved it but never played Galaxy 1. I'm sure it's worth playing at some point, but is it a must play immediately game or something that I can wait to play while in a gaming lull?

[GohanX]

Mario Galaxy was the only game of the last generation that I completed 100%, All world, all stars. Probably also my favorite game of the generation, and I generally dislike 3d platformers. Take that as you will.

[Joust Williams]

3D World was a lot of fun, but I still think 3D Mario will never be as good as 2D Mario, and even Nintendo knows it (as evidenced by trying every iteration to make 3D Mario as 2D as possible).

going back and playing 3D platformers that I loved or were praised to the high heavens, I'd say it's the actual use of a Z axis.

2D platforming is pretty amazing when done right because you have a kind of precision and performance you can count on in order to accomplish some pretty tricky - and exhilarating - feats across fiendish levels. From a player standpoint, there is just enough going on to challenge you at any given moment, the controls don't fight against you (in a good game), yet the limits of two dimensions actually work in your favor. Helps you stay focused, helps a game give focused goals.

3D platforming so far has had issues with retaining that precision. Or abandoning it and, by extension, the demand for execution goes out the window in favor of scavenger hunts, benign platforming sequences, etc. Or they try to create challenging 3D spaces that are rendered frustrating and unfair due to imprecise controls, difficulty with judging distances, or wrestling with a camera. So what you end up with are 3D segments like Pinata Park in Mario Sunshine, which aren't fun even though they are 'hard.' The issues with 3D create a problem, not because of a fair challenge. Or you get segments of 3D platformers that try to be as 2D as possible (or even force 2D controls outright) in order to have their cake and eat it too. I feel that 3D platforming has more been about developers wanting to indulge in their experimentation of the form, than actually addressing whether or not it works for platforming or platforming fans.

...which is all just a long answer that in short is, "yeah man, Donkey Kong in 2D is better"

(especially if we're looking at real examples - every DKC has been decent to amazing. DK64 was a horrible mess.)

this is really it in a nutshell, perfect

[Diff-chan]

That's why Miyamoto made Super Mario 64 an exploration based game instead of a platformer.