Interesting Wii news in latest Nintendo Power

[Bivotar]

I just received the latest Nintendo Power yesterday, and while it is a pretty much an extended Nintendo ad, it did have some interesting news items.

 

WiFi games coming to Wii - Finally there are a couple WiFi-enabled titles coming. Pokemon Battle was no surprise, but I didn't know the Mario Strikers game was going to support WiFi. That raises my interest in Mario Strikers considerably, and gives me hope we will start seeing more WiFi games coming.

 

Enhanced graphics on N64 VC games - An article claims that the graphics on Star Fox 64, as well as other N64 VC titles, are improved over the originals. Screen shots of Star Fox were shown and they looked pretty impressive. Can anybody with Star Fox comment on this? I played this title to death on the N64, but may get it again if it looks nicer.

 

And while not a Wii topic, I thought it was pretty cool to see an updated version of the old Epyx game "Impossible Mission" coming to the DS. Looks like the original, with hugely updated graphics.

[jerseystyle]

I just received the latest Nintendo Power yesterday, and while it is a pretty much an extended Nintendo ad, it did have some interesting news items.

 

WiFi games coming to Wii - Finally there are a couple WiFi-enabled titles coming. Pokemon Battle was no surprise, but I didn't know the Mario Strikers game was going to support WiFi. That raises my interest in Mario Strikers considerably, and gives me hope we will start seeing more WiFi games coming.

 

Enhanced graphics on N64 VC games - An article claims that the graphics on Star Fox 64, as well as other N64 VC titles, are improved over the originals. Screen shots of Star Fox were shown and they looked pretty impressive. Can anybody with Star Fox comment on this? I played this title to death on the N64, but may get it again if it looks nicer.

 

And while not a Wii topic, I thought it was pretty cool to see an updated version of the old Epyx game "Impossible Mission" coming to the DS. Looks like the original, with hugely updated graphics.

if only I could find a wii to buy . . . sigh . . .

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I can't confirm Starfox64 because while I do have it on my VC downloaded, I never owned it originally for the brief year or so that I had an N64. But I have seen others compare Super Mario 64 to the original, and apparently what Nintendo has done to most of the N64 games is apply a much better level of texture filtering and mip mapping to eliminate tearing issues. In addition I can tell that Anti Aliasing is enabled as the jaggies are virtually gone, which is especially noticable with StarFox64.

[jbanes]

Enhanced graphics on N64 VC games - An article claims that the graphics on Star Fox 64, as well as other N64 VC titles, are improved over the originals. Screen shots of Star Fox were shown and they looked pretty impressive. Can anybody with Star Fox comment on this? I played this title to death on the N64, but may get it again if it looks nicer.

As far as I can tell, it's the same graphics as the original. What I'm guessing they're referring to is the Wii's sharper rendering capabilities. Whereas the N64 displayed the games on a low-res SDTV with Moiré patterns all over the place, the Wii is perfectly capable of showing you all the detail available in the original ROM. Such an "upgrade" does have its downsides, though.

 

We never really thought of the N64 graphics as "primitive" back in the day. But that's more or less how they'll seem in the crystal-clear clarity of the Wii. My son was even unkind enough to ask why StarFox "looked so ugly?" (Whoo-boy, was he ever looking for a whooping on that one! ) It's true that the graphics just don't stand up to the look of, say, StarFox Assault. But if you can excuse the fact that the graphics have aged some, it's just as enjoyable to play as when it was new.

[Bivotar]

I couldn't resist. I pulled down Star Fox 64 so I could check out the enhancements. It does look "cleaner". Edges are much sharper and it just looks better. The polygons are clearly defined, so they didn't mess with the actual program. As indicated in a previous post, they must be using different filters and anti-aliasing. Still, the overall result is pretty nice!

[liveinabin]

Has anyone downloaded Ocarina of Time on VC? Just wondering if it looks the same as the one on the Gamecube bonus disc (ie. nice clean edges, no N64 fog).

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I've actually heard that in regards to Zelda:OOT that since it is the N64 version on the VC that aside from the cleaned up edges and filtering I mentioned earlier, it still looks like the original N64 version.

 

There was a thread on this at the DigitalPress boards in fact where someone complained about the fact that the VC version of OOT not only didn't look as good as the one released on the Cube Collectors disc, but also they messed with the controls so apparently the VC version doesn't play very well with a cube controller either and almost makes the Classic Controller a required item.

 

I didn't download OOT since I have the collectors disc for Cube anyway and that is within easy enough reach if I want to play. But I can tell you that aside from Contra III I haven't felt the need to actually HAVE to get a classic controller. Starfox plays well enough with the cube controller as does everything else for the VC I've downloaded.

[AtariJr]

I've actually heard that in regards to Zelda:OOT that since it is the N64 version on the VC that aside from the cleaned up edges and filtering I mentioned earlier, it still looks like the original N64 version.

 

There was a thread on this at the DigitalPress boards in fact where someone complained about the fact that the VC version of OOT not only didn't look as good as the one released on the Cube Collectors disc, but also they messed with the controls so apparently the VC version doesn't play very well with a cube controller either and almost makes the Classic Controller a required item.

 

I didn't download OOT since I have the collectors disc for Cube anyway and that is within easy enough reach if I want to play. But I can tell you that aside from Contra III I haven't felt the need to actually HAVE to get a classic controller. Starfox plays well enough with the cube controller as does everything else for the VC I've downloaded.

 

ehhhhh sorry man, f-zero and street fighter II are in very much need of a snes type controller, so ill have to disagree with you there. granted im sure the others are fine without it, but just for these two games alone , im glad i have the classic controller. if you are a fan of 2d fighters you know that the gc controller is about the worst pad to play a fighter on.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

AtariJr...I guess you missed my last sentence in my post?

 

"Starfox plays well enough with the cube controller as does everything else for the VC I've downloaded"

 

I haven't downloaded F-Zero or Street Fighter as I never cared for either game. I'm also not a fan of fighters in general. Of the games I have downloaded thus far for the VC...ONLY Contra III is a pain with the cube controller. Castlevania IV was tricky at first but then you figure out the controls and it isn't a bother. But Contra's control layout for the cube is funky as it makes jumping and firing a real chore to do together.

 

I don't doubt what you say about F-Zero and Street Fighter II, just saying that of what I have played on the VC only Contra III is a problem.

[Steril707]

The VC N64 games still look terrible in my opinion. I hope one day someone takes Ocarina of Time, and repaints the Textures in higher definition. Thats probably all the game really needs to be playable again.

[AtariJr]

AtariJr...I guess you missed my last sentence in my post?

 

"Starfox plays well enough with the cube controller as does everything else for the VC I've downloaded"

 

I haven't downloaded F-Zero or Street Fighter as I never cared for either game. I'm also not a fan of fighters in general. Of the games I have downloaded thus far for the VC...ONLY Contra III is a pain with the cube controller. Castlevania IV was tricky at first but then you figure out the controls and it isn't a bother. But Contra's control layout for the cube is funky as it makes jumping and firing a real chore to do together.

 

I don't doubt what you say about F-Zero and Street Fighter II, just saying that of what I have played on the VC only Contra III is a problem.

 

no i know that you dont have the game.. and for your purposes im sure it works, im just saying there is much use for the controller on certain games.. and i still like the feel of a snes pad vs a cube controller.