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DS titles appear to be heading to the Wii U Virtual Console


Atariboy

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Just to further demonstrate the lack of love that's evident here, I've seen a report about the Japanese download for New Super Mario Bros. DS that says that you still have to press the touch screen icon in order to drop your stored power up.

 

Not too big of a problem to be reaching well inside of the 16:9 gamepad screen to the 4:3 center in that game since you won't be doing it too terribly often, but it's going to kill other games with incidental touch controls that need to be utilized with greater frequency (Like the touch screen camera controls in Super Mario 64 DS, which will just be too far out of reach to comfortably use).

Logical edits in a game such as that to map such a thing to an actual button, or at least remappable controls that allow the end-user to optionally tie an unused button to a specific area of the touch screen, would've been very much welcomed (Compared to the DS, we have an extra pair of shoulder buttons on the Wii U, along with the right analog stick, that could've been put to use).

 

And the option to shift the 4:3 picture all the way to the right also wouldn't of hurt, instead of remaining perfectly centered on the touch screen.

Edited by Atariboy
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https://m1.nintendo.net/docvc/NUS/USA/NSME/NSME_E.pdf

 

So that's a neat aspect of them being online now.

 

Which appears to be the manual game serial code...well I'm sick today...time to start trying them for...fun?

 

http://m1.nintendo.net/docvc/NUS/EUR/NDOP/NDOP_E.pdf

 

Donkey Kongs!

Edited by omegadot
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So I parsed the codes off this site:

 

http://niwanetwork.org/wiki/index.php/List_of_Nintendo_64_games_by_serial_code

 

Built the URLs and requested them all.

 

Only got these back:

 

Donkey Kong 64:

http://m1.nintendo.net/docvc/NUS/EUR/NDOP/NDOP_E.pdf

 

Super Mario 64:

http://m1.nintendo.net/docvc/NUS/EUR/NSMP/NSMP_E.pdf

http://m1.nintendo.net/docvc/NUS/USA/NSME/NSME_E.pdf

 

I return you to your normal foruming.

 

Now what to do with my day...

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I downloaded Yoshi's Island just to get a feel of how this DS emulation will work. For the most part, it woks great! Granted, that's coming from someone using the Wii U game pad.

 

For the most part I have little issue with the emulation. The sound is fine and the picture is very sharp.

 

My main issue is the inflexibility of the differing screen modes. I selected one that featured the secondary screen (bottom) as the primary, but it rotated the controls like I was viewing the Wii U gamepad screen at a 90-degree angle. Lame.

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One reason it may be running it so well, is the nature of the Wii U itself. It actually has a dual core ARM9 processor integrated into the Wii U's GPU.

 

So it's conceivable that it's not actually emulating a thing (And also as a byproduct of that, is locked into its original rendering resolution).

 

Looking forward to checking it out first hand with New Super Mario Bros. DS. That seems ideal for this service for several reasons (The DS was held conventionally, the graphics are predominantly 2D and should scale well as you saw with Yoshi's Island DS, it too relies on the d-pad and buttons, and the single screen setup focuses the action on the top screen 95% of the time except in certain underground areas where swapping over to the gamepad screen should feel natural). .

Edited by Atariboy
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Yeah, the other issue I forgot to mention is that Yoshi's Island forces you to look at the second screen and often moves the gameplay there, so there's no ideal screen setup scenario right now. You might have the lower screen set large on the TV which looks great, but then out of nowhere your character will move into the second screen which may only be a few inches large on your TV, depending on the setup you are using.

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If instead of this being displayed on my tv (The best available screen option for this title, as best as I can ascertain from what I've seen).

 

w0sx9s.jpg

 

And it looked like this instead, I'd support them since it's the largest possible picture within the constraints of this particular title.

 

2n87kle.jpg

 

Not a massive difference, but still a significant one since it just about doubles the amount of real estate dedicated to the game itself. It's a change which could go a long ways towards making this more acceptable on one's HDTV and such a screen setting would also benefit future additions such as Contra IV from Konami, which had a similar screen setup.

 

Of course, what I really wish is that Nintendo had just stuck with the top screen in this title. The dual screen setup doesn't really accomplish anything, since you're rarely interacting between both screens at the same time (Outside of a few boss fights). The action is almost always centered on one screen or the other so a more traditional layout would've worked just fine here and solved this issue that has now cropped up years later.

Edited by Atariboy
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Sort of OT, did you try out a Nintendo 64 VC title yet (I think only Mario 64 is available right now)? I picked it up to test it out like I did with the DS game. Overall it's pretty sharp--perhaps sharper than an actual console. It could just be the difference emulation and the HDMI output brings to the table versus the actual console running on a CRT via composite, but it looks nice.

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I paid the two dollar upgrade fee and checked out Super Mario 64. I think it looks wonderful, which has made me all the more sad when I've seen videos of Mario Kart DS running on European Wii U's at its original low resolution. And button mapping and off-screen play are greatly appreciated as well.

 

Besides the benefit of a superior video cable technology being used, it definitely renders at a higher than normal resolution. But Nintendo's N64 emulation has always done this at 480p since Wind Waker's Ocarina of Time preorder disc back in 2003. There's debate on just what resolution it renders at though, with some still claiming it's just 480p. All I know is it sure looks better than the same game does in Wii mode to me, which still looks good in its own right.

 

Did you notice the output being a bit on the dark side? While it makes sense with the GBA emulator since developers frequently went with overly bright colors to compensate for the original non-lit screen, I don't understand why they apparently have decided that this is correct for N64 and NES downloads as well (NES was also this way back on the original Wii).

 

I can connect my Wii U via composite to the same tv as my NES and N64, and it's very noticeably darker in the same titles compared to the genuine deal.

Edited by Atariboy
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Yeah, it's sadly on the dark side. It doesn't hurt things much, but colors don't pop like they do on the real deal. Everything is a bit muted looking, like NES titles are such as Super Mario Bros. 3 which look a bit drab on the Wii and Wii U (Not sure about the 3DS).

 

Here's a screenshot someone took (I should figure out how to do that on the Wii U). which shows it well I think.

 

wiiu_screenshot_tv_bowser_by_stardust4ev

 

Of course, most levels are brightly lit so it's not usually that bad.

Edited by Atariboy
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  • 4 weeks later...

I was bored and decided to look around NeoGaf and see if there was anything interesting. One of the first topics that I saw discussed the brightness issue that I was talking about, including a comparison picture on the Wii U of the Wii mode version of Paper Mario 64 and the newly released Wii U version.

 

J36GgxG.png

 

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1040125

 

I actually hooked mine up to my Trinitron back after I first posted about this and did some comparisons via composite, comparing between the original Wii download of Super Mario 64, the upgraded Wii U version (Which i discovered can't be played in full-screen 4:3 on my CRT, unlike Wii U NES & SNES downloads that fully support SDTV's), and the original console.

 

While not nearly the problem this guy is making it out to be, the brighter look of the Wii Virtual Console download is definitely the more accurate looking of the two.

Edited by Atariboy
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  • 1 month later...

The screenshots for Ocarina of Time for the Wii U, which is due today and may already be available as I type this, really shows off just how dark N64 titles are on the Wii U.

 

http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/vcHW9DsWoiFVqBekK9b8pVkI92ocZX-X

 

It sadly may become a problem here, unlike brighter and more colorful titles like Super Mario 64.

 

I wonder what Doom 64 would look like on the Wii U, lol.

Edited by Atariboy
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  • 6 months later...

Still no memory card support for their N64 emulator it appears.

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-01-22-mario-kart-64-doesnt-have-ghost-data-on-wii-u

 

While I didn't expect much to happen in that area, this largely seals the deal that this will never see significant 3rd party support. Onboard cartridge saving was rare on the console and while save states are supported on the Wii U emulator, I doubt that they'd bother to even release anything where the original save functionality is not supported.

 

On the happier side, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, a GBA port of the SuperNes remaster of SMB3, appeared today in North America with the full slate of e-Reader levels unlocked (Including the many that never appeared here originally). No controller rumble which was supported on the Game Boy Player though and other e-Reader cards aren't featured like item and replay cards.

 

Anyone grab Metroid Zero Mission? I'm curious if NES Metroid still unlocks after finishing it. While not an ideal way to enjoy the game on one's tv due to the aspect ratio adjustment, I also can see Nintendo eliminating it out of fear that a few people won't pay $5 more for the NES download.

Edited by Atariboy
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  • 1 year later...

Since we've discussed N64 titles in here in the past, I thought I'd post that Harvest Moon 64 arrives on the Wii U Virtual Console this week in Europe and North America.

 

This is one of the most expensive games these days on the N64, is a game that never was released originally in Europe, is perhaps the most requested VC addition of the past decade, and is a favorite of Harvest Moon fans and considered the pinnacle of the franchise. So it should please a fair number of people.

 

It's also the 3rd N64 title available on the Wii U that previously hadn't been made available on the original Wii Virtual Console. That it's making its VC debut now and isn't being held back for the Nintendo Switch Virtual Console is hopefully a sign that the end isn't imminent for the Wii U VC and that we can expect further additions for a time.

 

For realistic hopes before the end arrives, I'd love to see Pilotwings 64 (N64), the already translated Fatal Frame 2 (Wii) remake that the UK has, and the import friendly F-Zero Climax (GBA) hit the North American store.

 

Yoshi's Island DS should be available on the Wii U Virtual Console by the time you've read this.

 

I hope they didn't screw these up. They really need to be rendered in HD for the best effect.

 

HxrSvaI.png

 

Sadly, the result that we got matched the native presentation on the left, rather than the HD rendered presentation on the right.

 

But frustratingly, modders have discovered that HD rendering actually is coded in for DS downloads on the Wii U, but just isn't enabled. They're able to modify an ini file and get an effect much like seen here with the right image, compared to the native presentation on the left.

 

Too bad.

Edited by Atariboy
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I would love to play DS titles on my Wii U but the way they do the borders is just far too fugly to me.

 

Why couldn't they just do top screen on the TV bottom screen on the gamepad? I know that wouldn't work far all games but those that it would would be much better.

 

I couldn't fathom spending money on these as they are but would rather just track down the DS carts on ebay.

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Travis, that's actually an option. It's how I play New Super Mario Bros. DS on my Wii U, which I felt was well suited for the Wii U given all the limitations. Here's a video I quickly located on YouTube that shows that screen option off.

 

https://youtu.be/ZyAEtOHl7T0?t=1m48s

 

My biggest annoyance other than the lack of HD rendering for 3D assets, is that you can't play with the d-pad and buttons with both screens displayed stacked on your tv, without that huge DS border being displayed and shrinking the picture. It ultimately only killed Yoshi's Island DS since other similar games like Contra IV just never appeared, but it just didn't make sense.

 

The borderless zoomed in screen option that I wanted is even there, but all the d-pad and button controls are remapped since Nintendo optimized it for the minigames in the two Mario platformers on the DS, with the expectation of the Wii U gamepad being rotated 90 degrees in your hand instead of held horizontally like normal. That kills the ability to use it with Yoshi's Island DS, since up on the d-pad actually moves Yoshi right and so on, which obviously isn't playable for any sane person.

 

So I suppose I'm really complaining about the lack of remappable controls, which was standard for other VC platforms on the Wii U.

Edited by Atariboy
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