This May, Wii’re Going Back, and we’re doing it with the Steam Deck.
It’s been nearly 20 years since the release of the Nintendo Wii and honestly, we haven’t seen anything like it since. It’s a legitimate shame. People like to write off the motion controls as a gimmick, but at the time they were genuinely magical. The satisfaction of bowling a strike while everyone else was still trying to figure out the swing. Being accused of cheating because you were absolutely crushing fastballs in a tennis match. Wii Sports was a straight up banger out of the gate, with Wii Sports Resort putting up a fight for the top spot on release. At some point all those years ago, I stopped using my Wii and sold up. As is tradition. I’ve sold off plenty of consoles over the years, but none I’ve regretted more than the Nintendo Wii. I’ve dabbled with the Nintendo Switch and was genuinely disappointed at how little motion controls are featured. There’s some element of them across a few games, but it all feels pretty half-assed. The Nintendo Wii deserved better. Wii deserved better. Heh.
So, what’s the plan? This whole month of May, I’ll be playing Nintendo Wii games exclusively. Specifically games that make meaningful use of the motion controls. Because if I’m doing this, I’m doing it properly. I’ve got a fairly loose list of games I want to work my way through, with a couple that’ll be constants throughout the month. Wii Sports, Virtua Tennis and maybe a couple rail-shooters. I’ll adjust and change where I feel necessary. I’m definitely not going to list everything upfront because honestly, like I found with Boomer Shooter December, last minute cuts are inevitable. If you know the Wii and you’ve been following Dad with a Deck at all, you’ll probably have an idea on what’s coming. The only thing for certain is that we’re kicking off with one of my favourites. House of the Dead: Overkill.
The nostalgia is obviously pretty high, but I look back on the memories I have of the Nintendo Wii very fondly. Nights on the beers tearing through zombies in House of the Dead or sweating through a heated game of Virtua Tennis while someone inevitably knocked something over during a serve. Yeah, the Wii had this uncanny ability to drag everyone in, whether they were a gamer or not. You could toss a Wiimote to your grandmother and suddenly she’d be bowling a perfect game, trash talking you every step of the way. That’s a special kind of magic that I just haven’t felt with any recent home console and I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since I hocked the thing.
Using the Steam Deck, it’s obviously not going to be the same authentic Nintendo Wii experience. If you’re expecting to boot into the original Wii Menu and launch everything like the old days, you’re going to be bitterly disappointed. That said, you will have the chance to revisit that original menu. Mostly it’ll be a cheap nostalgia hit and to make some Miis, if you want. The Nintendo Wii was the first console I ever modded and the soft-modding scene is still going strong even today. Keep up the good work, lads. Using the Steam Deck as a Wii is going to be a slightly different beast, but I think it’s going to be the same level of fun. I’ll kick things off with a full setup guide, so if you want to join me on this ridiculous voyage you’ll have everything you need to get started.
So throughout May, and if history is anything to go by this will absolutely bleed into June, I’ll be working my way through as many Nintendo Wii games as I can fit in around life doing its thing. I’ll give you my thoughts, experiences and reviews along with some retrospectives and probably a couple complaints. Sticking to the list is clearly something I’m not good at, Boomer Shooter December is a prime example, so don’t expect a cohesive and stable selection here. If something shiny catches my eye, chances are I’m dropping something to the cuts to chase it. The goal ultimately is to recapture the magic and have a genuinely great time doing it. If you grew up with a Nintendo Wii and have a game you think absolutely needs to be on the list: send it my way. Wii’re going back and there’s always room for one more.
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