Wii Sports (2006)

When I was 13 years old, my mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas -- a Wii or my very own cell phone. I had to choose one because she couldn't afford to get me both. Without hesitation, I told her I wanted a Wii.

Christmas morning came and she had me open a specific present first. Inside were these large plastic toys in the shape of a tennis racket, a baseball bat, and a golf club, but I noticed immediately there was an insert for a Wii controller. My mom tried to play innocent and "apologize" for accidentally getting me accessories for a console I didn't have but she couldn't fool me. I knew she wouldn't play with my emotions like that unless she got the real deal. And call me unsurprised when the next present I opened was a Nintendo Wii! She said she couldn't afford to get me a console and a game but I didn't care. It came with Wii Sports! I was beyond excited.

We plugged that bad boy up and got to playing. Everyone got a turn and even though I wasn't close to my mom or my siblings, and we rarely ever spent time with each other, for a little while we all had fun playing, or at least that's what I think I remember. It's just as possible I played by myself. I'll try to be positive for once.

I'll be honest, I wasn't entertained for more than a couple hours. Wii Sports doesn't have a campaign. Most of the fun is playing different modes and tracking your stats over an extended period of time. It's a good party game but it didn't satisfy the hungry imagination of a 13 year old.

But I still think of it fondly and it gives me a great sense of nostalgia. The sunny vibes the game oozes is so joyful and the music slaps. I still cackle when rapidly swinging my racket in tennis. It was the first game to my second console, and one in which I loved dearly. I still have both and they will be my forever treasures.

Oh, and she also got me the cell phone.

Wii Sports was the launch title of the Wii and, just like other launch titles for new consoles, it was revolutionary and mind blowing.

In its core, it just a collection of generic sport games that you play with the Wii remote controller. It worked perfectly however, and playing tennis or bowling felt responsive and fun. It just was a unique experience.

You can play golf, boxing, baseball, tennis and bowling. Each game requires you to wiggle your Wii mote at a certain speed to increase velocity of your throw or hit and in the boxing matches, you wiggle the Wii mote left and right to make sideway punches.

The boxing game was my favorite and I still respect how well it works. You character is see-through, making it easy to see and focus on your opponent. The health meters are a little vague and ghost all of the time in your screen, but it works fine overall.

The graphics are ugly. Even back then, when the Wii was the newest console, the limitations on the console and the “unique” art style of the Nintendo games other than Mario, were immediately visible. The art style itself is cartoonish and jolly, but even then, the facial expressions, the outlines and animations are stiff and look like a tech demo from 2002. The Wii taught me that graphics aren’t anything, but it also taught me that you can drop graphical quality just because your company is called Nintendo, and everyone is fine with it. This reputation was fixed however, with the Nintendo Switch.

You make a special character called a Mii, which represents yourself throughout all the sports games and can also be used in other Wii games. There are limited customization options and nine times out of ten, the Mii does not look anything like you. This is mainly because of the God awful graphics that the game (and the Wii in general) offers and the facial expressions that are dug up from the pits of Hel and stare directly into your soul.

One downside of Wii Sports became quickly noticeable back then and to this day. The mechanics are easily exploitable, making the games ridiculously easy and pointless really quick.

For example, when playing tennis, bounce the ball a few times and let it be tossed back to the right side of the field, just over the net. When giving a good wank on the Wii mote, you instantly fire a unstoppable bullet to the left side of the playing field, scoring every time. The same goes for bowling; a slight tap to the right of the lane and a slight turn to the left, and then throw the ball at full speed, guaranteeing a strike every time. With boxing, just hit left and right and your opponent (or at least a CPU opponent) does not stand a chance.

The games themselves become repetitive as well. There is no variation in terms of different stages, different modes for a certain sports game or anything. Although still fine, after a few hours you are kind of done with it.

Like mentioned, Wii Sports is an ancient relic today, but I still cherish the memory of back then, when I first played it. It is one of those games that you can play anytime on a party or with friends with a couple of beers and never bores.

Definitely recommend this blast from the past.

Hope everyone enjoys this “fun” fact:

I miss playing this game… Extremely nostalgic for me. It’s highly unlikely that the new Switch sports thing will capture the magic of playing the Wii one as a kid as a first experience with motion control, but I’m definitely getting that if it’s well-received.

You love Wii Sports and you know it. Yes, I am writing this review in 2021, almost 2022, but as soon as I decided I would register all the games I played from the moment I created this account, I couldn't let Wii Sports not be the first.

When I got my Wii in 2010 (when I was 10 years old), I played Wii Sports non-stop for a month, it was truly a favorite, as a child, motion controls were nothing but fun for me and the most amazing technology I had ever seen.

So yes, I decided to replay this almost graduating from college and, to my surprise, I had as much fun as I had eleven years ago. The games are fun, the trainings are fun and I can finally see if I have the abilities fit for my age (yay, I guess... or not). On a side note, we all remember particular Mii's that annoyed us a LOT back then.

My only complaint is that we don't have more games to have more fun with.

Wii Sports is VERY underrated almost 15 years after its release, so don't be afraid to show your love for this (literal) gamechanger.

This game slaps. Don’t be ashamed, you know it to be true. Whether you like the Wii gimmick or not this is basically just the perfect game to showcase it. It’s fun with friends and family, it has a fucking banging soundtrack, and implementing the Mii feature. It was, and still is kinda cool to think that yes, you are in a video game. It’s good. Just admit it. Why isn’t this 4 star or higher? People are scared. But it’s fine. Embrace the power.

9/10. Must play classic.