New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Also known as:  N/A

Developer: Nintendo

Like New Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo DS, New Super Mario Bros. Wii (creative name, Nintnedo) fails to capture the greatness of the NES Mario games, but it's still a very solid and enjoyable experience whether you're playing with three other friends or simply going solo. I feel like it was a step up from the first entry in the “New” series on the DS in terms of level design and gameplay, but unfortunately, the new powerups aren’t very interesting or memorable. Until playing the game for a few levels for screenshots, I couldn’t even remember what any of them were…and I played through the game in its entirety a few times back when it was released. Anyway, if you want a solid platformer, then New Super Mario Bros. Wii delivers. If you want a memorable platformer that you’ll look back on fondly, then this game will likely fall just short of that.

Review added: 08/19/2019

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

Also known as:  NiGHTS: Hoshi Furu Yoru no Monogatari (Japan)

Developer: Sonic Team

NiGHTS…into Dreams was one of the best games available on the Sega Saturn…and despite that fact, unless you count Christmas NiGHTS, another game had never been made. Fast forward about ten years, and fans of the original game finally got a sequel on the Wii…and most of those fans were somewhat disappointed. NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams isn't a horrible game, it's just a game that had high expectations placed on it…and it failed to meet those expectations by a pretty wide margin. I was hoping for a new spin on the classic formula that made the original so fun…and it just felt like an attempt to emulate aspects of the original instead, but not done as well. It's still a passable experience, mind you, and it’s still fun, but it’s not the great sequel to the Saturn classic that many fans of the original were hoping for. That said, this isn’t awful by any stretch and you may appreciate it a tad more if you don't have the original to compare it to.

Review added: 05/28/2021

Ninjabread Man

Also known as:  N/A

Developer: Data Design Interactive

I’m a sucker for dumb puns…so, of course, when I first laid my eyes on Ninjabread Man, I immediately thought to myself, “I need this in my life!!” I knew it was going to be bad, but I was so optimistic about it being a so-bad-it’s-good game…and then Data Design Interactive took all of my hopes and dreams and CRUSHED THEM BENEATH THEIR SOULLESS FINGERS!!!...Do phalanges generally have souls? Oh well, doesn’t matter. Anyway, Ninjabread Man is a Wii game released in 2007 that looks like a Nintendo 64 game released in 1997 and plays like one of those balls on a string attached to a paddle released in 1897…except not as fun. Truth be told, putting my crotch in a vise and slowly turning the wheel would be more fun than playing Ninjabread Man. The motion controls of the Wii don’t help matters here, either. Anyway, if you are considering giving Ninjabread Man a shot, do yourself a favor and don’t…Instead, just run, but RUN, RUN, AS FAST AS YOU CAN, get far away, you won’t be a fan.

Review added: 09/24/2021