Wii U: What're ya buyin'?

mario

With all the rave reviews and hype surrounding Mario Kart, and the fact that Smash Bros. will support GameCube controllers, I'm pretty sure I'm going to pick up a Wii U in the very near future. The question is: how to buy one???

Or rather, which one should I buy? The $329 Mario Kart 8 bundle seems an obvious choice considering the free game download that comes with it, but the Wii U Mario & Luigi Deluxe Set includes two games on its own, New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U (a clone I'm assuming?), and is slightly cheaper. Or I could pick up the Zelda bundle with custom Game Pad for a little more, or a standalone Basic or Deluxe.

Is the Deluxe the only model worth considering? It seems like 32GB vs 8GB storage isn't a huge differentiator and I don't care about black vs white, but most of the bundles seem to include it anyway, so that may not be something to worry about.

Are there vendor-specific deals you know about that beat Nintendo and Amazon's offerings? Should I just wait until E3 next week before buying anything?

TheFlameOfHearts

New Super Luigi U is basically more maps for New Super Mario. Bros. U, though it has a decidedly more Luigi-y theme.

Usually the decider for people on Deluxe or Basic is if the difference in price is worth the games you get with it, especially considering 32GB is bugger all and you can USB up to 2 Terrabytes of external space onto the Wii U if you need actual storage. Do keep in mind the OS and other software take up all but 3GB of the basic model though.

hlavco

New Super Luigi U is somewhere between a standalone game and an expansion pack. It uses the same engine as New Super Mario Bros U and can actually be downloaded as DLC for it, or you can go to the store and buy Luigi alone on disc, without Mario being required to play it. Nintendo's kinda cautious about this whole DLC thing and is therefore giving gamers every possible choice in terms of how to acquire it. I haven't played either, but I think Luigi is supposedly long enough to stand on its own as a full game.

I didn't know they still sold both the Basic and Deluxe Wii Us. Many months ago I had heard that Nintendo was recalling the basic model for unknown reasons-- rumor was they were simply converting them all to deluxe models. I don't know what ever came of that. Aside from storage capacity, the Deluxe model comes with useful things like a controller stand and a stand to sit your console vertically like the Wii's standard position. It also comes with Nintendo Land. The amount of stuff you get with the Deluxe model makes the price difference more than worth it in my eyes.

TheFlameOfHearts

You can also get the stand and charging stand in a pack together for like $10 or something though. But yeah, in the U.S. it's usually worth it to grab the Deluxe, I'm told in the U.K. the price difference was as bit greater, it may or may not still be.

I think only the standard Deluxe comes with Nintendo Land, maybe not, the Wind Waker one certainly doesn't come with it.

Silverward

You can find Nintendo Land cheap enough these days that a different bundle would be more worth it. You could get the Mario Kart one and download Wind Waker as your free game. Or get the Wind Waker bundle and get the custom game pad (which I did) and then buy Mario Kart separately and download Pikmin 3, New Super Mario Bros U or Wii Party U as the free game.

FYI, Super Luigi U has a time limit of 100 seconds on each level as its gimmick. I bought it for $30. I don't play it that much, but I don't regret the purchase.

mario

I'm a Wii U owner you guys!

My ultimate decision:

• Mario & Luigi Deluxe Set (traded in some old Wii/DS games to shave off a few bucks at GameStop)
• Mario Kart 8 (purchased from Amazon using credit card points, only cost $12!)

Now I'm sitting here waiting for a gigantic system update required before I can sign in with my Nintendo Network Account and transfer my save data from the Wii. Yay progress bars!

Silverward

Who's up for an Orange Belt Invitational MK8 tournament?

NoLonger

Me, but I do not own a WiiU.

TheFlameOfHearts

I have a WiiU, but am sorta meh as far as racing games go, especially slingshot-y ones.

mario

Count me in/down! Go update your information on the old friend code thread:

http://www.theorangebelt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=528

I'll probably start removing my codes from games that don't support online play anymore (Brawl, we hardly knew ye).

TheFlameOfHearts

To be fair, the online for Brawl was laggy as crap (at least on my connection, which isn't the greatest) anyways.

X'o'Lore

Am I going to have to get a WiiU so I can have Mario Kart? I love Mario Kart games but I never play anything else on Nintendo systems anymore.

mario

I'm having a lot of fun with the handful of games I've got so far! Though I'm a little concerned that 100% of the games I now own are Nintendo-made. To other Wii U owners: does anything stand out as particularly good from third parties?

Silverward

The Wonderful 101 and Monster Hunter. Probably Bayonetta 2 and X when they come out. Otherwise, nah, Nintendo games are your best bet on the console.

mario

Figured as much.

TheFlameOfHearts

If you like the Lego games. The Wii U is the best system to play Lego Marvel Superheroes on, though the game is pretty glitchy on every system.

You can switch characters with the screen instead of having the switch characters button be the same as the transform button, and instead of split screen move one player onto the gamepad. Of course you can also use the normal switch characters button or the normal split screen, but options! WOO!