This is a topic that I’ve seen scattered throughout the internet, and I thought it would make a good conversation. I’ve attempted to put my own spin on it so that it’s tailored a bit more towards what this board’s interests seem to be, which is, at the moment, Zelda and Smash Bros. I think other series are certainly just as relevant and not immune to critique though, so just keep that in mind.
I was a little baffled to discover that the Gamecube controller and adapter for the Wii U that’s going to be simultaneously released with it would be exclusive to only one game, Smash Bros for Wii U. This is a weird decision, seeing as the Wii U is backwards compatible with the Wii, which in turn used the Gamecube controller as a method of control for many of its best games (Smash Bros Brawl being perhaps the most popular among said games). This on top of the not-so-unlikely event that actual Gamecube games become downloadable via Virtual Console seems to indicate that the Wii U’s use of the Gamecube controller is solely for that of Smash Bros, nothing else, nothing more.
A common criticism of Nintendo in general is that they re-hash the same type of tropes and game elements over and over, and that fans are constantly content with the same old series under the same old premise. This is seen in the likes of modern Mario with Super Mario 3D World, and Pokemon with Pokemon X and Y. The argument basically boils down to Nintendo fans being completely content with the same characters in the same game, whilst refusing to move forward with different plot elements, different methods of control, and just an all-around “samey” feel to everything, for lack of a better term. This is compounded in its essence in this one-shot Gamecube controller adapter, seemingly the symbol of all things “refusing-to evolve”, as it does, at present time, seem to lack any other functionality besides caving into the “competitive” Smash Bros crowd which absolutely refused to adapt to anything else.
I’m personally not a fan of Melee elitist attitudes at all, but I can’t help but think that this one-shot adapter is just that: A symbol of elitist attitudes that won’t leave an almost 15 year old game in the past. But I think that’s about as far as it goes, honestly. The notion that all Nintendo games are the same is absolutely asinine, to a certain extent. I find myself constantly weary of the same type of attitude and atmosphere that all Nintendo games seem to bring with them, but it’s hardly the truth that many of the games in the Nintendo library lack originality. Yes, they all seem to be bright, colorful, and cheerful to an extent that you get overloaded and bored of how they’re presented (Examples such as the aforementioned Mario 3D World, Pokemon X and Y, Pikmin 3, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD, Kirby: Triple Delux, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Yoshi’s Wooly World, etc.), but there’s almost never a game that doesn’t bring something new to the table when it comes to how Nintendo games are actually played and handled.
I’m all for additional control options for Smash 4, and I don’t think it’s ever a bad thing to have as many as you can as long as it doesn’t water down the game proper. I won’t be buying a Gamecube controller adapter, just because I’ve come to like the Wii U pro controller as a result of games like Mario Kart 8, and many people I’ll most likely play Smash 4 with also have their own pro controllers and/or wii remotes and other various methods of playing the game.
I guess my real question is this – Do you feel that this one-shot adaptor symbolizes or helps exacerbate the notion that Nintendo and its fans refuse to adapt? And if so, do you feel that this can be seen in other series such as modern day Mario, Zelda, or Pokemon?
I was a little baffled to discover that the Gamecube controller and adapter for the Wii U that’s going to be simultaneously released with it would be exclusive to only one game, Smash Bros for Wii U. This is a weird decision, seeing as the Wii U is backwards compatible with the Wii, which in turn used the Gamecube controller as a method of control for many of its best games (Smash Bros Brawl being perhaps the most popular among said games). This on top of the not-so-unlikely event that actual Gamecube games become downloadable via Virtual Console seems to indicate that the Wii U’s use of the Gamecube controller is solely for that of Smash Bros, nothing else, nothing more.
A common criticism of Nintendo in general is that they re-hash the same type of tropes and game elements over and over, and that fans are constantly content with the same old series under the same old premise. This is seen in the likes of modern Mario with Super Mario 3D World, and Pokemon with Pokemon X and Y. The argument basically boils down to Nintendo fans being completely content with the same characters in the same game, whilst refusing to move forward with different plot elements, different methods of control, and just an all-around “samey” feel to everything, for lack of a better term. This is compounded in its essence in this one-shot Gamecube controller adapter, seemingly the symbol of all things “refusing-to evolve”, as it does, at present time, seem to lack any other functionality besides caving into the “competitive” Smash Bros crowd which absolutely refused to adapt to anything else.
I’m personally not a fan of Melee elitist attitudes at all, but I can’t help but think that this one-shot adapter is just that: A symbol of elitist attitudes that won’t leave an almost 15 year old game in the past. But I think that’s about as far as it goes, honestly. The notion that all Nintendo games are the same is absolutely asinine, to a certain extent. I find myself constantly weary of the same type of attitude and atmosphere that all Nintendo games seem to bring with them, but it’s hardly the truth that many of the games in the Nintendo library lack originality. Yes, they all seem to be bright, colorful, and cheerful to an extent that you get overloaded and bored of how they’re presented (Examples such as the aforementioned Mario 3D World, Pokemon X and Y, Pikmin 3, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD, Kirby: Triple Delux, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Yoshi’s Wooly World, etc.), but there’s almost never a game that doesn’t bring something new to the table when it comes to how Nintendo games are actually played and handled.
I’m all for additional control options for Smash 4, and I don’t think it’s ever a bad thing to have as many as you can as long as it doesn’t water down the game proper. I won’t be buying a Gamecube controller adapter, just because I’ve come to like the Wii U pro controller as a result of games like Mario Kart 8, and many people I’ll most likely play Smash 4 with also have their own pro controllers and/or wii remotes and other various methods of playing the game.
I guess my real question is this – Do you feel that this one-shot adaptor symbolizes or helps exacerbate the notion that Nintendo and its fans refuse to adapt? And if so, do you feel that this can be seen in other series such as modern day Mario, Zelda, or Pokemon?