More than two decades of verification have solidified it as truth, but given the absurd quality of recent software, it seems worth reiteration; the best titles on Nintendo’s console have been first-party Nintendo games.
Whether pushing innovation with Wii Sports and Wii Fit or polishing the established with Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Kyoto-based gaming juggernaut has shown an unflinching, relentless attention to detail on its own Wii titles.
Given Nintendo’s impressive Wii track record and the post-DS resurrection of interest in the franchise, the recently released Mario Kart Wii has been one of the most hotly anticipated Wii titles of the year. 2005’s Mario Kart DS reestablished Nintendo’s long-running racer as one of gaming’s premier franchises, so lofty expectations seem a natural application for any new Mario Kart title. Fans will be pleased to know Nintendo has, in most respects, gone above-and-beyond their ivory-coated suppositions for Mario Kart Wii.
But players should be forewarned; Mario Kart Wii often frustrates and disappoints almost as wholeheartedly as it thrills. Veteran kart aficionados, in particular, may be dispirited by Nintendo’s insistence on rewarding the tenderfoots and punishing the skilled.
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