The "missing" elements in the latest Mario and Zelda Wii Games

In a recent interview, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto stated that he believed something was “missing” in the latest installments of his two most popular series: Zelda and Mario.

That’s right; Miyamoto said that both Super Mario Galaxy and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess were lacking. In what he did not say, but he feels that other leading games have something his do not. He made it clear that Twilight Princess was not a bad game, just missing something he couldn’t put his finger on.

About Super Mario Galaxy, he mentioned, “And while, personally, I feel like Super Mario Galaxy was able to do some things that were very new and were very unique, at the same time, from another perspective, certain elements of it do feel somewhat conservative in terms of how far we branched out with design. And so this is something I've been talking to both of those teams about."

I agree that it does feel like there is a certain lack of a specific kind of depth in those games that we do see in other franchises. On the part of Mario Galaxy, it’s true that design is in many ways responsible, but there’s something else, too. And I have a pretty good idea of what it is. It’s the aspect of each series that has failed to evolve with almost every other major franchise: characters and story structure.

In terms of the depth-of-character, it’s understandable that they haven’t acted until now. Nintendo’s characters are well-known almost world-wide. What if they give Link from Legend of Zelda a personality, and large groups of people say, “That is not how I imagined him!” Besides, it is true, as Nintendo once said, that Link acts as the “Link” between the player and the character onscreen, and if Link had a specific personality people could not project themselves onto him as well.

However, if Link was truly the “Link”, shouldn’t we be able to customize his looks, or at least clothing? Choose in what manner he talks with people, and the kinds of weapons and abilities he uses? No, the games do not attempt to do this at all. Instead, (in the case of Twilight Princess) they give us a world full of characters, bursting with back-story and, in some cases, inner struggles. But when the main character has no voice or personality, the character dynamics needed to effectively portray these events and character aspects are inconveniently absent. The decision Nintendo has made is not like choosing “this” instead of “that”, it’s a complete absence of both.

The “characters” aspect may not apply so much to Super Mario Galaxy, but the “story structure” aspect does. Searching for star after star and unlocking new worlds is a heck of a lot of fun, but it does start to drag. People just aren’t as driven to beat the game as the case with other franchises any more.

Again, they are both great games, but they are missing the kind of depth that other games have. Shigeru Miyamoto is apparently putting a lot of thought into this, so let’s hope he’ll be able to make the right choice, and lead both series in the right direction.

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5 Games Wii Owners Should Already Have

So you finally got your own Nintendo Wii. Now what? What games should you purchase first? Here are five games you should should not hesitate to buy and enjoy right away.

#5: Medal of Honor Heroes 2

Medal of Honor Heroes 2 was one of the first shooters to properly implement pointer control on the Wii. The game features online multiplayer and two single-player modes: Arcade and Campaign, both boasting fast-paced and highly replayable WWII shooting action.

#4: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The newest Zelda is bigger and better than ever before. The new visual style harkens back to the N64 games, with realistic character models and environments, versus the cell-shaded ones in Legend of Zelda: Windwaker on the Gamecube. This and the large, immersive world, as well as the cinematic presentation of the story, make this an epic action-adventure well worth playing.

#3: Mario Kart Wii
Ever since it debuted on the SNES, the Mario Kart series has been no stranger to Nintendo's systems, and is renowned for its deep combat-racing gameplay, especially when it comes to the game's multiplayer. Although the Wii remote's motion controls are surprisingly well utilized for this game, Gamecube and Classic Controllers are also compatible. Another feature worth mentioning is the ability to transport Mii's onto the game and using them as racing characters.

#2: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Smash Bros. is commonly recognized as one of the best fighting game franchises ever, and Brawl is no exception. The vast, well-balanced character roster alone is impressive enough, but just wait til you get to the gameplay itself, often harked as one of the deepest fighting game combat systems out there. The game's multiplayer is for up to four players, all of which are dropped on a two-dimensional "stage", where the objective is to send all the other players flying off. The roster itself is all based on videogame characters. If Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog were to face off, who would win? Now we can find out.

#1: Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy is possibly the best Mario game, or even best platformer game yet. The graphics are some of the best the Wii has seen so far, and the gameplay puts to use many mechanics that are both new and innovative. The most prominent of these is the planet physics that take place as you leap between floating spheres and other objects in outer-space. This and the spectactular visuals showcased in each of the game's fabulous worlds make this a game you cannot afford to miss.

Now, do not waste any more time; go down to your favorite local store or navigate to a reputable online store and pick up these games. Each one will provide you with hours of enjoyable playing time either by yourself, with friends, or family members.

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