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Stories about the Wii game console.

Disabling Progressive Scan on your Wii

Submitted by Xenoveritas on
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This doesn't come up all that often, but - say you had your Wii plugged into a TV that supports progressive scan and had that enabled. Then you switch TVs to one that doesn't. Think something like bringing the Wii over to a friend's house. This only applies when using the Component cables (red, green, and blue video plugs) - the Composite cable (single yellow plug) doesn't support 480p and the Wii won't try it. Which is why the following works.

The PS3 is nice enough to provide a feature where holding down the power button resets it to 480i. The Wii does not.

Review: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King

Submitted by Xenoveritas on
System: Wii
Tentative Score: 3/5 3 (OK)

I haven't actually finished the game yet or bought any of the optional addons, so this review might change in the future.

In short, it's a very simple city sim in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles setting. You play as a 10-year old king who uses the power of Architek (the magic to summon buildings) to rebuild a destroyed kingdom.

Characters That Should Be In The Next Smash Bros.

Submitted by Xenoveritas on
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No, Nintendo has not announced that there will be another Smash Bros. - in fact, they've come closest to announcing the opposite.

However, it's still fun to think of characters that should be in the next Smash Bros.. The rules here are fairly simple: the character must have appeared on a Nintendo console as a major character. That's it: the character need not be a Nintendo character, and in fact, by now, probably shouldn't be since Nintendo has kind of hit the bottom of the barrel when it comes to new characters.

Check Mii Out: Friendly witch/wizard

Submitted by Xenoveritas on
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I've been checking out the "Check Mii Out" channel for a while. For those who don't own Wiis or do and haven't checked out the channel, the channel allows people to submit Miis (customized 3-D cartoon characters) to look-alike contests. The most recent worldwide "Check Mii Out" contest was for "a nice and friendly witch/wizard."

I'm pleased to say that Harry Potter did not manage to grab first place. He did, however, grab second.

And eighth, ninth, and tenth.

And thirteenth.

And sixteenth.

And eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first.

Wii Shopping Channel Download Errors

Submitted by Xenoveritas on
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I tried to download the update to the Check Mii Out channel, and got an error while it was downloading.

No really big deal, except I was rather disappointed with the way the UI handled it. The download UI shows Mario from the original NES Super Mario Bros. running along the screen, gathering up coins that represent ... well, who knows what they represent. Chunks of data, I guess.

In any case, when an error occurs, instead of having Mario die (I'd suggest by Lakitu or a Goomba), they just display an error dialog and suggest trying again later.

Review: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Submitted by Xenoveritas on
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System: Nintendo Wii
Score: 4/5 4 (Good)

This game is, in my opinion, one of the best Zelda games since Link to the Past. If the art style in Wind Waker made you upset, you'll be glad to know that the graphics in Twilight Princess are in the Ocarina of Time style. I'm also glad to report that Link has been restored to his original Legend of Zelda age as a young teenager (I'm guessing about 15) and is no longer 8.

The graphics are good, the environment is engrossing, most of the characters are well designed, and the various dungeons that Link travels to are fairly well designed. There were moments when I had no direction in the dungeon, but overall it's usually fairly obvious what the next puzzle is and how to continue.