Those of you who have bought and played Let’s Tap will no doubt see something familiar when looking at the title screen. This game was developed by the same team and released as part of the WiiWare service. Having never actually played Let’s Tap I’m not sure if it was part of that game and if not then I find it a bit strange, especially when they were both released around the same time. Anyway, the gameplay is very simple. All the game really consists of is playing catch. Yup, that’s it.

The game has a story mode that has you playing catch with various people. You can use your Mii if you like or an avatar can be assigned to you. It really doesn’t make much of a difference because you don’t really get to see your character much while playing. For all intents and purposes your character is just a giant pair of floating hands. I suppose it makes sense, I mean those are the parts of the body that you use to catch a ball.

To play the game of catch you have to hold press the A and B buttons on the Wiimote just as the ball is about to reach your hands. In order to score the most points you have to really time when you land the catch. If you miss the ball you will lose one of your lives/balls ( you have several ) but you can regain these by timing your catch at the exact moment and earning a “Perfect” catch. After catching the ball you then have to throw it back to the CPU you are playing with. This is done by holding both the A and B button done on the Wiimote and then you do a throwing motion to release the ball. Depending on how you throw it, or how the motion controls register, will result in either a “Miss”, “Good” or “Perfect” throw. Again, earning the highest rating here will also award you with an extra life/ball.

This may all sound pretty bland but the game tries to draw you in by having the CPU you are playing with interact with you. Each of them will tell you a story about themselves and in order to get to know them more and get to know their full story you will have to keep playing catch with them. The first CPU you play with is a little boy and his story is pretty dark and heart breaking. He tells you the tale of how his dad doesn’t spend much time with him anymore because he is too busy with work. He goes on to say how his parents fight a lot and he hopes that it isn’t his fault. Man, I wasn’t prepared for that. You have a game that is presented with cutesy characters and colourful scenery and then you get hit with a bombshell like that! Once you get 3 stars with the little guy you then unlock the next character and move on to him…I’m sure that’s going to do wonders for the self-esteem of the little boy. There he is bearing his soul and then you scarper as soon as you have someone else to play with. Life is cruel, kid.

Once you start unlocking other characters the difficulty gets a little bump in various ways. The number of chances that you have before you fail may decrease, the character may be standing further away so you’ll have to adjust your throw or they may start doing fast or tricky throws. It’s not a huge change in the way the game plays but it does mix things up a bit, if only slightly. For the characters who do stand further away you will have to change how your throw the ball when using the Wiimote in order to get some greater distance on it.

The game has a few other modes to play other than the story mode. There are a couple of multiplayer modes, a Free Play mode that just lets you throw back and forth without any limits, Score Attack and Speed Catch. Most of these don’t really offer anything different to the main game. The multiplayer modes will probably mix things up a bit ( I didn’t play them ) but the extra single player modes aren’t really worth a look.

Honestly, I found the game to be quite relaxing in a weird sort of way. There is charming music playing in the background and the settings you’re in are bright and colourful. This certainly isn’t a game for everyone but I imagine those who enjoyed the various activities in Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort and even Carnival Games would probably get a kick out of this one. However, a big sticking point is the price of the game. At 1000 points it is a bit steep for what is a very basic game. There are far better games on the service that would be worth your points but for those who are happy to pay the price what you will find is a quite unique and relaxing gaming experience.

Price: 500 points
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: Bandai Namco
Released: 2010

After playing Tomena Sanner I thought that WiiWare couldn’t get any crazier. Man, was I wrong. This game is off the walls ( or should that be through the wall ) nuts! I mean, the story in the game is how your protein powder has been stolen by someone and you, and the rest of your body builder friends, have to chase them down in your speedos. Yup, crazy.

Before setting off on your chasing adventure you will need to select your character. You have a fair few choices and different nationalities to choose from, one of which is a polar bear for some reason. I went with the Spanish character as I liked how he was rocking a top hat with his speedos, while holding a rose in his mouth. I don’t think there’s any difference between the characters other than what you will be staring at while you play. I gotta say, I found the wiggle that the body builders do with their butt while they are running absolutely hilarious. It reminds me of that scene in the Simpsons where Flanders is wearing that ski outfit that shows off everything. “Stupid sexy, Flanders!”

The gameplay is very simple. While chasing the thief your character will be constantly running after them, as will some of your buddies. The thief will be bursting through various walls and will leave a body shaped hole that you must pass through. To do this you have to use both the Wiimote and Nunchuck to match the pose that the thief left. There are only 4 poses to do but you have to be quick in order to make it through the wall. If you miss you will lose a life. As you go through the stage your body building buddies will trip over and leave the chase one by one until only you are left. The game will speed up once it’s just one on one and you have to be ready for any quick changes to the poses the thief will make. Once you are near the thief you then have to go crazy with the Wiimote and Nunchuck and waggle like a mad man in order for you to take the thief down.

There are 3 stages to play through, which are the City, Village and Space Station. You then have 3 levels to play through within each of these. The gameplay doesn’t really differ in any way so it’s really just about a change of scenery. With levels lasting a couple of minutes each, it’s not long until you’ve seen all the game has to offer.

The problem I have with this game is a problem I have with a lot of motion controlled games and the Wii in general. Sometimes the sensor bar just doesn’t pick up your movements correctly or fast enough and then your character is left being slammed into the wall. It can be very frustrating if you have made it all the way to the end of a level only then to be let down by the motion controls. There were times where I was doing a move perfectly but the game just didn’t register the pose. There’s a balancing act here, though. If the game was to just use control sticks then it just wouldn’t be as funny and you could make short work of the game in no time. However, if the motion controls don’t work all the time, no matter how much fun it is, then it can become annoying.

Ultimately the game isn’t meant to be taken seriously and is all about having a good laugh in short bursts, which is exactly what the game achieves. Seeing the various wacky characters and animals wiggle their behinds as they chase down a thief who has stolen protein powder ( what a sentence! ) never fails to bring a smile. I don’t think the game has been released elsewhere, so for 500 points it may be worth downloading this gem just to have it on your system. Like a few of these games, Muscle March may not be for everyone but you’ll be hard pressed to find something as silly as this on another platform. 




Price: 1000 points
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Zoonami
Released: 2009

There’s some irony in a bald bloke playing a game where you have to cut and style hair. Sure, I shave my head every Sunday but I don’t have to worry about matching a certain style and then making sure every hair is combed into the correct position. With this game I do have to worry about those things...even if they are just bits of fruit and veg. This is another wacky game that is on the WiiWare service but instead of endlessly running as a Japanese business man or flexing your muscles in a space station, you are now a barber who has been hired by a carrot to cut the hair of his customers, who are also just as weird as he is.

The customer in the barbers chair will ask you to cut their hair in a certain style. The style or shape will then be placed, kind of like a stencil, on to their hair. You then have to use the Wiimote to select various items and cutting tools to create the best hair style you can. I was tempted to just shave it all off so that they may also know the pain of losing ones hair, but I figured I would like to keep my imaginary job past the tutorial.

The tools that are on offer all have a role to play. You can use the comb to brush and style the hair. This will weed out any loose ends and allow you to create a finer finish. The electric shears are a great way of clearing the thick away. If you do use these though you are usually left with a lot of twigs/roots to clear away. To clear these away you can use the trusty scissors. To be honest I usually just end up using these all the time as it clears both away pretty easily. The next item is for the barbers who make mistakes. A spray bottle can be used to grow the hair back ( this should be a thing in real life! ) if you were to make a mistake and cut too much off. After you are happy with your work then you select a giant gong and hit it to signal you have finished, just like barbers do in real life.

The customers will rate you on how well you cut and style their hair. As you cut their hair they will dish out stars. The closer you get to what they want then the more stars they will award you with. I’ve managed to get 5 stars a few times ( this is the max ) but most of my customers have only dished out a 4 star rating, so there is certainly room for me to improve. You can do this by selecting the practice pot, which is unlocked after completing your first day on the job. This will allow you to practice any styles you are struggling with without angering your customer. It’s a nice touch but I don’t think it’s really necessary due to being able to correct any mistakes you do make with the spray I mentioned earlier.

The game is connected to your Wii internal clock and asks you if the date is correct when you start up the game. This is done because you can only have 5 customers per day. Once you have cut their hair then you will have to wait until the next day to play the game again. I suppose you could cheat and alter the Wii clock to fast forward time and continue your game when you please but I imagine you would get bored really fast if you were to do that. It only takes 10 minutes or so to get through the 5 customers, so having the player pace the game over numerous days was a smart move.

It’s another unique title for the WiiWare service and one that I would recommend. The 5 customer per day limit allows for players to just dip in and out of it on a daily basis without getting bogged down for hours on end. If you’re willing to go the distance and see all the different customers, cut all of the different hairstyles and unlock the various awards, then I imagine you will get a lot of time out of this game.

That's it for this edition of Remembering WiiWare which will hopefully return again very soon. So until then, don't forget to use up your points before 2019, enjoy whatever WiiWare titles you might be playing and Game On!