Feet on Wii Fit

Everything about Wii Fit relies on the new scale size, Wii Balance board. When you stand on it, it feels solid, like a tiny plastic footstool. Besides the yoga poses there were a few mini games to play. In the skiing game you have to bend your knees forward to speed up then suddenly stand up when you are on the edge to make the skier on screen jump. While you are in mid-air you need to keep your balanced centered. On the top right hand corner there is a meter with a red dot that moves around as you shift your weight. If you want your skier to land the jump you need to shift your weight so the red dot is in the center.

In the soccer game players turn into a goalie and hit soccer balls with their head. Controlling this game was really simple, you just shift weight left or right to hit the balls and dodge the cleats. Alternatively to moving your body you could “cheat” by lifting the opposite leg off. For example if a soccer ball was flying towards your right hand side you can lift your left leg off the board. Since your foot isn’t there is more weight on the right side than the left the Mii on screen rapidly moves to the right.

The most impressive mini-game in the collection was like Marble Madness controlled by the balance board. By shifting your weight you can guide the marbles into holes. The first stage has only one marble, but later levels have multiple marbles to move around. The marble game was done in a time attack style where you earn extra time by completing a level, once time runs out its game over. During Nintendo’s press conference there was one more mini-game, a DDR-like step aerobics game where you step on and off the balance board in tangent with the other Miis. It wasn’t playable, but it looked like it was fun.

While the Wii balance board is a novel idea, the only thing that felt like a game was the marble maze. Adding in Yoga poses is a neat idea, but I’m not sure if that is going to convince people to plunk down money for the Wii Fit package (game + balance board) plus 4AA batteries to power it. I was told Nintendo has more plans for the balance board in the future besides Wii Fit and this accessory opens the door for something unique.