When Wii Sports Resort debuted in 2009, it boasted 12 mini-games, including two returning games from its predecessor, Wii Sports. The athletic action takes place on the picturesque Wuhu Island with beaches, hotels, and a bevy of sports arenas. Every mini-game allows you to enjoy the scenic locale.
When paired with the Wii MotionPlus controller attachment, Wii Sports Resort presented itself as an upgrade to the previous game, allowing for more control for the subtle movements required for mini-games like ping pong or swordplay. From bowling to air sports, Wii Sports Resort offered both variety and quality.
12 Cycling
The cycling mini-game has you using both the standard Wii remote and its nunchuk attachment. By alternating the two controllers up and down, simulating the pedals of a bike, you also steer using tilt controls. Within the mini-game, there are two modes to choose from. Road Race, which sees you starting in last place, and trying to fight your way to first, and Versus mod, which allows two players to race against each other and a few automated computer opponents.
While cycling certainly does allow for a decent view of Wuhu island, the movements quickly get repetitive and a bit boring. Not to mention the frustrating heart mechanic that forces your Mii to take a break if too much energy is expended. However, cycling does boast a dedicated speed running community.
11 Power Cruising
Power cruising sees you taking control of a jet ski, steering the vehicle by using a horizontal Wii Remote (or, additionally using an optional nunchuk). The objective is to pass through checkpoints within an allotted time. You can either play alone or with an opponent in a score attack style versus mode.
With only six different courses, power cruising doesn’t lend itself well to being replayed, although the highlight is a time attack racing game, with some decent water animation and physics. While at times it is a little monotonous, it is still a fun experience.
10 Canoeing
Boasting a four player mode, canoeing lands low on the ranking because of its effortful gameplay and lack of reward. It’s a rather straightforward mini-game with basic controls – hold the Wii remote like a canoe paddle and simply make the motions you would in real life.
There is both a speed challenge and a racing mode, the latter allowing for up to four players with two doubles in the boat. Ultimately, it becomes a repetitive task to do over and over again, but its group play is its saving grace, making canoeing a fun way to kill time with friends before moving on to the other sports in the game.
9 Golf
Golf is, at its core, a slow game with quite a bit of nuance and depth. While Wii Sports Resort’s rendition manages to maintain some of the original’s’ charm, it still has a more limited appeal. It also doesn’t have any other game modes.
You can only play by standard golf rules, and there are no putt challenges or interesting other game mechanics to liven things up. This is a definite improvement over Wii Sports’ original golfing mini-game but it’s not enough for it to outshine many others.
8 Archery
Much like golf, archery only brings one game mode to the table. You shoot targets, aiming at them whilst holding the Wii Remote and nunchuk like a bow and arrow. There are also multiple secret targets hidden throughout the maps, which adds a dimension of challenge.
Admittedly, the shooting is satisfying and the added challenge of shooting against the wind provides a degree of replayability, but archery’s downfall is similar to golf’s – the lack of gameplay diversity. However, it is entirely new and has fun locales to shoot targets in. When compared to some of the other new sports, however, archery doesn’t quite hit the mark.
7 Frisbee
Frisbee comes in with two different modes – Frisbee Dog and Frisbee Golf. Frisbee Dog is a game that requires you to simply toss a frisbee to a dog for points. Frisbee Golf sees you aiming for goals on a challenging course. Both of these sub-games in conjunction creates a satisfying and surprisingly accurate Frisbee experience.
Frisbee Dog is a completely unique score attack game, while Frisbee Golf adds a new dimension to golf gameplay. Because Frisbee is so unique, it deserves a chance, however, its shared game mode with golf takes some wind out of its sails.
6 Wakeboarding
Wakeboarding beats out its other water-based sports with a clever mechanic involving tricks and jumps that you can pump out by jumping off of the wakes. The gameplay is reminiscent of something like Skate 3, SSX, and other trick based sports games.
While it isn’t as scenic as canoeing or power cruising, the fun of trying to beat a previous high score or taking on a higher difficulty run makes wakeboarding far more interesting and exciting. Wakeboarding lands in the middle of the pack because of its limited playstyle, with there only being one game mode and its lack of simultaneous multiplayer.
5 Basketball
Wii Sports Resort’s take on the ever popular game of basketball is fun, easy to pick up, and surprisingly unique. One mode, the three-point shootout, acts as both a score attack and a time attack game mode, with a fun shooting mechanic that manages to mimic the motions of real basketball. The other mode available is the 3-on-3 pickup mode, which sees you paired with two computer controlled allies and an opposing team of three.
There are also multiplayer variants available for both modes: the shootout has players take turns, while 3-on-3 is simultaneous. The only downfall of Wii Sports Resort’s basketball is the lack of movement controls – movement around the field is automatically controlled. Standing out in today’s scape of basketball video games is a tough task, but Wii Sports Resort’s rendition is up to the task.
4 Bowling
Bowling is a classic game revitalized with the movement accuracy that the MotionPlus attachment brings. With three different modes – classic bowling, spin control, and the astounding 100-pin bowling, the game provides hours of fun, both competitive and solo.
Even as a returning sport, with the new modes this bowling feels fresh and exciting. Spin control sees you trying to avoid barriers placed on the lane by twisting the ball to spin around them. 100-pin bowling is a twist on normal bowling, simply changing the standard ten pins out for a whopping hundred.
3 Air Sports
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Air sports is all about flying. Island Flyover allows you to fly around the island freely, using the Wii Remote to steer the airplane. The goal is to hit all the different I-points around the island, scoring points by doing so. Each I-point has three unique descriptions, depending on the time of day you are flying.
Skydiving is all about snapping the best pictures with other free-falling Miis – a charming and quirky game with some fun visuals. Dogfight is the crowning champion of air sports however, as it pits two players against each other, trying to shoot their balloons off of their planes, while collecting more by flying around the island. Air sports fully utilizes all the makes Wii Sports Resort unique, while still managing to feel like a classic and approachable game.
2 Table Tennis
Table Tennis is where the Wii MotionPlus truly shines. The sport itself requires so much subtlety in each swing, so much nuance in the spin of the ball, and with the 1:1 control that Wii MotionPluis boasts, table tennis is able to feel both real and fun.
Curves and spins add depth to the gameplay, creating tense moments of ping pong action. Because of the added depth, the game can be finicky at times, but the excitement of taking on friends and computer controlled opponents alike make this a strong game.
1 Swordplay
Wii Sports Resort’s swordplay is an absolute joy to play, with extremely responsive controls and three different modes. The first mode is duel, which is a one on one showdown between an opponent – either CPU or another player. The goal is to knock the opponent off of the stage – which gets incredibly small as the duelists reach the final round. The next is speed slice, in which the player must slice through an object faster and with more accuracy than their opponent. Lastly, the cinematic showdown mode pits the player against hordes of enemy sword wielders, fending them off until the final boss.
These modes are all unique from each other, and bring something fresh to the table. Because of the variety, and the overall satisfaction and joy from wielding a blade, swordplay is a must-play.