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====== Nintendo Wii ======

^ Wii Number | 1366-9182-1785-3926 |

===== Personality =====

==== Design =====

==== Audio ====
=== Custom Soundtracks ===

Some games support custom soundtracks:

  * //[[Excite Truck]]//
  * //[[Endless Ocean]]//

Music files have to be .MP3. They can be saved anywhere on the SD Card. You can't do nice things like have certain folders for certain games, it just finds all the music files. You select one song at a time, or tell it to pick one at random.

You can also hack-in your own music to other games:

  * [[http://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Custom_Music]]

===== Periphera =====

==== Input ====

=== Guns ===

There are three different types, I would say.

  - A shell with no electronic parts. You put a Wiimote in, and attach a nunchuck if required.
  - A shell with nunchuck built-in. Still requires insertion of wiimote.
  - A stand-alone gun.

The only ones I've tried are the first type. The form-factor of the official shell is good for some games, like the [[Sega Model 2]] ports. For other stuff I tend to use a little Nyko pistol shell with an uncomfortably wide grip. There are now some clones with the same design.

== See Also ==

  * [[yt>pD7Zuv0oZzg|Light Gun Reviews 138: Best ways to play Wii light gun games]] - Good notes on Wii lightguns.

=== Other Controllers ===

Though the Wii has two USB ports on the back, games typically don't support controllers that use that interface, and if they do, they're controllers specifically designed to work with that game. USB controller support is a per-game thing, in other words.

An exception is using [[Nintendont]] to play [[nintendo_gamecube|Gamecube]] games, which will handle communication with USB HID interfaces, so you can, for example, use a joystick with //SNK v. Capcom 2//.

You can of course use controllers from other consoles via adapters, though depending on what you want to use this can get a bit convoluted. At least they're not expensive. This video runs through pretty much everything: [[yt>3pMZNNboN8s|PS4, Joy-Con, N64, Xbox & more Controllers all working on Nintendo Wii]]. Pretty surprising to me that the only adaptors that go directly into the Wiimote are for [[nintendo_entertainment_system|NES]] and [[super_nintendo_entertainment_system|SNES]], [[nintendo_gamecube|Gamecube]], and [[sony_playstation_2|PS2]], but hopefully I can figure out how to wire up other pads to Wii connectors at some point (NB: [[http://www.hardwarebook.info/Wiimote_Expansion_Port]]).

== See Also ==
  * https://gbatemp.net/threads/vwii-wii-hid-usb-support-why-is-it-limited-to-nintendont.458055/

=== uDraw GameTablet ===

A resistive tablet and pressure-sensitive stylus developed by [[THQ]]. You attach and dock the Wiimote inside, and there are some games released for it that take advantage of the tilt functionality.

A version was later released for the [[sony_playstation_3|PS3]] and [[microsoft_xbox_360|360]]. It looks a little different, and seems to add some multitouch functionality.

== See Also ==
  * [[wp>uDraw GameTablet]]

=== Wiimote ===
== Batteries ==

When I got my Wii I spent a bit of time agonising over rechargeable [[batteries|battery]] packs. There are a bunch available, but not much concrete info on them. Took me a while to realise that the clear best option is to just buy good quality rechargeable AAs, namely [[wp>Eneloop]]s. You can get little starter kits with a charger and a quantity of AAA and AA cells 👌

== PC Controller ==
There are lots of cool projects based round using it as an interface with a PC. Seems pretty straight-forward to get it to work.

  * https://kenmooredesign.blogspot.com/2008/11/wii-theremin.html
  * http://johnnylee.net/projects/wii/

== Other Wiimotes ==

  * There's a paintbrush-shaped nunchuck for that //Epic Mickey// game.
  * There's a [[wp>Sonic_screwdriver|sonic screwdriver]] wiimote for //[[wp>Doctor_Who|Dr. Who]]//.

== Shells ==

  * There's a bowling ball-shaped wiimote shell.
  * There's a pair of dumbbells, dunno if they have any extra weight.
  * //Cooking Mama// and //Trauma Center// have similar Wiimote shell sets. One part is a swiss-army-knife type thing with multiple implements, the other is a flat thing that makes sense as a frypan, but for //Trauma Center/// I dunno what it's even supposed to be.
  * [[Thrustmaster]] made a lightsabre one.
  * There are pom-poms!
  * I found a pic of a boxing glove that doesn't even look real, let alone comfortable.
  * There's a '[[https://videogameinterface.wiki/index.php?title=Airplane_Controller_Stand|airplane controller stand]]' that doesn't seem like it's actually designed with any games in mind.

=== Wii Balance Board ===

  * [[wp>List of games that support Wii Balance Board]].
  * [[https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/List_of_Wii_games_compatible_with_Wii_Balance_Board]] - WikiTemp.

Highlights / curiosities from that list (now with notes~):

^ Title                                              ^ Have? ^ Format ^ Impression (pre) ^ Notes (post) ^
| //Copter Crisis//                                  |  -  | WiiWare | fast |  |
| //Doctor Fizzwizzle's Animal Rescue//              |  -  | Disc    | [[breakanoid]] |  |
| //Equilibrio//                                     |  -  | WiiWare | 2-D [[roller]] |  |
| The //G1 Jockey// games                            |  -  | Disc    | curious how well they work without that arcade cab though. |  |
| //The Garfield Show: Threat of the Space Lasagna// |  -  | Disc    | Gotta garf |  |
| //Go Vacation//                                    |  -  | Disc    | is pretty cool, just haven't tried it with the board |  |
| //Horizon Riders//                                 |  ✓  | WiiWare | [[railshooter]] | Baaaaaad |
| //Imagine Fashion Party//                          |  ✓  | Disc    | MULTIPLAYER FASHION |  |
| //The Incredible Maze//                            |  -  | WiiWare | [[roller]] |  |
| //Intervilles//                                    |  -  | Disc    | Minigames, like it's-a-knockout or something |  |
| //Marble Saga: Kororinpa//                         |  ✓  | Disc    | Has 30 separate courses for balance board users. | Good |
| //イケニエノヨル//\\ (//Night of Sacrifice//)             |  -  | Disc    | horror game by [[organisation:Marvellous]] |  |
| //Overturn//                                       |  ✓  | WiiWare | //[[form:videogame:virtual-on_series|Virtual-On]]//-like |  |
| //リラックマ みんなでごゆるり生活//\\ (//Rilakkuma Everybody's Easy Life//[?]) |  ✓  | Disc    | cute |  |
| //Rock N’ Roll Climber//                           |  ✓  | WiiWare | rad complex rock climbing |  |
| //Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage//          |  ✓  | Disc    |  |  |
| //Shaun White Skateboarding//                      |  ✓  | Disc    |  |  |
| //Skate City Heroes//                              |  ✓  | Disc    |  |  |
| //Skate It//                                       |  ✓  | Disc    |  |  |
| //Ski and Shoot//                                  |  ✓  | Disc    | Skiing //and// shooting |  |
| //Sleepover Party//                                |  ✓  | Disc    | Sleeping //and// partying |  |
| //Snowboard Riot//                                 |  ✓  | WiiWare |  |  |
| //東京フレンドパークⅡ決定版～みんなで挑戦！体感アトラクション～//\\ (//Tokyo Friend Park II Ketteiban: Minna de Chousen! Taikan Attraction//) |  ✓  | Disc    | minigames |  |
| //Vacation Isle: Beach Party//                     |  -  | Disc    | like //Go Vacation// |  |
| //Vertigo//                                        |  -  | Disc    | [[roller]] |  |
| //Walk It Out / Step To The Beat//                 |  ✓  | WiiWare | walking game where you build a town | Really thought there'd be more control over how you design the town :( |
| //Water Sports//                                   |  ✓  | Disc    |  |  |
| //We Ski & Snowboard//                             |  ✓  | Disc    | Mii avatar skiing |  |
| //Wii Music//                                      |  ✓  | Disc    |  |  |
| //Winter Blast: Snow & Ice Games//                 |  ✓  | Disc    |  |  |
| //Winter Sports 2012: Feel the Spirit//            |  -  | Disc    | It has curling and snow motorbike racing |  |
| //World Party Games//                              |  -  | Disc    |  |  |

== Using with PCs ==
Just dumping links for now.

  * https://www.colorado.edu/neuromechanics/research/wii-balance-board-project
  * https://softwarebakery.com//projects/wiidevicelibrary
  * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4UciZLl2Hk
  * https://github.com/pierriko/wiiboard
  * https://www.mattcutts.com/blog/linux-wiimote-via-bluetooth/
  * https://www.mattcutts.com/blog/linux-wii-balanceboard/
  * https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19214805/how-can-i-permanently-pair-a-wii-balance-board-with-an-ubuntu-pc
  * https://lifehacker.com/operate-your-computer-with-wii-controllers-5042254?IR=T
  * https://dvdhrm.github.io/xwiimote/
  * https://dani33l.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/using-python-with-balance-board-ubuntu/

===== Modding =====
Wiis are very easy to mod, which lets you do stuff like re-enable online services and play, and run games from external drives and the SD card.

==== Emulation ====

=== Emulator Notes ===

^ System ^ Emulator ^ Notes |
| [[sony_playstation|PlayStation]] | [[WiiSXRX]] | No longer getting updates, but most current. [[https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/WiiSXRX|Performance and compatibility varies a lot]]. |
| Arcade | [[Retroarch]] | Final Burn Alpha cores. |
| Arcade | [[Mame]] | Supported games are listed in the UI. Neither arcade emulator is great. Compatability is different between them, so handy to have both. |

=== See Also ===

  * [[http://wiibrew.org/wiki/List_of_homebrew_emulators|List of homebrew emulators]] - WiiBrew wiki.
  * [[https://gbatemp.net/threads/what-are-the-best-emulators-to-use-on-the-wii-in-2021.589604/|What are the best emulators to use on the Wii in 2021?]] - GBATemp thread.
  * [[yt>I_REoKdrlfo|Emulation On Wii / Playability Guide]] - 2019 video. Penultimate chapter has a summery of his recommendations.

==== Homebrew ====
Dumping some links on home-brewing Wii stuff.

  * https://wiibrew.org/
    * http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Making_homebrew
    * http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Tutorials
    * http://wiibrew.org/wiki/List_of_development_tools
  * https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/Category:Wii
  * http://www.codemii.com/category/wii-programming-tutorials/
  * https://devkitpro.org/wiki/Getting_Started
  * http://www.wiimc.org/about/ - Wii Media Centre. Wii struggles with video over 720p though, I believe.
  * https://github.com/abstrakraft/cwiid - another wiimote library

==== Online ====
=== RiiConnect24 ===
RiiConnect is a way to use the online functions of the Wii even though those services are now shut-down :)

It's a simple script you run that generates some files, that you then copy onto your SD card, and install via the Homebrew Channel/

NB: I also had to install the dependencies ''mono'' and ''xdelta3'' to get it to run.

  * https://wii.guide/riiconnect24

=== Wiimmfi ===
Wiimmfi (I keep calling it WiiFML in my head) is the replacement for online features in games. There's a general patch that works for most stuff, but some particular games have their own patch, which does some extra stuff like change text in the game data.

//Mario Kart// and //Smash Bros.// are probably the most popular online Wii games (2021/22), but it works for //[[animal_crossing_lets_go_to_the_city|Animal Crossing]]//, //[[pro_evolution_soccer_2013|PES]]//, and other stuff too. 

== See Also ==
  * https://github.com/RiiConnect24/acw-patcher
  * https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-play-wiimmfi-on-wii.510577/
  * https://wii.guide/wiimmfi.html
  * https://wiimmfi.de/

==== Tools ====
=== Wit ===
You can easily convert an ISO to a WBFS file with the command-line tool Wit (or using a GUI frontend for it) using the copy command. Simply ''wit copy [filename].iso [filename].wbfs'' will do the job quickly! (future comment: I think .ISO files are supposed to work on Wiis though)

  * [[https://wit.wiimm.de/wit/cmd-copy.html]]

This script did a good job converting an .ISO to a .WBFS:

  * https://gist.github.com/openback/1138763

You can split .WBFS file that are too big to fit on a FAT32 disk:

  * ''wit copy <nowiki>--</nowiki>split [input file] [output file]''

=== NKit ===

NKit is a format for compressing Gamecube and Wii games. Wii's can play GC games in this format, but not Wii games. [[Dolphin]] handles them fine. For converting .nkit.iso files to something a Wii can play:

  * [[https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/NKit]]

=== QWBFS Manager ===

Linux/Mac/Windows GUI tool for managing WBFS files (file systems). Can convert between file formats. I can't get it to build.

  * [[github>pasnox/qwbfsmanager]]

=== Wii Backup Manager ===

Powerful GUI tool for organising a Wii library. I think I've used it through [[Wine]] successfully in the past??

  * https://wiibackupmanager.co.uk/

===== See Also =====

  * [[nintendo_wii_notes]].
  * https://twitter.com/NintendoMemo/status/1354396097964347392 - logo concepts.
  * [[http://www.hardwarebook.info/Wii|Wii]] - Technical info. on Hardware Book, including [[http://www.hardwarebook.info/Wiimote_Expansion_Port|Wiimote pinout]].

{{tag>videogame-console hardware Nintendo videogames wii}}