As a launch title (that would have been an obvious choice as a mandatory pack-in game), Nintendo Land is a mini-game collection that showcases the uses of the Wii U Gamepad. The games seem like a collection of prototype ideas that Nintendo would have made during Research & Development or to demo to developers to illustrate what was possible. I’ve no idea if any of these were for that purpose; but that’s the vibe I got.
It has a theme park theme, where the attractions are based on classic Nintendo franchises. The visual style is interesting with Miis and mechanical visual style, but with some variations like papercraft for the ninja game.
There’s 12 games to play. Some are co-op or competitive multiplayer games (some of which can be played solo) and some are dedicated single player games. There are 3 that are solo or competitive, 3 that are competitive, and 6 solo only games. So if you are paying solo, then you can actually play the majority of the games, but I'd still say it's more of a game for a group of friends to play.
At first, I thought the hub design to select mini games was a terrible idea and takes too long to go from one room to another, but you are shortly introduced to a simple menu and they are grouped by the number of players so it’s very easy to go from game to game, and obvious which are suitable for you.
With the coins you earn by playing, you can spend them on a pachinko mini game. You drop coins in and if you hit all rollover targets then you win a prize and play the next level. The prizes are often simple models that are placed in the plaza; or new music in the jukebox.
In “The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest” you automatically move like a rail shooter, but when you begin attacking, Link then stops moving. So you fire arrows to clear out the nearby enemies then let yourself move forward again.
“Pikmin Adventure” is a simplified Pikmin experience. Playing purely on the Gamepad, you tap the screen to attack and press L to recall your followers. You work your way through linear levels with a combat focus, rather than trying to retrieve items.
“Donkey Kong's Crash Course” you control a cart by tilting the Gamepad. Some obstacles need speed, others need care. Others you will sit there whilst interacting with moving platforms and toggling switches.
“Yoshi's Fruit Cart” sees you drawing a safe path to pick up all the fruit. The TV screen shows fruit, however the gamepad just shows the background that you are drawing your path on. It’s a great idea but a bit annoying when there's moving fruit. Not clear how you are supposed to gauge the timing when you are drawing a path then hitting a button to start.
“Captain Falcon's Twister Race” sees you titling the Gamepad to control your car. You need to avoid obstacles and navigate sharp turns and dangerous ramps. Although it doesn't look that fast; it is deceptive or at least you have limited visibility. ramps can throw you over the edge if you aren't careful, mines are one-hit death.
“Octopus Dance sees” you copying poses to a rhythm by moving the sticks and titling.
“Takamaru's Ninja Castle” is another on-rails shooter but this time you are quickly sliding on the touch screen to throw shurikens.
“Balloon Trip Breeze” sees you swiping the touchscreen to create breezes to make your Mii fly. You collect balloons and bubbles to collect points, but avoid spikes and the robot chickens who can take out your balloons that are keeping you airbourne. There’s day/night cycles and changes in wind as you aim to survive the 3 days.
There are other games that I didn’t play or only briefly played several years ago with a friend. These include Luigi's Mansion, Animal Crossing, Mario Chase.
It’s a decent party game, and fun enough to play solo. However, it’s hard to recommend unless you plan to play with friends, or pick it up at a cut price.