Grab your Wiimote and let’s find some arbitrary items for some snooty clients
Before I go into the specifics of this game, there are some thoughts I want to air as this review is for a game which is no longer purchasable. Once Nintendo took down the Wii Shop in January 2019 (all of the WiiWare and Virtual Console titles), a number of games that were exclusive to that store disappeared forever with only those that previously purchased them having access (or those with the knowledge and dedication to mod their system).
It’s a new issue that has reared its head in this progressively digital age. For all of the merits of the online model (and don’t get me wrong, there are so many benefits) the preservation of games has been impacted. The Wii’s digital games being removed was one of the first big sweeping hits to preservation especially as it was being made by one of the biggest games companies. But we have seen this shift over the last couple generations, first with licensed songs being removed from Grand Theft Auto games, some titles being delisted due to expired publisher licences and whole online modes disappearing because of servers shutting down. Heck, Halo 3’s online multiplayer servers shutting down for the Xbox 360 two days ago has signalled the end of an era for many gamers.
Games continually evolve as well. We are now seeing it more prevalently with the ‘live’ game model and how with each season the look and feel can be altered with regular patches that the initial game you played on release can be drastically different two years later. It’s something we have to live with and, for all intents and purposes, this model is making the games industry incredibly lucrative. The net benefit is that with a healthy games industry, it usually means we have plenty of different games to play.
But, for those wanting a peak at games of the past and therefore unable to because they have been delisted, it can be disappointing. Of course, usually if a game is seen as being no longer needed for sale then there is an argument to be made that it might not be worth pining for (and let’s face it, a large percentage of WiiWare games probably fall under this category).
I’m not sure where I want to go with this, in all honesty. Things aren’t going to change too much; the WiiWare games that have disappeared, for instance, couldn’t easily be brought back to modern systems as they likely relied on the outdated motion controls of that era. For general expired licences though, I have heard that deals are being made now with the licence expiration date in mind so they can be kept on digital stores for at least ten to twenty years longer than the deals that were made during the Xbox 360/PS3 era. And where games are continually changing and patched, we usually do need it to fix broken or unbalanced content.
Well, that should suffice for my ruminating on this topic – I shall now follow it up with a review of an incredibly inconsequential and average game that is no longer available for anyone to purchase.
“Aha! I Found It!” Hidden Object Game can probably be categorised as clear-cut example of ‘shovel-ware’ on the Wii Store but on its own merits is a fairly fun experience.
When Nintendo announced their plans to permanently close the Nintendo Wii Shop in January 2019, I felt a sudden compulsion to dive into this area of the digital games market before it completely disappeared. And so, I suddenly found myself with a litany of games to choose from: old classics on previous consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Mega Drive and NEO GEO consoles, as well as tonnes of indie games that were released on the WiiWare service (and the plethora of shovel-ware).
And, in trying to be open to new experiences and not just re-purchasing some older games I owned previously, I delved into the WiiWare service and bought some cheap games.
This is where the silly named “Aha! I Found It!” Hidden Object Game from Ateam Inc somehow shambled onto my Wii. It’s basically a photo-hunt game using the Wii remote. It has a very thin conceit in that you play as a group of aliens that have landed on our planet and they have received missions from people to help them, such as finding all their new presents, gym equipment or ninja items to make them happy.
The items that you are required to find are displayed at the bottom of the screen and they are hidden in amongst a pile of other random objects in a particular scene. Using the Wiimote you need to place your crosshair over the required item and select it and when you have found them all your time will be displayed which corresponds with how happy or sad you have made the client. You receive time penalites for selecting items that aren’t what they are looking for so it’s not a complete breeze. From my experience, anything under four minutes seems to make them happy enough that you then unlock the next playable scene (of which there are ten in total).
The game has a pleasant cartoony look to it and the soothing music which plays as you search for the items makes the experience relatively relaxing. However, some of the items are pretty difficult to make out due to the blurry and compressed nature of the Wii system graphics. On top of that the first level is one of the most difficult as the ninja client items needed are mostly Japanese words such as Kunai and Shuriken and so if you aren’t familiar in Japanese martial arts equipment you won’t even know what you are looking for which can be confusing.
But, it wasn’t an expensive game (£3.50) and I probably got about close to four hours worth of play time out of it and feel pretty satisfied with that. There is also the option to play with two, three or four players which I imagine makes the whole experience even more delightful.
Verdict – All in all, a decent first foray into the now non-existant WiiWare service and a relatively fun game for those players looking to know about games they can’t play anymore.
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