Go Vacation! (Nintendo Wii)
User Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): October 11, 2011
- Release Date (EU): November 4, 2011
- Release Date (JP): October 20, 2011
- Publisher: Namco
- Developer: Namco Bandai Games
- Genres: Variety
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative
Go Vacation is a variety video game for the Wii. It focuses on Sports but also has many other types of genres.
Go Vacation is a pretty obscure Wii game that released near the end of the Wii's life. It's goal was to focus on many different types of gameplay and give lots of content. Did it succeed in this massive goal? Or did it fall short (or long)? Let's find out!
Story
When you first boot up Go Vacation, you'll get what might be the only real story of the game in the form of a cutscene. It's very simple but a story really isn't needed for this game. The only story is that YOU are going to Kawawii Island, a massive island with 4 resorts to have fun at. That's it! There's also a little theme song for the game which is a nice touch. There is a couple missions during the game that can add a little bit more story, but I don't believe that a deep story is needed for this game. I believe that the story is perfect because if it was extended to make it deeper, it would seemed forced.
Graphics
The Wii's graphics weren't as good compared to other consoles at the time, but they were still decent. Some games handled graphics horribly and some (like Super Mario Galaxy) did it great. Did Go Vacation handle it correctly? I believe that is a yes. Many of the resorts can look beautiful and for a Wii game, it looks great! Sometimes you'll just want to stare into the sunset rather than playing. Although these graphics aren't good compared to what we have now, for a Wii game, I think they're pretty good!
The NPCs all look like they were ripped from an anime. They all the Japanese artstyle many love, and although I am not a big fan of it, many will enjoy the nice touch.
The artstyle for most of the characters.
The game's actual graphics.
Gameplay
Go Vacation is a variety video game, so it offers many different types of gameplay. Before you get to play, however, you get to create your character. There is a lot of customizability for the characters in this game, and you can make your character one of a kind. You can choose to make a Go Vacation character (with the anime artstyle) or you can use your Mii. After you create a character, you are plopped into the main tutorial. This introduces you to the biggest part of the game, exploration. There are 5 different resorts to play in, and lots of secrets in each one. Your character can traverse the land by walking, swimming, roller blading, or using vehicles. If you love exploring, you'll love this part of the game. Each resort (excluding the Villa Resort) is massive, and there is a lot to do in each area. You can either drive around the area by yourself, or hop on a boat drove by an NPC to travel to a certain point faster. These resorts are basically your hub world. From these resorts, you can talk with NPCs to play minigames. This is where most of the variety comes in. There's so many different types of games in the form of these minigames. You've got air hockey, you've got car racing, you've got gliding, you've got sky diving, you even get shooting (in a kid-friendly way, of course). There is so many different types that I can't possibly name them all. Unfortunately, not every minigame is amazing. Some are very poorly made and are a pain to play, such as mini-golf. Others are a blast to play like the Pie shooting game. For the most part, the minigames are fun and will last you a long time.
If you thought the variety in this game was over, you're incorrect. Once you play enough minigames, you'll earn enough stamps to unlock more resorts and eventually earn your own villa/house! This was my personal favorite part of the game. It has a Sims sort of feel to it. You can choose what type of house you get. Whether it's a UFO, a Haunted Mansion, or a boring old house, it's up to you! There's tons of decorations (some can even be interacted with!) and once you're finished designing your house, you can enter it and mess around in it all you like. I am amazed about how well this part of the game is done and I always come back to admire my house.
But there's still more. Around each resorts are treasure chests that give you new clothing items. It can either be a blast or a pain in the neck to find all of them, but the clothing can be fun to wear. I cannot stress how expansive the game is. You can go into a volcano type cave inside the snow resort if you know where to go.
Probably the most fun part of Go Vacation is the multiplayer. It allows up to 4 players at once, and each can go exploring the island on their own. Most of the minigames allow them to play with you, leading for some fun gameplay. Each player get's their own villa as well, too! So you can visit your friends' villas.
Along with all of that, there's even more. You can adopt dogs to run along with you and they'll sniff treasure chests and secrets with you. They can also play certain mini games with you.
Last but not least, there are tricks. When riding vehicles or skating around, you can perform tricks. These can range from flips, to ollies, to pinwheels. You perform the tricks by holding down certain buttons on your Wiimote and Nunchuck and shaking your remote to perform them. They don't do much, but they're required for certain minigames and for 100% completion.
The Pie minigame (which I believe is one of the most fun to play).
Controls
Controls have been a touchy subject for the Wii Ski games and Go Vacation games. They rely heavily on motion controls. You turn the Wiimote and Nunchuck to steer and shake them to jump and do tricks. Many have disliked this, but I am fine with the controls. If you hate motions controls, you may really dislike the game. Even if you dislike them, I wouldn't let that stop you from trying the game. Some minigames don't use motion controls, and you get used to the controls pretty quickly.
You can also use the Wii Balance Board, but I've never tried them.
Some minigames don't require use of the nunchuck as well.
Music
The music for Go Vacation isn't very good or isn't very bad. It's nothing special that you'll be jamming out to later, but it works. The only real bad thing about the music is that the same song plays in most minigames, which can get boring and annoying to listen to.
Lasting Appealing
Go Vacation will last you a very long time. Even after you beat all the minigames, there's still tons left to do. If you're looking to complete the game, you're going to be there for a while. There are treasure chests to find, along with keys that you can earn to earn more items for your Villa. You obtain these keys by doing certain objectives in the minigames. There's also stars that you can earn from doing a specific trick in a certain area or by getting a certain amount of trick points or etc. There's also bungee-jumping areas to complete, picture spots to be taken at a certain time of day, and more. I still come back to this game because of how much there is to do. It will last you an extremely long amount of time.
Even once you've done all of that (which I doubt you will because there is so much), you can keep an eye out for little easter eggs. Go Vacation was developed by Namco, so there is tons of little Pac-Man, Galaga, and other arcade easter eggs scattered around the minigames and resorts. Keep an eye out for those!
Story
When you first boot up Go Vacation, you'll get what might be the only real story of the game in the form of a cutscene. It's very simple but a story really isn't needed for this game. The only story is that YOU are going to Kawawii Island, a massive island with 4 resorts to have fun at. That's it! There's also a little theme song for the game which is a nice touch. There is a couple missions during the game that can add a little bit more story, but I don't believe that a deep story is needed for this game. I believe that the story is perfect because if it was extended to make it deeper, it would seemed forced.
Graphics
The Wii's graphics weren't as good compared to other consoles at the time, but they were still decent. Some games handled graphics horribly and some (like Super Mario Galaxy) did it great. Did Go Vacation handle it correctly? I believe that is a yes. Many of the resorts can look beautiful and for a Wii game, it looks great! Sometimes you'll just want to stare into the sunset rather than playing. Although these graphics aren't good compared to what we have now, for a Wii game, I think they're pretty good!
The NPCs all look like they were ripped from an anime. They all the Japanese artstyle many love, and although I am not a big fan of it, many will enjoy the nice touch.
The artstyle for most of the characters.
The game's actual graphics.
Gameplay
Go Vacation is a variety video game, so it offers many different types of gameplay. Before you get to play, however, you get to create your character. There is a lot of customizability for the characters in this game, and you can make your character one of a kind. You can choose to make a Go Vacation character (with the anime artstyle) or you can use your Mii. After you create a character, you are plopped into the main tutorial. This introduces you to the biggest part of the game, exploration. There are 5 different resorts to play in, and lots of secrets in each one. Your character can traverse the land by walking, swimming, roller blading, or using vehicles. If you love exploring, you'll love this part of the game. Each resort (excluding the Villa Resort) is massive, and there is a lot to do in each area. You can either drive around the area by yourself, or hop on a boat drove by an NPC to travel to a certain point faster. These resorts are basically your hub world. From these resorts, you can talk with NPCs to play minigames. This is where most of the variety comes in. There's so many different types of games in the form of these minigames. You've got air hockey, you've got car racing, you've got gliding, you've got sky diving, you even get shooting (in a kid-friendly way, of course). There is so many different types that I can't possibly name them all. Unfortunately, not every minigame is amazing. Some are very poorly made and are a pain to play, such as mini-golf. Others are a blast to play like the Pie shooting game. For the most part, the minigames are fun and will last you a long time.
If you thought the variety in this game was over, you're incorrect. Once you play enough minigames, you'll earn enough stamps to unlock more resorts and eventually earn your own villa/house! This was my personal favorite part of the game. It has a Sims sort of feel to it. You can choose what type of house you get. Whether it's a UFO, a Haunted Mansion, or a boring old house, it's up to you! There's tons of decorations (some can even be interacted with!) and once you're finished designing your house, you can enter it and mess around in it all you like. I am amazed about how well this part of the game is done and I always come back to admire my house.
But there's still more. Around each resorts are treasure chests that give you new clothing items. It can either be a blast or a pain in the neck to find all of them, but the clothing can be fun to wear. I cannot stress how expansive the game is. You can go into a volcano type cave inside the snow resort if you know where to go.
Probably the most fun part of Go Vacation is the multiplayer. It allows up to 4 players at once, and each can go exploring the island on their own. Most of the minigames allow them to play with you, leading for some fun gameplay. Each player get's their own villa as well, too! So you can visit your friends' villas.
Along with all of that, there's even more. You can adopt dogs to run along with you and they'll sniff treasure chests and secrets with you. They can also play certain mini games with you.
Last but not least, there are tricks. When riding vehicles or skating around, you can perform tricks. These can range from flips, to ollies, to pinwheels. You perform the tricks by holding down certain buttons on your Wiimote and Nunchuck and shaking your remote to perform them. They don't do much, but they're required for certain minigames and for 100% completion.
The Pie minigame (which I believe is one of the most fun to play).
Controls
Controls have been a touchy subject for the Wii Ski games and Go Vacation games. They rely heavily on motion controls. You turn the Wiimote and Nunchuck to steer and shake them to jump and do tricks. Many have disliked this, but I am fine with the controls. If you hate motions controls, you may really dislike the game. Even if you dislike them, I wouldn't let that stop you from trying the game. Some minigames don't use motion controls, and you get used to the controls pretty quickly.
You can also use the Wii Balance Board, but I've never tried them.
Some minigames don't require use of the nunchuck as well.
Music
The music for Go Vacation isn't very good or isn't very bad. It's nothing special that you'll be jamming out to later, but it works. The only real bad thing about the music is that the same song plays in most minigames, which can get boring and annoying to listen to.
Lasting Appealing
Go Vacation will last you a very long time. Even after you beat all the minigames, there's still tons left to do. If you're looking to complete the game, you're going to be there for a while. There are treasure chests to find, along with keys that you can earn to earn more items for your Villa. You obtain these keys by doing certain objectives in the minigames. There's also stars that you can earn from doing a specific trick in a certain area or by getting a certain amount of trick points or etc. There's also bungee-jumping areas to complete, picture spots to be taken at a certain time of day, and more. I still come back to this game because of how much there is to do. It will last you an extremely long amount of time.
Even once you've done all of that (which I doubt you will because there is so much), you can keep an eye out for little easter eggs. Go Vacation was developed by Namco, so there is tons of little Pac-Man, Galaga, and other arcade easter eggs scattered around the minigames and resorts. Keep an eye out for those!
Verdict
What I Liked ...
- Lots of variety in minigames
- Decent graphics
- Lots of customizability
- Tons of exploration
- Fun multiplayer
What I Didn't Like ...
- Repetitive Music
- Some of the minigames aren't well made
8
Gameplay
For the most part, the gameplay is very fun and addicting, especially with friends, but there is still a couple of hiccups and terrible games hidden in Go Vacation. Most of them, however, are a blast.
8
Presentation
The game's artstyle is decent and the graphics aren't bad for a Wii game. Go Vacation does an excellent job and presenting its game.
10
Lasting Appeal
Go Vacation has so much stuff to do. This game can last you years and years, and it won't get boring! Whether it's with friends or by yourself, you'll be playing this game for a while!
9.4
out of 10
He/them/IT does