The Game That Best Used Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection

Many people out there criticize Nintendo’s online approach to gaming.  For years I have heard people complaining about friend codes, lack of online options and more that plague Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.  To this day it’s clear that there are several hoops that developers must jump through in order to get a decent game online and then there are also hoops that players need to jump through.

Despite all of these shortcomings I still feel there is a game that pushed Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to its limits.  No, this isn’t a new game and it’s also not a game that appeared on the Wii.  The game is Metroid Prime Hunters and was released on the Nintendo DS in March 2006.

So why was this game so special?  Yes the game used friend codes so lets get that out of the way right now.  This game, however, was the first Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection title to feature online voice chat.  Friends could talk to one another before and after matches to help determine all of the available settings.

Speaking of settings Metroid Prime Hunters had plenty.  Not only did the game feature seven unique characters to play as, but the game also had 26 multiplayer stages and seven different game types.  All of which could be played online.

Metroid Prime Hunters also allowed for players to gain Rivals after facing random people in random worldwide matches.  Even though you couldn’t communicate with your Rival, if both agreed after a match you could view each other’s records, and even meet up to face one another again.

Metroid Prime Hunters stored many different records and would keep players notified of their friends and rivals records.  These records include Wi-Fi Win Record, Wirelesss Win Record, Connection History, Win Ratio, Win Streak, Lucky Arena, Favorite Weapon, Headshot Kills, Favorite Mode, Biped Kills, Alt-Form Kills, Kill Streak, Wi-Fi Play Time, Wirelss Play Time, Total Game Time, Hunter Of Choice, and the game would tell you how many matches you’ve had against the player and how many you’ve won.  These stats would be updated each time you and the other player connected to one another, and maybe (I don’t recall fully) if you were both online at the same time.

These stats, at the time, would also be uploaded to NintendoWiFi.com.  From there players could log in and compare their Metroid Prime Hunters stats with the people added to their friends list.  The website also, at the time, featured a leaderboard showing the players with the top stats in each category from around the world as well as a more traditional leaderboard that showed the players who were winning the most.

Unfortunately actually seeing how this game was integrated into NintendoWiFi.com is no longer possible.  The website that was up and running which displayed all of these statistics went down in November 2008.

Metroid Prime Hunters was by no means a perfect game.  Many criticize how the single player is one of the worst Metroid games.  With that said I feel that Metroid Prime Hunters clearly delivered in its fantastic multiplayer both online and offline.  To this day I think it’s one of the best multiplayer experiences on the Nintendo DS and is still the best use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service ever.

Do you agree with me or do you think there is a game that pushed Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection further than Metroid Prime Hunters?  Follow me on Twitter @KingNintendoFan and let me hear about it.

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  • KID

    cool C2 is taking inspiration from the online here

  • Justin Berube

    If you’re talking about The Conduit I have no intention of buying that game. The first one was an over hyped pile of trash. Both the single player and multiplayer were awful. I’m not falling into that trap again.

  • DLH

    Have you played Monster Hunter Tri?

  • Justin Berube

    Yes and it’s not run on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. It’s run on Capcom’s Servers.

  • coolman229

    Honestly dude, you need to chill. HVS is improving on what they messed up on in The Conduit. The Conduit was their first independent game. They learned from their mistakes the first time around. Sequels can improve on their predecessors. Red Steel 2? Street Fighter 2? Killzone 2? C’mon. Have a little faith.

  • Justin Berube

    Well then the question is if they know the original game is flawed why would they make a direct sequel? Why not just start fresh since the franchise is considered poor?

    I know they are trying to live off the success of the first game but I feel many people bought this game due to the hype several media outlets gave to it. I fell for the trap and then found out that the game was nothing special.

    Why would I go and give that developer another chance? What incentive as a customer do I have to go out and to buy another game similar to the first one when I thought the game was poor? Why would I want to keep saying “Yes keep making poor games!” by purchasing their products?

    Maybe The Conduit 2 will deliver, but I doubt it. HVS should have impressed me the first time if they wanted me to buy a sequel.