Noitu Love 2 Coming to WiiWare

By: Derek Yu

On: April 12th, 2010

Noitu Love 2 WiiWare

Golgoth Studio is teaming up with Joakim “konjak” Sandberg to bring his popular platform game Noitu Love 2 to WiiWare. (announcement)

Joakim writes:

Wish us luck and hopefully it won’t take too long before you hear more about it! I don’t have that much else to share, when I work on things alone I don’t like to talk about it until I have something substantial finished, but I have not given up on life, if that worries you.

As you may have heard, Golgoth is also remaking Toki and has hinted at a Joe & Mac remake, as well. You can still buy Noitu Love 2 on PC for $10 via Joakim’s site. It’s a fantastic game.

TIGdb: Entry for Noitu Love 2

Posted in Previews, Wii | Tags: GolgothStudio, JoakimSandberg

http://www.roachpuppy.com Chris Zamanillo

Yay Konjak!
SirNiko

This is good. I loved Noita Love 1, but MAN I hated playing it with keyboard controls. Optimizing this for a Wii classic controller would be fantastic.

-SirNiko
Adamski

My favourite Click game/Indie game of all time :)
Dodger

This is great news. I only hope for one thing: That the controls are configurable in 3 ways. 1.) Turn the Wiimote on it’s side and play (as a gamepad instead of the current mouse and keyboard method). 2.) Use the Nunchuck and Wiimote (to replace the mouse and keyboard method). 3.) Use the Wii Classic Controller or Gamecube controller for true Gamepad play.

I’ve always loved Noitu Love 2 (and 1 was a lot of fun as well) but I always felt that Noitu Love 2 could have been just as easily played with a standard gamepad configuration (with some sort of auto lock-on for the nearest enemy and perhaps a single auto directional shielding for boss battles since I really only ever used the shield in the boss battles).

Love this game though, the more control methods the merrier!

Way to go Konjak!
cighton

One word. Awesome!
godsavant

And here I was, lauding konjak for not ‘selling out’.

I jest, Joakim; best of luck in your endeavor! Hopefully, this will lead to Legend of Princess being canonized by Nintendo.
http://gamejolt.com/profile/davioware/653/ Davioware

I’m happy for you Konjak! This game is amazingly polished, and deserves to be on Wiiware. It glows with how much love you put into it.
gunmaggot

@ Dodger:

NO. Pointer ONLY. The mouse controls are AWESOME.

Rad to see this game getting a new audience, easily one of the best indies ever.

(It’s also better than Gunstar Heroes – shhhh)
Phasma Felis

Dodger, I really can’t see that working well without changing the game a lot. There’s a ton of places where selecting the right airdash target is very important, not even considering the combolt battery on level 4. Removing the pointer will make the game either nearly impossible (without auto-lock) or kill a lot of the challenge (with it).
Phasma Felis

Also, Golgoth has the worst name/logo mismatch I have ever seen.
konjak

Thanks guys! Let’s hope it all will be great!

And I often get the “I want to play it with a gamepad” regarding NL2, and if projects use the mouse some friends are always a bit negative. :(

I love the mouse as a precision device…
Sylvester Ink

I think the mouse+keyboard combo works just fine. It’s definitely one of the advantages of gaming with a PC, so it’s definitely nice to see some developers taking advantage of it. I’m not sure how well it will work out with the wiimote, but if it brings one of my favorite indie games to a wider audience, it’s worth it.
DYH

Good news! While I’m not a fan of mouse control, I would probably like playing NL2 with the Remote because remote-pointing is more relaxing than dragging a mouse around.

@Dodger
1) seem impossible without changing the gameplay.
3) would need moving the cursor with the analog stick, am i right? Maybe loss of accuracy.
undertech

Will the “ass” get past the Big N’s censors? HMMMM
Dodger

@Phasma Felis, @Gunmaggot,

Here’s the problem, yes the mouse works just fine on the PC for precision accuracy. Here’s the problem, you’re going to lose that accuracy on the Wii. It will slow the game down considerably, which would basically kill the game since it’s supposed to be a fast paced action game. Don’t get me wrong, I love the game as well, but the PC version benefits from the user friendly and intuitive controls of the mouse and keyboard config. Until the Wii gets mouse and keyboard controls the pointer will drastically slow down gameplay. Here are some examples why: Ever played Max and the Magic Marker? There’s one reason. Now, try playing World of Goo on PC and on your Wii. Yes, they both work great, but because it’s a puzzle game you don’t need to be lightning fast, the thing is the Wii version is still a slower experience than the PC version (it would be a lie if anyone said otherwise). Lastly, look at Lostwinds. It’s yet another great little platformer, but the speed of it is considerably slower than Noitu Love 2. But I digress, Noitu Love 2 is a great game and would be well suited for Nintendo’s WiiWare library, the problems that will arise will have to do with the controls. Back to my earlier point though, the more control options, the better. This is a console we’re talking about after all, so having more options is far more helpful and intuitive to the consumer.

@DYH,

1) It wouldn’t be impossible, but it would be missing the extra buttons of the classic controller. 3) Could work with the analogs (yes with a loss of accuracy), but it could instead utilize an auto lock-on feature where you could change the locked on enemy with the flick of the right analog (it’s been done in other games, even 2D ones). Obviously, nothing beats the Mouse + Keyboard, but since we’re talking about the Wii version the controls will need to be tweaked somehow because accuracy will be a problem anyway and personally, when it comes to playing 2D side-scrollers, I prefer to sit comfortably on my couch rather than stand for a game that requires little movement of the wiimote and nunchuck. Again, Lost Winds comes to mind, it’s easy to play the game relaxed, whereas NL2 is much faster paced.

I can’t stress that having more options is always better, for everyone.

I’m still just as happy for Konjak as when I first heard the news though. Great job Konjak, keep up the good work!
gunmaggot

The pointer will work fine as a mouse substitute – in fact, I expect it will work better. I’m more concerned about the analogue controls, which never quite feel right moving in a 2D environment.
Dodger

@gunmaggot,

You really should give Max and the Magic Marker a try. Then compare the pacing.
Frank

Overrated, horribly.
gunmaggot

@ Dodger: I’ve played enough pointer-based Wii games to know it can work when it’s implemented correctly. NL2 is just a totally different sort of game than Max, and I will bet cash money it’s better suited to the pointer than the mouse (though maybe not for long sessions).

@ Frank: You are dumb.
Zap

I’ve only played the demo which I finished by spamming the uppercut kick. Is the full game better balanced?
Jad

Frank is just too frank

badum-tish

the splash image at the top is very ugly, haha, it’s just gray and a lot of images slapped together, not all that beautiful D:

The game will feel right at home at the wii. Happy to see that it’s getting more and more awesome games ‘ n ‘!
Dodger

@gunmaggot,

I don’t think the pointer will have the precision of the mouse, nor the speed necessary to keep up the pace of the PC version. That doesn’t mean it can’t still be a great game on wii ware but if it is at all possible to get the pointer and nunchuck to be anywhere near as responsive as a mouse an keyboard (the nunchuck will make for good character control I think – but the wiimote used as a pointer will be the problem), I think there will have to be some heavy tweaking done to get the controls just right, especially if it’s going to be the only method of control for the game. People love these types of 2D games with fast action and big boss battles, but only when the controls are tight. Tight controls make all the difference for action based side scrolling platformers. I want the game to be as fluid and fun as the PC version, the problem is I can already see that hopping from hook to hook might be more frustrating than fun if the pointer controls aren’t streamlined.

I guess it’s just a matter of the waiting game now to see if it all works out. I’d be happy if I was proven wrong though, so it’s not as if I’m being negative. Just giving a constructive opinion.
Al3xand3r

Thanks for doing this Konjak, I’ll certainly double dip.

Please, don’t listen to people who want classic controller support or other random crap, they aren’t your audience, actual Wii owners that do play the system are, and we play it because we love the pointer controls it offers for shooters or even other types of games. All the characters, Xoda or the unlockables, will work perfectly on Wii with the standard remote+nunchuck controls.

I suppose you already know that and that’s the reason it’s only announced for Wii though, unlike Toki which will be available for multiple platforms. I also remember you mentioned it in an old interview of yours. You have a good head on your shoulders for sure.

Just make sure you implement the pointer correctly and not laggy as certain crappy games did. Again, thank you.
Al3xand3r

@ Dodger’s incoherent rants:
Max and the Magic Marker is not a game you need to be lightning fast in to work considering you can PAUSE to draw. The reason the pointer doesn’t work as well for that is because POINTING is not ideal for drawing. Pointing however is actually ideal for shooting, considering that’s exactly what you do when you, uh, point and shoot. You don’t lose accuracy on Wii, you sound like you’ve not spent more than 10 mins on Wii dodger, obviously there’s a learning curve involved with any new input method, but Wii shooting controls are as intuitive, accurate, and fast as they get, outside a tiny minority of games that didn’t implement the pointer right.

Other than that, they work perfectly, as seen for example in SEGA’s lightgun shooters that work as good as the arcade games, in Resident Evil 4 where the game suddenly became easy mode due to how much easier it was to aim and shoot with Wii controls versus GC/PS2 controls, in Sin & Punishment 2, and plenty other fast paced games, if not faster than Noitu Love 2 even. You don’t even need to be pixel perfect accurate in NL2 or anything, though it’s certainly possible to be that with Wii controls.

For those who find it tiring or jittery tip: don’t hold it up like a gun unless you actually play it with a gun shell, like you do for lightgun shooters. Otherwise, rest it in your lap, or if you’re standing rest it against your body, just like a regular controller, and work mostly with wrist movements. It’s going to be steady, accurate, fastn and pretty much perfect for most games that involve pointing and/or shooting of any sort.
http://moonloop.vg Eclipse

DYH said about 8 hours later:
“because remote-pointing is more relaxing than dragging a mouse around.”

I believe you never used a mouse or a wiimote
Dodger

@Al3xand3r,

Actually, I am one of Konjak’s “Audience”. I purchased and played through NL2 and loved it. What I don’t get is why the fuck you’re being a dickweed? I hadn’t said anything negative about the game, quite the contrary, and I also look forward to it on the wii.

Also, please tell me, how often do you “Shoot” in NL2? Answer that one please just so you don’t make yourself look more like an ass. Don’t say I sound like I haven’t spent more than 10 minutes with the Wii controls when I’ve played through entire games on the Wii. You’re just being a dick for the sake of being a dick, I was just expressing an opinion about the controls. Saying that the wiimote will easily replica the precision of the mouse is moronic considering games made as well as world of goo don’t show that much precision, but then it is a much slower game isn’t it? So my point was, being that this is a fast game, the precision of the mouse might not be replicated with the wiimote – because of it’s speed.

I’m just very tired of misinterpretation do your others lack or reading comprehension. I realize English might be a second language but I wasn’t treating you like shit, so I’ll tell you what, do me the same courtesy and I’ll return the favor.

It’s not even your game and yet YOU can’t handle a little constructive criticism or an opinionated point of view. Please read my comments in full before diving off the deep end Al3xand3r.
SirNiko

Yeah, gotta agree with Al3x on this. After playing Zelda: TP and Metroid Prime 3 on the Wii, I find the Wii remote is incredibly accurate and comfortable for use as a point-and-shoot device, even in the midst of movement with the control stick. I wasn’t aware Noitu Love 2 had mouse control, but I think it’ll be fine if you go with the remote + nunchuck combo. Lost Winds did that, and it turned out perfectly.

-SirNiko
Al3xand3r

When did I say you said something bad about the game dodger? Can you even read? As for how often you shoot in NL2, that’s quite often when you play as Rilo. You don’t shoot with the other characters, but what the gameplay asks of you is much closer to shooting than Max & the Magic Marker. How often do you draw in NL2, answer that for me dodger before you make yourself look like more of a dumbass :)
Al3xand3r

@SirNiko, yep, and the cursor wasn’t even the best it could be in Zelda as it was just a port with tacked on remote stuff, the cursor felt a bit slow and laggy in that game, others have done it much better.
Alan

Dammit WiiWare you already made me buy Cave Story WHEN WILL YOUR DELICIOUS INDIE PC GAME PORT TYRANNY END
undertech

It will end when you are broke. Do not worry!
Dodger

@Al3xand3r,

You still haven’t answered the question. So accuracy for a 2D platformer with a wiimote as a pointer is still questionable.
Al3xand3r

No it’s not, there are plenty Wii games with perfect accuracy. That it’s a platformer on top of the point & click mechanics that are much like any point & click shooter, of which the Wii has plenty, won’t somehow make it less accurate than in those games. It’s accurate in NyxQuest (platformer!), it’s accurate in Lost Winds 1 & 2 (platformers!), it’s accurate in Wii Shooting in Wii Play, it’s accurate in almost every lightgun shooter that isn’t shoddily made, it’s accurate in the Wii system menu, it’s accurate in Residnet Evil 4, it’s accurate in almost every game there is that uses it, 2D or 3D, regardless of genre, be it first, or third person shooters, or side scrolling platformers, or rail shooters like Sin & Punishment 2, or whatever else. That you’re asked to also control a character with the analog stick at the same time won’t somehow make the cursor less accurate than it can be. Feel free to keep being delusional.
Dodger

You mentioned the games that are platformers that utilize this control method, and while they are accurate (Lost Winds 1&2, NyxQuest – all of which I own), they are also 1/3rd the speed of NL2 and they are much more like puzzle-platformers. I can’t see NL2 being as fluid on the Wii as it is on the PC and that’s just my honest opinion. Imagine trying to play a game like mega man (which is faster than NyxQuest and Lost Winds) using this same control method… having to slow down the gameplay drastically would ruin such a game. It’s perfect for puzzle platformers, but for an action packed side scroller, I haven’t seen it done successfully yet. I’m sure the NL2 experience will still be playable and enjoyable, but it will most likely be a slower experience on the Wii unless Konjak figures out some way of making the pointer as fluid as the mouse. That would be a great feat.
Levi

Cave Story Wii, Spelunky on XBLA, La Mulana on Wii, an now Noitu Love 2 on Wii… I’m loving these indy games getting ports! It’s inspiring!
gunmaggot

@ Dodger: Seriously, just drop it. Whatever criticisms you want to make about the Wiimote (and there are many that can be made), pointer functionality is not one. Retreating into ‘that’s just my honest opinion’ after banging on so long about verifiable examples reeks of cop-out and makes it very clear you aren’t a person worth having an honest conversation with.
Phasma Felis

NL2’s pointer controls are effectively the same as a gun game’s. You’re moving a crosshair over a target and hitting the trigger, as quickly and accurately as possible. There’s not a lot of dragging or drawing. If it works for Resident Evil and House of the Dead, it should be fine here.

Not sure why Alexander suddenly exploded with dickery, though.
mr

Something just occurred to me. Cave Story and La-Mulana are the two indie games I can think of which have been (or are being) given the Wii treatment. The makers of Indie Brawl were forbidden from using characters from either series.

With that in mind, will the Indie Brawl folks have to remove Xoda Rap from their game, now that Noitu Love 2 is going to be a Wiiware game? Just a thought.
Dodger

@gunmaggot,

I think you should probably drop it. “That’s just my honest opinion” was exactly that. I meant nobody had to agree with me, but I was being honest in my feelings on the controls and the looseness of them for a fast game that requires precision at a fast pace. Don’t go on and on about me copping out when I explain my reasoning and my opinions. If you want to have an honest conversation, stop being oversensitive about a recommendation for having multiple control schemes in a game that I enjoy as well.

@Phasma Felis,

I understand all of that, the thing is NL2 moves along faster than RE4 and House of the Dead doesn’t really use both nunchuck and wiimote controls. Even the RE shooters (Umbrella and Darkside) really only utilize the pointer. I’m hoping the controls will be fluid for a side-scrolling game though, they’re obviously intuitive for certain shooters, but I still haven’t come across a game that originally used the mouse on the PC and had that same precision when being ported to the wii and using the wiimote. World of Goo was very close, but again the experience was a much slower one and it was made slower still because of the wiimote – it just couldn’t keep up with the precise movement of the mouse I’ve played it on both my PC and the Wii and I can’t match the times that I get on my PC with the wiimote – it’s still very close and well implemented but as stated earlier, it’s a much slower game than NL2.

I’m definitely not saying you can’t play the game using the nunchuck and wiimote control scheme, I seriously hope that none of the of the fluidity will be lost though.

I’ll leave it at that though and keep my fingers crossed because I don’t want gunmaggot to have a baby. ;-)
Dodger

@Levi,

You also forgot “Super Meat Boy” and “And Yet it Moves”… plus there were a couple of others that I think I’ve forgotten. Still, what a great lineup!
Al3xand3r

That youâ€™re asked to also control a character with the analog stick at the same time wonâ€™t somehow make the cursor less accurate than it can be. Feel free to keep being delusional.

You failed to address that part. Or make any sense whatsoever. OH noes, I must control a character, that MUST make the pointer less accurate, somehow. I don’t know how, but it must! Even though tons of games use that set up, including the likes of Sin & Punishment 2, which most certainly isn’t a slow paced game.
Julmust

Dodger: You’re approaching this from the assumption that; Noitu Love 2 MUST be fast-paced in order for it to be a GREAT game.. Don’t you think that, regardless of what Noitu Love 2 is on the PC, they will make the necessary modifications for it to work with the WiiMote? Hell they probably have to develop the engine from ground up, seeing it’s Multimedia Fusion.
konjak

Everything will suck and the cursor will intentionally have half a second delay, and you have to double-click everything!
Dodger

Damn, just as I thought! ;P
DYH

@Eclipse

I forgot “for me”… tends to happen every sentence :)
sonic

This is good news, the first one really needed better controls
gunmaggot

@ sonic: No it didn’t.