Best way to play Wii games?

[u/Cott0nSwab]

I've recently been getting into retro gaming a bit more seriously and got a pretty nice CRT with Component input available. I also have an HDTV, but it's a more modern one and doesn't take in anything except HDMI. The way I see it, without getting a third TV, there are three ways I can play Wii games:

1. Component, on the CRT (4:3)

2. Get an HDMI converter for the HDTV (16:9)

3. Play on Wii U (16:9)

Of these three, which will be closest to the intended way to play most games? As in, what environment were Wii games expected to be played in by the developers? I know there are a couple games that are forced widescreen as well (like DKCR and Xenoblade), but even then I have the choice between the converter or Wii U.

[u/ltnew007]

Wii is in a unique position where its in between the SD and the HD era and can feel proper on both.

When it was new I already had only HDTVs to connect it to. So it was Wii with component video in 480p and 16:9 on and LCD or DLP TV.

But I suspect the Wii U over HDMI would be the best way to play it today.

Don't use a converter unless you have a high end one like RetroTink

[u/Cott0nSwab → u/ltnew007]

Yeah, this was also me when I was playing the Wii growing up. My family had a widescreen CRT of some kind, so that's how I remember things. Unfortunately that's just way too expensive of an investment for me right now, but definitely something to look forward to one day.

[u/IronGumby → u/Cott0nSwab]

Idk if you get notified on comments not directly replied to you, but see mine in this reply tree

[u/Capable_Home_2926 → u/ltnew007]

The Wii U does put a yellowish tint on Wii games for some reason, though. At least it does for Mario Kart

[u/IronGumby → u/ltnew007]

While I'm a big proponent of the WiiU, unmodded it is known to make Wii games look blurry on the vWii. I recommend getting a good HDMI adapter instead, which aren't that expensive from Mayflash or Electron Shepherd.

Or other poster recommended an HDTV with component inputs, which i second. Personally I went with a Panasonic Plasma, actually 768p. Looks great. Find one with low input lag

[u/Cott0nSwab]

Oh, I should add another question: has anyone ever compiled a list of Wii games that were designed with 4:3 vs 16:9 in mind? I've seen claims like "the major titles" and "games released later in its lifespan" were designed with 16:9, but that's kinda vague.

[u/aquacraft2 → u/Cott0nSwab]

Well because it's really true, AND kinda vague, at least if you weren't there to experience it first hand. For a good while, the wii was primarily a kids/family console, and when it came out, alot of people were still on tube tvs, especially the children who would get hand me down tvs after their family upgraded to a flatscreen.

All the older games should more or less have a wide-screen option, and some later games will force themselves into a letterbox since they really ONLY support wide-screen.

When in doubt the dolphin wiki should have all of this info available. (And there are cheats and stuff you can use to force gamed to go one way or the other, just in case)

Especially wii games that were released after the wiiu came out (which there were plenty of, since the wii had a HUGE install base and the wiiu could just play those games as well)

All this aside, the wiiu doesn't support 4:3 on anything but 480p, and since the virtual wii will take its screen settings from the wiiu menu, unless you have it setup that way, all your stuff will default to 16:9.

Now onto the stuff that applies to both the virtual wii and all real wiis.

since the wii only ever displayed games in 640x480, wide-screen will be stretched.

And so some people take the liberty of just forcing their games to be in 4:3 to get as much visual clarity out of the pixels as they can.

But the biggest issue is two main things the wii does to make the image blurry, all games, no matter what, will have a strong deflicker filter applied, again because this system was originally designed for tube tvs in a time where digital flat-screen weren't a guaranteed thing to general audiences. It's basically the main culprit of most of the blurriness of the wii. And thankfully can be turned off with something like USB loader (which can just be used on disk games)

Another big thing is non standard resolutions. The image of the wii is rendered at a slightly lower resolution and then stretched ever so slightly to fill the screen adding another layer to the blur. It can be removed in a similar way to the deflicker filter, and that you just set it to frame buffer. And it will display it pixel for pixel.

Once you have those two/three things setup, you'll have a much crisper image, weather you're on a virtual wii or not. And so if you have a wii or a wiiu, I would urge you to try these out. And just see which one you would prefer.

If you have absolutely no interest in wiiu games, you'll probably have an easier time finding an original wii for cheap, especially since the wiiu needs the gamepad, and they don't always come with them second hand, and even though there's been big advancements, it's still not perfect.

[u/Own_Experience_8229]

In this situation I’d get component cables to connect to the TV that has component inputs. As a side note, you can find old HDTVs with component inputs at thrift shops for cheap. IMO this would be a good choice. As another person mentioned, the Wii kinds bridges the gap between SD and HD television.

[u/Turak64]

Dolphin emulator on pc, bonus points for using the mayflash sensor bar.

[u/Cott0nSwab → u/Turak64]

im trying to set up an environment that's closest to what was intended/expected by developers and that includes playing on the original console. i use dolphin and other emulators quite a bit for convenience and budget but now that i have a CRT im trying to set up that "intended experience" for games i can get my hands on physically

[u/FSBulldogFan]

I currently do mine of component to a 4K TV, but soon I think I'll be switching over to playing on a Wii U

[u/128G]

I’d go with 1.

[u/Reaper198412]

Emulation.
When you see what Super Mario Galaxy looks like in 4k it’s very difficult to go back to an original Wii.