Playing on the Wii

There’s no better way to relax on a stormy day than to play games. We fired up the Wii, and introduced Namine to Wii Sports and Mario Kart.

Jessica and I took turns sitting behind Namine. We helped her get used to the different controls — and by “helped,” I mean “played the game for her, while she tried to pull the controller in a completely different direction.” At least, that’s how it started out. But Namine is a fast learner, and she got the hang of it pretty quickly.

Jessica and Namine playing wakeboard surfing.
Jessica and Namine playing wakeboard surfing.

I didn’t have to do much for Namine when it came to table tennis. I showed her how swing the Wiimote (safely strapped to her hand), and let her go. She did the rest.

I sat behind Namine as she played table tennis. Her score was 5-6. Not bad for her first time.
I sat behind Namine as she played table tennis. Her score was 5-6. Not bad for her first time.

But if there was one game Namine enjoyed more than the rest — in Wii Sports Resort, anyway — it was the swordfight showdown. I’ll let the video do the talking for me, here. Words can’t describe.

Namine and I also played Mario Kart. The first two tracks, I held onto the wheel over her hands. But then she wrestled the controller away from me, saying that she wanted to do it herself. So I sat back in the chair and watched her play. Considering that she’d never played before, she caught on pretty quickly. By the end of our play session, she was coming in 7th place.

I’d initially thought that Namine would want to play as Baby Mario, or maybe Peach. But nope — she wanted to play as Bowser, every time. Of course this made sense when I thought about it; Namine can be a girly girl, but she tends to like more powerful characters, a reflection of her desire to have more control over her own life.

It’s kind of funny — I told Namine that Bowser (whom she originally called an alligator, until she realized he had a turtle shell) was a bad guy, and she asked why. So I told her that he kidnaps the princess. That didn’t dissuade her from playing as Bowser, but every time he growled in the game, she scolded him. “Don’t be so mean,” she’d say. “And don’t kidnap the princess, that’s not nice.”

On the way home, after we left my aunt’s house, Namine told us she wanted to play Animal Race. She has been known to make up games, so we thought this was something new. So we asked what Animal Race was. “You know, that game we played at my aunt’s house.”

So Mario Kart is now known as Animal Race.

Video games are hard work.
Video games are hard work.

3 responses

  1. Michele Avatar
    Michele

    She has a great laugh!

  2. This is precious and I LOVE the sword fight on Wii. Good for her.

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