First, Amazon is not a direct seller of Nintendo Wii U and, I believe, most of Nintendo's hardware. This is why you see such a markup because it is being sold by a third party.
Second, As of today the Wii U deluxe Bundle has dropped to 299.99. Do not buy it for more.
Third, even though this is a Limited Edition Bundle I had no trouble getting mine today without pre-ordering it. Do some shopping around friends. If all else fails you can probably still find the original deluxe bundle for the same 299.99 price.
Review:
Just received my Wii U today. I spent many great hours playing games with my friends at home and hope to do the same with the Wii U. Bought this because of the price drop, now just have to wait for my favorite Nintendo games to be released in the upcoming months. Great bundle, great price. As said above, shop around! Don't waste your money, friends.
For me the Wii has always been a group play system. Very friendly console for get togethers and families.
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So, first off, I want to tell you a bit about why I got the Wii-U. I looked into the Wii-U beforehand, I knew exactly what I was getting in comparison to Xbox-One and the PS4. Currently I own a PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360. I don't play any of those anymore, I have a gaming computer. In fact, my gaming computer outclasses the Xbox-One and the PS4. I should also mention that I was never exactly taken with the Wii's style of gameplay, in fact it was more of a turn-off for me. Still, I am a die-hard Zelda fan, and I have played every Zelda up until now (excluding Zelda and Zelda II ... Still wanna play those btw.). So, when I heard about the Zelda Windwaker bundle, and the fact that nintendo was going to have a lot of 1st party releases soon, I decided to get the bundle and give the Wii-U a shot.
Now, when I got my Wii-U, first thing I did was I took out my zelda controller and admired it. It looks epic, there's zelda symbols all around it creating a gold trim, my inner zelda fanboy was going wild.
Here's the low part of my review, whenever you are setting up your Wii-U, it makes you use the controller to set it up. This was a bit of a pain, but it wasn't too bad. I just had to go through a lot, including setting up a nintendo account to get access to the online Zelda Windwaker content. I can understand why they want you to do that, but really I just wanted to jump right in. Instead I was stuck waiting for about an hour for the Windwaker to download :(.
So, fast forward an hour and I am about to play the Windwaker in HD. At this point, I am thinking to myself that this controller is going to ruin everything. It was heavier than a normal controller, it was bulky, and I wasn't too taken with the screen. To be honest though, now I kind of like it. The controller isn't really distracting during gameplay, and it is convenient to have a map and an inventory you can quickly access on your controller. The only real complaint I have about it now is the way the buttons are set up. For me, the fact that the "R" button is way on top of the controller is completely counter-intuitive. For a while I was mistaking the "ZR" button for the "R" button and it kept messing me up. At one point it almost killed me in the game. Still, this is just something to expect with a new controller, at this point I have gotten used to it. Now the controller, even though it is still a bit heavy, reminds me of a gamecube controller with the way the buttons are laid out.
For the system I don't have any complaints at all. A few things took me by suprise, like when I explored the "chat" app and looked down to see my face on the wii-u controller. The hardware seems to work quickly though. I haven't had any issues with load screens, the graphics look FREAKING AMAZING, and everything in the game flows very smoothly. Must say I am enjoying this new, better looking Windwaker.
As for the Windwaker itself, nothing has really changed. Just better graphics and some new stuff. I have noticed that the boat is a bit different, it keeps messing me up when I look for treasure. Also I have gotten the bombs and it looks like they have a new system for aiming. For new players, that's a good thing, for me, it's a bad thing, because I learned how to aim with the old system really well. It just keeps messing me up, it's hard to tell if it's the projections that are throwing me off or if the cannon moves faster. I might just be getting distracted by the projections is all :P.
So, in short, is this system worth it?
I can't tell you that, it depends on your situation. I don't know how the Xbox-One is, or the PS4 for that matter, and I don't plan on getting either of them. I might get the PS4 though if the price drops and Kingdom Hearts 3 is out on it :D.
What I can tell you though is this, even though the Wii-U's specs might not be on par with the Xbox-One or PS4, it still plays games very well and in HD. I don't know what Nintendo does, but for some reason a lot of their games come out looking amazing anyways, even without HD (i.e. Twilight Princess). If its graphics you are after, the Wii-U might be a step below the competition, but by no means are they bad.
Another thing I feel I should mention before anyone writes the Wii-U off for its poor specs in comparison to other gaming machines is that, as mentioned before I have a gaming computer. My current gaming computer outclasses the Xbox-One and the PS4. I have no game I cannot play in maximum graphics and I have never had a game mess up on my computer. I have to tell you this, graphics don't really mean much. If the gameplay sucks, then I just tend to give up on the game. One thing I can say about Nintendo is that they always tend to have good games to play. Sometimes it can get a bit redundant, for instance, in Zelda it's always "Go to these temples, get these 3 stones, get the awesome sword, power up the sword, and go save the princess!". That can get old, but the one thing that keeps bringing me back to Zelda games is the feeling I get when exploring a new dungeon or adventuring. I love solving the puzzles in Zelda, it always makes me so happy when I get through the frustration. I do hate it though when it's something simple you wouldn't think of, then you have to refer to a guide (a.k.a. wind temple, getting the short violin guy). Look, my point is, it's not all about the story, it's not all about the graphics, gameplay is probably the most important thing when it comes to hunting new games. It's for that reason I got the Wii-U.
So, if you've actually read all of my review, well done sir, and I hope it somehow helps you out in any troubles that you have. Best of luck.
EDIT: I forgot to mention this. Don't buy the Wii-U here. It's overpriced, go somewhere else.
2nd Edit: Okay, so I have to add this. Earlier while I was playing my Wii-U, my roomates came back to our apartment. I already knew that using the Wii-U controller, you could watch TV while waiting for a download. What I did not know though was that if you keep the Wii-U on and use the controller, you can actually play games on the controller while watching TV. Earlier I was playing Windwaker on the gamepad while my roomates were watching football, I was able to hang out with them and still play Zelda! Then I turned it off whenever Breaking Bad started. :D. I just wanted to share that too, I didn't know about that feature until tonight.
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I agree R. Muenks. The local Gamestop, Best Buy, and Target all had the limited edition available for $299.99. Some even had money off sales to help promote it. I got mine with both Wii Zelda games, both new, for only $324.99 Do some extra shopping and save yourself the hassle. Thanks for the good review and info R.
The review: This is a great set. You get the new Zelda game in HD 2 weeks before hard copy comes out. Yes, you have to download it, but thats ok with me. The game pad is cool looking, and seems very sturdy to handle. Plus its the same price as the regular deluxe edition with more bonus! The HC Zelda book is an awesome bonus for fans as well.
Honest reviews on The Legend of Zelda™: The Wind Waker (HD Deluxe Set)
Upon hearing that Wind Waker would be released in HD for the Wii U, I knew immediately that I would be purchasing a Wii U at some point, and with Nintendo releasing it as a Wii U Bundle, what better time to get it than now? Well, they really sucked me in on this one!
The system itself is very sleek. With this bundle you are getting the 32GB Wii U hard drive coming in the color black. One of the main features of this system is of course, the gamepad, which with this bundle, comes with a Legend of Zelda themed controller with gold engravings. The controller looks very nice! I like that the controller is obviously Zelda themed, but the design isn't too over bearing or annoying. Usually I don't like designs like this on my controllers or systems, but in this instance I'm really enjoying it since the design is nice and it's Zelda themed.
After unboxing the system and turning it on, you have to go through a system update which will take about an hour to complete. It was a bit disheartening since I was so excited to get started on the game, but the update is necessary and in the mean time you can maybe run a few errands or find something else to occupy your time while it updates. So after your system is updated, you will need to go to the Wii U shop to download your digital copies of Wind Waker and the Hyrule Historia. Luckily, these downloads don't take nearly as long as the system update, and you should be able to get started playing the game in only a matter of minutes!
The game itself is stunning! It's one of my favorites in the series, and I must say that the HD remake is definitely worth seeing. They made a few changes to the game, but for the most part, the HD remake remains true to the original game. I feel like the changes they made to the HD remake only tend to enhance the gameplay. Some changes in the game include the Swift Sail which will allow you to sail twice as fast as the original sail, AND you won't have to change wind directions! This will save you a lot of time and frustration from having to constantly change the direction of the wind to explore the ocean. One major change I noticed was that when you begin searching for the triforce pieces, you only have to locate 3 triforce charts instead of all of them. This again will save you a lot of time, and prevents the game from becoming so redundant. There is also an item called Tingle Bottles which allows you to share images and messages with other players. This really helps you out if you're trying to collect all of the figurines in the game. This remake is sure to please the fans, and to attract a lot of newcomers to the franchise. Kudos to Nintendo!
Aside from the Wind Waker game, the system itself has a lot to offer. One of my favorite new features is the Miiverse. It's sort of like a a forum for Nintendo games and products where users can share messages and pictures of their favorite games. The system also comes pre-installed with Youtube, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, and Netflix to cover all of your video viewing needs. One flaw I've found with the system is whenever I watch Youtube videos, the loading times are very slow and it tends to stop a lot. I'd love to watch Youtube videos through my console, but unfortunately I've found it's much easier for me to just go to my laptop and view them. The same thing goes for the internet browser. Although it's a cool feature, I've found these tasks to just be easier to complete on my own laptop.
The Hyrule Historia download that comes with this console is also very neat! Although I'd rather read a physical copy of the book, the book does look very nice on the controller, and it's easy to navigate and flip through pages of the book with the controller.
I also just completed a system transfer from my Wii to Wii U, and the process was very simple. I now have all of my save data and virtual console games from my Wii to my Wii U! You can find information on how to do this through a google search.
So overall, I am very pleased with my new Wii U! I did find my Wii collecting dust, so I'm hoping to find more use with my Wii U. There have been a lot of solid releases for the 3DS, so I'm hoping the same will happen soon with the Wii U. So far there's a new 3D Super Mario, and Smash Bros game so it looks like these expectations may be met. I also wouldn't doubt that Nintendo will be announcing a new Zelda game soon. If you're a fan of Wind Waker and are interested in a Wii U, then you don't want to pass up this bundle. This bundle is great for old fans, and newcomers alike. Happy gaming!
Also, PLEASE check your local retailer before purchasing this bundle through Amazon. I got my bundle at Target for MSRP $299.99 and they still seemed to have plenty of systems in stock. I'm sure other retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart should have the bundle too. Don't find yourself spending too much money for a system you can find cheaper just down the street from you!
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Okay so I was one of those people who said the tablet was a gimmick and the console probably sucked. I was annoyed at Nintendo as well for ignoring the console and I still am. So a couple weeks ago my ps3 kicked the bucket(old ylod model that I was sick of fixing). I went out to replace it with a new model. I figured I could sell my ps2 library and deal with the ps2 classics on the psn. When I went out I saw that the Wii u bundle and the ps3 were the same price(Not the amazon list price it was $299.99) I paced around for almost a half hr thinking of what to do because I knew the Wii u had a small game library and I may have to re-buy games. I took the chance. Holy crap is this console amazing! I had the original Wii and I hated it! It had a few games that were actually excellent but that was rare. It mostly had those stupid cooking mamma games that i'd rather eat a box of nails then play. However it did have the Zelda games and Mario. What's great is I can play that small library of excellent titles that I missed after selling my Wii! In 1080p as well!(It's upscaled) The Wii games look sharp and the Wii u games on the game pad is sweet! The gamepad is not a gimmick! It's actually very useful! I like taking my games into my bedroom with my better ac instead in my living room with crappy ac. Also laying down on my couch with the gamepad playing next gen games rules! The big screen is nice but sometimes I feel like laying around like a lazy bum! The TV function is great as well! I didn't expect it but it's awesome! It won't replace your remote but it won't get you killed when you need the remote to adjust the volume either! Basically if i'm playing call of duty online and the volume is too loud i just tap the TV button, lower the volume and tap it again. Then i'm back to yelling at cod for lagging as well as making up excuses for my bad playing. =) The virtual console is a nice touch to but could use a larger library. You can however access the Wii virtual console which has n64 games and a decent amount of retro titles you can play. You can also use your tablet controller as a display for Wii mode now. The tablet controls can't play the games so you still need the wiimote and nunchuck, as well as the classic controller. You can also add up to 2tb of external storage to install Wii u games onto. Oh and the console does not have hdcp so if you like capturing gameplay you are free to do so and even if it did it supports component cables. It does need some bugs ironed out of the OS but so far it's one of my favorite Nintendo systems. I like the hardcore titles as well as the Nintendo titles and the vc. It gives you a good variety of gameplay. With Microsoft and Sony most of there exclusives are shooters and the third party games are also shooters so it made me wanna quit gaming. This is what I needed.
