My big splurge this year was buying a
Wii and a
Wii Fit. If you buy a Wii with the Wii Sports package, you're going to get one nunchuk. The question is, should you buy another? I didn't, and I'm happy with my decision.
(Random spelling note, since I've seen it both ways: I looked it up on the Nintendo website, and it's
nunchuk, not
nunchuck.)
That doesn't look like a nunchuk
When I hear "nunchuk" I think of those things that ninjas swing around in martial arts movies. I guess the Wii nunchuk sort of resembles those, but its use is totally different. The Wii comes with a main controller (the "Wii remote," or "Wii-mote"), but for games that require two hands, like boxing, you need another controller. This is where the Nunchuk comes in: it attaches to the Wii remote with a three-foot cord, and provides the same motion-sensing capabilities for your other hand.
Comparison of the controllers
Wii remote
- design: boxy (like a TV remote)
- batteries: takes 2 AA batteries
- weight: 7 oz
- price: $39.99
- needed for: pretty much everything
- buttons: eight, plus direction control
Nunchuck
- design: ergonomic; smaller than remote
- batteries: none (draws power from remote)
- weight: 3 oz
- price: $19.99
- needed for: boxing, Zelda, Red Steel, maybe a couple others
- buttons: two, plus toggle switch
Using the nunchuk
There's no setup required for this. When you go to a game like boxing, the Wii instructs you to connect the nunchuk, which consists of plugging it into the remote. Then you're ready to go.
As I mentioned, you get one Wii remote and one nunchuk when you buy the Wii console. We knew we'd need an additional remote, so we bought the "Wii Play" package, which is a bunch of mini games with an additional controller. Fortunately, we held off on purchasing an additional nunchuk.
As I've mentioned in my other reviews, the boxing feature of the Wii was the biggest disappointment for me. I had high hopes for it, but quickly got frustrated with how unresponsive the Wii can be to punching motions. The sensor is okay at picking up motion from the Wii remote, but is really lousy getting it from the nunchuk. This means that if you throw punches with your non-dominant hand they often don't register. (An easy way to get the sensor to pick up your punches is to flick your wrist as if you're casting a fishing rod, but if I wanted to fish I wouldn't be playing the boxing game!) The result of this is that I get really angry with the Wii during boxing, which I suppose gets my heart rate up, but it isn't very pleasant.
The physical design of the nunchuk is fine: it fits in my hand vey well, and the cord is the right length to provide room to maneuver without being so long you might trip on it. But I don't see a lot of point to the good ergonomic features if the controller doesn't actually work well.
Recommendations
Obviously, I wouldn't buy one. The reason to get one would be if you want to box against someone else -- you can't do this without two nunchuks. At $20, it's not a big investment compared with the other Wii stuff, but it's $20 more than I'd spend on it. If you already have a Wii, you know how much you like the boxing game, and whether you want to box a lot against other people, so you can assess how much you need the nunchuk. But if you're new to the Wii, wait until you've played for a while before deciding on this extra purchase.
