9 Times The Wii Remote Speaker Actually Improved Gameplay

The Wii Remote was revolutionary in design: nobody can dispute that. It simplified control schemes for hundreds of video games and its innovative design made games far less intimidating for the average Joe Public. It meant Nintendo sold near enough more Wii systems than their three earlier home consoles (NES, SNES and N64) put together - with some 101 million sold worldwide.

Alongside the motion controls and the fact you held the controller as two separate units - Wii Remote in one hand and nunchuk in the other - Nintendo also added a single speaker to the middle of the controller. One of the first demonstrated uses of this was for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess at E3 2006: the noises for pulling back a bowstring and firing off an arrow were heard through the small speaker, as well as being audible on the television.

But, as with many zany ideas Nintendo has, third-party software developers don't always know how to best take advantage of it for gameplay purposes. When developers did get it right, the speaker provided a handy chime here, or a slightly more immersive experience there. Generally speaking, Nintendo did their best as usual, where elsewhere, horror games came a close second.

Nothing revolutionary, but it could bring a smile of surprise to one's face.

Enter World 3 of Super Mario Galaxy 2, face a level called Beat Block Galaxy and its associated star, Step to the Beep. The Wii Remote plays an isolated but regular beeping noise that is actually part of the soundtrack to the level. The beeping signals when certain platforms will appear and others will disappear. Your job is to listen, watch, and jump very carefully.

It looks simple and straightforward. Long straight platforms stretch out ahead of you and cloudy skies promise something bright and breezy to play through. However, once you move beyond the initial purple blocks and start stepping on the greens and yellows, you'll notice they disappear and reappear in alternating cycles, accompanied by the beep from the Wii Remote.

The sound is almost a personal alarm as it gives you the urgency to make that jump at just the right time or pause and plan ahead. Mute the Wii Remote and the television if you're feeling particularly hardcore.

The biggest error you'll regularly make in this level is making a jump for a plaform vanishes whilst you're in mid-air because you've been lulled into a false sense of security by the beep and you think you've got the timing down. You haven't.

Simple, yet highly effective.