9 Times The Wii Remote Speaker Actually Improved Gameplay

Bit.Trip Beat is a WiiWare title launched on the download service in 2009. Unashamedly retro in everything it offers, from Atari 2600-like graphics and a bleeping, blooping soundtrack harking back to arcade games from the same era, the game offered modern tilt controls with old-school design.

Essentially, the game is PONG cut in half. The player controls a paddle on the left of the screen deflecting dots that come at them from the right. There's no opposing player and no boundary to the right side of the screen.

Each successful hit ramps up the soundtrack that rhythmically and hypnotically players over the on-screen action and experts soon find the screen awash with distracting effects. Fireworks light up the screen. What look like laser beams take over whole halves of your playspace. Colour and sound both changes like a kaleidoscope with speakers built in.

Repeated failure would drain the screen of colour and the game would go back to looking very much like the PONG of old: black and white colour, little to no soundtrack. The Wii Remote speaker would be the only source of music as it strained out pathetic notes to signal how badly you were doing. You had to get back into the rhythm to build the soundtrack back up and have the TV speakers ring out with your success.

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What do you think? Did you always keep the Wii Remote speaker on mute? Or did you enjoy its low-fi audio output? Were there other games that used the speaker in innovative ways? Let us know in the comments below!