Wii Fanboy Review: Nyko's wireless nunchuk adapter [update]
When I heard that Nyko was going to manufacture a wireless adapter for the nunchuk, I was pretty happy. Any chance I can take to eliminate needless wires in my life is something I definitely look to do. So when Nyko said they'd send me a wireless nunchuk adapter for review, I leaped at the opportunity.
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The first thing that I will comment on is the weight. I was worried that adding the adapter to the bottom of the Wiimote and the shell that the nunchuk slides in to would combine to be too hefty a control set-up. And I'm glad to report that I was wrong in my initial expectation. The thing feels light and is quite comfortable in my hands. Considering my hands are more like big cartoon mitts, this came as quite the surprise.
How about hooking it up? Also a breeze. You pop in a pair of AAA batteries into the bottom of the nunchuk shell and connect the small adapter to the bottom of the Wiimote. Then, power on the Wii, your Wiimote, then hit the power button on the nunchuk adapter and you're set. I did find one small issue with the nunchuk adapter, though.
When loading in the batteries, I noticed that Nyko decided to go with curved prongs that connect to the positive side of the battery. The negative side connects to a spring, as per the usual set-up, but with these smooth, curved prongs, it can be hard to line up the battery right. They slip around when initially installing them. Once you straighten them out, though, you're set. Another issue I had was with the adapter that plugs into the bottom of the Wiimote. You have to jam it in kind of hard to lock it, but once it's in place, it fits snug.
After hooking everything up, I tried a few different games. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Mario Galaxy and Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition were the games I tested the peripheral with. And, on each game, it passed with flying colors. The wireless adapter works the nunchuk just like you'd expect. There's no delay in the action on-screen when pressing buttons.
It's really hard to say if this device is a better solution than the wired nunchuk. As I've said, I prefer things to be wireless, so I felt that this was a more enjoyable way to play for me. But, for you (who will have to dish out $20 for this thing), I'm not sure if you'll want to pay $20 for something that is going to neatly tuck your cord away at the price of some AAA batteries every week. It'll eat them as often as your Wiimote already eats its AA batteries.
Update: Per reader andynoz50's suggestion, I tossed in Wii Sports: Boxing (sorry, I don't have Rayman) and played with this some more. The game played the same with this, as without. It looks like the shell has no affect on how the game recognizes my inputs. So for motion-sensitive games, this thing passes the test.
Final score: 8/10
