Gaming best Wii exercise games?

t0_0 · May 23, 2020

Due to corona and working mainly from home, I dusted off my Wii and I am currently on a mission to play all exercise games. It is amazing how many there have been released and even more amazing the lack of them for other consoles after the Wii.
Ring fit adventure for the Switch might change that, the game seems to be an enormous success. After a success like that, we could see more exercise games coming. Until that happens I believe the Wii is still the exercise king of consoles.

I have played a lot of exercise games already e.g.:

- Wii fit. Has some fun games and provides a moderate workout.
- EA active sports series. Can be very challenging. I've played EA active sports 2 years ago and stopped because I couldn't keep up the pace of the exercises. Especially the mountain climbers were killing me.
- DDR seems to be quite fun for a cardio workout. Haven't played a lot with it, but I think I am going to like it.
- Active life series might be fun. Only played one mini game.
- Never really enjoyed the Just dance games, but might give them another chance. Folks really seem to like those.

The exercise games I played the most are Exerbeat and Walk it out.

- Exerbeat has a nice variety of exercises with a moderate pace, motion control works pretty well and motivational feedback (daily stamps / walk around the world). Wrist and ankle weights might be helpful to give a better workout if the exercises are not challenging enough.
- Walk it out is a walking game and tbh probably for most people a bit boring, but I make it harder and more interesting by using a mini-trampoline. Now I am often working from home it is an excellent game to have a small break from the desk, exercise for a few minutes and get the heart pumping.

Anyone else using the Wii to exercise? What are your favorite games and why?

BTW - an excellent site with a lot of exercise games reviews: http://gaming.fit/best-wii-exercise-games

JuanMena · May 23, 2020

These are the ones that made me sweat.

emcintosh · May 24, 2020

Many years ago I got a pair of 1kg weights that the wiimote and nunchuk clipped into (Riiflex - green rubber backing). That way any game could be extra arm exercise. I don’t think they’d fit my current Nyko wand+kama (wiimote and nunchuk that will both rumble), though. I played a reasonable amount of Skyward Sword with the weights, but I’m not sure whether it actually helped my strength / fitness.

Hakaisha · May 24, 2020

My favorite Wii exercise games are Shape Boxing and Shape Boxing 2. It's somewhat similar to DDR in function, but instead you're doing boxing moves to a rhythm using two Wii remotes, while mirroring the moves of your chosen instructor. Over time you can unlock new outfits for yourself and your instructor, as well as new and more difficult routines to play. The first Shape Boxing game was localized to the west as "Gold's Gym Cardio Workout" (NTSC-U) and "My Fitness Coach: Cardio Workout" (PAL), but the sequel unfortunately stayed exclusive to Japan.

Recently, a third entry to the series released for the Switch called "Fitness Boxing", which is pretty much the perfected iteration of the game; with HD visuals, and the Switch joycons smaller form factor fits better in your hands while you're playing.

t0_0 · May 24, 2020

emcintosh said:
I played a reasonable amount of Skyward Sword with the weights, but I’m not sure whether it actually helped my strength / fitness.

I don't think I've played this one, and might have skipped it only looking for 'real' exercise games. Seems fun, will give it a try and see if I need additional weights (I will probably have the same result with my wrist weights)
I think you can do the same with Punch Out.

Hakaisha said:
My favorite Wii exercise games are Shape Boxing and Shape Boxing 2.

I've heard of the Gold's Gym Cardio Workout and is definitely on my playlist (I do like the idea of a workout boxing game). Didn't know there was a sequel. Unfortunately not available in English. Do you need understanding of Japanese to play it? Is the 2nd version better?

Hakaisha · May 24, 2020

t0_0 said:
d of the Gold's Gym Cardio Workout and is definitely on my playlist (I do like the idea of a workout boxing game). Didn't know there was a sequel. Unfortunately not available in English. Do you need understanding of Japanese to play it? Is the 2nd version better?

I honestly prefer the first Shape Boxing over its sequel. It has that simple Wii Sports vibe to it, whereas the sequel has a more mature tone.

Shape Boxing 2 can be somewhat difficult to navigate and play without knowing Japanese. The menus are all in Japanese and your instructor speaks Japanese the entire time you're playing.

t0_0 · May 24, 2020

Hakaisha said:
I honestly prefer the first Shape Boxing over its sequel. It has that simple Wii Sports vibe to it, whereas the sequel has a more mature tone.

Shape Boxing 2 can be somewhat difficult to navigate and play without knowing Japanese. The menus are all in Japanese and your instructor speaks Japanese the entire time you're playing.

Okay, in that case I guess the better version is at least playable. Still interested to give the 2nd version at least a try - as my corona mission is to play all exercise games

Maeson · May 25, 2020

I have Gold's Gym and I'd say is a pretty decent workout, specially if you use 2 Wiimotes to give you enough arm mobility compared to Wiimote + Nunchuk. Overall I like it, it's not punching around like a madman but more like rhythmical exercise disguised as boxing.

I got a balance board and Wii Fit Plus last September and I found it to be pretty useful to lose weight too, with a lot of exercises and extra activities, some pretty fun like a Pilotwings-like flying on a chicken suit, and the skateboard one makes you sweat quite a bit. The Steps one has a mode where you can set a time and do it while you watch something or listen to your own music, it's also a decent light-intensity but long duration exercise, and you can change the speed of your steps (I usually put it at max speed).

While the real exercises can give you that exercising that you seek for, Wii Fit Plus is also pretty useful to improve your posture, I myself used it daily for some time and I honestly started to feel better, my ankles and back specially.

In fact I combined both games for a while, as the first is specially useful for upper body movement, while I used Wii Fit mostly for leg and waist exercises, and because Wii Fit Plus saves your progress and you can add the exercise you do outside of the game (by choosing time + intensity) you can keep a good summary of how you're doing in one single view (here's when backup-ing your games to a USB drive makes swapping between games much more convenient!).

Other games with Balance Board modes, such as the Kororinpa games or Monkey Ball: Step & Roll serve as exercising too, but of course that's not their primary goal. I remember playing Wario Ware: Smooth Moves and also giving you a slight workout, as it is pretty much 100% motion controls and you have to do a large variety of postures and movements (meaning, not just waggling your hands, but also your body depending on the microgame).

t0_0 · May 25, 2020

JuanMena said:
These are the ones that made me sweat.

Muscle March and Rage of the Gladiator are interesting titles. Not standard exercise games, but might give a decent low cardio workout and could be intensified by adding wrist weights.

That is exactly what I was looking for, next to the more obvious exercise games! Will give those a try.

Wii fit is indeed already in my playlist and has some fun mini games. Never really got into baseball, hitting a ball seemed to be just the result of random swinging instead of skill.

Deleted User · May 25, 2020

wii fit plus

t0_0 · May 25, 2020

MaeseJesus said:
While the real exercises can give you that exercising that you seek for, Wii Fit Plus is also pretty useful to improve your posture, I myself used it daily for some time and I honestly started to feel better, my ankles and back specially.

Wii fit is the granddaddy of exercise games and still relevant imo. I do like the balance board games and exercises. My goal is not weight loss per se but moving and having a healthy break from the desk while having a bit of fun.
The final workout routine should include low cardio, higher intensity cardio, strength and posture exercises. Wii fit covers most of them.

MaeseJesus said:
Other games with Balance Board modes, such as the Kororinpa games or Monkey Ball: Step & Roll serve as exercising too, but of course that's not their primary goal. I remember playing Wario Ware: Smooth Moves and also giving you a slight workout, as it is pretty much 100% motion controls and you have to do a large variety of postures and movements (meaning, not just waggling your hands, but also your body depending on the microgame).

Nice to have some variety - will add them to the list. Never played Wario Ware on the wii, but it was one of my favorite games on gba/nds. Certainly going to have fun with that one.

Zense · May 25, 2020

I'd say Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games from 2007 is pretty good. Especially the Rowing competition. If anything it's a nice change of pace to have some more ways to exercise.

elenarguez · May 25, 2020

ChibiMofo · May 25, 2020

I have used absolutely every fitness game for the Wii (it was the reason I bought it - the only console I have ever purchased) and I rotate between them regularly to keep it fresh. Wii Fit and Exerbeat are in a class by themselves. If it wasn't for the annoyance of the peripherals, I'd include EA Sports Active 2 on that list. Others you'll want to consider that are actually worth it include:
Harley Pasternak's Hollywood Workout
Fit Music
Get Fit with Mel B
NewU Mind Body Yoga & Pilates Workout

The first two came out around the time the Wii was discontinued, and thus didn't get the attention they deserved. Harley's is a more difficult workout and truly worthy title, while Fit Music (featuring European fitness champion Patrizia Salviato!!!) is little more like Gold's Gym Dance Workout.

The UFC trainer, unfortunately is very buggy and flat out crashes. It was never updated and never should have been released in the state it was in (that was pretty well documented in contemporary reviews on Amazon). I have found personally that the PAL region game crashes less even on my NTSC Wii. I am older than when I bought my Wii for such games, and UFC's workout is too rigorous for me now.

There are a few fitness games that have different names depending upon region:
My Fitness Coach = My Fitness Coach: Get In Shape
My Fitness Coach Club = Fit in Six
My Fitness Coach 2 = NewU Fitness First: Personal Trainer
Gold's Gym: Dance Workout = My Fitness Coach: Dance Workout
Gold's Gym: Cardio Workout = My Fitness Coach: Cardio Workout

I am sure you are aware of the 14 or so Just Dance games and the 5 Zumba fitness games. There are lots of other dance games of varying degrees of (motion tracking). In fact I have 45 such games. Unless you become addicted, stick to Just Dance and the last two Zumba's.

Some games I don't like as much but do once in a while include Fit in Six, both Gold's Gym games, The Biggest Loser (both), and both My Body Coach games (the first one is more like a workout video and doesn't include motion controls or balance board support while the second is similar in name only),

If you can deal with the battery operated add-ons to EA Sports Active 2, you may wish to try the NFL Training Camp version. It is similar, yet different and uses the same monitors.

Both We Cheer games can give you a little bit of a workout. You'll want to make sure your curtains/doors are shut if you are a guy though. There are at least half a dozen kids fitness games, by the way.

Some that really truly are bad include the Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum games (not to be confused with The Biggest Loser games, which are ok), the one simply called "Yoga", Daisy Fuentes Pilates, 10 Minute Solution, Active Life: Extreme Challenge (the other three Active Life games also require the Active Life mat and thus GC connectors on your Wii, but are much better), Isometric & Karate Exercise (a Japanese exclusive that was terrible). Your Shape (with Jenny McCarthy) comes with, and requires a webcam. Ubisoft in all its wisdom thought it could incorporate Kinect (which MSFT spent billions bringing to market) via a webcam on a Wii. The exercise portion isn't that bad, but Jenny McCarthy is hard to take. Not sure if the PAL version features her or someone less annoying.

There is a German title "Der Gesundheitscoach" that I gave up on due to the language barrier, but it appears to be more than just a workout game and has nutritional information circa 2009 (yum!).

Someone above almost mentioned Billy's Bootcamp, a Japanese exclusive that Ubisoft should have released in The West. All the audio is in English as Billy Blanks is American. But while he had success in America with workout DVDs 15-20 years or so ago, he was an even bigger sensation in Japan. He moved there and married a Japanese woman. That is how this title came about. Unfortunately all the graphics are in Japanese. But with a modded Wii, you can "play" this as I do. It is not unlike Exerbeat but with a real instructor.

Perhaps an even stranger title is "Momu chan Diet Wii Figurobics by Chon Dayon." It is a forty-something hot Korean mother of two in a Japanese exclusive. Everything is in Japanese and you'll need a modded Wii to play it. (I even have both - yes there are two - Hawaiian Hula dance Wii games. I really did try 'em all.)

Lastly there are a number of balance board and sports game that offer a bit of exercise. I won't go into them but will mention both Shaun White Snowboarding games along with both We Ski games if you like the balance board skiing in Wii Fit, and Grand Slam Tennis (Wii Motion Plus compatible) if you like Wii Sports tennis. I cannot recommend a boxing game since none of the devs were smart enough to offer a two wiimote option instead of the dreaded nunchuk (unlike Exerbeat).

Glad to see someone else using the Wii properly and for what it was designed for.

t0_0 · May 26, 2020

ChibiMofo said:
I have used absolutely every fitness game for the Wii (it was the reason I bought it - the only console I have ever purchased)

Ditto

Awesome post and very interesting stuff! The Wii will certainly keep me entertained (and hopefully fit) for quite a while. Played Exerbeat probably most of all games (I've been 3 times around the world) so especially looking forward to play Billy's Bootcamp.

ChibiMofo said:
I am older than when I bought my Wii for such games, and UFC's workout is too rigorous for me now.

That is also my experience, the older I become the more Wii games are suited for my current fitness level. Might give EA Active 2 another try though, I did like it and played it a lot until I plateaued because of the mountain climbers. I clearly remember looking at the screen one time in horror thinking 'oh no, you must be joking - not another session, the last one already killed me' :wtf:

.
Not sure if the starting level was too high or gave up too easy (detection issue is indeed a bit of an annoyance but wasn't the reason).

ChibiMofo said:
I rotate between them regularly to keep it fresh.

So you jump from game to game randomly or use one as main game and others for fun?
I think I will do that. One more serious 'real' fitness instruction game as baseline (e.g. EA Sports Active 2, The Biggest Loser) that includes progressive strength training (especially core/back) and some additional games for fun and motivation.

There are some great suggestions in your post, so maybe I will end up with something totally different.

TheSpearGuy · May 26, 2020

Smash Bros Brawl will make you sweat like hell

t0_0 · May 26, 2020

Zense said:
I'd say Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games from 2007 is pretty good. Especially the Rowing competition. If anything it's a nice change of pace to have some more ways to exercise.

Will add it to the list and give it a try.

TheSpearGuy said:
Smash Bros Brawl will make you sweat like hell

Thanks for the suggestion, but I assume that sweating doesn't come from exercising

ChibiMofo · May 26, 2020

t0_0 said:
...so especially looking forward to play Billy's Bootcamp...

So you jump from game to game randomly or use one as main game and others for fun?

There are some Youtube videos of "playthroughs" of Billy's Bootcamp that might be helpful in figuring out what to choose when the Japanese dialogs come up. I believe there is an app for that as well (I have heard of people using a translator on their phone using the camera to get through Japanese games).

I would die of boredom if I used Exerbeat or Wii Fit or any title every day. So I rotate between them simply by deciding once I get to USB Loader GX which one (or ones) I'm going to do that day. Sometimes I even bring up one of the bad ones thinking "it can't be that bad before being reminded that it is. Due to my pack-rat mentality and the fact that I bought this Wii for Wii Sports and anything exercise-related that would be developed for it, I can't bring myself to delete any of the fitness/dance titles I have, even the rare Hula title that doesn't use the balance board.

For the two people over the next several decades googling for information about them, this one does support the balance board:

This one, which was published later, doesn't:

anjanimal · May 29, 2023

I've been reading this thread in the past week, and I gotta say thank you for all the exercise games you guys recommended!
Just bought a Wii mainly for exercising (lame i knoww).
Fitness games I played :
- Wii Fit Plus
- Exerbeat
- EA Active Sports + More Workouts
- Shape Boxing
- Punch Out
I'd like to try more fitness games

t0_0 · Feb 4, 2024

anjanimal said:
I've been reading this thread in the past week, and I gotta say thank you for all the exercise games you guys recommended!
Just bought a Wii mainly for exercising (lame i knoww).
Fitness games I played :
- Wii Fit Plus
- Exerbeat
- EA Active Sports + More Workouts
- Shape Boxing
- Punch Out
I'd like to try more fitness games

Nice to see this thread is still getting some attention.

Due to a knee injury I am currently very limited in using the wii for exercising. Low intensity biking is not a problem though so I am mainly using my cyberbike lately. Just fitness mode - endurance. Not the most exiting 'game', but works okayish as a cheap home-trainer.

Wiiware Helix only works the upper-body so I guess I can do that as well. Two games nobody mentioned before

Gaming best Wii exercise games?

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