Review of the Nintendo Wii VD-W3 HDMI Upscaler

While most of the near 100 million Nintendo Wii owners are perfectly happy with their game consoles, there are those that wish it featured HD content. While some have found solace in using the enhanced graphics afforded by using the Wii's component cables, there are those that still aren't satisfied. Well, for around $65, you can now get your hands on an HD upscaler device used exclusively with the Wii. For those interested, I direct your attention to the VDIGI VD-W3 Wii Upscaler. This device replaces your A/V cables and allows you to properly display Wii, GameCube, and Virtual Console games in HD.

To start things off, there is one serious flaw with the design. In order to tweak the settings, there is a small panel on the bottom of the device with tiny switches for you to fool around with. This interface is, in a word, terrible. Different games tend to require tweaked settings and this simply becomes a hassle. Unless you're using a pair of tweezers to optimize the settings, you'll get frustrated quickly. Heck, in some cases I found myself being willing to deal with the graphical oddities over attempting to correct them.

Annoying interface aside, the device itself works surprisingly well. It doesn't completely revolutionize the graphical output of the little white console, but it's definitely doing something. The only problem? What it's doing isn't always preferable. Now that I had the VD-W3 Wii HD upscaler working properly, I decided to test some games. My results varied.

Samurai Warriors 3

The first game I tried was Koei's excellent hack & slash Wii exclusive, Samurai Warriors 3. Released in 2010, Samurai Warriors 3 tosses you a sword and pits you against hundreds of samurai, ninjas, gunmen, archers, and legendary heroes from the Japanese Warring States period. The game loaded up like normal and displayed the opening movie. While there wasn't much of an improvement to the already impressive intro, it was what happened next that would make or break the accessory. I loaded up a Mitsunari stage and prepared to off against the Tokugawa. Running into my first pack of enemy samurai was a treat- the character models and surroundings looked very vibrant- lively, in fact. Attacks seemed to have fuller, polished animations and the particle effects were more pronounced. However, not all was well.

While there was a discernable improvement to the graphics, this came at the price of a very slight delay. While most other games would not suffer so from this minute flaw, in a fast-paced game like Samurai Warriors 3, it could be fatal. Fortunately my expansive experience with the genre and some expertly weaved strategies won my side the day. I further tested the device in battles with Yukimura, Date, and Sakon- no problems or complaints arose. I would have tried Capcom's Sengoku: Samurai Heroes, but it was terrible as it was. Instead I popped in Monster Hunter Tri and Goldeneye 007- both of which benefited nicely.

Sonic Colors

Now that I'd had a taste of upscaled Wii warfare, I decided to give Sonic's latest gem a spin. Sonic Colors, another fantastic Wii exclusive from 2010, was popped in and ready to go. Right off I could tell not much had changed. The game already looked bright and gorgeous- the upscaler was just dead weight along for the ride. After playing a few stages, including a couple of co-op ones, I determined that while it was having a minimal effect, it wasn't a $70 one. The game was still one of Sega's greatest masterpieces, albeit with a little extra flair. I would later pop in Sonic & The Black Knight as well as Sonic & The Secret Rings- both played great and looked a little more detailed. Sonic Unleashed also got a play session, but seemed to suffer some frame-rate issues when going through the VD-W3 process.

Kirby's Epic Yarn

Kirby's 2010 hit didn't seem to agree with VDIGI's peripheral. The crisp, beautiful visuals in Kirby's Epic Yarn took a hit when processed through the VD-W3. You'd run across the occasional graphical glitch, but the main trouble game from the now too pronounced colors and textures. The upscaler seemed to be overcompensating- trying to improve something that needed no improvement and hurting the experience because of this. Despite these issues, it was still a fun experience- albeit a weaker one. I would see similar results in Wii Party and Little King's Story.

Little Tournament Over Yonder

It was time to get away from the Wii discs and try a WIiware game. This obscure little strategy-fighting game was the first to be tried. The game starts on a chess-like board with RPG characters for pieces. Battles are played out in 3D, real-time. Did the VD-W3 do a good job? Not really. The game, colorful yet basic, saw no improvement with the Wii's HD upscaler. Everything just looked a little... sharp. The textures were jagged, no longer as soft and cute. Water Warfare, Tetris Party, and Pokemon Rumble would all continue the trend of minimal enhancements and serrated visuals.

Kid Icarus

Next up to be played with the Wii upscaler was a Virtual Console title, Kid Icarus. Getting the game to display properly was a headache. I would later find out from Sin & Punishment, Bomberman '93, and Dynamite Headdy, that you'll just have to really tweak those settings to get VC games up and running. The main problem was that the graphics were far too sharp and pronounced- it simply felt plagued by some unseen pressure.

Custom Robo: Battle Revolution

The GameCube format was the only one left to test out. I loaded up a few of my all-time favorite GC games- starting with Custom Robo: Battle Revolution. While this fantastic, arcade-styled robo fighter ate up hours on my GC, it didn't quite mesh so well with the VD-W3. After managing to get some workable settings, I was disappointed to see the once crisp, beautiful visuals were marred by over pronounced textures and graphical delays. Other old favorites like Gotcha Force, Pikmin 2, and Megaman X: Command Mission would all yield similar, slightly annoying results.

After some extensive play-time, I have to say I'm not too impressed. While the device is very easy to setup in the beginning, it frequently needs to be adjusted with minimal reward for doing so. The interface is cumbersome and the price tag far too hefty. Were it a $20 accessory, I could see it as a decent purchase- unfortunately, this is not the case. After seeing the positive effects on games like Samurai Warriors, Monster Hunter, and Goldeneye- I've concluded that it has a nice effect on more realistic games. Stylized titles like Kirby's Epic Yarn or Little King's Story are less suited for the device.