# Wii Suck @ Video Games - Episode 26 - Kung Fu Panda **Source:** Poor Man's Pinball Podcast **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2024-06-29 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://poormanspinballpodcast.libsyn.com/wii-suck-video-games-episode-26-kung-fu-panda --- ## Analysis A casual gaming podcast episode reviewing the 2008 Wii game Kung Fu Panda, a movie tie-in action platformer developed by Expect Enterprise and published by Activision. The hosts found it to be a well-executed game with solid controls, engaging progression mechanics, and good use of motion controls, rating it 7-8 out of 10. They discuss the game's merits compared to typical shovelware movie tie-ins and preview next week's game, Bakugan Battle Brawlers. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Kung Fu Panda Wii game was developed by Expect Enterprise and published by Activision — _Host reads back of box: 'Expect is the developer... Activision was the publisher'_ - [HIGH] Kung Fu Panda released June 3, 2008 — _Host states: 'the release date was 6 3 2008'_ - [HIGH] The game features a progression/leveling system with 12-15 skills per character to unlock — _Host explains: 'you could use your coins to buy skills for the next level... like 12 or 15 things you could level up every time'_ - [HIGH] Metacritic score for Kung Fu Panda Wii is 7.5 — _Host reads review aggregator: 'Metacritic has it rated as a 7.5'_ - [MEDIUM] The game appropriately uses Wiimote controls without oversaturation — _Host notes: 'The use of the Wiimote was good... They used it correctly... sometimes they over-use the Wiimote and you're like, I'm tired and this is dumb'_ ### Notable Quotes > "Any time you're driving, like any of the monster truck or the mud racing or any of those on the Wii are extremely fun. And I don't know why. They're stupid and brainless and usually very ugly, but you just laugh and have fun." > — **Host (Malin or Chris)**, Early segment > _Characterizes appeal of absurd Wii games despite low production values_ > "I married into the need for every coin." > — **Malin (male host)**, Mid-game discussion > _Humorous personal anecdote about Sally's completionist tendencies_ > "Solid gameplay and a great presentation, Kung Fu Panda is easy to recommend to fans of the movie or parents looking to entertain their kids with a robust yet accessible action platformer." > — **PGNX Media review (quoted by host)**, Review section > _Positive critical assessment cited_ > "Kung Fu Panda does little to elevate itself above the typical movie tie-in game and manages to lower itself in a few instances i.e graphics and sound you'd be better off seeing the movie instead" > — **Nintendo World Report review (quoted by host)**, Review section > _Negative critical assessment contrasts with hosts' positive experience_ > "Nothing nothing jumps out as being innovative but sometimes that's okay too because usually innovation can suck" > — **Host (Sally)**, Closing thoughts > _Philosophical take on game design philosophy_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Malin | person | Male co-host of Poor Man's Pinball podcast, reviews video games on Wii | | Chris Craft | person | Co-host mentioned in opening ('with me as always Chris Craft') | | Sally | person | Female co-host, completionist player, has genetic predisposition to collect all coins | | Kung Fu Panda | game | 2008 Wii action platformer by Expect Enterprise/Activision, based on DreamWorks movie | | Expect Enterprise | company | Developer of Kung Fu Panda Wii; also developed Final Fantasy 15, Skylanders, Hardy Boys, Hello Kitty Roller Rescue | | Activision | company | Publisher of Kung Fu Panda Wii | | DreamWorks | company | Film studio that created Kung Fu Panda movie and associated IP | | Monster Jam Urban Assault | game | Wii game found at pawn shop featuring monster truck racing and skee-ball mechanics | | Luigi's Mansion 2 | game | Game series the hosts mention owning and enjoying on GameCube | | Bakugan Battle Brawlers | game | Next week's scheduled game for review on the podcast | | Poor Man's Pinball Podcast | organization | Podcast that reviews Wii games; hosts are Malin, Chris Craft, and Sally | | Lil Wayne | person | Musician with #1 song 'Lollipop' in June 2008; hosts speculate he may attend gaming events | | Jack Black | person | Actor discussed for oversaturation in 2008 media (Tenacious D, Kung Fu Panda voice); example of celebrity saturation point | | Will Ferrell | person | Actor mentioned as example of entertainment oversaturation alongside Jack Black | | Jim Carrey | person | Comedian/actor mentioned as favorite of host; clashed with Tommy Lee Jones | | Tommy Lee Jones | person | Actor mentioned in discussion of celebrity saturation; had conflict with Jim Carrey | | Metacritic | organization | Review aggregation site used to check critical consensus on Kung Fu Panda (7.5 score) | | PGNX Media | organization | Gaming publication that gave Kung Fu Panda Wii 8.5/10 review | | Nintendo World Report | organization | Gaming publication that gave Kung Fu Panda Wii 5/10 review | ### Topics - **Primary:** Wii game reviews and mechanics, Movie tie-in game quality and design, Motion control implementation - **Secondary:** Game progression and leveling systems, Jack Black and celebrity saturation in 2008 media, Podcast format and community engagement ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.72) — Hosts have genuine enjoyment of the Kung Fu Panda game, rate it 7-8/10, and recommend it to Wii owners. Casual, friendly banter throughout. Some negativity about Jack Black saturation and contrast with poorly-rated critical review, but overwhelmingly positive about the game itself. --- ## Transcript and we are back the only weesh podcast that is late to its own party and by that i mean welcome to the we suck at video games show 26 for what might go down in history as the least energetic show ever recorded what do you don't talk so dumb okay that's all i know how to do my name is malin with me as always craft brew sally this is of course the show that's going to talk to you all about a we game that we're going to review this week and then one we're going to review next time so yes i'm trying to think uh we did actually end up finding a game it was uh at a at a pawn shop unfortunately so it wasn't a bargain but yeah i saw a monster jam urban assault and i was like yes please so i turned it over and saw that there is a ski ball monster truck ski ball and i was like well that's all i really need to see that and then as grave digger what is it called again Monster Jam Urban Assault. That's the... Wow. I will say, any time you're driving, like any of the monster truck or the mud racing or any of those on the Wii are extremely fun. And I don't know why. They're stupid and brainless and usually very ugly, but you just laugh and have fun. And you're watching your truck do stuff that it couldn't ever do really. Like skee-ball. Like skee-ball. Like it'll be a skee-ball. Right. So there you have it. I think that's going to be glorious, to watch a truck be a skee-ball. I think so. I think you're right. I may enjoy skee-ball quite a bit. Yeah, you do. I do. You're going to have to make sure this gets into the jar. Jar. Yeah. Yes. Got a couple of Switch games. You know, we didn't order one that's out there already. It's the Luigi's Mansion 2 HD Remix. Not Remix, just HD. we have it for the game cube but i really want i love the luigi's mansions they're so fun they are fun they're some of my favorites they're so cute i love that dog i love that dog a little ghost dog so what game are we reviewing this week this week we are reviewing kung fu panda kung fu panda wow before we started this i thought it was going to be a little bit like junk town yeah like the call outs yeah the crazy jack black call outs see i'm not sure now well before we get into this let's uh let's set the mood we'll we'll follow our our formula uh so it was uh the release date was 6 3 2008 and the top song was lollipop by lil wayne never heard of either of those things. You've heard of Lil Wayne. Never heard of him or lollipops. And the top movie, oddly enough, was Kung Fu Panda. I think you've heard of Lil Wayne because I think he's a big Packer fan. I think he comes to the game sometimes in that sombrero with that other guy who I can't think of his name right now. There you have it. Weird. Yeah, I think. I could be wrong on that. So 2008, do we have an exchange student with us? sarah might have still been with us yeah six three may have just left though yeah i think she just left well because remember her parents came yep and stayed with us for two weeks i think yeah so they might have been here then maybe it's tough to say that was it's always a sad time whenever we said goodbye to one of our exchange students i know we kind of weren't the same for a while so i wasn in the mood for any jack black shenanigans right i was trying to think of like now there was a period where there it was jack black mania yeah he was like tenacious d it was yeah the pick of destiny the tenacious d school of rock they had the the wrestling one this one oh i was a fan of jack black not was I guess I am. Yeah. But there's like a saturation point. Yes. I know. Who was that one comedian that did like the Ricky Bobby stuff? Oh. He just was in so much. You're like, oh my God, go away for a while. Will Ferrell. Yeah. Also, Tommy Lee Hilton Jones was that way. He was in like. Yeah. And then like, but I never got sick of Tommy Lee Hilton Jones. No. Although I was sad that he sassed off to Jim Carrey. Jim Carrey's one of my favorite comedians. So. Right. I don't know. I do sanction his buffoonery and I think Tommy Lee should have as well but that's just my own opinion I didn't work with the men either of them actually neither of them have called me for any projects so but I do love Jim Carrey and I think Jack Black hit that like where it was like enough please go away because it was always the same wacky stuff the same wacky stuff no matter what movie it was then we had the heroes of rock or guitar hero legends of rock though that was him going yeah like you he was you were doing it was like a guitar thing guitar hero no i don't care we have it but it was yeah you just overburdened like like i get sick of every president i want them to just go away go away forever never i never want to see them again and because it's talk talk talking and jack black was that but i didn't dislike him no and when you hear the tenacious you're like oh that's funny yeah that was a good those are two good movies and i did like the um i liked the kung fu pandas yeah i think there's like nine of them though i only saw the first one and a half yeah maybe two yeah maybe two of them so well so there you have it i was worried about this game but let's see what is the back of the box and so uh let's see dreamworks who made this so it was the developer was expect enterprise was the developer and Activision was the publisher. But then the logo across the top is DreamWorks. So DreamWorks Kung Fu Panda. There's logos everywhere. Well I think DreamWorks is the movie company. And X-Pack is the, they did Final Fantasy 15 and Skylanders, Spiro's Adventure, the Hardy Boys. Spiro? I like Spiro. Spiro. I know. Hello Kitty Roller Rescue, which I have. That's, jokingly Of course you do. I do have that. So they do a lot. And what is the back of the box? So let's see what they think we're going to be playing. Who's they? They. Kung Fu Panda style. Embark on an epic action-packed adventure based on DreamWorks animation movie Kung Fu Panda. Then go beyond the movie as you experience Kung Fu awesomeness like never before on your quest to become the legendary dragon warrior. play as po sifu and the furious five on your legendary adventure master kung fu moves using the wii remote as you face the dangerous foes team up with or battle against friends in multiplayer mode so there you have it um fun game it was very fun and it didn't get tedious I will say that. No. It was a little lacking in the very beginning trying to figure out what you were supposed to be doing. Oh, yeah. But we figured it out. And they did seem to come along and help you out here and there. Yeah. After you tried to after you just meandered around for a little bit and then you like oh okay Yeah Here we go The controls were decent You know anything i was worried about one about the shenanigans yeah and there was none really uh where would that yeah so totally awesome which it was there but not to the point where it sickened you no it was like a fun remembering like oh yeah and i guarantee in 2008 and 2009 this was a big deal right not a big deal a fun game right people loved that movie yeah it was a really popular movie and it still is i'm assuming with you know um and it also sometimes movie tie-ins are complete like just shovelware garbage yeah and this was not that this is a really good game like it as far as like the the story was good like it's a pre-written story that you know follow this story it's easy enough uh the use of the Wiimote was good. The controls were tight. Yeah, because you could use it to do spin moves and to... I don't think you could use it to jump. I think you had to... Yeah, the B button. Yeah. Well, and that's... They used it, like, what I say is correctly. Yes. You know, because sometimes they over... Like, a game developer will overuse the Wiimote and you're like, I'm tired and this is dumb. Because sometimes you have to, like, hold it level and then, like, roll your hand a little bit to get... Stuff to go and try to like. Yeah. That was like walking. Who is balancing going across like the beam of a rooftop. Right. Or to get coins, which correct your Sally. I think it's genetically. It is. She's predisposed. She has to get every coin. I get it from my pop. When we first started dating, her dad was playing Super Mario. And he like was obsessive over getting every coin. I'm like, just keep running, man. No. No. No, that's not how you do it. I just shut up after that. Because that's it. And that's, you know, so I married into the need for every coin. But sometimes I look out of the corner of my eye when I just run past stuff. And I'm like, I'm going because I'm going to die soon. I can see the judgment from across the room. But this one was fun. Yes, it's true. Yeah, you know, that's the way it is. It was a fun game. I didn't, I think we didn't get real far in it. we work for a living. So time is a little pressed, you know. Yeah. A little Wayne, a little pressed, a little wool. So I don't know. You played it a little bit more than we would. Now, we had no history with this game prior to playing it. No, none at all. What did you think about it? I liked it a lot. I, you know, I think if we would have gone a little bit further, we might have gotten more things, but. Yeah, for sure. Because, oh, you could also, like, you could use your coins to buy, the next level. So you were leveling up your character as you went through these adventures. It wasn't just like, okay, you do a kick, you do a spin move, that's it. So you were gaining your skills along. I think there was like 12 or 15 things you could level up every time. That's good. Yeah. I mean, so you are building towards something because a lot of games lack that as well. Like, you're just going to have all your moves. Like in Street Fighter, you put in your quarter, you're just, you're fighting moves that you're gonna have at the end guy right and you're gonna lose because it's made to take your quarters so you know so this is a little bit different uh a lot of characters the side characters you interacted with them the bunnies the the the pigs you know yeah they're the foot clan not the foot clan they're they're uh the enemies were very generic as far as you're gonna fight 12 of them they were always gonna die the same way very easily you know yeah but that's how you keep a game interesting you just walk through a forest with nothing happening you're like well okay you know something gonna happen so oh there's the forest yes it that guy who spends hours chopping down uh in zelda going yeah with a little spin thing to get one rupee you know so you gotta get all the rupees Yes you do So there you have it We conditioned for this What would you say, what would you give this game? I would say 8 out of 10. 8 out of 10. Yeah. And I was about a 7 out of 10. Let me see, what does Metacritic say? Metacritic has it rated as a 7.5, so kind of split the diff right there. and as we like to do we like to go in there and let's read some reviews i always like to read one of the best and one of the worst now sadly uh there's no user reviews the only user reviews i found were for the 360 i didn't think that was kind of fair because that's not going to have that the motion stuff so uh we're gonna have to use the critic reviews which aren't as unhinged and lunatic filled as those so we're gonna you're gonna have to bear with me so oh man uh see the top one is an 8.5 out of 10 for PGNX Media. And that was, let's see, with solid gameplay and a great presentation, Kung Fu Panda is easy to recommend to fans of the movie or parents looking to entertain their kids with a robust yet accessible action platformer. So I would, that's pretty clear. Let's see what's the lowest one. Those are the most fun ones. All right. Nintendo world report gives it a 5 out of 10 let's straight up halfway doesn't care pong foo pong foo panda wrong uh kung fu panda does little to elevate itself above the typical movie tie-in game and manages to lower itself in a few instances i.e graphics and sound you'd be better off seeing the movie instead no nah but okay we we we concur we would agree more with uh you know like the the top ones but what are you gonna do right sadly hopefully the next game will have the user reviews because those are the most fun and unhinged uh do you have anything else before we wrap it up we're gonna we're gonna say definitely go out if you have a wii and you play it a lot and you haven't tried this one go try it out it's a great platformer um nothing nothing jumps out as being innovative but sometimes that's okay too because usually innovation can suck well not usually sometimes innovation can suck sometimes it's awesome all right i think it's time for the final let's go pick a game for this week yes all right so hang tight everyone we'll be right back all right the hello kitty chopsticks have chosen i picked out uh bakugan battle brawlers can you spell that B-A-K-U-G-A-N Battle Brawlers so Battle Brawlers Triple B next week if you have anything to say about that game and maybe it was your favorite game in the history of the world or something like that or maybe you disagree with our Kung Fu Panda and you hate that game more than anything well drop us a line the email will be in the show notes but how else can they reach us? What is the email? It's we, W-I-I, suck at A-T, video games at gmail.com. We suck at video games at gmail.com. We certainly do. There will be a link in the show notes. If you want to just click on that, it makes it easier. Whatever. If you're listening to this somewhere, please rate and review the show. It helps us out tremendously. Maybe it moves us up the algorithms and we'll be featured on some front page of some nonsense. That's what we live for. You can tell. Yes, we do. That's going to do it for this week, I think. You done? Yeah. We're done. Okay, we'll see you next time for some Batogan Battle Brawler Boy Band Bologna Booger Brains. That's it, man. Game over, man. Game over. Game over. you _(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 752a794c-bebc-4310-8947-3002a70f87aa*