Wii Fit Plus Training Plus Part 14: Balance Bubble Plus
Part 14 of our Wii Fit Plus Training Plus Playthrough moves on to the river where we take on Balance Bubble Plus. Balance Bubble Plus, much like Table Tilt Plus, was so popular on Wii Fit it was carried over to Wii Fit Plus and improved. This one is noticeably more challenging than the Balance Bubble housed within the Balance Game catalog. Let’s check it out:
Wii Fit Plus Training Plus Part 14: Balance Bubble Plus
Balance Bubble Plus
This is another one-and-done activity; that is there are no upper levels of difficulty. That isn’t a bad thing as what you will be shooting for is improving your time. I would think unless you really stalled out and barely made it past the finish line you should 4-Star this exercise. I could be wrong if you have a really slow time, but the main objective is to cross the finish line. Just like Balance Bubble, if you make it right to the edge of the line and your bubble gets popped it is over. It is very easy to get sunk in the last section. Speaking of which, let’s analyze the course.
If you are a fan of the Wii Fit Plus Playthough you likely remember me ranting about the “flowing water” in Balance Bubble, well it doesn’t…however, it does in Balance Bubble Plus…sweet justification! What the means is you must always be leaned slightly forward to stay steady. If you stand 50/50 (front and back) you will slip in the direction of the current. Sometimes you may want to do this, most of the time it has to simply be compensated for and avoided. Always keep this in mind as you progress.
I basically played this one to the point where I 4-Starred it, and then a few token plays (21 attempts). I should play it more often as it is a lot of fun and challenging. We start out and have to navigate a few bends, some sharper than others…simply avoid the walls and you are golden. You also have to move due east and west at times, which was never seen on the basic Balance Bubble.
Once you have navigated the first few turns, some of them 90 degrees and managed to course your way straight east or west a few times you will come to a center-pivot with three arms. The trick here is to wait, hit an opening, and then maintain speed with the water vane. If you go to slow, you’ll get hit by the trailing arm…move too fast and you’ll pop into the forward arm. As soon as you emerge on the other side of this obstacle you enter a “dark temple.”
I really don’t know if that is what it is called, but if you examine the front walls it looks like some sort of a temple, and the jungle-esque music supports that hypothesis, lol. Anyway, as you enter you’ll notice on big change, it is dark…like completely dark. Fear not, move straight ahead and some torches will light small segments of your path. There are many different ways to navigate through this section. You essentially just have to use a lot of caution and move slowly to reveal the next break-point. You will pop if you run into a torch base, or the random spikes placed in the watery temple. This probably makes a lot more sense just watching the video, but text wise, this is the best I can do for you. When you get to a point that you are going for a personal best or World Record simply remember what path you think you can pull off in the least amount of time, learn it, and fly through as best you can. For casual game players and beginners, just take your time and come through unscathed.
So you’re still reading? Excellent and congratulations on making it through the dark temple portion of the course….if you were expecting to be rewarded with the finish line you should probably just turn around and pop the bubble…the worst is yet to come!
Literally a second out of the temple and we’ve got another center-pivot water vane. The strategy is the same, but this one has a much more straight forward approach. Oh and be careful not to speed…there is another center-pivot water vane turning the opposite direction right past this one. Seriously, they almost touch! The trick is of course to be mindful of the rotation and adjust accordingly. This one does have a sharp 90 degree bank if you take the right side (which is likely easier for most since you have to speed and swing due west if you go left (it can be done, but I don’t recommend it)).
So another challenge avoided, one more to go…and no, it won’t be an easy one.
As you clear the second center-pivot water vane after the temple there is a narrow straightaway. Do not speed through here! There are swarms of bees to greatly complicate things, the good news is they do have a pattern. The band news is that pattern will slow you down. So for the record runs fly wildly forward and hope for the best, for the rest of us, just take it easy and master holding your position. What I mean by that is that when you proceed, you’ll have to stop…but remember that current I spoke of? Yeah, you’ve got to lean ever so slightly forward to stay steady. If you master this the bees are not that bad.
There are a total of 8 bees. Three that fly the same direction at the start, three that form a 1-2-1 grid, and then two that fly top to bottom and guard the finish line from angled entries.
The first, second, and third bees fly left to right first, and then right to left. You can make a break for it if things line up right. The fourth bee flies right to left first, and then left to right while the fifth bee will take the course of the first three. The sixth bee mimics the fourth, which makes for a bit more of a challenge from this second tier of three than the first three bees presented. Please note that you can slow and rest between the third and fourth bees, you just have to hold your position. If you do that you can line up your run to the finish. The seventh and eighth bees actually fly top to bottom and then bottom to top. You can always tell when they’ll fly based on their wiggling before they do so, you can also weave through any of them when they turn (old pro trick there!). These last two really aren’t in the way if you are waiting. However, if you are making a speed run attempt for a record, they prove difficult as you never really have a straight shot lined up after traversing through the left to right flying bee field.
Nonetheless, get lined up and clear these last two bees and you cross the finish line (rainbow) and find yourself in a peaceful pool surrounded by treasure and your fellow Miis. It is actually a pretty cool ending.
Our first attempt back netted 1,739 yards and a 3-Star Rank. We had a few that were not that great, but then the payout came. The third attempt got 1,720 yards as the sixth bee got our bubble. The fourth attempt hit pay dirt and we got to end the recording on a happy note. Our efforts earned us a score of 1:29::68 which was good for a Champion Label and 4-Star Rank. As you can see, cross the line and your distance is scrapped and replaced with your time. My personal best is a 1:17::90 albeit with limited attempts. You won’t set the world on fire, but we did burn 4 calories over 2 minutes.
Balance Bubble Plus is the sequel to Balance Bubble and it will likely continue to be a staple of the Wii Fit series. This activity offers a lot of replay to master and then subsequently for going for a personal best or record. I think if you give it time you’ll come to enjoy Balance Bubble Plus.
