Wii Sports Resort Guide: Play Swordplay, Table Tennis, Frisbee, Archery, Basketball, & Wakeboarding Like a Pro

Wii Sports Resort is more than just Nintendo’s tech demo for the Wii Motion Plus. Like its predecessor, Wii Sports Resort has a lot more depth than you might initially think. Almost every sport has two or three modes, some of which need to be unlocked, which our Wii Sports Resort unlockables guide can help with. There’s a lot to conquer here, and I’m here to ensure your success with this guide to Wii Sports Resort.

Swordplay

Swordplay is one of the most popular - if not the most popular - sports in Wii Sports Resort. Nintendo Wii fans have desired a quality sword fighting game since Nintendo’s console hit the market in 2006.

Duel

In Duel, you’ll face a single opponent on a circular platform high above the water. The first to knock their opponent into the water is the winner. The single most important rule here is to block. Holding B will put you into a defensive stance and you can then move the Wii Remote to move your sword. Remember to always hold your sword so that it crosses with your opponent’s, forming an “X” of sorts. As long is your sword is perpendicular to theirs, you should deflect their attack.

While you can bash your way through the first handful of levels with ease, as the difficulty ramps up, blocking becomes absolutely essential. Being defensive is important not only to protect yourself but to open your opponent up to attack. More difficult opponents will deflect your attacks with ease, which is why it’s essential to block their attack and throw them off balance before attempting to swing.

When attacking an off-balance opponent, never go for more than two swings - and even then, only go for two swings if you’re sure you can pull it off. If you get greedy and keep swinging, they’ll regain their bearings and block your attack. Then you’ll be on the receiving end of their barrage.

As the game gets more and more difficult, your strategy will start to look like this: block, attack, repeat. The pacing of the match will be slow, but you need to be patient.

Speed Slice

In Speed Slice, you’ll have to chop various objects in specific ways before your opponent can. The object will drop in front of you with an arrow indicating which way you need to slice it. Slice it accurately before you opponent does to gain a point.

There isn’t a lot of room for strategy here. The important thing is to use finesse and avoid wildly swinging your sword about. In between objects, hold your sword straight ahead, as this allows for the quickest response time. Also, if you’re holding your sword to the left and you need to slice from the right, you’re going to accidentally slice the object while trying to get into position.

Showdown

The same mechanics from Duel apply here, you’ll just be fighting multiple waves of opponents at once. Most of them, especially in the earlier levels, are sword fighting amateurs. They can be defeated in one hit and you can just swing your sword wildly. Every so often you’ll encounter a tougher opponent; you can tell who they are by the extra padding that they wear. They take three hits to defeat and they’re smart enough to block your moves, so be careful. At the end of each level, you’ll encounter another powerful boss character. Using the same strategies you use in Duel mode should help you succeed here.

Wakeboarding

In Wakeboarding, there’s only a single mode. You’ll be towed by a boat which will leave a wake behind it. Use the wake to jump and perform stunts to score points. Hold the Wii Remote flat in both of your hands and tilt it in the direction you want to turn. To perform a stunt, jerk the Wii Remote upwards as you cut across the wake. The faster that you cut across the wake, the more air you’ll get, and the more time you’ll have to pull off a successful stunt.

The important thing is to land your stunts. As soon as you pull off your stunt, return the Wii Remote to the normal flat position. You can then see which way the board is leaning in the air and tilt the Wii Remote slightly to straighten it out.

At some point you’ll unlock additional, more difficult Wakeboarding courses, which will add obstacles to the mix. Crash into an obstacle and you’ll have to restart from a complete stop, which will cost you valuable time. Note that even if you manage to steer away from an obstacle, if you’re on the outside of it, your rope will wrap around it and cause you to crash. Always stay on the inside of obstacles.

Frisbee

Frisbee Dog

Frisbee is one of the sports where the Wii Motion Plus really makes a huge difference.

In Frisbee Dog, accuracy is key, as you’ll be aiming for a target on the ground. If you’re close to the center of the target, the dog will catch it in mid-air and get you bonus points. The power behind your throw doesn’t really matter here.

The dog is completely automated - if you get near the target center, he’ll jump and catch the frisbee. Other than that, nothing you do will affect his actions, so don’t worry about him (or her, I have no idea).

When you reach the final five throws, balloons will appear that give bonus points when popped. Technically these are optional, but they’re a must if you want a good score. They should be your primary target, but be sure to angle the disc so that it curves back around to the target.

Frisbee Golf

This Frisbee Golf plays a bit differently than the frisbee golf mini-game in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. While accuracy is still really important, so is power. It’s not difficult to pull off a powerful through, but a shorter, less powerful throw can be tricky. Unfortunately, the only way to get better in this aspect is to practice.

Normal golf rules apply: avoid trees, water, and sand. Sand traps affect Frisbee Golf differently than normal golf, but they should still be avoided. Throwing from the sand is no more difficult than a normal throw, but you’ll lose a whole stroke for hitting one.

Once your disc hits the cone of light surrounding the target, you’re in. It doesn’t matter how you hit it or how fast your disc is going, once it’s the cone, you’re done with the hole.

Archery

Archery is another Wii Sports Resort game where practice will make perfect, but there are a few pointers that will help.

The Wii Remote acts as the bow and the nunchuk is the arrow/string. By pulling the nunchuk back quickly, you’ll pull the string back quickly. After you draw your bow, your target circle will continuously shrink, making it easier to aim. However, if you wait too long, your circle will start moving around and it’ll be hard to get a good shot. Make sure you release soon after drawing.

The further away the target is, the higher you need to aim. This is something you’ll get better at judging with time, but make sure you give the arrow room to arc downwards.

The same principle applies to wind. The faster it’s blowing, the more you need to compensate. It will take a little time to get used to.

Basketball

3-Point Contest

The controls for the 3-Point Contest are simple, but it’ll take some practice to perform them in rapid succession. Your Mii will run to each basketball rack as you empty the previous one, but your position on the court has no effect on the controls.

First, tilt the Wii Remote down and press B to pick up a ball. You don’t need to hold B like you do in bowling. Now, raise the controller up in the air to make your Mii jump and flick it upwards to shoot the ball. Keep your Wii Remote straight as you shoot. The amount of force required is something you’ll learn with practice.

You don’t have a lot of time here. If you want to get all of the balls in the hoop before the clock runs out, you’ll need to pick up another ball and shoot it as you soon as you let go of the previous one.

Pickup Game

In the Pickup Game mode, you’ll play some 3-on-3. As with real basketball, you’ll need to dribble the ball while you move. To do this, simply flick the Wii Remote down repeatedly, as if you were really dribbling. You can’t control your Mii, but as long as you dribble, he or she will try to move towards the hoop.

You can pass to your teammates by hitting the button that’s displayed over their head. This is the easiest way to get in close for a shot, but make sure you have a clear line to your teammate.

Shooting works the same as it does in the 3-Point Contest, but now you have somehow attempting to block you. When you jump up to shoot, don’t take the shot if your opponent is in your face. Instead, wait for an opportunity where they jump too early or too late and leave you open for a shot.

If you’re under the hoop, you can go for a slam dunk. When you’re in position, hit B to jump into the air and then make a dunking motion with the Wii Remote for a guaranteed point.

You’ll also get to play defense, which consists of stealing the ball and block shots. To steal the ball from whichever opponent you’re guarding, just swing the Wii Remote. Make sure the ball is close enough to steal before you try this, because a failed attempt to steal will cause you to fall over and give your opponent an opening.

If the player you’re guarding goes for a shot, flick the Wii Remote up just as they’re about to shoot to leap up and block their shot. As long as you time it right, you’ll deflect it. I’m blocked a lot of shots with my Mii’s face, but they got blocked all the same.

Table Tennis

Match

Table Tennis is possibly the most intuitive of all the sports in Wii Sports Resort, so you should pick up the basics without any problems.

Power doesn’t matter here. It’s all about timing and reaction speed.

Tilting the Wii Remote will tilt the paddle and allow you to curve the ball. This is useful for keeping your opponent on their toes or for saving a shot that would otherwise just miss the table.

Anticipating a shot is incredibly important. It’s really hard to return a shot when your paddle isn’t already in the right area. Like with the Speed Slicing mode of Swordplay, if you quickly move your paddle from the left to the right to prepare for a right shot, you may accidentally hit the ball in the process of getting into position.

Smash shots are how you’re going to get most of your points, especially in later games. To perform a smash shot, return a high-bouncing ball at the peak of its height.

Return Challenge

The Return Challenge mode can be seen as practice for Match mode. The gameplay is exactly the same. You’ll return incoming shots until you either miss one or miss the table on your return shot. After a while, soda cans will start appearing on the table which you can hit for bonus points. While the bonus points are nice, you’ll usually have to apply some spin to hit them. Until you’re comfortable in your technique, you should just focus on surviving.

On a side note, if Wii Sports Resort Table Tennis has you hankering for more realistic tennis fun, be sure to check out the Wii MotionPlus-supported Grand Slam Tennis.