Wii U 2012-2016 - Your Top 5 Games

[Ronnie]

According to Eurogamer the Wii U is supposed to be ceasing production this week. Obviously it will go down as a failure in the company's product line but personally I've really enjoyed mine, probably more so than any of their other home consoles. I thought it would be good to have this thread to talk about your five favourite games on the console + anything else you really loved about the console.

 

(can I just request that this thread is kept to positive chat about the console only. There's been plenty of moaning about it in the last few years in other threads, and it'd be nice to keep this one upbeat)

 

My Top 5:

 

5. Paper Mario Colour Splash

I've not even finished this game yet but I can safely put it on this list. The writing is absolutely hilarious and contrary to what I was expecting there isn't too much of it. The levels are gorgeous, the action is fun and it continually surprises you and makes you smile.

 

 

4. Pikmin 3

Fruit has never looked so good in a video game!! This was actually my first Pikmin game and I fell in love with it. The sense of adventure, exploration and discovery was incredible and the mood and music tied it all together. A must play game.

 

 

3. Splatoon

One of the big success stories for the console. A brand new IP, an online multiplayer shooter no less, selling nearly 5 million copies. Fully deserved too, I think the game is a breath of fresh air in the genre. Painting, swimming popping up and shooting was so satisfying and very clever.

 

 

2. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

The epitome of Nintendo charm packaged in one title, I can't speak highly enough about this game. I really hope Nintendo view it as series and we'll get a sequel on the Switch.

 

 

1. Super Mario 3D World

I can't quite make up my mind whether this or Galaxy is my favourite 3D Mario. I love how each level throws a completely different experience at you from the last. Level design was amazing and it was just loads of fun to play.

 

 

Honourable mentions: Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is my favourite game of all time but I personally didn't want it taking up a spot on this list and wanted to keep it to original games only. Mario Kart 8 is the best Mario Kart to date (battle mode apart) and it's probably one of the prettiest games on the console. Yoshi's Woolly World was a joy to play from start to finish, especially later on the levels got really quirky and interesting. The Wonderful 101 was my first fast paced action game from Platinum and it was loads of fun, once you eventually mastered the controls. The OTT final battles were laugh out loud funny. Affordable Space Adventures is lovely and Shovel Knight is easily one of my GOTY but it didn't feel right putting it on this list. Ok I'll stop before I put another half dozen games here.

 

As for the console itself, I had a lot of fun with Miiverse, integrating a social network into a home console was a really smart thing to do and I believe it was a much more innovative feature than the Gamepad/asynchronous gameplay.

 

On top of everything though the best thing about the Wii U for me were the stunning looking first and second party games. It was a real joy to play Nintendo games in high definition and I still believe they make the best looking games in the industry.

[Pestneb]

Splatoon

 

I love this game too much. painting the stage, ambushing opponents by swimming round in the ink, the specials... the game just doesn't seem to be getting old!

For a first entry this game is solid, even with notable weak points I find this is my go to game on the Wii U.

 

Mario Kart 8

I always felt the snes version was the best - the battle arenas, the tightness of the controls, track design... I loved it, and always felt a little disappointed with the later additions. With the exception of the battle mode, 8 is my new hands down favourite. Add a feather weapon, good battle courses and maybe in game party chat and this game would be the perfect mario kart. The DLC was amazing too, good value, amazing tracks!

 

Lego City Undercover

 

I'd never really played a lego game before... but I really enjoyed this game. The story was solid, writing was very funny, I loved the pop culture references. Again.. multiplayer would have been welcome and would have given this game legs, and actually those load times :| but a very fun game, and one of the few I completed this gen.

 

 

I'm not actually going to make a top 5 right now, that's a tougher call. Really I don't spend much time playing games these days so with the time invested in the above 3 there hasn't been much time for others. Probably Captain toad fits in there... number 5 has more contenders though!

[killthenet]

There's still a few titles I need to play (Captain Toad, Xenoblade X, Pikmin 3, Splatoon, Wooly World) so my list is liable to change but i'll give it a shot. No specific order and I've gone for games that were Wii U exclusives which is why Wind Waker HD isn't in there.

 

Super Mario 3D World

One of the most joyous gaming experiences I've had, there was so much to love about it. It mixes the best of 2D and 3D Mario, throwing up tonnes of inventive levels. The reveal of Cat Bowser before the final boss fight might be one of my favourite moments in Nintendo history.

 

Mario Kart 8

A beautifully presented refinement of the Mario Kart formula.

 

Affordable Space Adventures

Adorable yet creepy puzzle adventure that made great use of the gamepad.

 

FAST Racing Neo

Almost flawless futuristic racer, with a great variety of tracks. Definitely did a great job filling an F-Zero shaped hole in the market.

 

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Challenging and inventive side scroller with so many genius touches.

[Nicktendo]

For the purposes of this post I'm going to change the title to Wii U 2014-2016 - My top 5 games. For the first time since the N64 I hadn't bought a Nintendo home console since launch day. I gave up gaming in 2011 and moved abroad for Uni, then work and I had nothing to play except a couple of emulators on my PC. Then, kind of by chance and boredom, I watched E3 2014 and the entire 3 days of Treehouse Live. I was blown away by what I saw and ordered my Wii U from Amazon Germany about a week later. Having finished Skyward Sword as my 'retirement' (a game which I absolutely adored, despite overall being underwhelmed with the Wii and the direction Nintendo had chosen), I hadn't touched a Nintendo home console game in almost 3 years and I couldn't wait to start playing again.

 

My Wii U arrived with Mario Kart 8 and Rayman Legends and over the next two years I fell in love with Nintendo all over again.

 

5: The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD

 

 

I didn't really want to include this in the list for the same reasons as Ronnie, but this game is just too good. Arguably the best in the series. The HD upgrade made an already jaw-dropping game even more beautiful. Going through Twilight Princess again a couple of months ago has only confirmed this to me. A fantastic experience with a game world which provides a real sense of adventure and mystery. The upgrades, such as fast sailing and the reduced trifore quest were welcome and I put in 37 hours over 5 days, loving every second of it from start to finish.

 

4: Mario Kart 8

 

 

As someone who hated Mario Kart 64 (Come on, Diddy Kong Racing was waaaay better) and was disappointed by Mario Kart Wii after I felt progress had been made with Double Dash, I wasn't actually anticipating Mario Kart 8 as much as other titles. 100 hours and countless league nights later I can comfortably say this is the best edition of the Mario Kart series to date. Flawless track design, comprehensive DLC and an unforgetable soundtrack make this one not only one of the best Mario Kart games of all time, but one of the best racing games of all time.

 

3: Pikmin 3

 

 

Another game I wasn't massively anticipating but was keen to try having lost interest with the previous entries in the series. By far this is the best looking game on the system and the touch screen controls / map combo was confirmation that the Wii U gamepad was essential to push forward gameplay and seperate Nintendo from Sony and Microsoft as gameplay innovators. I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful adventure and beat the game twice in quick succession. The difficulty curve is almost perfect and the game provides a mighty challenge without ever feeling unfairly hard or too easy. Simply sublime.

 

2: Hyrule Warriors

 

 

Believe it or not, this was actually the game that sold me on the system. I loved the amount of fan service I saw in the game and was intrigued by mix of Dynasty Warriors and Zelda. I have sunk about 180 hours into this title (alongside the 3DS version) and still to this day haven't finished the adventure mode maps. It doesn't integrate the Wii U's unique features in any special way, but DAMN is it fun! I honestly can't put my finger on what makes this game so great, but every time I put it in the system I lose 2 or 3 hours at a time and never get bored of hacking and slashing hordes upon hordes of enemies.

 

1: Splatoon

 

 

Another game from E3 2014 that convinced me to pick up this system and proof, in my opinion, that Nintendo is still the best in the business. A game built for the Wii U which uses the systems features in a way that never feels tacked on or cheap. This is the defining game on the system. New IP, fantastic, tight controls and a game world which oozes class in the way Nintendo games used to. Splatoon was Nintendo's first foray into the busy world of online shooters and this is what they gave us - A budget price, monthly competitions, constantly expanding number of weapons and arenas, free-to-play online, magnificent and well-designed single player experience, excellent ranking and upgrade system which geniunely felt both challenging and rewarding. For a first attempt, this was an incredible effort and easily my favourite new Nintendo IP for the last 15 years. I can't wait to see where they go with this next.

 

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The honorable mentions

On a system that easily surpassed the Wii, the Wii U has countless of really great experiences which didn't quite make it into my top 5. Although I don't hold it in as high regard as the N64 or the GameCube (but that just could be age and nostalgia speaking), here are some of the titles I have enjoyed in the past couple of years.

 

The closest to my top 5 was easily Bayonetta 1 and 2, although I didn't get quite as much milage out of them as those on the list, playing through them was an unfogettable experience. Loved the humour, the cinematic experience and the tight controls. I will go back and try to get all the pure platinum medals once I get some other games out the way. My second most played game on Wii U is actually Super Smash Bros for Wii U and this doesn't make the list simply for the fact that I feel Melee was better overall. The single player material was a little bit lacking here, but eveything else was god-tier, a massive improvement gameplay-wise over Brawl, in my opinion. Xenoblade Chronicles X doesn't make the list, simply because I haven't finished it yet. I'm 50 hours in and love it. Including, controversially, the music WAH, TWO, THREE, FOH, I CAN'T HEAR YOU, I CAN'T SEE YOU. Tokyo Mirage Sessions was my favourite JRPG of a long-long time and it was a pleasure to review it for this site. Even though I gave it a 9/10 and loved everything about it, I didn't love it quite as much as the games on the list. Or Bayonetta.

 

The ultimate asymmetrical gameplay experience that is Nintendo Land is also one of my favourite games on the system, plus my non-gamer girlfriend also loved playing this with me which wins it serious points. I don't think there's a bad game in there and the gamepad integration is, obviously, second to none. Personally had I bought the system on launch with this as a pack-in I wouldn't have been disappointed. Both mainline Mario games on the system are also very good Super Mario 3D World being my favourite of the two thanks to it's incredible graphics and music, another game me and my girlfriend played through together. Captain Toad was a joy to play as well. We also enjoyed Yoshi's Wooly World but I didn't think it quite reached the lofty heights of the SNES game, despite being an absolute charm to look at. In spite of the hate, I really enjoyed Star Fox Zero, though fall on the side of the argument that it lost a lot of what made the 64 game special, as well as the controls occasionally being needlessly frustrating. I also couldn't get into Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze quite as much as some people on here did, but it's still a top level platformer which I loved playing through. Finally, Wii Sports Club, Rayman Adventures and Need For Speed Most Wanted were all great titles that I put a decent amount of time into.

 

I haven't even mentioned the E-Shop but enjoyed Shovelknight, of course, as well as Fast Racing Neo, Affordable Space Adventures and Swords and Soldiers. I do have other titles downloaded (about 15 in all), but either haven't finished them or enjoyed them a whole lot.

 

Colour Paper Mario will be my final Wii U game, which I'll buy before the end of the year.

 

Thank you Nintendo for re-igniting my love for this nearly 30 year old hobby of mine. These past two years have been great and I already can't wait for the Switch.

[Ronnie]

Brilliant post @Nicktendo about some truly wonderful games

[Kav]

I've decided not to include WWHD in the list as it's a remake and I didn't buy TPHD as I've still got the Wii game I can play on the WiiU so didn't see the point in purchasing it so that's the reason they're missing in the list, but I'd say my top 5 are:

 

1. Pikmin 3

2. Wonderful 101

3. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

4. Batman Arkham City

5. CoD Black Ops 2

 

I added MH3U because, although it's derived from Tri, I feel it added enough on top of that game to warrant being included.

 

More Nintendo games would've made the list if their multiplayer/online standards met my wants.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Kav

[Nicktendo]

I dont know why I called Paper Mario: Colour Splash Colour Paper Mario or Rayman Legends Rayman Adventures, guess I'm just tired from thinking about ALL THESE AWESOME GAMES. I also missed out Super Mario Maker another one of those famous E3 2014 games, but one that just didn't click with me. I'm not an overly creative person and I just couldn't make anything interesting. Playing user made levels got pretty tiring after a while, especially when a lot of people went for the same cliches. Finding a level which was truly great became a bit of a chore. My biggest disappointment of the Wii U in retrospect.

 

I also forgot to mention Amiibo. I only have 4 in my collection but I do love the idea and the implmentation thus far. They're still just a bit too pricey for my liking.

 

Edit: Bollocks. I forgot about NES Remix 1 and 2 as well. Easily the most challenging games on the system, but I managed to beat them both completely. Bring on the Nintendo Classic Mini. Basically, the Wii U is an awesome system with plenty of great games, so many in fact that it's hard to remember them all! Minecraft.

Edited November 1, 2016 by Nicktendo

[Dcubed]

Ahh! It's finally that time...

 

We'll have to do one for 3DS soon as well, considering that Switch will end up replacing both

 

I'll see about getting my one done in due course. Might need a bit of time, but I'll make my thoughts known for sure!

[dazzybee]

Wind Waker HD is probably one of my favourite games of all time too ( behind the Galaxies)... why are we not counting it?! Remake.... they not allowed....

 

1 - Wind Waker HD

1 - Splatoon -Incredible game, the best new IP in years.

2 - Mario Kart 8 - the best mario kart there's ever been

3 - Pikmin 3 - I love this game so much, the multiplayer is absolutely stunning fi it was online it'd probably be my number 1

4 - Mario (real) 3D World - It aint 64 or Galaxies, but it's better than sunshine and still the best 3D platformer since 2010

5 - Mario Maker - Amazing. I'm happy for this to be 2d mario now - give us Gameboy skins and more items, let us add missions and stories, expand it for the future on the switch.

[Guy]

Five games out of so many greats.

 

Here we go! These are all games I have beaten or played comprehensively - still working through my Wii U backlog so this list will maybe change in future.

 

1. Splatoon. Simply the best thing to come out of Nintendo in years.

 

2. Super Mario Maker. Who could have seen this coming crouched around a tv playing NES all those years ago? If this came at launch I think it could have been very different for Wii U.

 

3. Super Smash Bros. What can I really say that hasn't already been said? The best one yet by a large margin. The full roster still blows my mind.

 

4. The Wonderful 101. Just fantastic throughout, great music and criminally cheap these days. The great game nobody can play.

 

5. Mario 3D World. The ultimate 3D Mario adventure and a perfect combination of the past 2D/3D Mario titles.

 

I'd rank Mario Kart 8 as 6th, it's the best one yet and has perhaps the best value DLC I have ever purchased. I considered swapping this and Smash Bros., but in the end Smash edged it out.

 

There are so many good games on Wii U...

[Cube]

1. Splatoon

 

Despite not being a fan of online games, I loved Splatoon. Online was a lot of fun and the singleplayer, while short, was more than I was expecting.

 

2. Mario Kart 8

 

After the disaster that was Mario Kart Wii, it was nice to see a return to form for home console Mario Karts. Very solid controls and a good selection of levels.

 

3. Yoshi's Woolly World

 

Extremely charming and a lot of fun in co-op. A decent amount of levels and lots of hidden stuff to find.

 

4. Wind Waker / Twilight Princess

 

Both were great remastered games. Wind Waker is a joy, as always, and they streamlined the few bad bits. Twilight Princess is much better than I remember it being.

 

5. Super Mario Maker

 

While Nintendo failed to entertain me with their own Mario titles on Wii U, I had an immense amount of fun playing fan-made levels on this, particularly ones made by forum members.

[Glen-i]

So Breath of the Wild won't count as a WiiU game, huh? (Yes, I know the title says 2016)

 

5. Super Smash Bros. for WiiU

 

Mario there, making sure no future Koopalings can ever happen.

 

Who doesn't like a bit of Smash? Well, I sure do. The mechanics have never been better, it has a roster that defies belief (No, seriously. How did Cloud get in again?) and an online infrastructure that's actually decent!

It might have gotten higher on my list if it was the 3DS version though.

 

Oh, and seeing as it's me and Smash, I might as well beat @RedShell to the punch this time.

 

 

 

 

Actually, you know what? Let's take a trip down Memory Avenue.

 

You know, I kinda really want to play some Smash with N-europe again. Looking at those videos brought back great memories!

 

4. Bayonetta 2

 

I'm getting dizzy just watching that!

 

I've never been much for Platinum's action games. But Bayonetta 2 really was something very special. The game just oozes silly fun and it felt really satisfying slowly improving as I went along. Not to mention the massive amounts of secrets. (That last unlockable weapon is fantastic!)

 

 

 

3. Paper Mario: Colour Splash

 

Way to go!

 

It just recently came out, but the sequel that no-one wanted turned out to be pretty solid. Well, I wanted it, and it gave me more than I could ever hope for! The writings great, the gameplay is fun and the visuals and soundtrack are simply gorgeous! If this is the last WiiU game I buy, than the console certainly went out with a bang!

 

2. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

 

This apparently, has something to do with Fire Emblem.

 

Possibly one of the bizarrest games the WiiU has to offer. Take Shin Megami Tensei, sprinkle on a bit of Fire Emblem, and then shove it through a J-Pop Blender! That's how you make Tokyo Mirage Sessions!

 

There's a solid RPG there though. It's vibrant, challenging and has more than it's fair share of "Wait, what?" moments.

This game just kept me grinning throughout and is worth a look if you like RPG's even a little bit!

 

1. Hyrule Warriors

 

I regret ALL of my life choices!

 

Sure, the 3DS version kinda takes the WiiU one and makes it even better, but that doesn't stop this being my favourite WiiU game.

A ridiculous amount of content coupled with a healthy dose of Zelda References kept this in my WiiU for months. Which is surprising, considering that I don't own a copy of the WiiU one myself.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Glen-i