My Top Ten Favorite Wii U Games

​In the early morning hours of March 10, 2022, I fully finished my final Wii U game, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water. While it was a commercial flop, I still really loved the Wii U and there are some things it offered that I dearly miss on Switch that should be givens like the ability to message friends directly and, most importantly, to buy and own Virtual Console games forever. I still have many Virtual Console games to play and replay on the Wii U which thankfully I can mostly entirely enjoy on the Wii U gamepad even when I unhook the console from my TV. It wasn’t just those features and others like the Miiverse (RIP) that made the Wii U special, but rather it’s small, but stellar library of exclusives. Now that I’ve exhausted all of my proper Wii U games, I’m eager to share my thoughts on my top ten favorite games on the system. As I put together this list, I decided to include Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE for consideration even though I only fully finished it on Switch since that version didn’t really alter much of the core experience. Perhaps contradictorily, I also decided I wouldn’t consider either of the HD Zelda remasters since those core experiences I first experienced on the GameCube and Wii though I do have to say both the Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD are excellent. With all of that said, let’s get right into it!

10: Paper Mario Color Splash

Paper Mario Color Splash was the direct follow up to Paper Mario Sticker Star, which at the time I had tried to finish twice, but each time was thwarted by Wiggler’s dreadfully boring forest. While I learned last year Sticker Star does eventually become the game it wanted to be in the much better back half as I finally finished it, Paper Mario Color Splash turns all of Sticker Star’s weaknesses into strengths and is excellent throughout. While it still features one time use abilities for every attack, by making them cards instead of stickers it removes the annoying inventory management of Sticker Star. Fights still no longer give you XP, but they give you tons of money to easily replace your deck and hammers that steadily increases your overall paint supply which is used in both exploration and in battle. Once again Toads are the primary NPC to find in the world, but this time the writers really went out of their way to craft hilarious jokes and dialogue which makes you actually want to meet all of them. Finally, while the world map is still divided into distinct levels, clear themes unite each set such as helping a train reach its destination or scouring the seas for pirate treasure. A lot of people missed Color Splash as it released at the end of the Wii U’s life, so I hope it comes back one day and gets the much better reception it deserves.

9: Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, the game formerly known as Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, is an exploration of the Japanese entertainment industry and is closer in tone to a Persona game than a traditional apocalyptic Shin Megami Tensei game. In TMS, the world is currently being threatened by evil spirits called Mirages attempting to suck the life energy, Performa, out of humanity. You play as Itsuki, a young man who enters a partnership with one of the good mirages, to become a mirage master. The good mirages and biggest bosses are all spirit versions of Fire Emblem characters including Chrom, Caeda, and Tiki, which is certainly an odd way to do a crossover. The gameplay is ripped right out of SMT, with exploiting elemental weaknesses leading to big combo chains called Sessions here. I really appreciate that each dungeon in TMS has a clear theme, including photo shoots and a movie set, with no randomized elements to make each one feel more meaningful. TMS is divided into chapters and you are free to revisit earlier dungeons for side quests and to claim treasures you missed without worrying about a time limit like Persona which is ideal. While I mentioned already the crossover elements are a bit lackluster, I’m very glad TMS#FE is far more concerned with telling its own story. Every party member works at Fortuna Entertainment and, aside from Itsuki who is more of a supporter, every character works in different aspects of entertainment. For example, Tsubasa and Kiria are idols, Touma is a Tokusatsu actor, and Mamori is a child actor hosting her own cooking show. While the main story introduces their stories, each character has side quests that continue their journeys that truly makes them endearing. I also have to mention the game has slick presentation throughout that makes the game feel extra energetic and special and I especially adore all of the vocal songs. The main theme, Reincarnation, sung by Yoshino Nanjo is far and away my favorite, and I also really enjoy Dream Catcher and Beastie Game.

8: New Super Mario Bros U & Super Mario Maker

When I was putting together my list, I kept going back and forth on whether to place either New Super Mario Bros U or Super Mario Maker ahead of each other. I settled on cheating a bit by putting them together here as a tie, but honestly that does feel right even though they are two different experiences. New Super Mario Bros U was a launch title for the Wii U and had an excellent, creative, single player and co-op campaign with an awesome, challenging World 9 post game and an amazing challenge mode for Mario masters. It became my favorite New Super Mario Bros game and my favorite 2D Mario game overall when Nintendo added the Luigi U DLC campaign. Luigi U was an entire set of short 100 second levels to blitz through that were a good deal tougher than the original game stages and still featured three gold coins to collect which made them satisfying to master. If I only considered just how much fun I had and the sheer amount of clear, steady satisfaction I got from each game, New Super Mario Bros U would be ahead of Super Mario Maker. Where it becomes fuzzier, is just how brilliant Super Mario Maker is and how wonderous it felt despite a few frustrations. Designing Mario levels with such an intuitive interface was such a blast and something I always wanted to do, but couldn’t until Mario Maker came along. A steady stream of new levels, from both Nintendo and other creators, ranged in quality, but were astounding in how they frequently broke the rules of Mario and how much creative fun they were. In addition to the lack of single player content, the most notable issue with Super Mario Maker besides missing elements/enemies later added in Super Mario Maker 2, were that levels that went unplayed online were cruelly delisted from the servers which was heartbreaking when you spent so much time creating them. It’s hard for me to weigh which experience is better, quality versus wonder, but since New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario Maker each compliment and elevate each other, I think instead it’s right to celebrate both together.

7: Pikmin 3

While I do miss the underground levels and the huge co-op mode of Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3 is still a phenomenal game. This time you have three captains to manage and can pause the action at any time to decide what your next action should be. This makes it easier than ever to multitask and optimize your actions which shines incredibly well in the new mission mode where you strive for perfect scores in the shortest amount of time. While there weren’t many levels at launch, the DLC levels for mission mode, including a unique 2.5D tunnel level and a difficult factory level, were extra spectacular and were so much fun to clear in co-op. The main campaign was also a lot of fun even though it was breezier than Pikmin 2’s. Pikmin 3 introduces two new Pikmin types, Rock Pikmin and Flying Pikmin. While the former feel redundant of the bulky Purple Pikmin, the Flying Pikmin are both awesome for dodging obstacles and swarming enemies. Pikmin 3 also features some of the biggest and best bosses of the series, so I’m glad there is boss battle mode to challenge them freely. Pikmin is such an awesome franchise, so I really hope we finally get a Pikmin 4 soon.

6: Bayonetta 2

Bayonetta 2 is one of the absolute best action games I’ve ever played and certainly the most over the top. The beginning of Bayonetta 2 is truly spectacular, where you fight hordes of angels on top of a fighter jet in the middle of a big city that culminates in a battle with a giant Godzilla monster. While things understandably calm down in the next level, the action always steadily rockets back up including fighting a giant sea serpent while surfing on a piece of debris in the middle of a giant vortex of water and fighting hordes of enemies in giant mech. Even when it isn’t being completely over the top, the core action is just immensely satisfying as you can swap between sets of weapons easily and dodge big attacks to enter Witch Time to punish enemies. Boss fights and challenge rooms really put all of your skills to the test especially the super hard post game arenas with back to back fights. There’s a lot of cool unlockables and fun secrets to find including unlocking Nintendo costumes like Princess Peach’s outfit which lets you summon Bowser’s fists to crush opponents. I recently replayed Bayonetta 2 and it still holds up amazingly. I have no clue how they can, but I can’t wait to see Platinum try to top Bayonetta 2 with Bayonetta 3 later this year.

5: Splatoon

I’ve always been a big fan of third person shooters and Nintendo released an instant classic with Splatoon. In the most basic mode, Turf War, you try to cover as much of the multiplayer maps as possible with ink. Standing in enemy ink drastically reduces your speed which gives you further incentive to spread as much of yours as possible. In essence then, Nintendo cleverly made map control a very tangible element to interact which is awesome since map control has always been quietly key to success in team shooters. The three main competitive modes are interesting as they each put their own spin on map control. Splat Zones is simply King of the Hill, Tower Control, my favorite, has you escort an on-rails tower into an enemy base, while Rainmaker, the most complicated, lets you take any path you want to bring the Rainmaker weapon into the opposing goal. Fights in Splatoon are fierce as ink flies in every direction, Inklings can dive in and out of ink for extra mobility and to sneak up on opponents, and it’s easy to rejoin the fray with a quick glance at the map and super jumping to your allies. I really love the colorful aesthetic of the game and especially its awesome soundtrack bursting with personality. Finally, while it is very short, the Mario Galaxy inspired campaign is awesome and culminates with one of Nintendo’s all time best boss fights.

4: Mario Kart 8

It is hard to divorce all of my fond memories made in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which has slight tweaks that really enhance the experience, from the initial experience on Wii U, not to mention the impact of new courses from the Booster Pass which barely rolled out Wave 1 at the time of this writing. Divorced from Deluxe, I think the original Mario Kart 8 makes sense in spot 4 on my list. It was up in the air in the beginning, but the moment Mario Kart 8’s original DLC began rolling out that added 16 new tracks to the game and the new 200cc mode, Mario Kart 8 cemented itself as my favorite Mario Kart game. Already, the new anti-gravity mechanics were awesome and opened up the potential for engaging alternate routes in the tracks. 200cc is super unique as well, as you rocket forward on the course and actually need to feather the brake to navigate tight turns. The item balance, which was out of control with power items on the Wii version, has thankfully been calmed down in 8. The addition of the Super Horn, a defensive item that can crush the Blue Shell, is a game changer. Mario Kart 8’s graphics are impeccable and the jazzy soundtrack featuring a real Mario band is amazing and lovely. The best element of Mario Kart 8 is certainly the track selection. There are so many awesome new tracks like Mount Wario, Toad Harbor, Cloud Top Cruise, and Wild Woods, amazing retro tracks like Yoshi Circuit, Royal Raceway, and Wario’s Goldmine, and incredible crossover tracks including Hyrule Circuit and my two absolute favorites, Mute City and Big Blue. I have no idea how the Mario Kart team will ever top Mario Kart 8, especially now with the Booster Pass in 8 Deluxe, but I can’t wait to see them try.

3: Xenoblade X

Xenoblade X is a messy masterpiece that I love to pieces and I lament every day it remains trapped on the Wii U because way more people need to play it. Xenoblade X wonderfully captures the feeling of exploring a hostile alien planet on such a grand scale. Virtually everywhere you look offers impressive sights and sounds as well as hostile aliens to combat. The most amazing part of Xenoblade X is that the way you explore the planet changes significantly twice during the adventure. You begin Xenoblade X on foot, but eventually acquire a giant transforming mech that can cover a lot of ground quickly in vehicle mode, before ultimately gaining the ability for your mech to fly. While the world does essentially shrink with each upgrade, there is of course even more locations you can access and ground exploration still has its place. Because it was so intimidating, across my 75 hours of play I never did quite get a handle on mech combat so I ended up fighting the final boss on foot where I had built an engine to constantly enter overdrive for four times the damage. I appreciate Xenoblade X lets you explore upgrading your character with little hand holding as discovering myself how to make an overdrive engine felt so special. While exploration and combat steal the show, the story is no slouch either as there is so much to discover through side quests. The questions the game raises are so interesting that it is especially frustrating that to this day we still don’t have a sequel in sight. Finally, I do have to mention I love the soundtrack by Hiroyuki Sawano. He basically only composes songs with one tone, bombast, and I can’t get enough of it. My absolute favorite track is the boss battle theme, Uncontrollable, as it brings huge anime OP energy to every boss fight which way more games need.

2: Super Mario 3D World

My 2013 GOTY was Super Mario 3D World because it offers so much joyful, satisfying fun from start to finish whether you are playing by yourself or tackling the game with friends and family. A majority of the levels are a huge step up in creativity and purpose from its predecessor 3D Land. Scattered throughout each normal level are three green stars to collect and one stamp and in the original Wii U version they aren’t saved between deaths which makes collecting them a proper challenge. Incidentally, while the Switch version of course has a clear edge with awesome online play, I do think the slower speed of the original is the ideal speed for the game and makes each space feel more meaningful to play through. It probably would have been my GOTY back in 2013 with just the already strong main game, but what truly cemented my love for 3D World is the glorious post game that features tons of new exciting levels, a fifth playable character with Rosalina who gets the awesome Mario Galaxy spin jump, tough remix levels, and the ultimate gauntlet in the Mario series, Champion’s Road. While I’m currently most interested in seeing Mario explore a true open world after Bowser’s Fury for his next adventure, I really hope we also get a sequel to Super Mario 3D World one day. There’s nothing else like it.

1: Super Smash Bros For Wii U

Even though I loved it a great deal from the start, Super Smash Bros For Wii U (aka Smash 4) was not my favorite Wii U game when it first came out. Over time though, as new DLC rolled out and patches smoothed up the gameplay, it evolved into my favorite game on the system. I ultimately put 142 hours into Smash 4, which was almost double its closest competitor, Xenoblade X. While I enjoyed Brawl’s slower speed at the time, Smash 4 opted for a middle ground between Brawl and Melee’s lightning fast speed. As a result, fights were more exciting, but still manageable and easier to read. While I immediately gravitated back to my favorite character, Lucas, when he returned as DLC, there were tons of awesome new characters to learn. My favorite was definitely Shulk from Xenoblade. Shulk was a slower sword wielder with long reach, but he stood out from the rest by having access to five different buff states with his Monado Arts. By activating a Monado Art, you could dramatically raise one stat at the cost of another which made matches with him incredibly technical. I love too, Shulk came along with the Gaur Plains stage (my favorite background for Final Destination) with a handful of the best Xenoblade songs to rock out and fight to including You Will Know Our Names. Other newcomers I really loved included Lucina, Robin, Mega Man, Duck Hunt, and Cloud. While learning the characters was especially fun, the most excitement of course was playing the game locally with friends and the introduction of eight player Smash made it better than ever. While I’ve still never played a true eight player Smash game, being able to accommodate groups of five, six, and seven is amazing. My favorite memories of the game were playing intense first to five wins sets with my friends. These heated showdowns were so intense and the big moments were always so fun and emotional which made Smash 4 a staple when hanging out. While Super Smash Bros Ultimate holds the crown as the best Smash Bros game these days, I made so many fond memories with Smash 4 that I still treasure today.

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That concludes my latest blog and I hope you enjoyed it! I always like hearing from my readers, so if you have any favorite Wii U memories be sure to reach out to me on Twitter @JustinMikos. Also, in case you missed them, I did recently put out My Final Wii and Wii U Games blog as well as My Top Ten Favorite Wii Games blog, so check those out if you are interested! Until next time!