My Top 5 Wii U Games

Now that I am active on Twitter, I happened upon Jared’s Game Room’s top 5 Wii U games (his is an interesting profile, especially for anyone who loves videogame memorabilia!). I figured with my collection of 12 games I would have an interesting time trying to narrow down my choices and I would be able to write about what influenced my decision for each game.

So, this post is going to have a picture in it, followed by my explanations for why each game is in my top 5.

Without further ado, here is the picture of my top 5 Wii U games:

In order (left to right): Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Maker,
Zelda: Wind Waker,  Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Is it any wonder that this game would have been in my top 5? Especially after a glowing review of the game and a couple of over-thought features that I have written about it, it’s little wonder that this game is my most played Wii U title right now. There’s not much I can say here that I haven’t already said, except that the reason for me getting the Wii U instead of the Switch version is simply, I don’t have a Switch!

Super Mario Maker

This game is just a lot of fun. The excellent design choices throughout really make this game just unmissable. Being a Mario platformer, the gameplay itself is as tight as one would expect, but that is not the thing that makes Mario Maker stand out, rather, it is the size of the package as a whole. Designing Mario levels is a lot of fun, and the fact that one can make in different eras of Mario, with Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros., is a wonderful throwback to nostalgia, and offers a lot of variety with just enough subtle gameplay changes in each style to offer new challenges.

The design interface is a lot of fun to play with. I really enjoy all the different little Easter eggs crammed into the menus, and the online community has made some amazing levels that boggle the mind with the sheer level of creative genius on offer. This is definitely a game that keeps on giving.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

It may seem like a bit of a cop-out to include a second Zelda title in my top 5, especially given that this is a HD Remaster of a GameCube game, but the style of The Wind Waker is so wonderful that I just couldn’t help but include it. To this day, it holds pride of place as one of the best Zelda games that I have ever played.

I feel that what is most interesting about The Wind Waker, however, is that it is probably, outside of Breath of the Wild, the closest that modern 3D Zelda has gotten to the core formula; the sense of exploration, and is the closest to the original game in the series.

A lot of the original Legend of Zelda was spent building up a map of Hyrule, either in your mind or on paper, remembering which parts were on which screen, and if you take the grid-like map of Wind Waker, and consider each of the islands one of their own ‘screens’, I feel that it is very similar to how the original was designed; the sense of finding secrets in each little square of the map to help toward the overall goal. The storyline may be linear, the graphics may have received mixed reviews (unjustly, in my opinion), and there may be a lot of sailing involved, but Wind Waker was a wonderful game that made me just so darn happy while I was playing it.

Super Mario 3D World

This game is definitely the flagship of what the Wii U had to offer, gamepad and all. The platforming and controls are tight, the graphics are colourful and eye-popping and the multiplayer gameplay is that familiar friendship-ruining fun that we all loved in New Super Mario Bros Wii. On top of that are cute and innovative Captain Toad levels (eventually so well-received they were spun off into a game of their own), a really fun integration of the Miiverse community (I *loved* interacting with Miiverse in this game and had some genuine laugh-out-loud moments), and the sheer amount of content in this game, Super Mario 3D World is un-put-down-able fun, even if the gameplay makes one wish for a true follow-up to Mario 64 and Sunshine, which we will hopefully get with Super Mario Odyssey.

Mario Kart 8

I included this game because it is the first Mario Kart game that I ever really got into. I’ve always loved Mario Kart but my enjoyment of the series was mostly inbetween sessions of meatier games like Mario 64, or Zelda. Mario Kart has always felt like that game that was not big enough to be a game into its own right.

Mario Kart 8, however, is just so damn fun. The graphics are absolutely beautiful, and the game just runs so smoothly. The colours are dazzling and I love the design of the tracks; the Bowser’s Castle track is a particular stand out for me.

On top of all this, Mario Kart 8 introduced perhaps the best thing that came out of any Mario title: the Luigi Death Stare.

No Mario, Luigi is number one!
(Image captured from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgEJuPhasNA )

Luigi has always felt a little second fiddle to Mario, but I always had a soft spot for the lesser-known, tall green plumber. He was always a more complex character than the flagship mascot, and, finally, through a single look in his eyes, Nintendo gave him a true personality that places him firmly as one of the most memorable video game sidekicks of all time.

It probably helps that Luigi’s Mansion for the GameCube is pretty damn awesome, too.

Honourable mentions go to Yoshi’s Woolly World (cutest game ever!), Hyrule Warriors (just plain ol’ hack and slash fun), Pikmin 3, and Splatoon (while I would have loved to include it in the top 5, I just dislike online shooters, especially since the content for single player is seriously poor).  

The Wii U was an under-rated gem of a console, and I am totally glad that I was one of the lucky gamers that put down their pride to pick one up, as it has offered me some of the greatest gaming experiences that this console generation has to offer.