Nintendo’s Wii U was not exactly one of the most popular or successful consoles for the company. However, regardless of its shortcomings, it had some of the best games to ever exist. Interestingly, to this day, it has some unique games exclusive to the system.
Since this is a list for the Wii U, I haven’t taken the games from older generations like the NES remix. I have also tried keeping the games exclusive to Nintendo titles or the ones that released for it as much as possible. So while there are many fun games like Batman Arkham City Armored Edition, Resident Evil Revelations, and more. This list will have most games that you can only play on Wii U or on Nintendo Switch.
5 Best Games To Play on Wii U
5. Xenoblade Chronicles X
4. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
3. Super Smash Bros. 4
2. Mario Kart 8
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
5. Xenoblade Chronicles X
Since you have a Wii U there is a good chance that you must have already played if not completed Xenoblade Chronicles X. It is one of the few games that at the time of writing this article is exclusive to Wii U. However if you haven’t had a chance to play this game or any other in the Xeno series then XCX is a really good game to pick.
Chronologically speaking, you should ideally play the first game before this if you are planning to go with the play order. However, the best part is it can be played at any time in the series and isn’t exactly a prequel to sequel to the other games. It also isn’t as story-heavy as some other games in the series and focuses more on exploration. The only thing that you miss out when playing it first are some references to the first game.
4. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
You know a game is going to be fun if it has Kirby in it. In this game, all the colors of Dream Land get stolen and Kirby gets stuck in a ball form. Players who have played Kirby: Canvas Curse should be familiar with where the gameplay is going. You basically control Kirby by drawing rainbow lines on your Wii U gamepad to help Kirby and his friends on their quest.
This game has a beautiful clay model art style. While it can be completed alone, you can with a total of 4 friends including yourself. Don’t worry about him being stuck as a ball because depending on the different levels and as you progress, you can turn Kirby into a tank, a submarine, or even a rocket! There is also the game’s support for Amiibos which gives you things like extra health, and two different types of dashes.
3. Super Smash Bros. 4
While the above two games were more of single-player story experiences, this one brings the multiplayer fun to the list. Talking about Nintendo consoles & exclusive titles and not having Smash Bros in it would leave the list incomplete. Super Smash Bros. 4 for the Wii U is an excellent game. The reason this game is special is because it introduced the ability to let you play with up to 8 players at the same time.
If you have played Smash Melee before then rest assured as veteran characters like Mario, Link, Peach, Zelda, Samus, and more will be returning. However there are plenty of newcomers that you can play as, these include:
- Rosalina & Luma from the Mario Galaxy series.
- Mega Man from the Mega Man series.
- Palutena from Kid Icarus.
- Cloud from Final Fantasy 7.
- Shulk from the Xenoblade series.
These are just to name a few there are plenty more that you can play with. The best part is the game even offers you 55 stages where you can pit them against each other, and if that isn’t enough then you can also create your own stages using the Stage Builder feature. Overall if you are looking for good multiplayer, or even single-player fun, you can’t go wrong with this game.
2. Mario Kart 8
Speaking of multiplayer games, Mario Kart 8 also is a must-play. To describe it in one line – this game is fast and it is fun. It brings back all the good stuff from MK7 like the ability to dive underwater, glide, and customize your Karts. However, there is a new anti-gravity feature. Since we are talking about new things, this is also the game that first brought the 200cc races to the Grand Prix.
MK8 gives you 36 playable characters of different weight classes. There are even 32 courses that you can play on. As such, you won’t be getting bored playing them anytime soon. So you and your 3 other friends can enjoy all it has to offer.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Best Game for Wii U
Finally, the best game on this list shouldn’t be a surprise as it is none other than Legend of Zelda BOTW. Just the game’s main story should take you anywhere around 50 hours to complete. That is if we are talking strictly about the main quests, when you bring in things like completing side quests, finding the Koroks seeds, completing all the shrines, and the Hyrule Compendium, it can easily take you 200 hours if not more to finish it all.
It’s not that the game just offers a longer playtime. Breath of the Wild redefined the series with several new features. Namely, the ability to jump, just kidding. All jokes aside though, the gameplay is very fresh especially if you have played any other games in the series like Ocarina of Time, Link to the Past, or more. With the weapons breaking (even though it is very annoying), and the huge bump in difficulty with enemies like Guardians and Lynels, the combat has changed a lot. Not to mention the open world and how you don’t have to complete dungeons in any particular order.
Sure Tears of the Kingdom is out, but if you don’t have access to Switch yet, or even if you do, I can’t recommend this game enough.
That’s it for this list of the 5 best games that you can play on your Wii U. If you like playing Nintendo games, then you should check out our Super Mario RPG section, it is a great game that you should give a try if you have a Switch. You can also check out our gaming section for more such recommendation lists, quest walkthroughs, and more.
