![]() While I don’t have the column space to gush over all of the Wii U’s bangers, honourable mentions go to Pikmin 3, cult classic RPG Xenoblade Chronicles X, and oddities such as Runner 2, Tokyo Mirage Sessions, Affordable Space Adventures and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Hell, for Zelda diehards, the Wii U is still the best console around – the only place you can enjoy Wind Waker and Twilight Princess in high definition. The Wii U was also the original home of one of gaming’s all time greats – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. People line up to play Nintendo’s Splatoon on the opening day of E3 in Los Angeles, 10 June 2014. Even today, it’s an action extravaganza that can’t be topped. While she threw ink around in Splatoon, I became utterly enraptured by 2014’s Bayonetta 2. When my ex and I eventually moved in together, we probably became one of the only households on the planet to have two Wii Us. Squid-kid paintball game Splatoon was the big N’s first attempt at an online shooter, and while it didn’t come close to rivalling Halo or Overwatch, it offered a charming take on an often uninspired genre. Actually, most of the Wii U’s underloved classics got another shot at fame on the Nintendo Switch, years later. Given that it’s still selling millions on the Nintendo Switch, it’s easy to forget that the best Mario Kart took its first corner on Wii U. Whenever we would tire of Nintendo Land, we’d turn to the Wii U’s crown jewel, Mario Kart 8. ![]() My mates and I became weirdly obsessed with its half-baked football competitive mini game, Kung Foot – shout-out to the 10 other people that played it. ![]() ![]() Speaking of platforming classics, Rayman Legends was also an utter delight. Case in point: Super Mario 3D World, which transformed the single-player institution of 3D Mario into a co-op-epic, combining the most joyous elements of 2D Mario with four-player catsuit-wearing shenanigans. It felt like Nintendo was in a period of seemingly random risk-taking during this period, which is what made the Wii U and its games so endearing. It’s one of the few games that really does London justice, too, letting you cave zombie skulls in with a cricket bat.Īn attendee plays a video game using Nintendo’s Wii U controller at E3 in Los Angeles, 5 June 2012. Another early adventure that made the gamepad sing was undead horror game ZombiU, which forced players to rifle around in their backpacks in real time on the gamepad – while hordes of the undead closed in on the TV. Nintendo Land hinted at a world of promise for Nintendo’s two-screen wonder, but sadly it was never fulfilled. In Mario Chase – Nintendo’s version of hide and seek – the gamepad-clutching runner would sprint towards a hiding place and wait for the pursuit to begin, while team TV would become the Mario-chasing mob, shouting garbled orders to locate their moustachioed prey and cut off his escape. ![]() Here, the player with the gamepad competed against everyone else. Where a lot of Wii U games lazily whacked a menu on the gamepad’s small screen, or some pointless touch controls, Nintendo Land fully sold the two-screen dream. Living with my parents and attempting to figure out my life while working bar jobs, Nintendo Land became the star of many rowdy pre-drinks, thanks to the brilliant double act of Mario Chase and Luigi’s Ghost Mansion. Nintendo Land, the tragically ignored set of mini-games that came with the console, was Wii U’s secret weapon. Where Sony and Microsoft abandoned split-screen for online multiplayer, Nintendo’s misunderstood console quietly united mates and families, becoming the de facto HD party console. From Nintendo’s bizarre attempt at a social network, Miiverse – shout out to the user obsessed with in-game water – to some of history’s best, most unusual multiplayer games, the Wii U is home to many of my fondest gaming memories. Yet it’s probably the most endearingly weird console I’ve owned. Thanks to its Fisher Price-looking plasticky controller, underpowered specs and abysmal marketing (even the name was needlessly confusing), the Wii U was perhaps doomed from day one. People dance with the Wii Fit U game Just Dance 4 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), in Los Angeles, California, 6 June 2012. ![]()
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