The Wii U era wasn’t the most commercially successful for Nintendo, with the system shipping only 13.5 million units over the course of its life. Despite the hardware being a commercial failure, the Wii U featured some of the best games ever released on a Nintendo platform.
In this guide to the best Wii U games, we’re going to highlight our favorites. Although there are still a handful of games that you can only play on the Wii U, many of the top games from the console have been ported to Switch (read our best Nintendo Switch games roundup for more on that). Even so, if you have a Wii U gathering dust, these games will breathe new life into it.
You can also take a look at our lists of the best Wii games, Gamecube games, and N64 games if you’re feeling particularly nostalgic.
Action
The Wonderful 101
The Wonderful 101 is one of the main reasons to buy a Wii U, as the Platinum-developed title was released exclusively for the platform. Instead of controlling a single character, you take charge of a group of superheroes, which you can turn into different objects using morphs.
It’s a bit like if Pikmin was an action game, and although it’s an unlikely pairing, it works well. That’s thanks to the signature Platinum flare present in the game. Like all of the Japanese studio’s titles, the animations and effects are over-the-top in the best way, often filling the screen entirely.
Bayonetta 2
Bayonetta 2 has an interesting history. Despite the original game being critically successful, it didn’t sell well upon launch, forcing Sega to drop the series from its publishing lineup. Nintendo, in an attempt to bring more mature content to the Wii U, stepped in with funding for a sequel under the condition that it would be a Wii U exclusive.
It turns out that was a good call on Nintendo’s part. Improving on nearly every aspect of the original release, Bayonetta 2 is more stylish and bombastic than the game that preceded it. Furthermore, Bayonetta 2 paved the way for other mature titles to make their way over to Nintendo, with games like Dark Souls and Diablo III now featured on Switch.
Read our full Bayonetta 2 review
Fighting
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U released shortly after the 3DS build of the game, with the two often referred to as Super Smash Bro. 4 (this was the period when Nintendo released a console called the New 3DS, after all). Like previous games, Smash 4 is an arena fighter where up to eight players can duke it out with their favorite characters.
Unlike the previous entry, Brawl, Smash 4 leans into the competitive nature of the series, making battles feel faster and more visceral than ever. Additionally, Nintendo rebalanced many of the characters in Smash 4, making the title more viable for competitive play.
Injustice: Gods Among Us
Injustice: God Among Us is one of the best fighting games ever made, and seeing it running on a Nintendo console is a treat. As you should expect from any game released on Nintendo’s outdated hardware, it doesn’t look as good as the releases on PC, Xbox One, and PS4. All the content is intact, though.
All of the characters, stages, and combos found in the original release are in the Wii U port. Although the game was initially released without support for DLC fighters, developer NetherRealm patched them in later, allowing you to play with the full roster of characters. All-in-all, it’s one of the best superhero games to date.
Read our Injustice: Gods Among Us review
Platformer
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is the latest in the long-running Donkey Kong Country series, following the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii back in 2010. Like previous entries, it’s a side-scrolling platformer where you can switch between various characters from the Donkey Kong series.
You mainly play as Donkey Kong, though you can find Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Cranky Kong as you make your way through levels. Each one of these companions has their own abilities, allowing you to make your way across tough platforming sections with ease or access new parts of a stage. Tropical Freeze doesn’t pull a lot of punches with the Donkey Kong Country formula, and thankfully, it doesn’t need to.
Read our Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze review
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is a bit of a hidden gem on the Wii U. Despite being some of the best platformers ever made, the Shantae series hasn’t joined the ranks of Mario and Donkey Kong. Like previous games in the series, Pirate’s Curse puts you in the shoes of Shantae, the Half-Genie. However, in this game, Shantae has lost her genie powers, forcing you to use pirate items and Shantae’s signature hair attack to traverse stages.
In the game, you can travel to various islands using Risky Boots’ pirate ship. Each of the islands has one of the pirate items you’ll need to beat the game, as well as a slew of hidden items. Thanks to guided quests, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is more hands-on than other Metroidvanias, though it keeps the spirit of exploration intact.
Yoshi’s Woolly World
Yoshi’s Woolly World was the first mainline Yoshi game released for a home console since 1997 when it came out in 2015 (it’s since been superseded by Yoshi’s Crafted World on Switch). Developed by the same studio behind Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Woolly World features the same cloth and yarn aesthetic as the Kirby game that came before.
The graphics aren’t just eye candy, thankfully. Instead of producing an egg when swallowing an enemy, Yoshi spits out a ball of yarn. Unlike eggs, which were used solely for taking down enemies, Yoshi’s yarn can tie up enemies, fill gaps in the level, and more.
Super Mario 3D World
Fans have been calling for a Super Mario 3D World release on Switch since Nintendo started porting Wii U games over, and it’s easy to see why. Following in the lineage of games like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy, 3D World is yet another excellent 3D Mario game. There are some reasons to play it on the Wii U, however.
In addition to Off-TV Play, 3D World uses various other functions of the GamePad for mechanics in-game. You can interact with the touch screen and microphone to reveal hidden blocks, knock enemies over, and more, evoking the same gimmicky charm seen in other 3D Mario games.
Read our Super Mario 3D World review
Shovel Knight
Shovel Knight was, for many years, the bar for retro-inspired indie games — and is actually one of the best indie games on the Switch still. Prior to its release in 2014, there was little in the way of modern games that tried to recreate the feeling of an old-school NES game. Although the initial release is great in its own right, developer Yacht Club Games has continued supporting the game.
It’s no longer just Shovel Knight, but a collection of games based in the Shovel Knight universe. Treasure Trove, as the collection is called, features four full single-player campaigns, as well as a Smash Bros.-esque battle mode. Be careful when picking up Shovel Knight, though, as the physical Wii U release doesn’t feature all of the additional content of Treasure Trove.
Role-playing game
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the best Zelda games ever made, releasing on the Wii U and Switch simultaneously. Although the Switch version is more visually impressive, the Wii U release is the exact same game, perfectly sending off Nintendo’s beloved, but commercially unsuccessful, console and ushering in a new one.
Breath of the Wild breaks every Zelda tradition, with a fully open world to explore, nonlinear gameplay, voice acting, and full cutscenes. It’s not a Zelda game in the traditional sense, but rather an evolution of the series that better meets the demands of a modern market.
Read our The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild review
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
Tokyo Mirage Session #FE might be one of the best JRPGs ever released,