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What were you favorite non-first party games on the Wii U?

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut
Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Both are great games no matter which platform. The Wii U versions add useful touchscreen features while maintaining comparable performance to the PS360 versions.

OMG yes, how could I forget this game. I was never a huge Splinter Cell fan, I was always more of a MGS stealth game type guy, but Blacklist was such an underrated game. It felt like the return to form the series needed after Conviction. It had a great mix of stealth and action to it. Ugh, I wanna go play it again now.
 

Teepo671

Member
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate right now. I've had Bayonetta 2 for a while now but somehow still have not gotten around to playing it so that might change when I finally put some time aside for that game.
 
Monster hunter tri u.

I also enjoyed the he out if deus ex director's cut. God I wish more games used the pad effectively

And there was of course zombiu which I loved. The definition of a 6or7/10 game elevated by great gamepad use and launch hype.
 

Shikamaru Ninja

任天堂 の 忍者
Please do, I wasn't really meaning to get into a debate about what constitutes first party or not.

It's really simple though. First party and third party relate to publishers. Not developers. Most games are developed by multitudes of developers. Some of them even uncredited.
 

Platy

Member
I totally count LEGO City Undercover.

It has nintendo content ... but so does Bayonetta 1&2, Rayman Legends and Tekken Tag.

They might have nintendo money but their IPs are totally owned by something else.

Also, those 4(5?) are my list
 

Garraboa

Member
Regarding Lego City....is anyone forgetting the term "second party"?

"Second-party developer is a colloquial term often used by gaming enthusiasts and media to describe two different forms of game development studios: Independently owned studios who take development contracts from the platform holders and produce games exclusive to that platform."

I think that first part fits what TT and Nintendo did with Lego City. Or with Platinum Games and Bayonetta. If you wanna get technical, maaaaaaaaybe Intelligents Systems fits that mold, too? They're not owned, but closely affiliated with Nintendo, but on a much, much closer level than, say, Good Feel.


Thread talk wise, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Zombi U are two of my favorites. Bandai Namco really knew how to appeal to series newcomers with extra modes and Nintendo exclusive goodies. Now I'm a series fan through and through. (If only they hadn't gotten rid of the fundoshis...)
 
There were some damn good ones. These are my top choices. And I hold these three high among even Nintendo's offerings on the console. Real damn good games.

ZombiU was incredible. Buggy, sure, but the game is responsible for me getting back into gaming. A truly amazing, immersive experience.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution was outstanding. It was the first Deus Ex game I ever played and I was hooked. It looked great, sounded great, and had awesome GamePad integration. A Wii U gem, no doubt.

Rayman Legends. Beautiful, tight, fun. It was everything I wanted out of the game and more. A real beauty.

Splinter Cell Blacklist was a complete surprise for me, as I had never played a Splinter Cell game prior to it. I thought that it played exactly how it should've and once I got going on it, I couldn't stop playing. I actually played a second time, which is something I very rarely do.
 

WesFX

Neo Member
I'm not a big fan of Wii U, to be sure, so this list will always feel short to me, but here:

Toki Tori 2+ (now multiplatform)
Elliot Quest (coming to Switch, I believe)
Tetrobot and Co. (now multiplatform)
The Swapper (multiplatform)
Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails
Armillo
DuckTales Remastered (multiplatform)
Darksiders 2 (multiplatform)
Need for Speed Most Wanted U (some exclusive content)
 

arlucool

Member
Deus Ex: Human Revolution was outstanding. It was the first Deus Ex game I ever played and I was hooked. It looked great, sounded great, and had awesome GamePad integration. A Wii U gem, no doubt.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Both are great games no matter which platform. The Wii U versions add useful touchscreen features while maintaining comparable performance to the PS360 versions.
NFS and Deus Ex are an interesting case study of adaptations/ports. The former is by the original developer and the latter is by a studio with a knack for good quality ports. It really shows because they're both great.

Makes me happy so many acknowlege this game. It was also my first DE game, and I wish they woud port the sequel to Switch. Weirdly enough, I think this is the only Esquare-Enix game on Wii U (not including Virtual Console/eShop). :s
 

DMONKUMA

Junior Member
I didn't own a Wii U but I did play on one of my friend's however.

Bayonetta 2 and Monster Hunter come to mind that I have experience.
 
Makes me happy so many acknowlege this game. It was also my first DE game, and I wish they woud port the sequel to Switch. Weirdly enough, I think this is the only Esquare-Enix game on Wii U (not including Virtual Console/eShop). :s

So is the Wii U version of this game make it worth replaying if I played the original when it first came out? Always was curious about the DC changes, but was always a little disappointed with how that game ended.
 

R00bot

Member
Rayman, AC III, Black Flag, Monster Hunter 3U, Bayo 2 (and 1 I guess), Lego City, Batman AC, Need For Speed Most Wanted.
 

Roo

Member
Rayman Legends and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed were by far my favorite third party games for Wii U

I've played the former thrice and I clocked over 200 hours in the latter.
 

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
i literally didn't buy any 3rd party games for the wii u

if we're not counting bayo 2 since it was published by nintendo
 
The original Bayonetta surely counts. After that, Shovel Knight, Guacamelee!, and Rayman Legends rounded out the strongest 2D platformer library since the SNES. (Guacamelee! in particular demonstrates how good Metroid-alikes can be with a simultaneous second screen, and I'd put in a word for Axiom Verge for much the same reason, although I've admittedly only played a sliver of it.)

I played SteamWorld Heist on the 3DS but it merits inclusion here as well. It's uniquely placed as a 2D side-scrolling analogue to turn-based strategy shoot-outs like Code Name: STEAM and XCOM, and it fully delivers on its concept. It's the only game of its sort that I've ever felt was fast without sacrificing cautious and methodical play.

So is the Wii U version of this game make it worth replaying if I played the original when it first came out? Always was curious about the DC changes, but was always a little disappointed with how that game ended.

I've only played the original cut on PC as well, but the Wii U was the lead platform for the new cut (whereas it apparently has performance/optimization issues on PC where it's now the only version for sale), and as I understand it, the trade-off is this: you get redesigned boss encounters permitting more approaches than head-on combat (a big sticking point for many in the original cut), but the price is that the Missing Link DLC is now mandatory and inserted where it takes place in the chronology of the game, including its self-contained inventory/augmentation reset. I don't believe the ending is any different.
 

kunonabi

Member
Zombi U, Tank Tank Tank, and Deus Ex. Nothing else was really worth writing about as far as retail goes.

Indie stuff I was pretty partial to Affordable Space Adventures, Runbow, Stealth Inc. 2, Toki Tori 2, Spin the Bottle, and the Shantae games.
 

Zalman

Member
Rayman Legends
Sonic Racing Transformed (although I don't think I ever played this after MK8 came out)
Shovel Knight
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (best console version)
 

Brakke

Banned
Just checked the shelf and it's basically zero. Tokyo Mirage Sessions depending on how pedantic we want to get about "first party" -- obviously a ton of Nintendo (Fire Emblem) character designs but they're interpreted by the game; and it's SMT-ass gameplay.

Can't even get it up for eShop at all. Pretty much anything there I preferred on 3DS (Steamworld, Shovel Knight) or some other platform.

Wii U was the weakest platform I ever saw. You definitely could play non-Nintendo games but almost all were non-definitive versions.
 

balohna

Member
Scram Kitty and His Buddy On Rails


Also the Wii U does have a pretty small library, but it was still big enough to give me a fairly large backlog on the console. Nintendo Humble bundle didn't help.
 

hatchx

Banned
Bayonetta 2
Lego City Undercover
Need for speed
COD: BLOPS 2
Monster Hunter 3
Rayman Legends
Deus Ex
Splinter Cell Blacklist
Zombiu
Hyrule Warriors
Sonic Racing All Stars
Sonic Lost World
Tekken tag 2
 
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 was the definitive version of a brilliant fighting game, Sonic Racing Transformed was similarly excellent, and I really loved Shantae and the Pirate's Curse.
 

iMerc

Member
NFS:MW:
fun fact about this title, it's exactly the same as the ps360 versions as you'd expect, but it uses higher res PC textures as opposed to the other versions. so if you're looking for the best looking home console version, its actually this one.

DEUS EX: HR: Directors Cut:
this imo is the definitive version of Human Revolution. it fixes the cumbersome boss battle by giving you multiple options to beat them, includes all DLC into the main game, and makes great use of the gamepad. the gamepad + this game, fit like a glove.
Also, it has a 'making of deus ex' featurette too, which is fun to watch.

ZOMBIU:
completely underrated. this is a true gem.
 
Lots of you guys are really making me wanna get around to playing ZombiU. It's not like I never wanted to play it, but it's just something that was always on my backlog that I didn't get to.

NFS:MW:
fun fact about this title, it's exactly the same as the ps360 versions as you'd expect, but it uses higher res PC textures as opposed to the other versions. so if you're looking for the best looking home console version, its actually this one.

I really wish I liked this game more. Criterion really tried with it, especially the Wii U version where they took advantage of the hardware by including those higher res textures. It's just it never clicked with me. It had the formula of Burnout Paradise, but it never felt like it was as fun as that game.
 

TheMoon

Member
One dozen hidden gems? List 'em as it is the point of the thread. I am honestly curious because that is a solid number to justify a console.

Not sure the word "hidden" applies but:

Exclusives (incl. stuff that later got ported but were designed as exclusive initially):
ZombiU
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones
Rayman Legends
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut
Affordable Space Adventures
Scram Kitty & His Buddy on Rails
FAST Racing Neo
Runbow
Swords & Soldiers II
Typoman

Multiplatform games with particularly cool/useful GamePad integration:
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition
Need for Speed: Most Wanted U
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Assassin's Creed III & Black Flag
Mass Effect 3: Special Edition
Resident Evil Revelations
Terraria
Don't Starve: Giant Edition
Year Walk
Noitu Love: Devolution
Severed
Little Inferno

Multiplatform games:
Batman: Arkham Origins
Teslagrad
Elliot's Quest
Futuridium EP Deluxe
The Fall
The Swapper
The Swindle
SteamWorld Collection (Dig & Heist)
Toki Tori 2
Lone Survivor: Director's Cut
Human Resource Machine
Runner 2
Jotun: Valhalla Edition
etc etc long list of cool eShop indies


Was watch dogs no good? Seems like a fun title to play on the gamepad in bed.

There's stuff to like in Watch Dogs. Like most games, if you get past the hype cycle and review phase (aka is this worth 59.99 USD lalala), you can have a good time with this too.

Was Nintendo Publisher in Japan?

If you go down that route then Hyrule Warriors is suddenly no longer a first party game either :D

Wanna know something amazing? I booted up ME3 on Wii U earlier today, because I just felt like playing the multiplayer after all the andromeda talk lately. I didn't actually expect to find anyone playing it, but I logged in, and actually got in a game with 3 other players lol. I was shocked to say the least.

Still? I was wondering about that. Last checked maybe 2 years ago and also instantly got into a match. Given their history, it's amazing EA kept the servers running this long for what must be a tiny but consistent group of players. I might hop on again too sometime :)

I really wish I liked this game more. Criterion really tried with it, especially the Wii U version where they took advantage of the hardware by including those higher res textures. It's just it never clicked with me. It had the formula of Burnout Paradise, but it never felt like it was as fun as that game.

What I loved about NFSMWU was that silly-sounding Co-Driver Mode that let you a) play actual co-op in a weird way where you could control the same car with two controllers and b) had one player with God Mode at all times where you could turn off traffic, change the time-of-day or simply instaswitch to a new vehicle while the other one just focused on driving. It always sounds so dumb until you play it and it's just a blast.
 

MrT-Tar

Member
I can only think of 5 third party games I have on the system. In order of preference they are:

Rayman Legends
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara
Resident Evil: Revelations
Ducktales Remastered
 
What I loved about NFSMWU was that silly-sounding Co-Driver Mode that let you a) play actual co-op in a weird way where you could control the same car with two controllers and b) had one player with God Mode at all times where you could turn off traffic, change the time-of-day or simply instaswitch to a new vehicle while the other one just focused on driving. It always sounds so dumb until you play it and it's just a blast.

Yeah, those god mode features are just a nice little thing to have. I'm not great at driving games, so hell yeah I'll turn off traffic.

Another little positive about the Wii U version is that the game included some of the DLC, but never sold any additional DLC. What that meant is non of the shitty up-selling that was in game for the other versions of it doesn't happen.

Sonic Lost World is a lot better than many give it credit for, and Sega did a great job with the Nintendo-themed DLC.

It's not my favorite of the modern Sonic games, but god damn it's awesome playing a game that looks that pretty at 60 fps. Again, another game I wish I liked more, because it wasn't bad...it just wasn't as good as Sonic Generations or Sonic Colors.
 

jariw

Member
The Terraria port was excellent.

Affordable Space Adventure was brilliant.

Deus Ex was a great port that made perfect sense on the Wii U.

Lego City Undercover was fantastic, apart from the loading times. I will not double dip on the Switch, since I think the Gamepad usage was a huge part of the game.

And RUNBOW!!!!!!
 

jdstorm

Banned
Mass Effect 3, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Assassins Creed 4, Watch Dogs and Deus Ex are all really good ports. Its just a shame most were late and represented bad value for the consumer
 

Bulbasaur

Banned
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
assassins Creed 3
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Splinter Cell Blacklist
Steam World Heist
Devil's Third

More than enough filler outside 1st party content to appease me and my limited attention span.
 
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
assassins Creed 3
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Splinter Cell Blacklist
Steam World Heist
Devil's Third

More than enough filler outside 1st party content to appease me and my limited attention span.

I honestly never expected to see Devil's Third pop up in here, lol. I've always been a little tempted to try it since it went down to $30, but still heard so many bad things about it that I haven't.

Another game I just thought I'd chime in with that I just remembered...even though it lacked some of the characters because they brought SOME of the DLC over, but not all (ugh), Injustice Gods Among Us still runs and looks great on Wii U. This was another game that just came out at a time that I was supporting all games I could...bought all the overpriced DLC in hopes they'd put em all out eventually, but alas.
 
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