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[mmxzero]

I agree that a few things are low like SMG2, NSMBW, and Sin and Punishment 2, along with some missing games (MM9, MHTri).

One that sticks out to me that doesn't belong that I've played is Klonoa. I bought it on recommendation as I was loving all the platformers that were coming out for Wii, and I had to force myself to finish it before I sold it. It was one of the most boring, slow, mediocre(whatever you wanna call it) platformers I had played in awhile.

 

[chaosblade]

Seems like they had some criteria they were using to fill the list, probably trying to avoid filling most of the lists with first party games. That would explain some (but not all) of the omissions like Wario Land. It probably deserves a spot over Epic Yarn at least, though.

But most of what is there is well placed. The Mario platformers are the biggest outliers.

 

[IrishNinja]

good list overall - i never did play Little King Story, Kirby Return to Dream Land, Klonoa, Epic Mickey or Goldeneye.

agreed Trauma Team needs more love! idve traded Madworlds place for that one. damn i wish i could find Rhythm Heaven Fever & DKCR for cheap, maybe by the holidays.

 

[Regulus Tera]

It's a 4-hour on-rails shooter so....no.

Some of the best games ever are on-rails shooters. Sin and Punishment 2 is one of them.

Also, on-rails shooters are meant to be played in one-go. Making it any longer would be detrimental to the experience.

 

[Cypher]

Nice to have these as well:

If anything, the fact that SNK compiled these collections and put them on Wii so the Wii audience can play a legacy series on each disc is already something. (Sure, the quality of the ports themselves leaves a lot to be desired, but hey its a miracle these games appeared on Nintendo's platform).

 

[The Return of]

I just picked up Trauma Team a few days ago, the amount of variety is pretty awesome and I'm loving this game a lot. It's seriously the first non-Yakuza game I've been playing day and night and ENJOY it completely all the way(so far).

Everything just feels right and I love the presentation, Atlus really outdone themselves with this game.

 

[Hiltz]

I love Metal Slug but passed up on the Wii collection port.

 

[renegade_of_funk]

 

[nckillthegrimace]

I just picked up Trauma Team a few days ago, the amount of variety is pretty awesome and I'm loving this game a lot. It's seriously the first non-Yakuza game I've been playing day and night and ENJOY it completely all the way(so far).

Everything just feels right and I love the presentation, Atlus really outdone themselves with this game.

Trauma Team is a stellar game, and it was a huge surprise to me after New Blood and Trauma Center 2, which I thought were kind of bland. It's definitely in the top ten Wii games. I sincerely hope Atlus continues the series, but I doubt those games are half as lucrative as SMT.

 

[Hours Left]

Weird list is weird.

 

[infinitys_end]

Mushroom Men needs more love

THIS. And Deadly Creatures are THE most underrated games on the Wii.

 

[Heathbar]

Hi, I'm new member.

I would include Wario Ware, Trauma Team and Tiger Woods (post motion+) since these all were good demonstrations of what the controller could do and combined fun and challenge.

 

[MisterHero]

Hahaha.

NSMB Wii is too low.

Some of the higher games are fun, but I can't see them getting much more playtime than that.

 

[djtiesto]

I'd have gotten rid of Skyward Sword and put NSMB Wii, Sin and Punishment 2 and Kororinpa on the "Must Have" list. At least Xenoblade (best Wii game and Game Of The Generation) is on it.

 

[Yuterald]

Absolutely. At first glance it's hard not to imagine Dewy's Adventure as anything other than some baby, kids-only, goo goo ga ga romp fest. However, t's actually a really fun, charming Japanese platformer. I've always been a big fan of platform/adventure games. I grew up with them and still enjoy them to this day (I stay away from licensed stuff, that's where I draw my line). I'm ALWAYS down for quirky, Japanese adventure games though and Dewy's Adventure totally scratched that itch when I first played it.

To me, Dewy's Adventure is a modern day Ristar. Dewy is basically a water droplet with some eyes and a smile and that's all you needed back in the day. Add in cool bosses, catchy techno OST, and odd ball mechanics like turning into a thunder cloud to shock enemies or an ice cube to glide across ice ponds and you've got yourself a 90's platformer. I wish we got more of these games this generation, to be perfectly honest. The Wii truly housed some underdog 90's era platform/adventure games (Mushroom Men, the Munchables, etc.).

 

[cartman414]

Nah, I think he's forgetting that sometimes people only have a Wii, or an SDTV so it's a moot point. Or possibly even have both Wii and 360 and would rather play with a D-Pad that's not an abomination. Personally I'd just get it on Vita whenever, seems like a fantastic handheld game and the port's flawless.


There are a minority who either have no interest in PS3/360 or even adamantly avoid them for whatever reason. And Vita, well, we all know how that's doing so far.

I'd definitely put the Wii version above 3DS though unless the Wii ALSO runs at 30 FPS, but it'd still have a resolution advantage.

PC version runs splendidly on my old Core 2 Duo.

And Mario Kart Wii over New SMB Wii? What is this I don't even...

 

[Man God]

Lot of weird sequel choices here.

NMH is easily stronger than its sequel.

MM 9 is better than 10.

SMG 2 is actually better than the original.

I wouldn't put Rayman anywhere on the list and would add in Godfather Black Hand, Dokapon Kingdom, RE 4 Wii Edition and about a dozen other hidden gem type games to the various segments of the list.

 

[quinntendopower]

Resident Evil 4 is still the best action adventure game OF ALL TIME

it should ALWAYS be number one on all lists.

 

[Azriell]

That list, and this thread, has given me quite a bit to buy/add to gamefly. As someone who bought a Wii just a few years ago, I'm constantly on the lookout for more gems. The Wii indeed has a surprising number of hits (though a few games that I'd wanted to play since launch, mainly Super Paper Mario and Elebits, ended up being duds for me). Since we're making our own addendums to the list, one of my favorite games I've played in a long time:

Though I realize it's an import, Pandora's Tower is a true underrated gem, as far as I'm concerned, and I was actually quite shocked to see the review scores. I'm about half way through, so maybe it falls apart at the end, but man it's good so far.

The story and characters are both good, and there's a lot of small details (outside of the towers) that really make this gem shine for me. I don't know how many of the interactions with the girlfriend are scripted, or how much of it is the game reacting to my actions, but just the fact that I can't tell means it's a success as far as I'm concerned. Some of the things I've seen her do, and the subtle changes, such as the hesitation with which she consumes the flesh, really do it for me. Also the transformation (and transformation-back) scene effects are very strong.

I also have to the game bonus points for letting me control the pointer icon with the right analogue stick of the Classoc Controller Pro. I don't know how it feels with a remote and nunchuck but with the controller it works very well for me. It took some getting used to, but the option is very significant for me because I really don't enjoy using pointing controls for long periods of time (hurts my wrist).

 

[thomasos]

I'm pleased to see the list has generated so much discussion. I just wanted to point out that our selections were pretty hotly debated among the staff, and that most of the omissions mentioned in this thread—particularly Wario Land, Wii Sports Resort, Resident Evil 4, and Monster Hunter Tri—were championed by at least one of our editors. Whenever you compile a list like this, however, there are bound to be some beloved games that miss the cut, much to the dismay of their fans (which in this case includes some of the people who helped make the list).

 

[Zekes!]

It's too bad that Elebits never got a proper sequel on the Wii; it was a pretty fun game. I liked it a lot.

 

[redcrayon]

I found Bully borderline unplayable- the controls seem logical on a standard controller, but when split between the remote, nunchuck and motion controls it's just a mess.

And no A Boy and His Blob, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and Monster Hunter Tri in the top 30 Wii games?

Stop liking what I don't like ;-)

 

[Yuterald]

It's too bad that Elebits never got a proper sequel on the Wii; it was a pretty fun game. I liked it a lot.

I was just about to post this game as well. Elebits was one of my favorite launch/near launch Wii games. I'm glad Nintendo Power AT LEAST included Little King's Story. It's easily one of the best Wii games available and practically NO ONE played it. =(

There are definitely a few other games that didn't make the cut for whatever reason that should have been on the list.

I'm really surprised they picked Epic Yarn over Wario Land Shake It when they already chose Return to Dreamland. I loved Epic Yarn, but Shake It was arguably the "better" game. Wario Land Shake It remains as one of my favorite games/2D platformers on the Wii. Good-Feel platformers are one of the best decisions Nintendo made for the Wii. It's a shame we never them produce much after Epic Yarn. I've always been hoping for that Good-Feel developed Yoshi's Island. =(

Sky Crawlers is THE BEST arcade flight sim on Wii. In fact, I enjoyed my time with SC more than I did with Project Ace's Ace Combat efforts on the next gen consoles (AC6 & Assault Horizons). If you like Ace Combat games or you generally dig Project Ace's efforts you NEED to check out Sky Crawlers. So incredibly underrated and fun.

Disaster Day of Crisis, although not released in NA, is easily one of the best action adventure games on the Wii. I know this list was primarily for the NA audience/readers, but if you are taking a system's library into account then you gotta included everything even though it's out of your region. It still is a shame that Disaster, a game made clearly for the NA audience, never reached its targeted shores properly. Oh well, import it if you must, like I did!

Fishing Resort, without a doubt, is the best fishing/relaxing gaming experience on the Wii (next to the Endless Ocean games, probably). Not much else to say about it. If you want a classy, arcade fishing title, go for it!

There are probably more games I'm forgetting that are relatively exceptional. Most people here have already mentioned some of the more obscurer gems.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Hi, I'm new member.

I would include Wario Ware, Trauma Team and Tiger Woods (post motion+) since these all were good demonstrations of what the controller could do and combined fun and challenge.

Welcome!

When WarioWare Smooth Moves first came out I thought it was not enough content for the money. But as the years went on, it remained very fun, and it's easier to find for cheaper now, so I think I like it better now than I did in 2007.

 

[randomkid]

When WarioWare Smooth Moves first came out I thought it was not enough content for the money. But as the years went on, it remained very fun, and it's easier to find for cheaper now, so I think I like it better now than I did in 2007.

Haha no it isn't! I've been trying to get a new copy at <$20 for years now, why the eff did Europe get this as a Nintendo Select but not us? So annoying.

 

[AkimbO_Arcana]

Resident Evil 4 is still the best action adventure game OF ALL TIME

it should ALWAYS be number one on all lists.

I like you.

 

[Lone_Prodigy]

I think Rock Band 2/3 deserves a spot, and maybe even one of the Guitar Hero games.

Also agree on the Trauma Center games (prefer NB to TT) and Tiger Woods.

 

[Man God]

I'm pleased to see the list has generated so much discussion. I just wanted to point out that our selections were pretty hotly debated among the staff, and that most of the omissions mentioned in this thread—particularly Wario Land, Wii Sports Resort, Resident Evil 4, and Monster Hunter Tri—were championed by at least one of our editors. Whenever you compile a list like this, however, there are bound to be some beloved games that miss the cut, much to the dismay of their fans (which in this case includes some of the people who helped make the list).

The only one that really baffles me is MM 10 over 9. Got any thoughts on that?

 

[massoluk]

No Red Steel 2 anywhere, list invalid. That is all.

 

[John Harker]

Of the box art posted in OP, I own and paid full price for 19 of them.

That says a lot of things, and some of them I care not to dwell on I suppose. Haha.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Haha no it isn't! I've been trying to get a new copy at <$20 for years now, why the eff did Europe get this as a Nintendo Select but not us? So annoying.

Well, like basically every Nintendo game, it never gets cheap, but I mean there are used copies for $24-29 around here so it's at least theoretically possible to get the game without paying 50 clams!

Of the box art posted in OP, I own and paid full price for 19 of them.

I don't pay full price for games, but I bought 24 of those on some platform or another (Missing Zelda SS - haven't finished TP, Tatsunoko - I don't play fighting games, Xenoblade - waiting for a price drop, Sonic - I don't play Sonic games, Rhythm Heaven Fever - Going to buy it for girlfriend for her birthday, and Shattered Memories - got it as a free rental). It's definitely a very solid list. Of course everyone can debate replacements and omissions, but clearly what's there is pretty robust!

 

[redcrayon]

If I had to choose ten to keep, it'd be

Monster Hunter 3
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Super Mario Galaxy
Xenoblade Chronicles
A boy and his Blob
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Metroid Prime Trilogy.
Mario Kart Wii.


With an honourable mention to Dead Space: Extraction, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Muramasa.

Sod it, I'll keep 13. ;-)

I don't know whether it's a good or bad thing that first party stuff makes up 9 of them though, or that I'm still enjoying Mario, Mario Kart, Zelda and Metroid 20 years and more after playing the originals.

 

[Anticitizen One]

I don't know why but I always thought Little King Story was a spinoff of the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series.

 

[redcrayon]

You're thinking of 'My life as a king', the crystal chronicles Wiiware game, where you make a city and send adventurers off for gold and xp.

 

[atre324]

List does not include:


Must own:
Muramasa
Rune Factory Frontier
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers
Endless Ocean 2 (and 1)
Dawn of Discovery


Should have:
Boy and His Bob
de Blob
Lost in Shadow
Trauma Team
Lit (WiiWare)

There are quite a few hidden 3rd party wii gems, I guess I don't expect Nintendo Power to list them all but yeah.

 

[kswiston]

I don't pay full price for games, but I bought 24 of those on some platform or another (Missing Zelda SS - haven't finished TP, Tatsunoko - I don't play fighting games, Xenoblade - waiting for a price drop, Sonic - I don't play Sonic games, Rhythm Heaven Fever - Going to buy it for girlfriend for her birthday, and Shattered Memories - got it as a free rental). It's definitely a very solid list. Of course everyone can debate replacements and omissions, but clearly what's there is pretty robust!

What do you do in the rare instances when a game you want doesn't really go down in price, or actually increases in price due to low print runs and good word of mouth? Skip it and play something else?

 

[Anth0ny]

I've prepared my list.

Now, I haven't played every title in the OP, so my list may seem a little bare. I plan on fixing that during the month long droughts Wii U will inevitably have. I did it with Gamecube games during Wii's droughts. It's practically tradition at this point!

The Must Haves

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario Galaxy
Megaman 9
Resident Evil 4 (Assuming you don't already own it on Gamecube)

To me, a game falling into a "Must Haves" category are games that I can see myself playing over and over for the rest of time. These are the only four games in the Wii's library that qualify. Hell, just typing those titles makes me want to pop the disc in right now.

The Should-Haves

Zelda: Twilight Princess
Zelda: Skyward Sword
Super Paper Mario
Rhythm Heaven Fever
New Super Mario Bros Wii
Donkey Kong Country Returns

Spoiler

With Classic Controller

Super Smash Bros Brawl
Mario Kart Wii
Megaman 10
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
No More Heroes
Wii Sports

The most packed category, and I see it increasing as I discover more and more of the Wii's library. These are all good games. Not great games. Games in this category were pretty damn good during that initial playthrough... but then it was over. I'm sure I'll find myself playing Brawl every once and a while, or replaying Skyward Sword. But unlike the category above, I don't actively feel the desire to play through these games again, or play them for an extended period of time in the case of games like Brawl, Mario Kart and TVC. If I don't have that desire, it's not a must have.

The Nice to Haves

Kirby's Epic Yarn
Kirby's Return to Dream Land
Sonic Colors
Metroid Other M

These games had their moments, but I found myself struggling to make it through the entire game during the first playthrough. Barring some unforeseen circumstance, I can't see myself replaying these games ever again. Worth it if you can find them for $20 maybe.

 

[Stumpokapow]

What do you do in the rare instances when a game you want doesn't really go down in price, or actually increases in price due to low print runs and good word of mouth? Skip it and play something else?

i seem to stumble ass backwards into retail scams to let me spend $10 on a game to trade for $30--i think i've gotten about $500 or so of free microsoft points over the years, or there's a store closure, or some pawn shop misprices something, or i buy stuff on ebay, or else i get them as gifts.

but i can't think of anything that matches that description, and i can't think of a single game i'd play that sells above msrp. i just paid $9 for shin megami tensei strange journey, so even atlus isn't immune to price erosion these days.

in the last month, i preordered professor layton 3ds for $19, the last story for $29. i have bioshock infinite preordered no money down for $40 from a year ago. i think my average spend on a retail game is about $5-8.

 

[P90]

No Muramasa? WTF is wrong with them?

+1

 

[manueldelalas]

What's with the Klonoa love?

I loved to death the two GBA games, but the Wii game sucked. The game was 2 hours long (the actual gameplay part, because it had 3 hours of cut-scenes), and it was very annoying in it's pace, it had tons of unnecessary CG videos, a completely crap story (I care when it is such a big part of a game), and the platforming was too easy and overall meh. Such a disappointment, I hope that someday we will see more games like the GBA ones instead.

And yes, I did play the last dungeon, but it didn't save the game for me.

Also, Wii Sports Resort is missing, and it is a must have; it summarizes the Wii experience; and I found TP to be a much better game than SS, in terms of pace, difficulty and especially controls, and no, my controller isn't broken... they should have ripped gameplay straight from WSR, but they managed to break it...

 

[Rodney McKay]

I would put The Godfather on this list with a straight face.

Game made great use of the motion controls for combat and pointer controls for shooting. Just a really solid open-world game that came out early in the systems life.

 

[Penguin]

I would put The Godfather on this list with a straight face.

Game made great use of the motion controls for combat and pointer controls for shooting. Just a really solid open-world game that came out early in the systems life.

It was one of the early examples of what motion control could add to already established genres.. and EA followed it up with....

Is it possible.. for GAF to come up with their own list of essential Wii games? Since so many seem to want to add and remove, this and that

 

[Zekes!]

What's with the Klonoa love?

I loved to death the two GBA games, but the Wii game sucked. The game was 2 hours long (the actual gameplay part, because it had 3 hours of cut-scenes), and it was very annoying in it's pace, it had tons of unnecessary CG videos, a completely crap story (I care when it is such a big part of a game), and the platforming was too easy and overall meh. Such a disappointment, I hope that someday we will see more games like the GBA ones instead.

And yes, I did play the last dungeon, but it didn't save the game for me.

Also, Wii Sports Resort is missing, and it is a must have; it summarizes the Wii experience; and I found TP to be a much better game than SS, in terms of pace, difficulty and especially controls, and no, my controller isn't broken... they should have ripped gameplay straight from WSR, but they managed to break it...

I own Klonoa 2, but had never had a chance to play the original so it was just nice to get to finally get experience it in some capacity. The game is similar to Kirby in that it's just easy, gaming comfort food.

 

[Rafaelcsa]

I believe that in the coming years we'll see some people realizing how good the Wii library actually is. When Wii's weaknesses are no longer important and the Wii U starts having its droughts of first-party releases, I bet there will be people who will finally wake up to the great games found on Wii. Just like it happened with the Gamecube during the Wii years.

Nintendo Power compiled a good list. Of course I don't agree with all choices and placements, but that's expected. Galaxy 2, Silent Hill, NSMBW and Sin & Punishment would all be higher on my list.

Dead Space Extraction is okay but it misses one important aspect of arcade shooters: replayablity. All that story non-sense is okay for the first time, but really bad when replaying it. I don't think this game deserves to be listed as a should have.

Klonoa is another one which I don't see what's so special. I liked the game, but it was nothing more than okay. I don't have nostalgia for it, it was my first time playing it and it's fine. But it's not a should have. Again, the story and cutscenes drag it down.

My last gripe is that Madworld is such a boring game that I wouldn't even have it as even a nice to have. No More Heroes 1 would be much preferred.

Main omissions in the list for me: Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, Muramasa, WarioWare Smooth Moves, Wario Land Shake It, Excite Truck, Bit.Trip Collection and Wii Sports Resort. Fire Emblem is second only to Brawl as the Wii game I've put the most hours on. And WarioWare is also a must have for me. Everyone I show that game to ends up loving it and I did get my cousin to buy her a Wii because of that game. It's really damn fun.

I'm glad Boom Blox didn't steal the spot from other games. I know that game is overall well-liked, but I see nothing that special in it. It's okay in multiplayer, but I'd much rather be playing NSMBW or Mario Party 9. That said, a much more undeserving game I see mentioned a lot is Deadly Creatures. It's just terrible and doesn't deserve recognition. That one and Madworld are the two main Wii games regrets I have.

This thread does remind me I still have some (supposedly) great Wii games for me to play in the future: Little King's Story (already started; I'm a couple of hours in), Rhythm Heaven Fever (also started), Red Steel 2, Xenoblade, The Last Story, Pandora's Tower and Trauma Team. I'm currently going through Kirby Return to Dreamland. Should focus on Little King's Story and Rhythm Heaven next.

 

[MisterHero]

Nice to have these as well:

If anything, the fact that SNK compiled these collections and put them on Wii so the Wii audience can play a legacy series on each disc is already something. (Sure, the quality of the ports themselves leaves a lot to be desired, but hey its a miracle these games appeared on Nintendo's platform).

A lot of the games are in original Neo-Geo ROM+custom emulator form on Virtual Console.

The ports were great before then. Except for the loading (and perhaps the controls in Metal Slug's case).

I couldn't do it for all the systems, but if I could choose an entire VC catalogue it would be Neo-Geo's. xP

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

A lot of the games are in original Neo-Geo ROM+custom emulator form on Virtual Console.

The ports were great before then. Except for the loading (and perhaps the controls in Metal Slug's case).

I couldn't do it for all the systems, but if I could choose an entire VC catalogue it would be Neo-Geo's. xP

Didn't they fuck up the hitflashes in all the games... Metal Slug in particular? I didn't bother buying them on the VC, but I know the Metal Slug Collection and SNK Arcade Classics omitted them. Because Nintendo has some bullshit policy about not giving people seizures or something. But going beyond that, I do recall a lot of random inaccuracies in the games that made them not worth buying on Wii.

 

[MisterHero]

Didn't they fuck up the hitflashes in all the games... Metal Slug in particular? I didn't bother buying them on the VC, but I know the Metal Slug Collection and SNK Arcade Classics omitted them. Because Nintendo has some bullshit policy about not giving people seizures or something. But going beyond that, I do recall a lot of random inaccuracies in the games that made them not worth buying on Wii.

I brought up VC because those collections are tough to find. I haven't played the arcade versions in ages so I'd probably miss some small changes. Still, they are probably closer to the arcade releases than the disc games.

There's the games they released on PS3/360 online networks that have online play but they're supposedly bad ports too. I dunno.

 

[sfried]

I agree wholeheartedly. I will never understand the people who view the Wii as some abomination compared to the N64/GC.

"Nostalgia".

 

[MechaX]

1.) Where in the fuck is Trauma Team?!

2.) I actually picked up Metroid Prime Trilogy for $40 at Wal-Mart on Black Friday, guess I got lucky.

 

[Conrad Link]

I own all the games from their list except Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Rhythm Heaven Fever both of which I want just haven't picked up yet heh. Oh don't have Shattered Memories either, but I did plan to get it also whenever I can find a copy.

No Okami or FE is dumb, games are amazing! I know it didn't come out in America but Disaster: Day of Crisis would be on my list. Excitebots too. Monster Hunter not on there??? lol, I keep thinking of more missing games, I always say this but Wii has more good games than people think.

And Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King should be on the WiiWare one too! >:|