11. Mario Kart Wii – Riley
It was going so well, and then boom, spiny shell
The quintessential kart racer experience, Mario Kart Wii sits on the throne of all time greatest in the genre. The game boasts a diverse set of stages, from autumn treescapes and ancient ruins to bustling cities. On top of a high quality of newcomer stages, the retro tracks here are no joke. This game features some of the best retro stages in series history, too. DK Mountain, Delfino Square, and Peach Beach are notably excellent stages from series past, played in their absolute best here.
This game features a variety of characters. With inclusions such as Funky Kong and Dry Bowser, it has somebody for everyone. The new items featured here are also excellent additions. The mega mushroom wreaks havoc in its wake, and the thunder cloud gives a burst of speed, but a lot of urgency to get rid of it before the lightning strikes.
This leads us into the battle mode, which is one of the best in the franchise. Creatively laid out stages, perfect for team matches, with plenty of places to hide and snipe out your foes with shells. A personal favourite is Delfino Pier. With rising and dropping water levels to add a twist to the map, you can’t stay too still without punishment. This is a great time alone, but even better with friends and a staple of any Wii collection.
If you’re curious as to where this game ranks in my list of the best Mario Kart games, you can check out the article here!
12. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption – Dave
Metroid Prime: Bryyo Drift
Prime 3 is the grand finale of the Metroid Prime trilogy of first-person shooter games (or rather, it was). Sci-Fi bounty hunting icon Samus has to contend with the inventively named Dark Samus, an alien apparition assuming a form similar to our protagonist, but radiating evil. Almost literally: she emits phazon, a virulent substance that threatens life everywhere. Are you a bad enough dudette to defeat your radioactive doppelganger and save the galaxy before succumbing to the corruption?
As you can imagine, the main difference between this and the GC versions of the first two games is the use of the Wii-mote. Samus also gets to methodically use phazon to enhance her attacks with “Hypermode” at risk to herself, as well as explore more than one planet and remotely control her ship. Most interestingly, the game will introduce you to friendly characters early on, which helps endear you to what is normally a cold and indifferent setting.
There are some brilliant set-pieces (fighting Ridley while falling down a distressingly long shaft is a highlight of the early game), atmospheric but catchy music, and sweet power-ups to collect. It’s a Metroid Prime game with higher stakes; there’s a lot to love. Metroid Prime: Trilogy collects both this and the previous two games with updated controls, so hunt for that version first if you can.
13. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree – Melty
Heavy is the head that holds your brain.
Have you ever wanted to know how stupid you are? How about how smart you are? Big Brain Academy was released at a time when brain training was all the rage. Thanks to the first instalment on the DS and Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training, also on the DS, we could once and for all prove that we were the smarter sibling… Maybe.
By playing a mixture of the 15 mini-games, you too can find out the weight of your brain. Based on your speed and accuracy whilst completing a test, compiled of 60 questions, you can prove your intelligence to anyone who walks in on you, still playing your 20-year-old console. The puzzle’s difficulties are adjusted automatically, based on your player score.
Of course, the actual results don’t hold any professional or scientific merit, but it’s still fun to play.
14. Kirby’s Adventure Wii – Blaze
Bravo, Kirby. You’ve truly earned your reputation as a hero.
Join Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Bandana Dee on an adventure across Dreamland to return Magalor home! Peace never lasts long for Kirby; a mysterious spaceship crashes through a portal into Planet Popstar. Meet Magalor: a little blue and white clad alien in need of help to fix his ship, the Lor Starcutter. Assist Kirby and friends in finding all the scattered gears and help Magalor return home!
Traverse fun and colourful lands, solving puzzles, and fighting foes with some of the iconic copy abilities. Keep an eye out for some new introductions, like ‘whip’ to catch far-off foes, the water ability to safely put out fires, and a personal favourite of mine, the leaf ability, allowing Kirby to hide in leaf piles and throw them to attack.
Up to four people can join the fun, dropping in and out of levels at any time! Pick from Meta Knight, King Dedede, or Bandana Dee, each with their own abilities, or another coloured Kirby to totem attack powerful foes. The game features new abilities called “super abilities” that are temporary power-ups used to devastate all foes on screen and the level geometry itself. But it’s all in a good cause, right? Magalor even offers you a trip to his home world as thanks for all your help. This is where you’re greeted by a four-headed dragon! It’s a solid entry to the Kirby series and can be enjoyed by both new and long-time fans!
15. Dokapon Kingdom – Riley
So, two magicians and a warrior go into a bar, and then their molecules are disassembled
Ever thought, “What if my Mario Party game were a turn-based RPG and cynically capitalistic?” Well, Dokapon Kingdom and you are a match made in heaven. Taking the simple concept of a virtual board game, adding JRPG classes and shops, monsters to take down, and event spaces, and you’ve got an addictive formula. Your objective is simple: make the most money and earn the respect of the king so you can marry his daughter.
The methods at your disposal are simple: take down boss monsters to liberate towns and make money, clear mini games, and level up your character using your wealth and experience. You can also battle other players, so take these elements and combine them, and your friendships will be over in record time!
16. Wii Sports Resort – James
The bane of hardcore gamers everywhere, accurate motion controls!
Nintendo needed a vehicle for their new Wii MotionPlus accessory, and what better way to demonstrate what it could do than with another Wii Sports?! The last one did so well after all. Wii Sports Resort does everything that Wii Sports does but more, and more accurately. This is gyroscope gaming, baby.
There are more sports this time around, with varying results. There are some returning sports, plus some excellent new additions such as swordplay, archery, and wakeboarding. The new motion plus accessory allowed for almost 1-to-1 movement after calibration. This allowed for the swordplay to be smooth, archery to be accurate, and allowed you to feel like Batman… wait, wrong game.
All in all, even though Wii Sports Resort didn’t have as much of an impact as its predecessor, it’s still one of the best motion control games on the Wii.
17. Bomberman Land – Melty
If you want to earn TP, head to the Training Area
Imagine this… You’re chilling on a beach, having the time of your life, when all of a sudden, a messenger hands you an invitation to the newly opening “Bomberman Land”. What is it, you ask? An island in the sky*, where games are played by the world’s best gamers, and a champion is established. So you switch your TV on to watch the competition that is taking place up there, only to see that the winner is… an evil version of yourself? Well, this is what happens to your character in Bomberman Land.
The story isn’t the best, but in this Bomberman game, you get to customise your Bomberman by purchasing outfits in the shop. These customisations are adorable and definitely made me love the game more as a child. Bomberman Land is a minigame mashup. In this game, you go through the competition playing a medley of minigames, making your way to champion rank. There are also a couple of multiplayer modes. This makes the game so fun to play with friends, but as with most games I’ve added to this list, it’s still fun to play solo.
The design of the worlds in Bomberman Land are very fun, ranging from a spooky Halloween-themed land to a sandy desert. If you’re a fan of minigames or party games, I highly suggest you check out Bomberman Land.
*Keep an eye out for this entry later!
18. Resident Evil 4 – James
“My middle parting prevents my hair getting in my eyes!” – Leon Kennedy – probably
What can be said about Resident Evil 4 that hasn’t been said before? It’s possibly the greatest horror game of all time. Check. It was originally going to be exclusive to the GameCube (Ha!). Check. There’s no recoil due to the pointer controls. Wait, that’s something to talk about.
The controls of Resident Evil 4 are standard, but with the difference of having a point-and-shoot system. This wouldn’t normally make too much of a difference; however, gun recoil is a big part of some of the weapon’s downsides. Pistols don’t have a lot of recoil because they’re weak, but the TMP submachine gun has a boatload. You’re supposed to miss nearly every shot because it shoots that fast. However, on the Wii version, just point and shoot, baby. Turn your enemies into Swiss cheese like that one member of the Corleone family in the original Godfather movie.
That difference alone is worth a playthrough in my opinion.
19. De Blob – Melty
No pink blobs for you…
Starting as a city full of life and colour, Chroma City is taken over by an alien dictatorship in this puzzle-platformer. At the beginning of the game, we see the creatures of Chroma City getting locked up, and the colour in the city being drained, leaving those living in the city devoid of colour and joy. This is where you come in. Playing as the titular character, Blob, your mission is to colour the city and free the citizens from their greyscale prisons, transforming Chroma City back to its previous rainbow glory.
In this game, there is a perfect harmony of colour and music. By connecting these two creative outlets, de Blob is a great game to relax to, even though the levels do have a time limit. It’s basically a 3D colouring book, with funky music and some enemies trying to prevent you from lighting up the world with your band of rebels.
20. Link’s Crossbow Training – Blaze
Ready? Aim, hyaah!
Releasing as a spin-off game with the Wii Zapper, in this title, you strive to complete Link’s marksmanship training with a crossbow. Taking place in the world of Twilight Princess (not on this list to reinforce Riley’s assertion that the GameCube version is the definitive one. Don’t question RE4, this is very vibes-based – Dave), shoot your way through nine locations in Hyrule for the best score!
Each stage consists of three levels, from shooting gallery-style layouts to defending yourself against the hordes of Stalfos. Take over the camps of Bokoblin when you have full control over Link’s movements. A few stages contain boss-level foes that you have to exploit a weak point to defeat, much like the main series, so aim for the high score, and you might earn yourself a platinum medal!
While the game has no real story and is relatively short, it does support up to 4-player couch co-op, where you all compete for the highest score, making it great for game night parties with friends. So I do recommend picking it up for that at least, but it’s still fun for any Zelda fan looking for something a little different.
Personally, I always wanted the crossbow to show up in a main series game, as I think it would have been a fun weapon to use in combat and puzzle solving. However, it did make an appearance in Hyrule Warriors as Linkle’s main weapon, which also makes a few references to Link’s Crossbow Training.