21. Muramasa: The Demon Blade – Riley
The time has come. Bid farewell to your bloodstained past. Forsake the darkness you once embraced, or the light will find no hold!
What do you get when you mix fast sword play with an open 2D side-scrolling world? Muramasa: The Demon Blade. This hack-and-slash adventure game, developed by Vanillaware, features two playable characters with two unique stories that crossover at times. Both characters tackle a wide selection of Yokai and Buddhist deities. There are 108 unique blades to craft, all with their own strengths and weaknesses that make gameplay fun and varied depending on your character and blade combination.
With beautiful backdrops, connected worlds with shortcuts and secrets to discover, the world is brimming with character and incredible set pieces. Not to mention how fluid the combat feels and the monster rooms that put your skills to the test against ruthless foes under strict rules. The game controls and runs incredibly well for a Wii title, and it’s one of those that definitely needs a modern release. However, it is still worth your time, for now!
22. Cooking Mama: Cook Off – Melty
It’s okay! You just need a little more practice — Mama
There’s some joy in creating food from around the world. Luckily, with Cooking Mama: Cook Off, you don’t have to source or spend money on expensive and rarer ingredients. In this game, you choose a dish to prepare, and the game will give you mini-games to complete in order to create the cuisine. The food looks beautiful, and the gameplay is simple enough to get kids interested in preparing and creating food—a skill which is lost to many people as they reach adulthood.
As a parent, I will always advocate for games or resources that get children interested in everyday skills, as this makes life easier for them in the long run. If that is via a video game, then so be it. To make things better, Mama is super supportive, even if you mess up a step in the dish-making. This is great for helping kids not feel bad about the odd setback.
However, the only negative I can think of about this game is that you don’t actually get to taste the food in the end… Duh. However, if a dish was able to be made, baked, cooked, and/or completed in five minutes or less, it probably doesn’t taste very good, anyway.
23. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 – Dave
This game flew so Sparking Zero could instant transmission
Budokai Tenkaichi 3 was one of the most comprehensive Dragon Ball games for roughly two decades. With 98 characters in 161 forms, it was the ultimate power fantasy. If you wanted to pit Freeza soldier #4954 against one of the hackneyed final bosses from later in the franchise, you could make it happen.
As is fairly typical for a DB game, there are also cool what-if scenarios like Great Ape forms for some of the Saiyan characters. Day/night stages, online modes, customizable auras, and mechanics like the sonic sway round out this veritable toybox.
I was always more of a Budokai 3 guy, myself. For my zeni, Dragon Ball FighterZ is the go-to for an involved fighting game experience. There’s no denying that BT3 is the best Dragon Ball game on the Wii, though. Probably still one of the best DB simulators to this day.
24. Rayman Raving Rabbids – James
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
Another minigame compilation game starring Rayman and the brand new, not yet annoying Rabbids. It’s a grand departure from how Rayman games were up until this point, with either standard platformers or a few racing spin-offs.
The main draw of this one is its humour. Particularly if you’re about 10 years old. Fart jokes and practical comedy galore, Raving Rabbids has it all. All of the minigames are solid and optimised for Wii controls. It’s easy to forget that there are ports for this game from PC and PS2 to Xbox 360. As an example of some of the minigames, to show how crazy they can be, in one, you must fill the Rabbid’s snorkels with carrot juice to prevent them from getting to you. In another, you must run as fast as you can to deliver a bomb present. And in another, you must pull the rotten teeth from the mouth of a Rabbid.
This game is fun for a while, but has generally been surpassed by better minigame compilations.
25. Wii Music – Melty
*Bark* *Bark* *Meow* *Bark*
Rhythm games are super fun. However, in this Wii-branded game, you can be as out of time as you like. The gameplay is simple. Choose your instrument, choose your song (or create your own, if you like), and go wild.
To play percussion instruments, you simply bounce the Wii Remote or the Nunchuk up and down. The Wii Fit board can also be used as a makeshift drumming pedal. Stringed instruments are played how you’d expect—either strumming with the Wiimote or using the remote as though it’s a bow, a la violin or cello. There are also instruments that use the buttons, such as trumpets, saxophones, and karate shouting…? Sure, why not?
The game has a mixture of 50 songs, including classical, Nintendo music, and even some licensed songs. Yes, that’s right. You can meow along to ‘Careless Whisper’ using the Cat Suit. There are also minigames in Wii Music. One like Guitar Hero, one where you are the conductor, and even a quiz on distinguishing instrument sounds from each other. Overall, Wii Music is an amusing game for when you don’t feel like thinking too hard or you just want to relax. It’s also a lovely game for toddlers and children to learn how some instruments work.
26. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – Blaze
“Master, the batteries in your Wii remote are nearly depleted” -Fi
Witness the birth of the Master Sword in this beautifully styled story. Follow Link as a young knight in Skyloft, a land far above the clouds, as he embarks on a journey to the land below to rescue his childhood friend Zelda. Skyward Sword has a wonderful cast of lovable characters, from Groose the class bully with a heart of gold to the stoic Fi, the spirit of the Master Sword. Along with a whole host more across the land.
Below the clouds you will travel through three main hub areas in your search for Zelda: Faron Woods, Eldin Volcano and the Lanayru Sand Sea. collecting a plethora of useful gadgets and items. This includes the new Beetle item, a flying gadget used to hit hidden switches and cut down skulltula webs.
Dungeons are the most important part of a Zelda game, and Skyward Sword has some really impressive ones, like a giant pirate ship with time-shifting elements and the Ancient Cistern with some beautiful cultural imagery. Boss fights are also incredibly diverse while keeping the classic ‘hit the weak spot’ flow that the series is famous for.
The game has one of my favourite antagonists in a Zelda game. The overdramatic flare, chaotic theatrical dancing and sadistic nature are all hallmarks of our entrancing demon lord, Ghirahim. It’s a good job Link has the courage to stand up against all odds and face off with him.
Skyward Sword is steeped in lore and features a world so vibrant, it contrasts well with its dark undertones. It’s a joy to fly freely around Skyloft. The only thing that could make this game truly perfect? Honestly, take away the stamina bar, and nothing of value would be lost.
27. Super Paper Mario – Riley
What if we took Paper Mario and made it 3D?
What if you took Paper Mario and added another dimension? Well, you get Super Paper Mario, a dynamic adventure that allows Mario to flip between 2D and 3D worlds at the press of a button. This allows exploration and platforming options never seen in Paper Mario before, and adds an extra layer of complexity to puzzle-solving and traversal.
The plot here is ridiculous, but full of heart and manic energy. When Bowser and Peach are forced to marry, corruption spreads across the world. Mario must collect the Pure Hearts and restore the world hearts to bring back the light to the world, all whilst facing off against a new threat: Dr. Bleck. He must even fight his own brother, as the brainwashed Mr. L tries to stop you in your tracks.
The battle system is different here. It takes more of a real-time action approach rather than turn-based, but given the way you traverse the world, it works pretty well. You’ve got nothing to lose when trying out Mario’s sole RPG adventure on the Wii, and arguably the last good Paper Mario title.
28. No More Heroes – Dave
Me after a Marvel movie marathon
SUDA51’s longest-running franchise started with this endearingly strange game about competitive part-time assassination. You are put in the well-worn sneakers of Travis Touchdown, an obnoxious nerd from the fictional city of Santa Destroy, who is actually pretty good at killing people with his lightsaber. Seduced by the wiles of a representative of the United Assassins Association, Sylvia, Travis is ensnared in a battle to become the top-ranked assassin in the organisation. This mostly boils down to clearing rooms full of goons until you make it to the boss room where the ranked assassin lies in wait.
The combat isn’t as intricate as the DMCs of the world, but it’s engaging. There’s a nice variety of moves, including light attacks, heavy attacks, throws, executions, and inexplicably turning into a tiger. It’s not all fun and games, though. Being an assassin is an expensive pastime, so Travis has to invest a lot in himself. This means making money doing odd jobs around town and training at the gym. …These all take the forms of minigames, so I guess it kinda is all fun and games.
However, NMH might be one of the biggest casualties of censorship in the Wii’s library. Both the Japanese and PAL versions tone down the violence, which robs some of the more mature scenes of their pathos. Making your Wii region-free and bagging an NA NTSC version is the way to go.
29. Sonic Unleashed – Azza
Shadow Unleashed, when?
Morning Sonic is a happy young hedgehog who goes about his day enjoying spicy food and running through warm sandy beaches.
Night Sonic is an angry, unkempt youth who pimp slaps monsters with such force and speed that they explode into pieces. All while moving as though his arms are too heavy for his body.
Either way, the day levels are some of the fastest and best modern Sonic levels you can get, and while the night levels aren’t fast at all, the combat was fun. I think this game confirms that Sonic is a morning person.
30. Disaster: Day of Crisis – Dave
Survive nature, save people, shoot terrorists
This is an incredibly unserious game about natural disasters. It’s an assault on the senses. You’ll be bombarded with QTEs, hordes of gunmen, and cheesy dialogue. It’s amazing.
D:DOC is played from the perspective of stock action hero Raymond Bryce. An expert in surviving every method both man and god have devised to smite a dude, Ray is pulled out of retirement to put his rescue and relief skills to the test when his bestie’s sister is kidnapped by an evil military organisation called SURGE. Gameplay entails rescuing people from disasters and crises, lightgun sections, and the aforementioned death-defying QTEs. Bears, floods, lava flows, ash clouds and nuclear warheads are involved. Have fun.