31. Need For Speed: Carbon – James
Waiting for the special edition – “NFS: Carbon Fibre“
When you think of Need For Speed from the 2000s, you probably think Need For Speed: Underground 1, 2, or Need For Speed: Most Wanted 2005. Need For Speed: Carbon is often forgotten about, even though it actually follows on from the story of Most Wanted.
Carbon mixes the car customisation of Underground with the narrative of Most Wanted. The Wii version does have motion controls, but it’s not egregious and works quite well. Carbon introduces a sort of buddy system, too: where in a race, you’ve got a pal whose ability you can activate to find shortcuts, take out enemies, or draft you for a boost.
That’s not even getting to Carbon’s real unique point. The mountainside races. In lieu of boss fights, you’ll have sprints and drift races down a mountainside track with soft barriers. Soft barriers, meaning that you can easily careen off faster than you can finish singing “Eeeeven Flooooooow.”
All Need For Speed games are solid and worth playing. Carbon, in my humble opinion, is the most overlooked of them.
32. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World – Kane
Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality
With the runaway success of the original Tales of Symphonia, it only made sense for a sequel to be made. Set two years after the end of the original, Dawn of a New World follows the story of Emil. In the time since the end of Symphonia, the world has struggled to get used to the new status quo created by Lloyd and the gang.
After a disaster kills his family and he’s sent to live with his uncle, Emil meets Marta, a high-spirited girl with a mysterious gem embedded in her forehead. Despite his timid nature, Emil makes a pact to protect her, and they embark on a globe-trotting adventure to save their fragile world.
Dawn of a New World keeps the gameplay mostly the same as the original on the GameCube while sympathetically updating the art style. It still looks and feels like the same world you know, but the character designs are updated to be more realistically proportioned versus the fairly chibi-ish designs of the original. This works especially well for the original party members who find themselves looking older, without any drastic changes.
Impressively, for a JRPG sequel, Dawn manages to extend the story of its predecessor without diminishing the impact of its events and for that it’s well worth giving a try.
33. Sonic Colours – Riley
I’m gonna reach for the stars, although they look pretty far
Taking the boost formula from Sonic Unleashed‘s day stages and packaging it in a colourful theme park aesthetic, Sonic meets Aliens in this speedy entry. A far departure from the other Wii Sonic titles, this one plays like an actual Sonic game and even features GameCube controller support for more conventional control.
Taking the established conventions from the past and invigorating them with the Wisp power-ups gives a unique spin that sets it apart from Unleashed. The Wisps are more than just a gimmick; they change the flow of levels and allow alternative paths and discovery from routing, utilising them in different ways. There are far more acts in this entry than others, but the levels are much shorter, condensed, and bite-sized, meaning it’s easy to pick up and play in short bursts.
While the story suffers from its writing and the core concept is outlandish, it was worthwhile for such interesting ideas. The space theme may feel a little derivative of another mascot’s Wii entry, but it takes it in a different direction; the amusement park is front and centre, holding everything together. The soundtrack is full of electronic and upbeat songs that keep you pushing through and gaining momentum. ‘Reach for the Stars’ is a favourite of mine.
34. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – Sean
War Star: Unleashed Force
I still remember The Force Unleashed‘s announcement, with that epic trailer of the Star Destroyer being pulled down by a mysterious hooded figure. The trailer was already cool enough for young me, but the icing on the cake was seeing that the game would be releasing on the Wii, along with most other platforms. The very idea of being able to wield my Wii-mote like a lightsaber and swing it around in-game was like a dream come true.
Fast forward a while, to my immediate, immense disappointment, I was given the PS3 version instead. My dreams were crushed. Rather than swinging the Wiimote around to cut people up with a lightsaber, I would simply just press buttons. How dull! I did end up really liking that version, but my mind still wandered to what might have been.
I did eventually get the Wii version, and to my surprise (not really), I actually liked it more. This felt like I had been vindicated. The graphics aren’t as polished, and the motion controls aren’t quite as 1:1 as I’d imagined they would be, but I still got to swing around the Wii-mote in the way that younger me always dreamed of.
35. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile – Riley
I now have a dream of my own, but I need your help to achieve it
Klonoa has had a rocky time establishing himself as a serious contender in the gaming space. From humble beginnings on the PlayStation to a fully fledged remake on modern systems, he’s in a much better spot than he was back in the Wii generation. However, during his darkest hour, a remake of the original title with a great leap in visual quality was born and gave him his first revival, which is what we have here.
Klonoa is a 2D platformer, but in this game, you use 3D geometry and the 3D space around the levels to take turns, jump through geometry, and circle your way up to the goal. While nothing special now, this was novel for the original PlayStation… but audiences were attracted to new and exciting 3D outings, and Klonoa was largely ignored. The music here is whimsical, the story is bittersweet, and the level design is very creative. If you enjoy games like New Super Mario Bros or Kirby, this is definitely worth investing in, as Klonoa is overflowing with personality.
36. Soulcalibur Legends – James
This is the last Wii game I ever bought from GAME. Quite depressing, really
As a fan of the Soulcalibur series, I was excited to try Soulcalibur Legends. As long as you don’t expect a 1-on-1 fighting game like literally every other game in the series, you’ll have a decent enough time. Soulcalibur Legends follows a few characters from the games up until its release in a hack-and-slash motion control adventure. The gameplay itself isn’t really anything special, but if you’re a Soulcalibur fan and have always wondered how Siegfried turned into Nightmare, then this game answers that.
There’s even a guest character, Lloyd from the Tales series. He’s not exactly Yoda or Darth Vader, but I’ll take it.
37. New Super Mario Bros. Wii – Melty
Quick, burst my bub-BURST MY BUBBLE! — Me at some point
New Super Mario Bros. Wii is incredibly entertaining. This is true whether you’re playing it solo, but even more so if you’re playing with friends. If you get the chance, I would recommend playing with three friends. Luckily, I grew up with three siblings in my mother’s house, and a mother who enjoys gaming, so we always had a full roster.
Playing like your average 2D platformer, New Super Mario Bros. Wii comes with the power-ups you’ve learned to expect from a Mario game. There’s not much else to say about this entry, except that it can get pretty crazy when playing with others. It’s a linear story, ending with defeating Bowser and saving Princess Peach, as per usual.
38. Mario Party 8 – Riley
Yo, you’re in for a treat, so hang on to your seat.
Mario Party is a staple on any Nintendo Platform. Shockingly, the Wii only had two to choose from. With Mario Party 9 introducing the dreaded car mechanic and ruining the franchise for nearly a decade, the obvious choice for your motion-based Mario Party goodness has to be 8, and what a delight it is. Boasting one of the best rosters to date, and very creative board choices, this party is anything but a bore. My personal favourite is the train board, in which you need to run up and down the train to get the stars, with the carriages moving around and quirky characters and mechanics aboard each carriage, too.
Adding motion controls to Mario Party minigames is a match made in heaven. It is a good reason why motion control minigames have stayed to this day. Conventional controls are great, but the unpredictability of motion adds a twist to these games that can lean the edge in any direction, and I love that it has endured. So, next time you’re arranging a Mario Party, dust off that Wii and get going with some waggle hijinks!
39. Geometry Wars: Galaxies – James
There’s no Super Mario Galaxy-themed level, unfortunately.
Geometry Wars is one of those arcade-style series that is so easy to turn on and play for a few minutes. It’s a twin “stick” shooter where you, the enemy, and the stage are various geometric shapes. The shapes of the enemies determine their behaviour and what multiplier they drop. If the enemies hit you once, you die and lose your multiplier. Die a few times, and the stage is over! Very simple, and yet addictive.
The music pumps as you blast away wave after wave of funky shapes, with neon wireframe visuals as an accompaniment. As you play, you get currency that you can spend on your tiny programmable companion with commands like attack, defend, circle, and collect.
As a game series that originated as an easter egg mini game in Project Gotham Racing 2, it’s done well for itself, spawning sequels all the way up to the PS4.
40. Dead Space: Extraction – Kane
“The House of the Dead Space”, essentially
This game has absolutely no business existing. Like, at all. The Wii was always considered—largely due to its marketing—as a family-friendly, kid-safe console. This was the console you played with your grandma at Christmas.
So, why on Earth is there an on-rails shooter spin-off of a well-known horror franchise on it? This isn’t even the only one; other big horror franchises also had on-rails shooters for the Wii. This game just so happens to be one of the best of that odd bunch.
On-rails shooters have always done well in the horror space, and this is no exception. The core concept of having no control over your movement adds a ton of extra tension to the gameplay. You have no time to hesitate or look around as enemies fly at you constantly, and you need to use your loadout of familiar weaponry to fend them off. This is all whilst trying not to miss the ammo drops that the camera tends to fly past.
Functioning as a prequel to the original game, Extraction has you take control of several colonists from Aegis VII, the colony where the original outbreak of necromorphs happened. As you fight your way off the planet, you reach the Ishimura. This is the primary setting of the first game, where many of the events are set up in your ongoing attempts to escape. The way the events of Extraction lead seamlessly into the original Dead Space is a particularly cool aspect of the game for a fan of the franchise.
If you like the world of Dead Space, this is one you need to try immediately.