The Nintendo Wii, the strongest selling console of this generation. I’ll be honest; I have always been a huge fan of Nintendo. Their first party titles have always to me, stood as benchmarks in gaming progress. They defined home console gaming with ‘Super Mario Bros’ for the NES, took the gaming population into incredible 3D with Super Mario 64 and……then what happened?? I loved the GameCube but a lot of people didn’t get into it, so when Nintendo announced their “Revolution” project I was so excited, I thought “Yeah, they’re going to change the game”…. What we got was the Wii, a standard definition console with a weak online service. Now the console is bombarded with awful third party offerings such as ‘Family Fortunes’ (I actually shudder at the thought) and to top it off, the Wii owners don’t get the great third party games that 360 and PS3 owners get such as Modern Warfare and Grand Theft Auto. So how can it be, that despite all this, the 5 games in this list represent to me the best games of this generation?? Because Nintendo did have a vision which they adhered to and if third parties would just follow suit and play to the Wii’s strengths they could do something truly special, to embrace great gameplay design over simply making the shiniest game possible. So if you are a Wii owner, which games do you need??
5: Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
Released: 2007
Price: 30 – 40 euro
The only third party offering on this list and a terrific action/adventure game. This game originated on the GC in 2004 and found its way to the Wii in 2007. Resident Evil 4 is a 3rd person action game that puts players in the role of Leon S. Kennedy as he battles a cult to rescue a kidnap victim.
The game drips with incredible atmosphere and excellent action set pieces. The Wii edition sports some wonderful pointer controls and some nice visual touch-ups that make this the definitive version of one of the greatest games of all time.
4: Mario Kart Wii
Released: 2008
Price: 40 – 50 euro
Nintendo’s classic racing series has enjoyed a very successful string of titles across all platforms since the NES. The Wii iteration of the series represents the very best effort to date on any console.
Players are treated to 8 different cups, each sporting 4 courses of predictably great design. But the most enjoyable element of the series has always been the very tight and accessible gameplay coupled with the charm and frantic pace of the characters and races and this game brings all those things with impeccable finesse. You will speed around tracks hurling shells at your rivals and using a whole manner of crazy items to propel yourself ahead of the competition.
The game also features a robust online mode that still stands as the Wii’s best online offering to date.
3: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Released: 2006
Price: 50 euro
The Zelda series will be familiar to anyone who has ever truly enjoyed games. They have long stood as the highest quality titles of any generation and many critics consider both ‘A Link to the Past’ for the SNES and ‘Ocarina of Time’ to be the greatest titles in gaming history. So naturally this name carries a lot of expectations for new additions in the series.
‘Twilight Princess’ puts players in the role of Link, a boy from a small village on the outskirts of a huge world. Things start of nice and quiet as always….but after an incident in their village, Link is forced to take action and venture out into the world to solve some problems. It’s a tried and tested formula but it is still a wonderful experience to watch this boy go from a small life to saving the world and no game has ever done it this well.
The gameplay mechanics are super tight. Link is very proficient in the use of swords, bow & arrow and is also great on horseback. There are a number of very inventive items which you will experience in the game that I won’t spoil. Link also acquires the ability to morph into a wolf (which I’m sure Twilight fans would love☺) and I found the wolf play mechanic a lot of fun.
Overall, an absolute must own game, masterful.
2: Metroid Prime Trilogy
Released: 2009
Price: 40 euro
Three of the best first person action games ever on one disc?? Yeah, there is no way I couldn’t include this in the list.
The Metroid Prime series follows Samus Aran across the galaxy in her epic confrontations with space pirates.
The gameplay is very tight, the atmosphere is outstanding and the games are executed without a technical hitch. Retro Studios have created something really special here; you owe it to yourself to try it.
For more info, read my detailed review right here on Venntertainment.
1: Super Mario Galaxy
Released: 2007
Price: 40 – 50 euro
Super Mario Galaxy is a 3D platforming adventure starring everybody’s favourite Nintendo mascot.
In this title Mario is put in outer space and is collecting stars from various planets to power a downed ship.
The Galaxy setting allows for some very inventive platforming sequences utilizing gravity. The gameplay is magnificently tight. Players move Mario with the analog stick, shake the Wii remote to make him spin or use items and use the pointer to collect star shards.
I chose this game as number one because it perfectly embodies everything that a great game should have. The level design is spellbinding, the gameplay is fun and intuitive and the game has an undeniable charm that is so hard to surpass in any entertainment medium.
Simply a wonderful achievement; I almost get emotional thinking about it.
So thee you go folks, my picks for the Top 5 Wii titles.
Please let us know what you think.
Many thanks for reading.
Stay tuned for the PS3 and Multi-Platform list.
