The Wii-U offers great and unique
games. But she also has a huge Problem. And I'm not talking about the
Name, the controller(which I love) or the Marketing. No I'm talking
about the 3DS. I already talked about the fact that the 3DS is the
Wii-Us biggest competition and the problems that arise from that
fact. If you want to read about it you can do it here.
But today is not about the 3DS. After
we celebrated unique 3DS experiences last week, this week it's time
to talk about games that can only be found on the Wii-U. Truly unique
experiences that you can't get on Nintendos Handheld.
So here are my Top 5 truly exclusive
Wii-U games.
5: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
When this game was first announced I
wasn't surprised. It was a natural progression after the entertaining
Captain Toad Stages from Super Mario 3D World. The game offered
exactly that. Entertaining puzzle levels with the unique twist that
Captain Toad can't jump. And while the short and small stages would
have been a perfect fit for a Handheld game Captain Toad works just
as well on the Wii-U.
It is in fact one of the countless
smaller, but charming games, that make the library of Nintendos
failed console so appealing to me. It has some hiccups like an uneven
difficulty progression or the fact that I can't play Toadette in
every stage, but apart from that it's great. There is just a lot of
charm put into this game. A great graphical style, that shows that
Mario and High Definition belong together, lots of adorable
animations and a ton of details show that this game was a labor of
love.
If you're looking for a unique Puzzle
game you should definitely give Captain Toad a chance. It's
surprisingly meaty for such a simple game with lots of extra stages
and special goals in each of them. It entertained me greatly and I'm
sure it will do the same for you.
4: Project Zero 5: Maiden of Black
Water (Fatal Frame)
Horror Titles these days don't have it
easy. After Resident Evil abandoned the genre(although Resi 7 seems
to return to it) there wasn't much left for bigger Hororr games. Of
course smaller titles like Outlast and Five Night at Freddys
invigorated the genre, but they all offer the same in your face
Horror experience. And while some people love the constant terror and
adrenalin rush such games provide, I'm more a fan of the slower more
creeping style of Horror.
Luckily Project Zero provides exactly
that. Enemy encounters aren't to common and often you explore a
creepy location without anything happening for a long time. Also it's
one of the few games that used the unique possibilities of the Wii-U
Gamepad. The controller acting as Camera Obscura felt natural and
greatly enhanced the gameplay. While in Games like Star Fox the
narrowing of your window of sight hinders the gameplay, here it
enhances the feeling of being vulnerable, even though you have the
possibility to fight back.
Horror has a hard stand on handhelds,
and even though some games tried it and have been partially
successful (Resident Evil: Revelations), these kind of games won't
ever become a staple of handheld gaming.
That's why I'm happy that Project Zero
managed to get translated, and even though there have been some
censorship issues, I can recommend this game wholeheartedly. There
are several different endings and even though some of the locations
feel repetitive after visiting them several times, I've never been
bored. Instead each time I start up Project Zero I know that I'm in
for a creepy and atmospheric horror experience.
3: Fast Racing Neo
Well Nintendo won't give us an F-Zero,
but luckily we have some very talented people from Germany stepping
up to fill that gap. And they did more than that. Fast Racing Neo is
not only a worthy replacement for F-Zero, but also WipeOut and other
similar racers. In a time where Racing Games and especially future
Racing Games have a hard standing, Fast Racing Neo provides a unique
kind of game that many of us have been craving.
The Boost Mechanic of the game gives it
a unique twist. Coupled with the high speed and intensity this
creates an adrenalin rush unlike any other found on the Wii-U or 3DS.
This is something that wouldn't be possible on the small screen of
Nintendos Handheld.
2: Splatoon
Now it probably isn't a surprise to you
that this game appears on this list, but maybe some of you expected
it at Number One. And while Splatoon is definitely a worthy candidate
for this spot, some issues keep it a clear Number 2 position. At
least for me.
Splatoon is a 4on4 Multiplayer shoooter
only Nintendo could create. At first it may have lacked some content,
but if you buy it now you'll get one of the best multiplayer
experiences on the market. There are countless weapons, gear
combinations and stages, as well as several unique and cool modes to
play. The game even offers a great single player campaign, something
that has been (sadly) lacking in many other multiplayer focused games
of recent memory.
The gameplay itself is very polished
and intuitive. It's a perfect example of an easy to learn, but hard
to master kind of game. It's focus on online and competitive
muliplayer also make it a hard fit on a handheld, which is why
Splatoon is one of the defining Wii-U exclusives. It wouldn't work
nearly as well on the 3DS.
The only reason why it's not on the
number 1 spot is the map rotation. The inability to vote for which
map to play in online mode often kills my motivation to play this
game for extended periods of time. In short bursts it's great, but
playing the same two maps for four hours gets boring, even with the
best stages.
Still Splatoon is the success story of
the Wii-U and it's here to stay. If you haven't played it, but like
fast paced and action packed online games then you should try it.
1: Bayonetta 2 & The Wonderful 101
Ok this may be a little bit cheating,
putting two games at the number 1 spot, but they both deserve it. And
luckily both are very similar. It's not without reason that Bayonetta
2 was a contender for many Game of Year awards and even won some of
them. That game is that damn good.
And The Wonderful 101 is THE overlooked
gem of the Wii-U. It's probably my favourite game on the console next
to Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze. These two titles prove why Platinum
is one of the best developers on the planet.
Especially Wonderful 101 with it's
great sense of humor, colorful graphics and deep combat system is a
mixture you don't find that often in today’s modern gaming
industry.
The fast paced and intense action also
only works on the big screen. There is hardly anything better than
locking yourself at home and diving deep into such a game. There
won't be a boring second.
Both games offer great action gameplay,
but both also offer a unique twist on it. While Bayonetta is more
traditional in that sense, The Wonderful 101 offers a greater variety
through their Unite Morph system.
In the end both games are great
representatives of their genre and shouldn't miss in any good
selection of Wii-U games.
Creating this list was harder than
expected, which shows the problem the Wii-U and 3DS have with their
overlapping libraries. Still these five games alone are enough to
warrant the purchase of Wii-U. At least in my opinion, but judging
from the sales figures of the console I'm the minority here. In the
end the Wii-U offers a great library, but the 3DS offers nearly the
same... and more, for a cheaper price.
But enough of that. What are your
favourite Wii-U games? No matter if unique or not. Let me know in the
comments.
And as always
thanks for reading
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