Nintendo will no doubt bring many of their famous franchises to the new Wii U console. However, it’s also certain that some will be left out. For example, the original Wii never saw a Pikmin nor F-Zero game. Nor did we see a Star Fox game. Some of those franchises are likely to see release on the Wii U, in addition to the major ones such as Mario and Zelda. We’ve compiled a top 10 list of Nintendo games we wish to see on the Wii U.
10: Animal Crossing Wii U
The Wii U could expand the Animal Crossing franchise in numerous ways. For one, the GamePad controller could make it much easier to control and manage one’s village. Secondly, and more importantly, Animal Crossing on the Wii U would be a perfect opportunity for Nintendo to create a huge online gaming experience. Going beyond simple implementation of Miiverse, a solid online component would make Animal Crossing on the Wii U a must have title.
9: F-Zero Wii U
Before Wipeout, there was F-Zero, the granddaddy of futuristic racing games. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a fully fledged F-Zero game on a Nintendo home console. There’s plenty of ways to incorporate the GamePad touchscreen controller into an F-Zero Wii U game, with the obvious ones including the second screen as a rear-view mirror, and to control the various aspects of one’s vehicle.
8: Pokemon Wii U
We have already gone in-depth about a potential Pokemon Wii U game. Pokemon has largely been relegated to Nintendo’s handheld consoles over the past many years, but with the new GamePad controller, the possibilities are endless. For more on Pokemon for the Wii U, check out our in-depth article.
7: Mario Party Wii U
Nintendo Land is currently the one and only party game from Nintendo on the Wii U. And while they have another party game for the Wii U in the pipeline, Game & Wario, the company will likely do a Mario Party Wii U game down the line. Mario Party has sold far better than other Mario franchises, such as Mario Tennis and Mario Golf, and Nintendo will likely start with Mario Party before moving on to other Mario spin-offs. With the exception of Mario Kart, which is #6 on our list:
6: Mario Kart Wii U (Confirmed)
Mario Kart has been on every one of Nintendo’s home consoles for 2 decades. So we’ll likely see a Mario Kart Wii U game at some point during Wii U’s life cycle, but based on the games Nintendo has confirmed in development, it might take a few years before we see Mario Kart on the Wii U. Like with F-Zero, there are plenty possibilities with the Wii U GamePad in Mario Kart. Luckily, Nintendo has confirmed that a Mario Kart Wii U game will be showcased at E3 2013.
5: Super Smash Bros. U (Confirmed)
The good news is that Nintendo has confirmed that they’re working on Super Smash Bros U. The bad news is that development only started a few months ago, which means we won’t be seeing the game on the Wii U this year. To speed things up, Nintendo has teamed up with Namco Bandai to co-develop the game. Nintendo has said that Super Smash Bros U won’t feature more characters than the last game, but that the characters will be getting new moves.
4: Star Fox Wii U
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Star Fox game on a Nintendo home console. In fact, the last time we saw a fully fledged 3D Star Fox game was on the GameCube back in 2005, over 8 years ago. Star Fox has a huge fan base, and there is interest at Nintendo: designer Shigeru Miyamoto said in an interview last year that he would “love to see” a Star Fox game on the Wii U. Hopefully it will happen during Wii U’s lifetime.
3: Metroid Wii U
While it hasn’t been officially confirmed, Nintendo is no doubt working to bring the Metroid series to the Wii U. Metroid was a huge hit on the GameCube and Wii, and brought in lots of core gamers. It’s been rumored that the team at Retro Studios is working on a Metroid Wii U game, but so far Nintendo has kept their cards close to the chest. Shigeru Miyamoto has said that a Metroid Wii U game “could be fantastic“, and Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime said last year that the team at Retro is “working on a fantastic Wii U project“. Hopefully, he was talking about Metroid.
2: Super Mario Galaxy / 3D Mario game (Confirmed)
The original Wii has a lot of great first party games from Nintendo, but none were as polished, fun, and imaginative as the two Super Mario Galaxy titles. They were so good, they are ranked as the #1 and #3 best reviewed games in history. It’s unclear whether Nintendo will continue with a Super Mario Galaxy 3 on the Wii U, or an entirely new Mario 3D game. What is clear is that the game has a lot to live up to. Nintendo has confirmed that a new 3D Mario game is in development for the Wii U and will be showcased at E3 2013.
1: The Legend of Zelda (Confirmed)
The Zelda Wii U game was the very first game showcased for the new console at E3 2011. Granted, it was only a tech demo, but it looked amazing and showed just what the Wii U was capable of achieving. Nintendo has been working on Zelda Wii U since late 2010, and according to rumors, it’s scheduled for release in 2014. We previously reported that the Zelda Wii U game has the biggest development team in the history of Nintendo, and will end up as the most expensive game the company has ever made. For more, check out our in-depth Zelda Wii U article.
