Aah, the Wii U. The console I wanted so badly I straight-up wrote a multi-page proposal document to my parents as to why we needed one. If only the rest of the world had cared about this console as much as I did, it might not’ve gone down in history as such a huge sales failure. And yet, despite that, it’s really not too off-base to say the Wii U was effectively just ‘ahead of its time‘.
Let’s get into things.
The Console
In the same vein as how this console’s title is just ‘Wii‘ with a ‘U‘ added on, the actual console is a clear small-step evolution from the foundation the Wii built.
Like the shape, for instance, which is essentially just the OG Wii but turned on its side. Or the color, which is just the direct inverse of the Wii. Or the very familiar assortment of buttons and controller ports (no GameCube ports this time, though). The user interface once you turn the console on is also quite similar, with an assortment of ‘Channels’ you can select, and the fact that the system still uses Miis as avatars. Nintendo believed (and I don’t think they were wholly wrong to think this) that they’d hit on a winning formula, and so barely changed a thing.
The Wii lagged behind it’s modern competitors, but the Wii U is really where Nintendo started to backslide considerably, in terms of power. Because, really, the Wii U was (at best) on par with systems like the PS3 or Xbox 360 (and that’s at best, sometimes it was more like just an HD Wii). The console also made steps towards more online interactivity like the competitors had, but in that typically clunky and obtuse way that Nintendo loves, so these features kinda flopped (MiiVerse was cool, though).
The Controller
And here we come to, in my opinion, the saddest part of the Wii U, which is the controller (otherwise known as the Gamepad). Because…it’s awesome, and no one loved it at the time.
Okay, maybe it is a little bulky, but that’s genuinely the only complaint I can leverage towards this fantastic beast of a controller. For all the faults of the console itself, the Gamepad is where the Wii U exceled. At first glance, it might look similar to the Switch, but since this is only a controller and not the actual console, you would use both apparatuses in sync with each other while gaming. Run around on the tv, look at your map on the Gamepad. Shoot baddies on the tv, organize your inventory and pick locks on the Gamepad. The only limit was the creativity of the developers.
But the controller could still be it’s own access to games, if need be. Television in use? Just play on the Gamepad. It’s got all the features you’d ever need, plus more on top of that. It was Nintendo’s first foray into a home console and handheld hybrid…and for some reason, people hated it! And yet, when the Switch came along and did the same thing but more restrictively, people now love it all of a sudden? It’s very saddening, because I adored the Gamepad, and I delighted in the novelty of playing games while someone else was using the television. Also, again, I just really like the comfort and heft of the Gamepad.
Cultural Impact
*sigh*
There is none. Genuinely, there really isn’t.
I’m not even trying to be mean. Barely anyone bought the Wii U, and it was the closest Nintendo has come in decades to genuine financial concern. People still make fun of the Wii U to this day, so I suppose that that’s it’s legacy? Being a laughingstock? Or, more charitably, paving the way for the Switch (which is clearly iterative of the basic design principles of the Wii U)? Maybe it’s legacy is just in its games, because some amazing classics came out this generation. There’s a reason basically all of them got remasters on the Switch at some point or other.
Look, I can’t fully blame consumers. A name like ‘Wii 2‘ would’ve made it clear it was a brand-new console. A name like ‘Wii U‘ sounds like its an accessory, something you’d buy alongside Wii Fit or something. Consumer confusion was one of the largest reasons why people didn’t nab the Wii U. I get it. But it’s still really sad. As a launch-day supporter of this console, it hurt to see so many other people neglect what this little machine had to offer.
Favorite Games
If there’s any unquestionably amazing aspect of the Wii U, it’s its games. The Wii U had a plethora of bangers, and though I admittedly never owned too many of them, I still played some real gems.
Super Mario 3D World
Normally, Mario’s traditional 3D-platforming adventures are the highlight of his gaming career, with standouts like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy topping most people’s lists of favorite games. And yet, if someone were to say that this game was their favorite, I honestly couldn’t fault them. It’s easily the most content-packed Mario game of all time, and it seemingly never ends. Eight worlds full of…oh, no, wait, make that nine worlds. Uh, hold on, there’s twelve now. Oh, and a secret final thirteenth on top of that? Sure, why not!
It’s just such an extremely fun game. Bright, cheerful, amazing soundtrack. Tons of varied level mechanics and unique gimmicks (the Double Cherry that creates clones of your character is so neat, and the Cat Bell is probably the best Mario powerup of all time). Four playable characters that each actually have different abilities to an extent (with a fifth secret character you can unlock later on). Multiplayer that legitimately works pretty well, which is rare in these sorts of games. Varied boss fights, fun callbacks, silly little references…I could honestly keep going.
Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze
It only makes sense to praise this game here for the Wii U, when I reserved a spot for its predecessor in my article on the Wii! Now, I’ll be honest and say that I do actually prefer the original, but this game is still pretty fantastic in its own right. It’s definitely one of the most impressive platformers I’ve ever played from a production quality point of view. The graphics, sound, and just amount of things happening in each level of this game is shockingly amazing. There was a lot of love poured into this game.
The two biggest highlights of this game are definitely the soundtrack and the boss fights. This game’s soundtrack is staggeringly good, with hardly a single dud in the entire track list, and many of this game’s songs are some of the best in the whole genre. The boss fights are also some of the best platforming boss fights of all time, skimming right past the trite cliché of ‘Three Hits Rule‘ to soar into multi-stage challenging affairs with pulse-pounding music keeping you going. This is just a really, really solid game.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Again, this was a given, but it feels exceptionally timely to bring this game up again when it’s remastered definitive edition is coming out for the Switch next month! This game is still the pinnacle of the open world genre, presenting the most fulfilling and freedom-granting open world experience of all time, and I’m so happy more people will finally be able to play this gem. I really do wish more games followed the formula set here, as it feels like too many open world games miss the memo that a huge open world is only fun to explore if exploring itself is fun.
No fall damage? Check. Infinite stamina? Check. A giant mecha Skell to ride around really fast? Check. The ability to fly through the air unrestrained, reaching literally anything in sight (and being rewarded for it)? Check. No invisible walls, presenting a truly immersive open world experience? Check. Xenoblade Chronicles X does everything right, and it sprinkles this delicious open world cake with amazingly intricate combat, extremely high levels of customization, the best side quests you’ll ever find in an open world game, and a funky techno-fueled soundtrack. One of the best games of all time.
Super Smash Bros 4
The most overlooked and underappreciated game in the Smash Bros series, and yet still a really solid time all-around. This game is very much the awkward middle child that tends to go forgotten, as it’s nestled between the extremely unique Brawl, and the cumulative Ultimate that does everything this game does but better, more or less. And yet, I think this game still gets a bit of a bad rap, and I believe it still brings some fun to the table. It’s worth booting this game up from time to time if you’ve got a Wii U lying around.
From a completely personal point of view, I’ll obviously always value this game because it introduced my favorite character, Lucina, to the series. But even alongside her, this game also brought in Shulk, Wii Fit Trainer, Corrin, and it’s where I fell in love with playing as Zelda. This was also the era that amiibo debuted, and the ability to train your own little figure fighter is still such an amazing (and mind-blowing) feature that it deserves praise. So, yeah, on its own there isn’t much this game offers that you can’t find elsewhere, but I think what it brought is worth remembering and respecting.
Gaming Memories
So yeah, I did play other games on the Wii U. But there is one game I played far more than any other on the Wii U, and it’s where most of my memories reside. And that game is Nintendo Land, the greatest video game console launch title of all time.
Just like Wii Sports was created to advertise what the Wii and the Wiimote could do, Nintendo Land did the same for the Wii U and its Gamepad. Only, unlike Wii Sports (which is really just a set of gimmicky minigames you play for a few minutes, or an hour or two in the case of bowling), Nintendo Land is a legitimate game and experience that can keep you entertained for hours and hours, whether you’re a dedicated single-player, or someone wanting to mess around with friends. Nintendo Land also has twelve whole games to try out (rather than Wii Sports‘ five), and splits them into single-player-only, single-or-multiplayer, and multiplayer-only.
If you’ve never been able to play this game before, I feel so sorry for you. In my opinion, it is 100% worth getting a Wii U just for Nintendo Land, as long as you’ve also got some friends around. I’ve put dozens of hours into this game with family, and with friends (I’ve brought the Wii U to more parties and hangouts than I can count, just so people could experience Nintendo Land). Whether it’s blasting space pirates in the Metroid minigame, haunting your ghost-busting buddies as a spooky specter in the Luigi’s Mansion minigame, or running for your life from an army of toads as Mario in the Mario minigame, Nintendo Land is bursting with fun, charm, and near-infinite replayability.
Conclusion
To conclude, the Wii U was a pretty catastrophic failure for Nintendo, and yet I really have to give them credit for not making it seem like that to us fans who were along for the ride. Multiple games were still coming out each year, the eShop Virtual Console was continuously getting stacked with really fun retro games to download, indie support was through the roof (I first played Freedom Planet and Shantae on the Wii U), and Nintendo’s yearly presentations were still a delight. Above all, though, the Wii U simply provides gaming experiences you truly, unequivocally, cannot get anywhere else, and for that reason it’ll always be a console worth having to me.
The Contrarian Corner 