The Wii U had a rocky start. A bad marketing campaign, not enough games and the PS4 / Xbox One coming right on its heels made a lot of people skip the Wii U. The reputation of the Wii being a kiddie machine with way to much shovelware also didn’t help consumer confidence at all. Even with its year long head start the Wii U is still the 3rd place console in this generation and soon will be replaced with the NX, making it one of the shortest console life spans in recent history. The problem is… well it’s really good and here is why.

Exclusive games.

While the PS4 and Xbox One race to get the latest games as exclusives (ie Street Fighter V on PS4) the Wii U’s entire library are exclusive games (bar one or two initial ports). Due to being vastly under powered 3rd party support for the Wii U disappeared within a month or two of launch. Nintendo has had to develop and publish almost all the games on the Wii U. This has lead to new ip’s like Splatoon (voted best new IP in 2015 by so many places its crazy), Tank Tank Tank, Devil’s Third, Captain Toad’s Treasure Tracker, Mario Marker (AWESOME) and Zombie U (by Ubisoft as a 3 year exclusive) but also new entries in classic series like Super Mario 3D World, Yoshi Woolly World, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Game and Wario, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Mario Kart 8, New Super Mario Bros U, Smash Brothers….. and that is just a small sample. Plus did you know the first place you could download and play Shovel Knight was on the Wii U (on consoles) ?

Backwards Compatibility

With just a WiiMote and Nunchuck you can play Wii games out of the box. You know that sensor bar that comes with the Wii U that’s for the WiiMote not the Gamepad like most people think. Test it yourself, unplug it and turn your Gamepad on. See works. Now you have the Wii library at your finger tips. Get past the shovelware and crap there are actually a lot of good Wii games. Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Mario Kart Wii, Red Steel, Wario Land The Shake Dimension, House Of The Dead 2 & 3, Battalion Wars 2, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Mad World, Smash Brothers… again just a small sample. Better still Wii game are cheap. The system sold so many copies they printed a ballizion of all these titles so even the most expensive Wii games are relatively cheap compared to other systems to collect for.

It’s Not Dead Yet

Most people think the Wii U is now dead. True the NX is on the horizon with a rumored Christmas 2016 release but there are still titles coming to the Wii U until then and probably after then. Pokken Tournament (its Tekken with Pokemon characters.. let that sink in), Star Fox Zero, Dragon Quest X, a new Fire Emblem, The Legend Of Zelda U just to name a few 2016 looks like a great year for Wii U owners.

What you need to know

If you are thinking about getting a Wii U here are the things you need to know first. Graphically it excels at Nintendo style cartoony animation and graphics. Don’t expect anything that is going to blow you away but expect more stylistic choices (like Woolly World) and atmosphere. The Gamepad looks like it would suck but actually is one of the most comfortable controllers you will ever hold. Somehow this giant thing just fits perfectly in your hands. I still don’t understand it myself. The menu system is really easy to use. The online store is a little bit of a pain to navigate. Online gaming (Splatoon especially) is super smooth but lacks things like a party system and easy to use friends lists. Overall its a much simpler system than the PS4 or Xbox One but that also mean’s it doesn’t have a million updates every single day. Thank you for that Nintendo. Games seem to be released finished unlike even Street Fighter V with its day one 6 gig patch (seriously Capcom).

Final Thoughts

Personally I love the Wii U. Its a fun console, sometimes that is missing from a lot of PS4 / Xbox One games. So many games look amazing, have all these tricks under the hood, better A.I than ever before but they are just not fun. The Wii U is the opposite of that. Nothing is going to win most impressive graphics or best physics engine in a game ever, but Splatoon did win best new IP of 2015 (again so many places votes this look it up) because its unadulterated fun. Isn’t that why we started playing games in the first place ? If you have ever thought about getting a Wii U I would recommend it. Ask anyone that has one they will probably say the same thing I am. I won’t lie there are not a huge amount of titles to choose from but 9/10 of really really good. You have to like those odds.

Welcome To The Stooge Revolution – Ric The Real Stooge