It’s no secret that from a hardware perspective the Nintendo Wii U did not exactly meet expectations. It only sold a fraction of the units that its predecessor the Nintendo Wii did, and with the smashing success of its successor the Nintendo Switch, the Nintendo Wii U already seems like a brief blip on the timeline of Nintendo’s incredible history. Yet despite its shortened shelf life, the Nintendo Wii U still managed to put out some of the best and most entertaining Nintendo games ever. In fact there is a wealth of amazing Nintendo Wii U games out there waiting to be discovered by those who have not yet experienced the Wii U.

The biggest hits for the Nintendo Wii U

Nintendo has always been known for crafting some of the most amazing first-party software out there, and the Wii U library is no exception. During the lifetime of the Wii U console, Nintendo put out some of its highest-scoring games of the past decade, including incredible entries to its tentpole Super Mario with Super Mario 3D World, New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario Maker, and Mario Kart 8.

The Nintendo Wii U also received a big helping of another massive Nintendo franchise in The Legend of Zelda, with ports of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, and a brand new Zelda game with the revolutionary The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The Wii U also saw a new Zelda spin-off with Hyrule Warriors.

More great Nintendo Wii U exclusives

The Nintendo Wii U library truly thrives on titles not available for the competition. For example, the Wii U saw a return to Nintendo’s wildly popular fighting games series with Super Smash Bros Wii U, which pits fighters from across every major Nintendo franchise and more in a winner-takes-all rumble. Nintendo also created a brand new franchise for the Wii U with Splatoon, its family-friendly take on the competitive multiplayer shooter genre, where half-human half-squid combatants battle it out with ink in colourfully outrageous competition.

The Wii U library even houses some previously multi-platform franchises, becoming the exclusive home at launch for games such as Bayonetta 2.

Family games and party games for the Nintendo Wii U

Nintendo has always been known as the destination for family-friendly fun. So naturally the Wii U stable of software is packed with titles appropriate for all ages, as well as the kind of games that everyone can play and enjoy together.

Party games for the Nintendo Wii U include Nintendo Land, a launch title that has players invading a theme park with activities based around Nintendo’s most popular characters and franchises. The Nintendo Wii U also features a new entry to Nintendo’s massively popular Mario Party franchise with Mario Party 10.

Other big Nintendo Wii U games and franchises for all ages include the Just Dance series, Yoshi’s Woolly World, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, and Pikmin 3.

Nintendo Wii U games on the Nintendo Switch console

Despite the high quality of games being produced for the Nintendo Wii U, the console itself was not a huge success, and Nintendo was quick to pivot to its successor, the Nintendo Switch. Since Nintendo has shifted back from disc format to cartridge format for Nintendo Switch software, games for the Nintendo Wii U are naturally not compatible with the new Switch console. However, instead of stranding so many incredible games on the previous generation, Nintendo has instead been hard at work porting many of the amazing library of Wii U games over to the Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo Wii U games that have already made the jump over to the Switch include Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, and many, many more.

That said, don’t pack away your Nintendo Wii U just yet. There are still a number of amazing exclusives that haven’t been given the Nintendo Switch treatment just yet, including Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, and Super Mario 3D World just to name a few.