So, I went ahead a got a Wii u. I honestly don't think I'll be interested in what the new Nintendo console will be, but even so there were multiple games I wanted to play on this. So far I have super Mario 3D world, xenon ladies, Zelda windwaker, Zelda twilight princess, Mario kart 8, and I picked up Mario Galaxy 2. Anything else I should pick up? I have bayonetta 2 on the way.

Unplugging and plugging it in a lot is fine, but whatever you do, don't dust it with a Swiffer.

@mike: ha ha, right.

Mario Maker and ZombiU.

My personal favorite Wii U games that you don't have would be:

• Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
• Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
• Super Mario Maker
• Captain Toad Treasure Tracker
• New Super Luigi U
• New Super Mario Bros. U

For a big fat list of all well-reviewed Wii U games, see here: http://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/release-date/available/wii-u/metascore

And if you want to consider Wii games as well: http://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/release-date/available/wii/metascore

Tropical Freeze isn't talked about enough and should be played.

Super Mario Maker is a wonderful game. I've made a lot of levels you could play if you bought it.

Splatoon.

Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze

Super Mario 3D World

Yoshi's Woolly World

That Yoshi game is so much more than the baby game it looks like. The level design is top notch. And it's not as easy as the internet tells you it is.

@ravensword: Call someone.

Splatoon. Splatoon. Splatoon.

Also yes, Mario Maker, and Pikmin 3. Gamepad is good for some off-TV Minecraft if that's your thing.

Wonderful 101 is pretty good. (surprisingly hard though) Also if you're into long winded weird sci-fi rpg's with a funky soundtrack Xenoblade Chronicles X is worth playing.

Super Mario Maker is a great game, but your enjoyment is entirely depended on what you put into it. If you have no interest in making courses, then your mileage will be based on what you play. The 100 Mario Challenges are great conceptually, but a jumbled mess of people throwing crap together. (At least it was that way 8 to 12 months ago) Looking at the highest rated courses should now point you to some of the "best" user made levels, instead of the auto-play levels.

The other games I would personally recommend you either already have (Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8) or will have soon (Bayonetta 2). Smash seems alright, but playing the Wii U version made me realize how weird that game controls. Two or more people on a couch fighting against a bunch of other random characters for 30 minutes is alright though for what it is.

Perhaps the last Wii U game I will ever get is Tokyo Mirage Session #FE, but I haven't played it yet. And I bought Splatoon without ever playing it, 'cus that's what I do sometimes.

For Super Mario Maker, don't forget the bookmark stuff. Nintendo has created various collections you can bookmark in one go: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/specials

Also, Giant Bomb and other video game forums will have threads of forum users sharing their levels, which are usually a far better crafted than what the 100-mario challenge will throw at you. (Similarly, if you're into creating levels post them on twitter and in forums, so we can all appreciate them :).

I think New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U are great if you have a friend to play them with. (I'd probably get bored of them otherwise, but they were a great couch co-op experience for me). And Captain Toad Treasure Tracker is awesome.

Indeed. I had the Giant Bomb Super Mario Maker forum on my iPad and used to browse and input levels manually through there. Between following creators, visiting forums, and going to sources like Patrick's Mario Maker Mornings can lead to finding great / significantly more tolerable levels. This is arguably the best way to play SMM if one is only interested in playing user created levels.

Definitely get the Wii versions of Pikmin and Pikmin 2 along with Pikmin 3. Throw those cute little multi-coloured forest beings to their certain death!

Few things I noticed about the Wii U:

1. I had completely forgot this thing docent have a ethernet port. which stinks, but oh well.

2. I notice menus and the eshop store interface seems rather slow. is this normal?

3. is there a way to just disconnect the gamepad and use the pro controller for everything? when I'm using the pro controller in a game, how do I turn off the game pad?

4. for wii games, can I not use the game pad or pro controller? I have to use a wiimote?

5. I really like that a lot of the great games right now are cheaper because its late in the consoles life cycle. I got Xenoblades for only 17 bucks at target on clearance :D

@ravensword: The menus can be a little sluggish, especially if you are opening it for the first time.

The gamepad is always going to be on no matter what. You can at least turn off the screen, but it's always going to be on and connected. The Wii U just detects the pro controller as an additional controller.

Wii games are all required to use the wiimote, or for games like Xenoblade you can at least use the pro controller hookup for the wiimote, but again still need to use a wiimote. It would be awesome if you could play mario galaxy with a pro controller but no such luck here.

https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/browse wii u usb to ethernet adapter, if youre so inclined. there's a third party one with a lot of good reviews on amazon as well.

1. you can maybe find an old wii adapter for cheap, they should work.

2. I think that's normal, kind of slow.

3. no way to just use pro, in some games you can turn off the pad on some option on the pad or in homemenu as far as i remember.

4. im pretty sure wii games is just wii controllers

5. theres some cool downloadable stuff like art of balance, fast racing neo and link to the past offa the top of my dome...

oh yeah and Splatoon for sure!

https://soundcloud.com/daan-koopman-1/splatoon-main-theme

Tropical Freeze is fantastic. That's all I got.

Im noticing a lot of these games seem kinda bright. like, a tad washed out. maybe its my tv settings

@ravensword: if you like JRPGs and Persona at all, grab Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

simply fantastic game, quite probably going to be my personal GoTY 2016 this year.

Does anyone else notice the games seem kinda washed out or overly bright? This is at least compared to my other consoles. I just want to make sure this is normal.

Welllll, I love Splatoon like everyone else but I haven't played online in a while. They stopped doing their online events so I'm not sure if the online community is going to be there for you to justify the purchase.

Smash Brothers is fantastic..... Donkey Kong Country is wonderful. Mario Maker is a game of the year on some websites according to sources.

I believe Shovel Knight is quite good on the Wii U, although I've only played other versions. The Lego: City game thing was also good I think. Pikmin was well received.

Now if you hadn't played older games, and I'm not gonna get all up in your business on your profile.....but the original launch did have versions of Batman and Mass Effect that would be worth your time if you never played them and wanted something to do.

There's more stuff you shouldn't buy TBH. Stick to 0-1 Amiibos. No video gaming while Mario Partying. Buy Virtual Console at your own risk because you have a better chance of your purchases carrying over in the future if you just get a cartridge. After that you're scraping the barrel, but you knew that when you got it. :-D

It's maybe a bit different than what everyone else is recommending, but if they pique your interest, you may want to check them out.

Xenoblade Chronicles X was actually a blast to play. If you've played the first one as a reference point, the story is a bit blander, and the world feels a bit smaller (albeit more open) due to the giant mechs you can pilot and fight in. The battle systems are incredibly fun, though, and so are all the other systems surrounding the game. If you want to get lost in a world for hours at a time, check it out.

Bayonetta 2 is a lot of fun. Character action game, with a heavy emphasis on combos and style. Lots and lots of style. It does require a good amount of attention, though, and can be difficult for some. Luckily, there's an "easy" mode where most of the hard work is done for you, and you have to primarily focus on landing your evades and moving from enemy to enemy.

Monster Hunter 3U was a blast. It was my intro to the series, and while it may not be the best of the games, it's definitely the best-looking entry in the main series. Monster Hunter is not for everyone, but if you want to fight in a way where every single action and movement is deliberate, and you want to craft better gear from the corpses of your enemies, this is the golden standard. There's still an online community for it, too, so you won't have to play alone. The biggest complaints about the specific entry are the underwater combat and the fact that you could get screwed when it comes to talisman drops, making it extremely difficult to make certain sets. The biggest perks are the underwater combat, the monster variety, and what I feel is the best map selection in the series.

@godzilla_sushi:

I thought of giving monster hunter a go. Seemed like a fun game

I second Monster Hunter 3U.

That game was my intro to the series and it easily justified my Wii U purchase for me. I met many new friends hunting together there and we went on to play other games, too.