Okay, I’m not saying I’m buying all the games on this list…but I’m not not saying that either.
One game I think everyone can agree on: Affordable Space Adventures is a game that won’t ever be available anywhere else. With three players, one person navigates the ship, the second person operates the scanner, and the third person uses the gamepad to operate the ship’s systems: turning heat shielding on/off, changing weapon types, diverting power to various systems, etc. It’s a unique game that really wouldn’t be playable on any other system. If you buy one game, get this one.
Here are the rest of the games on my list, in no particular order. I don’t think these are available on other systems:
- The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (There are no plans for either of these games to move to the Switch)
- Game & Wario
- NES Remix 1/2
- Pushmo World
- Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
- Dr. Luigi
- Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge
- Paper Mario: Color Splash
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars
- StarFox Guard
- StarFox Zero
- Yoshi’s Wooly World
- Chasing Aurora
- Fast Racing Neo
- Devil’s Third
Games that are playable elsewhere but maybe better on the Wii U:
- Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (exclusive Amiibo content)
- Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (uses the gamepad to take photos)
- Duck Hunt (uses the Wii Remote for aiming)
- Year Walk (iOS game rebuilt for for Wii U)
Games that are on sale right now:
- Shantae series
- Mighty Switch Force series
- Steamworld series
- Gunman Clive HD collection
- Mutant Mudds Super Challenge
- Runbow
- Mr. Pumpkin Adventure
Virtual Console:
- Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3: The Wii U version has all the eReader levels which are no longer available on the GBA. You can get them if you have Nintendo Switch Online, but the Wii U is the only place that doesn’t require a monthly fee
- Drill Dozer for the GBA uses the rumble feature on the Wii U gamepad, if you don’t already own the physical GBA cartridge
- If you’re a fan of the TurboGrafx-16, I believe this is the only system where you can legally buy those games for the Virtual Console
Let me know if there are any must-haves that I missed!