Holiday Games Gift Guide – Wii December 20, 2012

The Holidays are coming pretty soon and I know that many of you may very well be opening up brand new gifts including a wide range of consoles and handhelds for the first time.  However, with a new console or handheld comes the responsiblity to find some of the best games to get for it.  The hope is to bring you a list of currently in print brand new games which are either some of the best for the platform or the best deals on the platform that you can easily pick up at the store for a reasonable price, pop it into your new gaming system and enjoy every second of it!  So, in the time leading up to Christmas, I’m going to be posting a series of articles for each platform and handheld system currently on the market and tell you what are some of the must-have games for new console owners!

Whether you picked up a Nintendo Wii or a Nintendo Wii U, you’re going to find some amazing games for the Wii out there, all of which are compatible with the Wii U with the latest firmware update.

Wii Sports/Wii Sports Resort – This combo game which features both Wii Sports and its sequel Wii Sports Resort on one disc is included only with brand new Nintendo Wii consoles.  Wii Sports took full advantage of all of the Wii’s capabilities and the decision to pack it with all new Wiis was probably one of the best decisions that Nintendo ever made, as it got a lot of people to buy the Wii at launch.  A sequel was released some time later, which took advantage of the Wii’s MotionPlus accessory and got it to be heavily adopted by current Wii owners, so much so that the MotionPlus is now standard in all new Wiimotes and used in many Wii U games as well.  You can only get this game collection bundled for free with all new Nintendo Wii systems, which currently cost $129.99 US.  Separate, Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort are $19.99 US each.

Super Mario Galaxy – Probably one of the most addictive Mario games I have played in years.  A truly innovative game which harkens back to how innovative Super Mario 64 was back when the Nintendo 64 launched.  Now, Mario travels the entire galaxy, collecting stars, navigating planets and saving the Princess.  Seriously there is no shortage of content in this game.  With 120 stars to find in it, countless worlds to visit and galaxies to travel to, this game will take you a while to find every single secret nook and cranny, even if you have already defeated Bowser.  Since it was recently re-released with the Nintendo Selects line, you can get Super Mario Galaxy for $19.99 US.

Metroid: Other M – I know this game got a really bad rap when it was released but I enjoyed it quite a lot.  It had a gameplay style that harkened back to the original Metroid games.  By turning the Wiimote sideways, it felt like I was playing an NES game all over again, and when I pointed the Wiimote at the screen, it felt like I was playing Metroid Prime again.  In the franchise storyline, it follows Super Metroid (Metroid 3), and establishes the backstory mentioned in Metroid Fusion.  The graphics on it are some of the best for the Wii and while the storyline may be controversial it has some of the best cinematics I’ve seen.  If you just want to enjoy the story with some popcorn, it has an entire DVD style FMV theater option, which I wish more games had.  You can also get it really cheap, as I’ve seen prices for this game for as low as $10 US.

Super Smash Bros Melee – As I’ve mentioned in an article a long time ago, I simply cannot allow anyone to buy a Wii without picking up this game.  This has been considered by many to be the must have game for the Wii.  Featuring every single one of the characters that Nintendo made famous, it has the biggest roster of any Super Smash Bros game and, for the first time in the series, an entire single player campaign.  You can probably find the game for $29.99 US.

Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess – When you get yourself a Nintendo console, you expect it to have three staples, Mario, Metroid and of course, Zelda.  It’s hard to imagine that a game that was a launch title for the system would still be in print this far down the road, but, as The Angry Video Game Nerd put it, it kicks so much ass.  Like Super Mario Galaxy, Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess was re-released with the Nintendo Selects line and can probably be purchased for $19.99 US.

And if you’re already a Wii owner and end up getting yourself a Wii U this holiday, don’t forget, all your Wii’s purchased data and save games will transfer to the Wii U.

More platforms are still to come and because of that, even more guides are coming!