The best Wii games of all time

When most people think of the Wii console, they think of Wii Sports. A simple pack-in minigame collection, Wii Sports featured simple, motion-controlled approximations of tennis, golf, bowling, baseball, and boxing. Players use their created Miis (linked to your Wii profile) to participate in sporting events using the Wiimote and Nunchuk, either competing against other players or the computer. The games are simple, but also are very fun and incredibly intuitive. You could put a Wiimote in almost anyone’s hand, and they could figure out how to play in seconds. At the time, it was a perfect showcase for the Wii’s potential. In hindsight, it may have been the pinnacle of success for the console. For a time, you could walk into any college dorm room or apartment in America and see a couple of bobble-headed cartoons battling it out on screen. Given how ubiquitous the title was, it’s no surprise that Wii Sports clocks in as the fourth bestselling video game of all time — only Grand Theft Auto V, Minecraft, and Tetris have sold more copies, and all three of those were multiplatform releases.

PlatinumGames’ highly stylized brawler MadWorld makes brutal murder look good. Players control Jack, who enters an extremely violent game show called DeathWatch and proceeds to kill his way through several levels in creative and gory ways. MadWorld earned the scorn of many reviewers and media members for its graphic content; in fact, Sega declined to release the game in several countries altogether due to subject-matter limitations. The game is actually quite funny, with hilarious commentary provided by John DiMaggio (Futurama) and Greg Proops, and the story — while short — is engaging and satisfying. Oh, did we mention Jack has a chainsaw for an arm? ‘Cause he does.

Nintendo’s Animal Crossing franchise has become a household name, beloved by fans across the world for its anthropomorphic animals and quirky life simulation gameplay. Animal Crossing: City Folk successfully brought that formula to the Wii in 2008, letting players build a life among the woodland critters (no, not those woodland critters); if you liked the Gamecube or Nintendo DS versions of Animal Crossing, you’ll probably like this, too. City Folk brings back series mainstays like the tanuki, or raccoon dog, shop owner Tom Nook, and players get to see the seasons change in real-time, according to the Wii’s clock. The game utilizes motion controls for things like chopping wood and fishing. If nothing else, City Folk offers what may be the most exhilarating accomplishment found in a video game: Paying off a mortgage — something that is much harder to do in real life.

From the always-interesting mind of game maker Suda51, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle expanded on the promise of the original Wii game to become one of the standout third-party hits on the console. No More Heroes 2 once again put players in control of beam-katana-wielding Travis Touchdown as he returns to Santa Destroy after a three-year absence. With fun and zany boss fights — for example, a mech formed by combining a football star and cheerleaders — and fluid action-packed combat, No More Heroes 2 did everything the original did but better. From the head-scratching (yet funny) writing to the removal of the pesky overworld to the 8-bit minigames that let you take a breather from slaying foes, Suda51’s No More Heroes 2 established itself as an intriguing reason to own the Wii outside of Mario and Zelda games.

Originally planned for PlayStation 3, Monster Hunter Tri is an example of how the Wii’s less powerful hardware could be a boon for developers. High development costs shifted the development of the third console game in the long-running franchise to Wii. The result was one of the largest, most ambitious titles to arrive on the console. Like all games in the franchise, Monster Hunter Tri tasked players with fighting huge creatures, capturing monsters Pokémon-style, all the while constantly upgrading your character’s gear. If you enjoyed the gameplay loop and the constant grind, Monster Hunter Tri was a time sink that compelled you to keep going forward. The game was later remastered for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS as Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.

The Conduit marries schlocky B-movie writing with a unique control scheme designed specifically for the Wii, and it’s actually pretty fun. Aliens known as “The Drudge” invade Washington, D.C., using a series of “Conduits” (aka portals), and the player takes control of government agent Michael Ford to combat the villains. A cool gadget called the “All-Seeing Eye” (we told you it was schlocky) allows players to solve various puzzles throughout the game, while Ford wields a variety of guns against both human and inhuman foes.

After a 15-year hiatus, Punch-Out!! returned with a bang as one of the only story-driven boxing games around. Players once again step into the boots of Little Mac as he works his way through the professional boxing circuits, battling against several colorful characters to become the World Video Boxing Champion. Players maneuver effortlessly through boxing matches by utilizing Wii’s remote control, whose technological sophistication is unparalleled. The remote control’s format allows players the ability to coordinate their punches accurately so that they may earn “stars” that will afford them more dominant moves. “Title Defense” mode jacks up the difficulty, adding new counter moves for the computer-controlled opponents to use, and the included multiplayer is a ton of fun, where players build power before transforming into a hulking behemoth to deal massive damage.