Stranded on Wii U: The Best Games Never Ported To Switch - Zelda, Kirby, Yoshi, Xenoblade and More!
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- Опубліковано 1 лип 2024
- The Wii U eShop is closing at the end of March - and that's a shame, given how many great Wii U titles never got a Switch port, or made such good use of the Wii U controller that they just don't translate to other platforms. Oliver Mackenzie highlights the best games worth buying - often at a considerable discount compared to a physical copy - or at least the ones we ought to remember.
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00:00 Overview
01:11 Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD
03:48 Yoshi’s Wooly World and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
06:07 Xenoblade Chronicles X
07:33 Dual screen GamePad games
09:33 Fast Racing Neo
11:28 Analysis and conclusion - Ігри
Every time I play Xenoblade X I’m kinda blown away that MonolithSoft got this game running on a WiiU in 2015.
You can walk through buildings
@@Nahobinoah collision isn't great inside the city and definitely something they should touch on if they ever re-release it, but tbh it's not a big deal at all and helps to make traversal with the mecha smoother
@@Nahobinoah not buildings but cars and ppl
The wii u is basically just as 'powerful' as a switch.
@@drunkensailor112 not really most wiiu ports up the resolution or frame rate (or neither in the case of pikmin 3)
Sad to not see Nintendo Land, Game & Wario and Wii Party U mentioned here. These games take some of the best advantage of the Wii U GamePad and the experience of these games can't really be replicated anywhere else.
dude nintendo land was genuinely some of the most fun ive ever had in video games. just goofy great mini games youj can just spoend hours laughing around wiht friends
That's exactly why they're not mentioned: they only would work with the WiiU Gamepad
@israel Yes, my whole family enjoys the variety of all the games and how they each take advantage of the pad in different and fun ways. I was waiting for a full Shinobi / throwing star game to branch off from that demo.. and damn sad that it didn’t. :/
star fox zero too
such an awesome game
Nintendo Land stunk. Nintendo can make shallow mini-games for any console. They already did for the Switch, it's called 1-2-Switch.
Thankfully, piracy will preserve all this software when nintendon't
And superior (than og system) emulation on pc if course.
AFAIK the current hack to jailbreak the WiiU requires the use of an eShop title like BrainAge (Funny enough when you sorry but top selling, BrainAge is at the top). So if you don't buy and download before the 27th it will be impossible to pirate on genuine hardware until a new exploit is found.
@@Rob_Enhoud That hasn't been a thing for atleast a year now. It's as easy as putting files on an sd card and using the web browser nowadays.
its not piracy but abandonware when you cant buy it digital legally anymore
One of the things I don’t understand with switch online legacy games from a long term standpoint. When you put so much hours into a game like an rpg and then one or maybe 2 Nintendo console generations later and then they pull the plug on it. What happens to your save? If it’s in the system or in the cloud it’s useless because the game from the service is gone.
The two Zelda remasters really is a must-have even for casual Zelda fans
The fact that Xenoblde X hasn't been ported is actually really sad. I know it would take a lot of effort to port but I can't imagine it would eclipse that of making an entire new game. I legitimately just think it's so different from the other Xeno games that they're concerned about how it'd do on the market. It's not super anime like the other ones
I love xenoblade 2, one of my best games of all time, 3 isn't bad but 2 is still tall above it. I really disliked the first xenoblade. X has good characters and music but its story ends up falling flat, mainly because so many things about the world are left unanswered and the things that do get revealed end up being boring. X needs a remaster, new content added and existing content tweaked to make it something I would buy. The first xenoblade however I hated the characters, I hated the world, and honestly I did not care for the story either.
Xenoblade X is why I learned how to get that blasted CEMU emulator working ; P
I have it waiting right now!
I just gotta finish my Xenoblade Chronicles playthrough first. I can't wait.
I really hope they port it to switch because I would love to pay for it :P
Would be expensive to port over to the switch according to them as well as time consuming and it probably takes away from whatever they're working on.
@@MaNameizJeff You're the first person I've ever seen bash Xenoblade 1 and say Xenoblade 2 is their favorite, I think there might be a chemical disruption in your brain
@@crazykenbei right now they are probably doing 2 things, Xenoblade 3 expansion and Zelda 2. It would be a big project. I just don't think it should only be considered for switch 2, I think switch 1 is more than enough and it would allow for a bigger pool of buyers.
The Wii U port of Deus Ex Human Revolution, touted as a then console exlcusive Director's Cut, has by far my most favorite implementation of the second screen. Even with the subsequent ports to other consoles and PC, it still feels a tad fresh and more immersive with the second screen functionality for on-the-fly inventory management. (They tried to pull it off on PC using some weird proprietary Intel drivers and a smart phone app, but results aren't as good or reliable as the Wii U's Gamepad.)
My favorite features that simply wouldn't be replicated anywhere is that it implemented a player hint system similar to Dark Souls that actually utilized MiiVerse posts, and off-TV play made full use of touch screen functionality by mapping macro shortcuts within the screen itself!
It's also the only version of DX:HR Director's Cut with a proper level of polish. The PC/X360/PS3 versions were rushed and based on an earlier, more buggy build of the game. Even to this day those 3 versions have a bunch of screwed up stuff like blurry textures or random crashes.
Zombi U also had great Gamepad integration :)
Honestly I think Xenoblade X still looks a lot nicer than 2 and 3 (environment wise, at least), its insane how good that game looks
Never could finish the game because my Wii-U Gamepad starting getting really bad drifting....really bummed out about it
lol Character models look 100 times better in 3 than X
About Xenoblade X, it is a game that was made thinking about using the Wii U hardware to the fullest with specific techniques for this console, it even runs with a higher resolution than Xenoblade 2 and 3 (and I dare say that it has more beautiful visuals than these games ) it makes me curious if it would run well in handheld mode on the Switch if ported.
The only reason for this opinion is because it is very clearly much higher resolution than the switch xenoblade games.
Run Xenoblade switch or the sequel or 3 through 4k in an emulator and suddenly they look vastly superior.
@@ParadoxalDream Did you not read their comment?
NIntendoland and NES Remix 1&2 and Game & Wario are fantastic. Pikmin 3 has unique controls, New Super Mario Bros Wii U and Rayman Legends have exclusive 5 player modes
If you’re a fan of the series and a collector you could pick up the original Splatoon as well. I am a huge Xenoblade X fan so I use my Wii U to this day. Until it gets ported i doubt it will ever get unplugged.
+1 and I’d recommend getting Splatoon physical. I found one for $12 used. They are still charging $60 for digital on eshop
We need the Zelda Remasters ported, it's baffling that Nintendo still hasn't done it yet (Wind Waker especially is absolutely gorgeous)
I'd love to see that on the oled model.
2024
They're gonna shadow-drop them at some point is what I think, MP Remastered style.
@@Christopher-md7tf I hope so, we need them
Just get a Steam Deck and emulate the superior GameCube version.
Despite being ported to PC and other platforms, nothing can compare to the experience of ZombiU on Wii U. One of the finest survival horror experiences possible, really disappointed by how many people never even bothered to give it a chance. The gamepad integration was some of the best on the console and completely transformed the experience.
I had a blast playing through ZombiU and I don’t care who knows. It has what’s easily my favorite implementation of the Game Pad, and just isn’t as much fun on other consoles.
I bought the WiiU bundle with that game! That gave me serious anxieties, but in a good way haha!
This is my thoughts exactly. Opening your backpack is an experience that cannot be replicated
The multiplayer in that game was seriously underrated as well. Having the gamepad player direct zombies a la a top down strategy game while the TV player shoots them in regular first person shooter mode was a genius multiplayer concept, something we probably won't see again.
@@Beaut_Beau where exactly did i say i only ever played it using the gamepad? i have played through it on steam multiple times. it's really bizarre how you felt the need to not only incorrectly read the comment but still try to hit me with some kind of "gotcha" for no reason whatsoever
It might be good to compile a list of games stuck on the PS3/Vita stores (including PSP games) because those platforms are living on borrowed time. We don't know how much notice we will be given either.
Metal Gear Solid 4 would be amazing on current Gen, because no load times
I've recently got back into playing PS3 and the PSN store basically has dick all for games as it is. If you want something like 3D Dot Game Heroes you can only get a physical copy of it, there exists no digital version. And a physical version usually goes for 100+ Canadian, luckily just scored a copy for $60.
This goes for A LOT of games on that generation. I can only recommend going out now and picking up games such as MGS4 for $5 instead of a few months or a year when I feel it will shoot up in price 10 fold with this video game boom.
@@danshimandle1938 It's insane to me that such a quality game is stranded on ps3. Rdr should also get a remaster on current gen or at least ported to pc.
The problem with ps3 and PSP is not every game got a digital version. It wasn't till the vita era that they started making digital copies for every physical. So a video like that could be more tricky.
as of now . Ps Vita games on 'Sale' I can only see using the PS4 shop - I can't see them from the PS3, or the PS5, or the actual Vita!
Nintendo and Sony sure do have some weird way of selling titles.
I also recommend Rayman Legacy, which was supposed to be a WiiU launch exclusive. While it's available on every other platform, it has a large number of levels clearly designed for a touch screen and stylus!
Rayman Legacy or Legends?
@@Cosmycal arghh, how could I get that wrong? I’ve played through it so many times!
@@jonnyeh I get them mixed up too.
Full agree on that! Great game for at least two people!
@@jonnyeh you know youtube comments have an edit function, right
Windwaker HD is not just a game, it’s an absolute work of art.
Looks worse than the original though
@@Im_Behind_YouI’m sorry, are you drunk?
@@JONOFTHEJONS Are you high?
its not a very good game lol
@@kamikazilucas fantastic game, unquestionably one of the best of its generation.
Fun fact: I'm pretty sure most of the textures in Wind Waker HD are the original Gamecube textures with the game applying a filter at runtime to smooth them out. The Wind Waker install on Wii U is barely bigger than the Gamecube disc was (whereas Twilight Princess HD is significantly larger, as I recall).
There are also Rayman: Legends (Superior version is on Wii U, the game was made for this system), Mario Maker 1 (again the Wii U game pad has an upper hand IMO) but either way, thank you for the material. You have presented some interesting options to invest in :D
Wonderfull 101 too
I played so much Mario Maker I was so excited for MM2 but then I got it and played for like maybe 5 hours and was then bored. Idk why, but MM2 just isn’t as much fun.
I think the Wii U community was better cuz MM had lots of experimental levels being made, and MM2 are either children making basic levels or Kaizo levels that only top tier players can make it past the beginning.
Yea Rayman: Legends is Awesome on Wii U :)
ZombiU was also superior for the same reasons
@@papm222 that is a multiplat
Loved this video Ollie! Thanks for all the effort you’ve put into this. Always look forward to your DF content. Between this and the Metroid Prime one you’ve been on a roll lately!
No mention of the downloadable data packs for Xenoblade X? I know they're meant for disc version players but that's still info that should be included. Also I'm pretty sure TPHD has more instances of redrawn high detail textures than WWHD. Compare the brickwork on the Bridge of Eldin for example, or the grassy floor outside Link's house.
Maybe it will let's to download updates even if you have disc version. It makes sense even after eshop closure you can redownload games you bought
I would include Paper Mario Color Splash
Wind Waker HD, Twilight Princess HD & Xenoblade Chronicles X not being ported to Switch is deplorable
ik people who call the wiiu the xenoblade x machine
I have been waiting for both zelda games ever since the switch came out. Absolutely ridiculous. Not buying a Wii U just to play them😠
@@cokeacolazzz Wii u emulation exists
@@Z-Mikes00 and it's by an large the best way to play Wii U games, at least the ones that don't need the gamepad for anything which is most of them. XBCX especially is much better. 60 FPS patch, higher resolutions and patches that make the substantial amount of online only content available to be played offline.
@@Z-Mikes00 of course. Would like to have a switch copy anyways
Great video! It's always nice seeing the Wii U get some love. While I wasn't a fan at first, I would have included Star Fox Zero in here as well, and Nintendo Land (maybe not as a visually "impressive" game, but it's clean and has great game pad functionality). I was playing Wooly World over the weekend for basically the first time and was impressed at how smoothly it played. Really wish I dove into it when it was current.
Star Fox Zero is underrated.
@@Noname15514 Star Fox was a struggle to play and Nintendo made a mistake allowing Platinum to develop it. Visually, I appreciate them staying faithful to Star Fox 64, but good grief was it a struggle to play. If only they allowed players to turn off the motion controls. I gave the game to my nieces after I put 15 hours into it and they hated it as well. I’m glad it has some fans out there.
@@ThePhenomf4 It wasn't a struggle after you adjust to the muscle memory.
@@Noname15514 I finished the game and then went back to improve some runs. I put enough hours to get the muscle memory but it wasn’t a joy to play. I love motion controls and this is the only instance that I would’ve turned it off if I had the chance.
I'd argue the best way to play WW is to emulate it on GCN and upscale it. The original game has such a well-thought out art style, the graphics haven't really aged, so just upping the resolution makes it look like a modern game.
Great video, Oliver really loves his old Nintendo consoles. It would be neat to see his version of a DF Retro.
great list. Rainbow Curse and Affordable Space Adventures are both especially underappreciated
This is so sad but that's the way modern gaming works nowadays.
That's why it's so important with hard copies of games, let's hope that never ends.
Thanks Oliver 💕
Good luck playing hard copy of Redfall or Gran Turismo 7 after the servers are down. Unfortunately damage have already been done. Lot's of game started to require online connectivity even in the single player mode. Such a shame.
Unfortunately, even discs aren’t safe and often don’t even have the full game on it
@@hododod246 indeed 🥺
@@ooiiooiiooii indeed, I got heart broken when I realised this was the case with to name a few, Halo Infite and call of duty modern warfare 2
that's why emulation on PC WAS and IS and always WILL be best way to play any game...fuck new games and new consoles and online 🤣😂🤣
I finally got around to getting Cemu working. Playing Wind Waker HD for the first time I’m blown away by how well it holds up. It looks like a current Gen switch game.
CEMU is the best way to play BotW too, with many options to enhance the graphics. Render distances for various objects, better shadows, framerate & resolution. Then ReShade with RTGI for the ultimate experience.
@@Holammer nice, I was wondering if Cemu would be better than Yuzu for BOTW, assuming the frame rate holds up better, and more mature mods
@@happyraptor06 It is better, yes. I tried both as well as Ryujinx and Cemu is generally more stable and plays the game near flawlessly. Also as you said the mods and tweaks (like having indestructible weapons) are more mature and easier to implement. The downside is that after experiencing BOTW in 4K60 going back to sub 1080p30 for TOTK is not an option. I hope it'll work well on Yuzu and Ryujinx.
@Chrys TotK will honestly probably be sub-720p30. There's no way that game is going to run even as well as BotW on the Switch. I trust Yuzu and/or Ryujinx to run it decently well, though, given how well they've been able to run recent games.
Can you get the gamepad to connect to Cemu? If so, that'd be huge. Otherwise, WWHD would in fact be a worse experience IMO, compared to native.
The best way to play many of these games in my experience is on Cemu emulator where you can force better AA and higher resolution shadows and even draw distances in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This kind of emulation on PC may perhaps be the only way to play these games going forwards unless Nintendo decide to repackage and resell them on their next system.
Yeah I did this for my wife, while she loves playing Paper Mario, Yoshi's Wolly World, and Super Mario Wii U, at 1080P and super sharp textures which her Switch doesn't have it only makes her madder at the fact that after all these years NINTENDO has refused to do Remasters of their biggest selling games from Wii/Wii U, but don't mind remastering mediocre games.
This is why the retention of physical mediums is so important.
Agreed. I make it a point to buy physical media whenever possible.
I used to think so too but nowadays with many games coming out broken and/or incomplete, it almost doesn't even matter as you are stuck with digital patches anyway.
@@PushStart_YT That's the main caveat. That's why I only buy games that are finished. In the batch of bad there is still good. You really have to research the games and check patch notes to make sure those are included on disc. Usually GOTY editions are complete and don't require updates. Unless you are CDProjektRed.
Gamers need to really push each other to buy more physical games. It makes everything better for everyone.
@@NateFord I shall always advocate!!
Great video, although a little surprised to not find Star Fox Zero which was technically impressive considering it was rendering two different views at the same time
This video has a clear lack of Nintendoland. Sadly its basically impossible to port but it is such an amazing party game.
But I might pick up the Kriby game, I think this seems like a cool game to play a level now and then.
Man I love the WiiU. Hope it isnt the only console that has a controller with a screen. Wind Waker with maps and item management on the controller or couch multiplayer where one player has a different screen are so cool
Nintendo keeps sending this message. "Enjoy our games, but do it today, because we sure as hell don't care what happens to them in the future."
thats why its great to support emulators!
nintendo moves at nintendo speed.
While we can all argue the failings of the Wii U in terms of sales, it was also the home of remarkable games.
Absolutely. And since we don't work for Nintendo, that's what should count only...I never got why so less people bought a Wii U, I never regretted buying mine and still play it here and there, also the many Virtual Console games.
very happy to see some love for Affordable Space Adventures, very unique and charming, but most people have slept on it.
It’s a shame that Breath of the Wild had the WiiU specific features removed to make it playable on Switch. Gameplay wise it would’ve been better than what we got which was still exceptional.
Not too sure about that...the Gamepad would have been mainly used for the map and as huge and detailed as it is, I don't know if such a small screen would have been much better.
@@Ray_2112 I used it for games like Assassin’s Creed Black Flag. It would’ve been fine.
I like how Nintendo isn't even discounting these games... It looks like they're keeping many e-shop games on 3DS and Wii U at full price until the bitter end!
I love this video. Great job Oliver! I hope we can get a similar video for the 3DS?
Sad not to see StarFox Zero. I genuinely loved that game and played it to death. Yes I think It needed a bit more content, but once you got the hang of the strange dual screen system it played well and enjoyably...The trick being you really don't need to look down at the game pad half as much as you initially think.
Something people never consider with Xenoblade X is that it was Monolith Softs first HD title.
NES Remix 1 and 2 deserve a place on this list!
Afordable space adventure is such a cool game. Especially on 4 player co-op.
3 player
The people behind Cemu are legends, that's where i play my WiiU games
Of course they mostly suck since you don't have a GamePad, but you prolly bought a 2DS to play 3DS games too.
xenoblade X is still, to this day, one of the most impressive open worlds ever made. the only games to rival it (imo), are breath of the wild and elden ring. it's kind of insane what they achieved on the hardware at the time.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video, Oliver!
Reminds me how much I loved the Wii U. I really enjoyed playing all the games. The console itself wasn't perfect but I enjoyed the experience. I wish more people experienced the console and games.
I recently picked up a Wii U to enjoy these exclusives. Manage to get both Zelda games physically as they aren't too expensive in the UK, but it's only a matter of time till they become rare.
I think NINTENDO made decisions internally from the beginning to only remake/remaster certain games from their library for the SWITCH. On the next SWITCH-2 they may produce remasters of the other games which happen to be the most popular. Or release them at the end of the system and final releases.
Cemu Emulator already gave me a taste of how these games might look like when they eventually got ported to Swtich or whatever new hardware they eventually revealed in the future.
Wind Waker HD at 1440p/4K was amazing, of course in this case it was actually Wind Waker UHD.
Really hope they’ll bring Xenoblade X to Switch, along with a sequel. I need to know what happens after that cliff-hanger!
I hope they wait for the next Nintendo console, i want a real upgrade and better implementation of the "online" mode of that game
@@picolete yeah I’d love to freely roam the entire game in co-op!
Didn’t Monoloth Soft say that the Xenoblade series is over?
@@anonymoushuman8443 no they said the Klaus saga is over not xenoblade the series
I would love a port to the Switch of Star Fox zero , I know it would need quite a bit of work but the Wii-U game i really could not stand the controls, Xenoblade Chronicles X I liked quite a bit but seemed to recall it needed a fair bit of quality of life updates there would be so many little things like, start a mission...have to remove a character but then having to find where that character is located to get them back again rather than a simple menu option
PC emulator cemu allows these games to played with massive graphical improvements.
This video felt half-arsed honestly. The Wii U has many many more titles worth getting both physically and/or on the eShop that are either the best way to play, or will be gone forever after the 27th.
Imagine if Twilight Princess had the Metroid Prime Remastered treatment.
Aside from some blocky geometry, it actually did get the same treatment. The HD version looks way better than the original and is very sharp...it's just the old geometry that makes it still look older.
TANK! TANK! TANK! deserves an honorable mention too! Fun, easy to pick up party game!
I never heard of Affordable Space Adventures but that looks like something I'd love, so I will pick that up. Thanks!
ASA is incredible, especially if you have friends to play with
@DF what is your view on the currently discussed issue with the apparently poor quality of the internal 8/32GB Nand Flash Storage on the WiiU that can lead to bricked consoles?
For what's is worth my wii u bricked less than 2 month from purchase. Had to ship it to a nintendo certified repair site
Isn't that mostly a problem if you don't have it plugged in for a long time? You can also mod it to backup the NAND. It'd be funny if modded consoles are the only ones that survive over time.
@@leonro My WiiU is actually modded and I made a backup of the NAND. That being its not certain that only consoles that are unplugged for long period of time are affected by this issue. The main problem is that any kind of Flash storage needs to refreshed over time, flash storage saves data in its cells through an electric charge and powered on and or read cycles to it might not be good enough. Write Cycles intrudes higher voltages to the flash cells that could result in a higher data retention time.
edit: And before anyone misunderstands what i'm talking about, write cycles of course degrade flash memory over time, there is a finite number of times you can write to flash and it also will degrade the maximum data retention over time, that being said its defiantly possible to increase the overall storage time if a flash storage is overwritten some times with a backup. Just don't do it to often this is by the way true for every flash based storage. While this is specific about the WiiU I urge everyone that might have important data on an SD card, a USB stick or similar device to check it and make at least a backup to a separate storage device.
@@smartfox2295 I don't know anything about modding and this is the first time hearing about the NAND issue (have no idea what that is). What kind of mod would I need to do to keep my Wii U safe?
Affordable Space Adventures is one of coolest Wii U games I played. So few games were built around the gamepad like that one and with pretty fun gameplay. Super highly recommended.
0:45: Dude doesn't understand what the word "obsolete" means.
Poor Oliver. He even went to school to be a journalist!
Man the amount of hours I spent playing Xenoblade X... that game really hooked me up 👌
I have more than 100 hours on that game, never fully mastered the combat
Likewise. Often I was looking at the scenery and listening music which was played at the time. OST was great in that game.
Excite truck is another stranded game on the Wii/Wii u. I would love to see a switch port of that one
its not that great
Never thought I’d see a comment about Excite Truck but I’m all for it and you get my upvote!
Excellent video Thanks Oliver !
Remember: Xenoblade Chronicles X has a 10gb dlc that improve the graphics of the physical copies. Don’t forget that
It’s crazy that Twilight Princess HD is 65 USD on the eshop
it’s 50 USD
@@adamtaleb2871 slightly better. Only slightly.
It's free if you look hard enough ;)
Devil's Third was a great game. I wish it would have sticked to XBOX 360, instead of switching to Wii U. It would have been compatible with XBOX Series X.
Wii U is one of the weirdest consoles of all time. The CPU was basically a Tri-Core Gamecube (with higher clocks and cache) and the GPU was the XBOX 360 Xenos GPU ported to PC and ported back to Wii U. Not to mention the legacy hardware for Wii compatibility. My biggest complains were:
- Awful floating point performance (again, obsolete CPU).
- Cafe OS stupidly taking 1GB of 2 available GBs on the MEM2 block.
- Most awful upscaler ever seen on any console (the one that upscales vWii).
- Amazingly sluggish UI. It is, BY FAR, the slowest console of all time to get to the menu, with tons of fadings, logos and "please, wait" screens. Wii was much faster.
- Broken standars every-fucking-where: Gamepad wifi, yeah, it's not the actual Wifi. Bluray, yeah, not that bluray. DVD, again, not that DVD. For some reason, bluetooth is the real thing.
Xenoblade chronicles X is the most underrated game I've ever played, and I've been gaming since 1987. It's still the reason I have my Wii u hooked up to my main set up next to the ps5, gaming pc and switch oled. I have around 1600 hours between 3 different play throughs. They need a switch port immediately
2:24 This is why the GameCube version of Wind Waker is still the best one. They turned one of the most iconic looking games into a vasline (bloom) filtered, playdough-models mess in the Wii U remaster.
The Zelda remasters are literally the only thing left that I really wanted to play as a non-Wii U owner coming into the Switch generation, especially Wind Waker because that visual facelift looks drop-dead gorgeous and I heard about the fix they made for fetching the Triforce pieces with Tingle. It's really funny how they brought over stuff like Hyrule Warriors, Captain Toad and Pokken before Wind Waker and Twilight Princess HD considering they've given Mario the luxury treatment in regards to amount of accessible legacy content across retail releases, download titles and the Switch Online service
The Zelda games aren't easy ports - theyre old and written for power pc language - porting those games to switch is a big project requiring millions of dollars
They have said they're very protective over ports to prevent devaluing a marquee IP. Wind Waker HD iirc was just a technical test to practice HD development
@@sEaNoYeAh They do ports all of time, especially to the Switch.
And this is why emulation is important. Even if it involves piracy, I feel justified when you are dealing with corps like Nintendo, who are horribly anti-consumer and I believe hate their users and only love their money.
You’ve just described every single corporation unfortunately. All they care about is their bottom lines.
Games stranded on the 3DS is more hurtful. I'd love to play A Link Between Worlds again on a big screen.
I’m still waiting on Wind Waker. I still have my Wii U but I’d love to play it again on my shuttle. It’s still my favorite Zelda game
Worth mentioning that stuff like Wind Waker HD run great on Steam Deck.
I actually still use my Wii U regularly. I think its a better console than the Switch and has a lot more charm to it. Mainly for Mario Kart 8 online but unfortunately there is server maintenance right now. Also recently purchased Xenoblade Chronicles X and Wind Waker HD so those are definitely on my list to play
It definitely still has that old Nintendo charm. Something changed after the WiiU imo.
once the servers go off look into Pretendo to get some custom servers
switch has barly games compared to wii u. most switch games are literally wii u games like Zelda breath of the wild and mario kart 8
Already bought every Wii U game I want digitally (though physical will still be available). But I want them on Switch, where I can play handheld, docked or tabletop on an OLED screen with detachable controllers.
Wind Waker HD is the one I’ve been wanting on Switch. It’s a beauty.
The Wii U is my favorite Nintendo console ever made and I had to sit there and watch them intentionally sabotage it. What a console ❤🫡
If they had only put in 2 more gb of RAM and never offered a version without an HDD it could have been so much better.
@@Taijifufu It was good enough as it was. Nintendo simply screwed up the marketing.
@@marco1173 it was probably the worst console they ever made dude
@@jesusbarrera6916 In what way was it the worst console? Commercially? That's gotta be it, because the games were absolutely fantastic and continue to go up in value as time goes on.
@@marco1173 an underpowered consoles that relied entirely on gimmick that only a handful of games used
the definition of useless..... at least the Virtual boy was highly experimental, unlike the WiiU's insaly lazy desgin to attach to the Wii's success
games don't mean anything, even other terrible consoles had good games
During the pandemic when the Switch was impossible to find, I bought a used Wii U off eBay for pretty cheap with controllers and games. Now, all these years later, my kids play the Wii U every single day and it still holds up very well. There aren't too many games on the Switch that would make me want to get it over the Wii U. I will probably get them the next Nintendo iteration though and finally retire the Wii U.
IMO there's still nothing more fun than playing a round of Nintendoland when you have people over. With Mario Kart or Smash, there's a big barrier to game mechanics and the like, but Nintendoland keeps it simple with its minigames and there's a lot of variation. I'm sad that Nintendo never truly bothered to make a true couch co-op minigame collection for the switch similar to it.
saying “all these years later” after “during the pandemic” just makes me feel so old. lol
Just got Tiramisu running yesterday, which is pretty much going to be essential for all Wii U owners going forward.
Amazing Video! Another that is worthy of mention is Starfox Zero
I feel like the Zelda remasters will eventually get ported, but I’m afraid that Xenoblade X may never see a port given how much of a development nightmare it was for MonolithSoft.
Your probably right, but if they ever do I will pick it up without a moments hesitation lol. I loved that game and do still own it on my Wii u
It will, they want to do it but one of the reasons they haven’t other than budget and manpower is because they want to add more story and change some things up. So depending on their plans for the sequel, they would want those plans to be set in stone first before any changes in the remaster.
Development nightmare? If you mean the shift from only singel-player to added multiplayer, that wouldn't be an issue when porting the game. Monolith Soft's excuse has been money and that was back during 2018 shortly after Xenoblade 2 came out. That excuse no longer works after Xenoblade 2, DE and 3 all selling over 1.5 million. The silent excuse is more likely Nintendo telling them to focus on doing sequels to the original game.
Regarding zelda, I just hope they don't go the nintendo online route of just using emulation for ww and TP, because it means they won't bother using the updated versions of the games like what they did with ocarina of time and majora mask which were from the n64 versions instead of the 3ds versions.
@@OskarXCI that or they forced to help on other nintendo games like it been said monolith has been working on tears of the kingdom
I’m pretty sure Nintendo will eventually get around to bringing Wind Waker and Twilight Princess to the Switch.
It is weird for sure that Xenoblade Chronicles X still hasn’t gotten a Switch release when all other entries have gotten a release. It too will probably get an eventual release.
Speaking of other games it’s weird that Star Fox and F-Zero are missing on the Switch.
As great as Nintendo is they’re often lacking in preservation through releasing remasters and remakes on current console.
Chronicles X has a Switch remaster actually.
@@raresmacovei8382 … not sure what you are thinking of, but no it does not. Switch has Chronicles 1, 2, Torna, and 3. No X remaster as of yet
@@raresmacovei8382 Incorrect. Xenoblade Chronicles X *DOES NOT* have a Switch version.
F-Zero has been dead for twenty years, so, while I personally would like it if they reanimated it, it's really not that weird that it's missing from the Switch.
Also, the last few Star Fox games didn't sell all that well and Nintendo clearly has no idea what to do with the franchise, so no big surprise there, either.
In a 2018 interview, Tetsuya Takahashi said he wanted to bring Xenoblade X to the Switch, but money was an issue, and that it would be difficult to reconfigure it for the handheld. Elma did appear in recent promotional artwork though, so never say never. The game does run well on the Steam Deck under CEMU though, aside from the UI text being difficult to read.
Game and Wario, Tank Tank Tank, Nintendoland and Paper Mario Color Splash are some of great exclusives that really need a gamepad to play well
The only ports from this handful of games that I’d like to eventually play are just Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. I always hear good things, and some negative points, from people who have played these, including watching let’s plays of both games. I never had a chance to get a Wii U so if Nintendo decides to surprise announce ports of the two in a direct, it’ll be a completely new experience for me
The 4K recording here really let's you see how much dust even enthusiasts let collect on the Wii U. That's wild.
I really enjoyed that console. Best Virtual Console as well even if some games were a bit darker than the originals. Unfortunately now we are starting to see reports of the system just killing itself off (a NAND issue from what I've read).
I would really like to play Star Fox: Zero with modern controls.
You say modern, but you mean traditional controls I'm assuming, lol. Star Fox Zero *is* pretty modern with an implementation of gyro aim and 2 simultaneous perspectives
@@grassroots15 Yeah, that was what i actually meant. I mean i want to play it on the Switch without the use of gyro Aim, with a control just like it was in Assault.
@@grassroots15 2 simultaneous perspectives is not modern... it worked terribly because it's not a DS game
Fantastic Video DF.
It's defo an End of an Era for the WiiU and 3DS. I did enjoy both Systems and they had some really great and enjoyable Games.
The WiiU i absolutely loved, the Two-Screen Functionality was spot on, when Working with the right Games.
Xenoblade Chronicles X plus Zelda: Twilight Princess & Windwaker i love too see being Ported too the Switch at some point. NintendoLand is another Exclusive that should be on the Switch.
Fast RMX Is significantly easier than NEO, the cpu Is brutal on the original, with you and with the other cpu players, but is much more managable on the newer version, now if that's a good or bad thing depends on the person, I remember quite a few people disliking Neo at the time because of how brutal the cpu was
iirc, the CPU wasn't really good back then as well, it was just annoying rubber-banding and not really fair, so I don't mind the change.
Fatal Frame or Project Zero as it is known here in Europe did get a limited physical release. I bought it when it was exclusive to the Wii U and it was quite expensive. It is a very interesting game however.
CEMU LET'S GO!
As others mentioned: 2 UbiSoft efforts shine on WiiU: Rayman Legends and ZombiU both of which I would mention over Arkham and DeusEx. Hope you didn’t omit those because of controversies over Ubisoft since both WB and Embracer are not less shady
yeah those were glaring omissions in this video. Both ZombiU and Rayman Legends were made for the Wii U so they were superior to the all the ports and made really good use of the second screen. I thought for sure they’d at least get a mention here.
I can never get used to Digital Foundry calling Xenoblade Chronicles X "CROSS" instead of the letter "X" in the title.
I get that, and I get that John L prefers to pronounce that as he's an import fiend with some time spent in Japan. Feels weird when Ollie says it, or anyone else outside of Japan.
I really liked how wind waker looked on the Wii u. Also if these games are going off the e shop and sellers want to ramp up the price. Cemu isn't hard to run, and can look better than originally intended. I know not everyone is good with talking emulation, but I wouldn't be spending those prices on games especially old Wii u games.
As much as I love Metroid Prime remastered, it's baffling that they haven't ported Wind Waker or TP to Switch. Each of those games on their own would make more money than any Metroid game lol
They might have bigger plans for them, maybe wind water hd can get 60 in the new nintendo console currently not out
Thanks for the reminder!
Switched on my Wii u for the first time in ages and had funds to spend on the shop!
Sadly no discounts on Nintendo games here in aus
The Star Fox Zero disrespect displayed here is disturbing :P
And it could easily be ported.
Just map switching the camera to a button.
Would actually be faster/better, if players don't have to constantly shift the focus of their eyes.
Please don't reward Nintendo's behaviour here by rushing out to spend your money. Jailbreaking a Wii U is trivial. Pirate these games and don't feel bad about it.
Maybe you want to support some of those indie games
@@oscarzxn4067 that's fair, for the third party ones.
just bought a few of these. thanks for the closure reminder.
Affordable Space Adventure is my favourite use of the gamepad, and had the most enjoyable co-op expierence I've ever had.
"Yo-ho-yo-ho a pirate's life for Wii (u)"
Thank you DF!
Gonna be replaying wind waker on a steam deck soon.
Even after all these years, Xenoblade X is still a must have to play
Wonderful 101 deserves a special mention, becuase it is increidble, but evne thugh it was ported, it plays really best on WiiU with tge gamepad screen for drawing the things for powerups