User blog:Radical M/The Top Ten Wii Games

Yes, this is my new blog series The Top Ten, where I make top ten lists. I know many have done this before, but most of them seem to have died out, so I might as well do it.

Since the Wii is at the end of its lifespan and the Wii U is upon us, I decided to rank the Top Ten Wii Games.

10. Mario Party 8



Mario Party 8 was panned by a lot of critics, but I'm a big Mario Party fan and I honestly had a lot of fun with it. The Wii controls spiced up the minigames and made the whole game feel fresh without changing the entire formula of the game (see Mario Party 9). The new boards were great because each one had a different style of gameplay, and some of them were even knew to the series.

9. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn



I was never a huge RPG fan, but when I heard that Fire Emblem had come to America, I had to jump on it. And I'm glad I did. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is a very strategic game with an interesting story and unique characters. It almost resembles a game of chess, where each piece has a unique feature that you have to use to reach your goal. It definitely makes you think and it made me want to buy more of the Fire Emblem games.

8. Epic Mickey



Mickey Mouse is one of the most, if not the most, iconic cartoon character around today. But lately, he's been turned into sort of a dumbed down version for kids. Warren Spector made Epic Mickey so that the stereotype could be broken, and Mickey could be for everyone. Sure, the game was still cartoonish, but that's what it was supposed to be. A kickback to the old Mickey. Epic Mickey was successful based on its creative story and its clever gameplay mechanics.

7. Animal Crossing: City Folk



Animal Crossing is a series that always held a special place in my heart. Animal Crossing was one of my first video games and it was an oddly addicting game. Wild World was rather disappointing to me with its god-awful graphics and its limited gameplay. City Folk fixed that by expanding the series from the first installment by adding a bunch of new features, the most important being the city that you can travel to. The city adds a bunch of cool new stuff to do, while you can still see the familiar faces from the first two games in your town. It's just as highly addicting as its predecessors.

6. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption



The Wii is notorious for not being very great with shooters. Nintendo challenged this by adding the finale to their praised trilogy, the Metroid Prime series, to the Wii library. The game is not only the best shooter on the Wii, but it was the first game that really challenged the graphics that the Wii could handle, and the visuals turned out stunning. Hardcore shooting parts were paired with intense puzzles and a captivating story.

5. Mario Kart Wii



With every console comes a new Mario Kart game, and the Wii was no exception. Double Dash added the co-op to spice things up, but Mario Kart Wii changed it up even more by adding the Wii Wheel. Despite most people using their classic Gamecube controllers, I actually used the Wii Wheel, and I'm glad I did. The game feels like an updated version of those arcade racing games. Along with wireless controls, updated graphics, and fun tracks, Mario Kart Wii might be the best Mario Kart yet. But they're hard to compare.

4. Wii Sports Resort



Wii Sports Resort is the expansion of the Wii's first game ever, Wii Sports. Adding the Wii Motion Plus, it was intended to make the movements of the Wii Remote really translate on screen. Not only that, but the game boasts 16 different sports, each with different styles of play, in contrast to the first edition's 5 sports. If that wasn't enough, the game has a setting this time around, on the fictional Wuhu Island. This game was a great improvement on the first and just a great improvement on motion controls in general. It's loads of fun to play with family and friends.

3. Super Mario Galaxy 2



The first Super Mario Galaxy was critically praised, but I honestly found it a little disappointing. It wasn't a bad game, but I think it was overrated. Super Mario Galaxy 2 improved everything wrong with its predecessor and still maintained its fascinating gameplay. The level designs were improved and the difficulty was harder. It pretty much sums up everything great about Mario platformers.

2. Super Smash Bros. Brawl



Melee was my first video game ever, so when Brawl was announced, I was stoked. Brawl lived up to my expectations and beyond them. Brawl holds the fun and endless gameplay of Melee while adding the super-powerful Final Smashes and the ever so difficult Subspace Emissary. People complain that the roster is unbalanced, but those people are mainly tier-crazy. I can easily dominate Metaknight (top of the tier) using Link (bottom of tier). Brawl is hours and hours of endless fun.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword



When the Wii was first announced, it boasted the ability to track precise movements, so that the player would feel like they were swinging a real sword. Unfortunately, the closest the Wii ever got to this was Wii Baseball. Until the release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Bundled with the Wii Motion Plus, Skyward Sword's gameplay was focused around accurate movements to defeat enemies, which were puzzles within themselves. Not to say that Skyward Sword didn't deliver on puzzles like the rest of the series. In fact, it may have improved upon them, delivering difficult challenges that could take minutes to master. Along with a beautiful overworld with interesting characters, Skyward Sword also has a riveting story, unique locations, and a fun way to travel. Skyward Sword defines everything we were promised when the Wii was released, and it's only that much better, considering it's a Zelda game.

I hope you guys like my blog. Give me suggestions of what I should do next. I think I'll be doing this weekly, but I'm not sure.

Honorable mentions: Donkey Kong Country Returns, Red Steel 2, Wii Party, Wii Sports, Kirby's Epic Yarn