Topic: Thinking of Buying a Wii U - Some questions

I've been part of Nintendo Life for about 2 years, I have a 3DS but have never had a Wii U, I'm not the biggest Nintendo fan so have hold on buying a Wii U as I found it too expensive to be worth it for the couple games I want to play on it... but finally I've started seeing offers on used Wii U's that match what I'm willing to pay for one so I am considering to buy one... was hoping you could help me with some questions.

First thing is that the gamepad does not look appealing to me, I guess I would go pro-controller but even the pro-controller does not look too appealing to me with the weird layout of both stick above the face bottoms... are there any good third party controllers for Wii U that have a layout similar to Playstation or at least Xbox or a pro-controller is the best I can do?

The games I'm interested on are basically NSMBU, 3D World, DK: TF, Bayonetta 2 + the remaster of 1, Fatal Frame V and the upcoming FE: Mirage whatever is called.... can those be played with a pro-controller or third party controller or is gamepad mandatory for those?

I'm also interested on some VC titles, specially the Donkey Kong Country SNES trilogy... Can those be played with pro-controller or a third party alternative or they require gamepad/wii-mote?

Are there a good wireless headphone solutions for Wii U? On my PS3 I use the official wireless stereo headset which I love so was wondering if there is anything similar for Wii U.... I'm not planning to play online so I don't care about mic... is being able to listen to high quality audio that I care about (specially for Fatal Frame, as I think audio is very important for horror games)... because of my schedule, my game time happens in between 12:00 and 5:00 am so I need to use headphones in consideration of housemates and neighbors

Thank you in advance

I'm not sure if I'll be much help but here goes. I had a similar opinion on the gamepad at first, but you get used to it. I still wanted a pro controller though. but since i was low on cash i decided to look into some third party options, when I found the mini pro elite controller from power a. the layout is the same as an xbox controller, its just smaller. i was drawn to that cuz i have small hands, but it you want a regular size, i heard the nyko pro commander is a good choice. now as far as compatibility with the pro controller goes, I dont know about fatal frame or fe:mirage, but i know 3d world and dk:tf are compatible. i'm pretty sure bayonetta is, unfortunately NSMBU is not. all VC titles (except for DS ones) are compatible with the pro controller. as far as headsets, the wii u unfortunately is not compatible with wireless headsets, so you will have to use corded. any corded option will work, but it only connects to the gamepad. so if you are using the pro controller you will have to set the gamepad beside you while you play. anyways i think thats it, let me know if i missed anything. hope it helped.

I really don't think your fears about the gamepad sucking are justified. I love playing with the gamepad. I think after about an hour with it, you'll change your mind.

@DualWielding: both fatal frame and 3d world (captain toad segments) require the game pad but the rest are fine. Try the game pad out for a few hours tho. You may grow to like it.

I think a traditional smaller controller is still superior, but the game pad actually isn't too bad. The button layout is good, and it's not too heavy, and the touchscreen is way better than the Wii's motion controls, imo.

I love the gamepad, the pro controller, and the remote/nunchuck. In my view, people get incredibly nit-picky about these things for little to no reason. I embrace change... it's the way of the universe. Ultimately I think all the variety is wonderful and the Gamepad definitely brings some worthwhile features that you cannot get anywhere else- games like Super Mario Maker and ZombiU make that very obvious. I'm the only person I know who can seamlessly switch between any controller type on Smash Bros and I'm not even a great Smash player. But obviously you will have to look at each game to see what controllers they support. Some VC games are still only available in Wii mode and SNES games on there will only work with the classic controller- the one Nintendo controller that I am not a fan of, especially compared to the pro controller. I imagine those games will eventually make it to Wii U VC at some point and have fuller pro controller support then. You and I might have somewhere around 50% similar interests in games based on what you posted and I can tell you that I get incredible mileage out of my Wii U and have not been impressed at all with the lack of controller options on other consoles.

But does the Gamepad live up to its full potential? No, certainly not. Not even Nintendo is doing nearly as much with it as they could... just look at DKCRTF.

Don't. Buy a ps4 or Xbox one.

The gamepad is love. The gamepad is life. The gamepad is happiness. The gamepad is eternal.

The complaints about the GamePad are completely unwarranted IMO. Obviously as someone who got a Wii U I'm biased as all hell but just hear me out. For a start the fact that it includes a screen is not an issue. The controller is functionally the same as the Pro Controller it just has the addition of a screen. A screen which enables off-TV play which is probably the biggest advantage the Wii U has. It's something that's far to easy to dismiss but if you have it you'll wonder why it's the only console that does this. Because it's just so handy.

On the stick placement well, I haven't had an issue with it. It's very easy to get used to and I'd argue it's a positioning that makes more sense for a few game styles. Having the sticks in a prominent position makes it a fantastic controller for any games which require both thumbs on sticks. Which is quite a few these days. I actually like the controller so much that I got an adapter so I could use it for PC gaming. Really, the thing that will be more of a barrier for someone moving from another controller will be the positioning of the face buttons. Purely because none of them agree on where X should be placed. But it's hard to complain about that given that Nintendo have maintained their layout since the SNES.

Again, what it comes down to are the games. If you like the idea of Bayonetta 2, Splatoon, Super Mario Maker, Mario Kart 8 and Smash? There's no other console that's going to deliver that. So you don't have any other option. And as a cross-platform gamer I can tell you that I wouldn't be without my Wii U. Between my Wii U, 3DS and PC? It's the Wii U that I wouldn't be without.

I was hesitant about the gamepad before I bought one, but it's honestly one of my favorite gaming controllers ever. I've played my Wii U more than any other console over the last two years. I definitely suggest buying one. I'm up to thirty-two games now, and that's not including Virtual Console stuff. There's still a bunch of stuff I want to get, too.