Nintendo Land (Wii U)

Nintendo Land might not have been the Wii U killer app in the vein of Wii Sports, but it's still a wonderful celebration of Nintendo's past and an exciting glimpse of a future that might have been had developers been a little more adventurous with the GamePad (and had players responded, of course). When it works and while the magic lasts, Nintendo Land delivers riotous fun and is one of the best local multiplayer experiences ever crafted. There's also a surprising amount of depth to the single-player offerings, too, and Miiverse integration meant you were never really on your own.

For nostalgic Nintendo fans, it was simultaneously comforting and exciting (we'll take any drop of F-Zero-adjacent content we can!), and in its best moments it managed to make you feel like a kid again.

Rabbids Land (Wii U)

Its launch day timing and name placed Rabbids Land in unfortunate competition with Nintendo Land, which was a superior multiplayer experience in every way. That said, if you had a group to play with and didn't mind the one-on-one restriction of the minigames, there was a lot of fun to be had here. Fans of the series in particular will have gotten a kick out of seeing these furry faces in HD for the first time. Rabbids Land wrapped some fun minigames in an underwhelming board game shell, and while it may not have been the life of the Wii U party, everyone loves the Rabbids, right? Right!?

Scribblenauts Unlimited (Wii U)

If you were a fan of previous entries in the Scribblenauts series, then you were going to love Scribblenauts Unlimited. If you’d never played one before, then it was a great way to start. The campaign was a little on the short side, and the multiplayer gameplay leaved much to be desired, but, as always, Scribblenauts is about the pure joy of extending your imagination. Unlimited on Wii U looked great, controlled well thanks to the boon of GamePad input, and provided a heck of a lot of family-friendly fun.

SiNG Party (Wii U)

SiNG Party felt like it was designed for commercials: flashy and light, heavy on that kind of wholesome, sanitised party fun that impossibly well-groomed human-like people seem to have all the time, but of which the grubby masses never find themselves a part. By trying to please everyone, though, the game sacrificed a lot of identity and ended up with modes that are either just adequate or downright puzzling. With the right group of like-minded people, you could find yourself having a great time with SiNG Party, but then again you can achieve the same effect cranking up the radio and belting along at the top of your lungs.

Skylanders Giants (Wii U)

Skylanders Giants was a great adventure game for its target audience and the perfect excuse for the rest of us to collect the toys. It was hard to shake the feeling of déjà vu, though, with Skylanders Giants looking, feeling, and playing almost identical to the original. It's also a shame that the obvious potential of its RPG mechanics went unrealised, but this was a strong entry in the toys-to-life genre. Remember that?

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Wii U)

A quality, credible alternative to Mario Kart 8, and one starring the plumber's erstwhile platform rival Sonic the Hedgehog (and other Sega luminaries)? It shouldn’t really have come as a surprise to discover that Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed was top-shelf stuff; Sumo Digital’s track record speaks for itself, and at the time the studio had been bolstered by an influx of staff from racing experts Bizarre Creations (Project Gotham Racing, Blur) and Black Rock Studio (Split Second, Pure).

The result was a game which was far more focused and entertaining than the either original Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing — which was a fine game — or Team Sonic Racing, the less exciting Switch follow-up which ditched the thrilling cast of Sega luminaries.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Wii U)

Another great addition to the roster of the console with 'no games', Tekken Tag Tournament 2 launched alongside Wii U and threw exclusive Nintendo costumes and power-ups into its quality fighting mix, plus DLC content from other platforms, too. This entry in Namco's franchise had already cemented itself as a quality participant contender in the genre, but add in the Wii U exclusive modes, bells, and whistles and you're left with perhaps the best console version of a fine fighter.

Transformers Prime (Wii U)

Transformers Prime felt most at home on Wii U, with increased visual fidelity making it more striking and true to the cartoon than the cruder Wii and 3DS editions, and predictable yet appreciated flexibility offered by the GamePad bringing a bundle of convenience. It was a game aimed squarely at the younger/casual Transformers crowd, though, and while anyone in that camp likely got a kick out of making Optimus punch Megatron in his stupid face, the further you strayed outside of that demographic the less there was to grab your attention for very long.

The game largely accomplished what it set out to do and pulled off some generally impressive presentation, but with sights set on rudimentary mechanics, it struggled to satisfy beyond being a merely-adequate tie-in to the show.

Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper (Wii U)

Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper was an uninspired port of an excellent game that brought characters in from every corner of the Tecmo Koei family, including Ninja Gaiden's Ryu Hayabusa, Dead or Alive's Ayane, and more obscure characters from Bladestorm (Joan of Arc), Warriors: Legends of Troy (Achilles), and Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll. There were missed opportunities regarding the Wii U's unique features and the slowdown, patchy frame rate, and draw distance issues made this version the least appealing on the market.

However, those problems never brokes the experience completely, and its bonkers narrative and absorbing hack ‘n’ slash action was so engaging at its core that it was easier than you might think to look past the limitations if you were a fan of the characters or Warriors games in general.

Wipeout 3 (Wii U)

Not that one. The game show (known as Total Wipeout in the UK).

In spite of its many faults, Wipeout 3 succeeded in something many licensed games somehow fail spectacularly at: being a decent game that fans of the series will enjoy. Thanks to the fully voiced, on-point commentary and colourful courses, it really does feel like playing the show, and the Trap Attack mode makes excellent use of the Wii U's GamePad for hectic, heckling multiplayer fun. Anyone who knew their Yule Log Jam from their Trampoline Sweepers probably had a right old blast.

Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2013 (Wii U)

For players that wanted to add some exercise to their gaming routine, or Wii Fit junkies looking for a next-gen fitness fix, Your Shape Fitness was an excellent choice. It took a different approach from Nintendo's efforts, focusing on a huge variety of traditional exercises rather than minigame, and did so very well. A few issues — including sometimes shaky motion detection — held it back, but any problems were more than made up for by its sizable selection of targeted workouts, personalised routines, and motivating online integration.

While fitness fans waited for Wii Fit U to arrive, this turned out to be more than just a tide-over, which was a pleasant surprise considering how quality can take a backseat as developers rush to get software ready for a console's launch.

ZombiU (Wii U)

ZombiU isn't perfect, but it set out to do a very specific thing and succeeded with style. As a Wii U launch game, Ubisoft showed that — despite the hardware's appearance — dark, mature games could work on Nintendo’s newest console. It was atmospheric, horrifying, and provided plenty of sweaty palms and jump scares. Anyone looking for a challenging and highly immersive experience with some real heft behind it found just that, and Ubisoft showcased the potential of the underutilised GamePad in a way that few third-party studios (and arguably Nintendo itself) would throughout the system's life cycle.

So, that's the lot of them, but which one was the best Wii U launch game? Feel free to pick one (or two, if you can't decide between a particular pair) from the poll below:

Which was the best Wii U launch game?

(You can select up to 2 answers)