Wii U in 2014: games to look forward to

Wii U has failed to capture the attention that its predecessor has. However, Nintendo isn't ready to give up the fight just yet--and, for that matter, neither should Wii U owners.

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Nintendo has seen better days. Wii U has failed to capture the attention that its predecessor has. However, Nintendo isn't ready to give up the fight just yet--and, for that matter, neither should Wii U owners. The "no games" argument doesn't hold particularly true for Wii U, especially with a Game of the Year-winning library. And the system will continue to get a fair share of games in 2014. While there are several more set to be announced throughout the year, here are a few known titles that will undoubtedly get fans excited about owning the system.

The big ape returns

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (February 21st)

Donkey Kong and his friends hit high-definition for the first time with this interesting spin-off in the Country series. This time, the crew find themselves facing off against dreaded ice pirates who have turned their jungle into a frozen tundra.

Digging around

Shovel Knight (April 2014)

A rousing success on KickStarter, Yacht Club Games' retro-style platformer is coming to eShop. Shovel Knight combines a Mega Man-ish 8-bit appearance with innovative digging and shovel-hopping gameplay. For good measure, the level design will challenge at every turn, from floating platforms to bosses that will give even the most hardened gamers a run for their money.

Pedal to the metal

Mario Kart 8 (May 30th)

Every generation's Mario Kart game is met with huge anticipation. A new anti-gravity element promises to take the track design leaps and bounds over other games in the series, and the online play should test the burgeoning Nintendo Network.

Hack or be hacked

Watch Dogs (Summer 2014)

The Wii U version may be delayed, but Nintendo's version of Ubisoft's hack-adventure promises to offer exclusive touch-screen features on the GamePad.

Season of the witch

Bayonetta 2 (2014)

Nintendo's relationship with Platinum Games continues with Bayonetta 2. With a number of staggeringly large enemies to defeat and plenty of savvy shooting/fighting gameplay to master, Bayonetta 2 should be a big "hardcore" hit for Nintendo fans, especially those that enjoyed The Wonderful 101.

The developer of Xenoblade Chronicles have a new adventure

X: Monolith Soft Project (2014)

Xenoblade Chronicles is one of the best games available for the Wii. Developer Monolith Soft isn't done yet, as a new role-playing adventure, code-named X, is on the way to the Wii U.

Yoshi... but made out of yarn!

Yarn Yoshi (2014)

The team behind the charming Wii platformer Kirby's Epic Yarn has been hard at work on this new side-scrolling adventure. Yoshi stars in this unique-looking title--and no baby Mario on his back!

Link's big adventure

Hyrule Warriors (2014)

Rather than focusing on a full-blown quest, Hyrule Warriors pits Link against hordes of enemies, Dynasty Warriors. More on this game will likely be shown around E3 time, but this will be a stopgap before the inevitable Wii U Zelda adventure.

It's a brawling party

Super Smash Bros. (2014)

Last but certainly not least, there's a title that will bring both casual and hardcore players to the same playing field: a fighting one. Super Smash Bros. has thrived over the years, becoming one of the most dependable and accessible fighting games out there, and the 2014 edition should be no exception, with new fighters, arenas and supporting characters to play around with, as well as local and online multiplayer options.

Robert Workman was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    February 17, 2014 1:00 PM

    Robert Workman posted a new article, Wii U in 2014: games to look forward to.

    Wii U has failed to capture the attention that its predecessor has. However, Nintendo isn't ready to give up the fight just yet--and, for that matter, neither should Wii U owners.

    • reply
      February 17, 2014 1:48 PM

      Here's the thing about the WiiU: you basically just listed all the titles coming out for it this year. You would need a few more pages to do that for any other console. I'm pretty sure it has less third party support than the Dreamcast. It's going to be a desert in 2015.

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        February 17, 2014 2:52 PM

        Funny you mentioned Dreamcast. That console was out for 18 months before it was pulled and had a TON of great games. How long as the WiiU been out?

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      February 17, 2014 2:06 PM

      I am freaking excited for Mario Kart 8. That series is some of the most fun I've ever had in video games.

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      February 17, 2014 3:50 PM

      Man that's bad.

      I mean I'm really looking forward to X and Bayonetta 2.. but the rest of it is stuff I'm going to try because there is nothing else to play.

      I'm not a smash bros guy obviously. I get that people like it, not my thing.

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      February 17, 2014 4:23 PM

      does mario cart have online multiplayer? online shack multiplayer ftw.

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      February 17, 2014 5:06 PM

      Zelda? Metroid? How about a new franchise?

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        February 17, 2014 5:18 PM

        New to Nintendo, are you?

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        February 17, 2014 5:39 PM

        X is a new first party Nintendo game.

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        February 17, 2014 6:36 PM

        play Wonderful 101!

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        February 17, 2014 8:10 PM

        How about Bayonetta 2?

        It's a new franchise on Nintendo platform that would have died without Nintendo's interest to bring more Bayonetta into the world.

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        February 17, 2014 8:19 PM

        Pikmin says hi.

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        February 18, 2014 5:06 AM

        Miyamoto is supposed to be working on a new IP.

        Also, I hate when people ask for new Nintendo IPs, but when one does come out, like Wonderful 101, while not developed by Nintendo, it's exclusive and Nintendo put a lot of marketing behind it and it ended up selling horribly.

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      February 17, 2014 6:35 PM

      [deleted]

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        February 17, 2014 8:05 PM

        and two of those are multi platform.

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          February 17, 2014 8:23 PM

          We all know the WiiU gets no multiplatform games!

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      February 17, 2014 8:08 PM

      Damn good library for a console that has been out only a little over a year. I've been slowly gathering games since I got the console in December.

      over 100 indie games for example are on their way to Wii U eshop this year.

      The eShop definitely needs more care and Nintendo should appoint more people to the Virtual Console team to push out 3-4 games every week.

      And they need to fix issues with their strategy.

      1) Make the new unified accounts not locked to a single hardware anymore.
      2) Make the consoles region free in the style of PS3/PS4/Vita
      3) More effort to Virtual Console to get more games out and bring N64, Saturn, Dreamcast and Gamecube to Wii U VC. Then on 3DS bring SNES, GBA and DS to 3DS VC. Now here I'm sure GBA and DS will come. They will just first do it on Wii U and later on 3DS since 3DS doesn't need as strong push at the moment as Wii U might need.
      4) Make a crossplatform purchase possible so that one purchase on Wii U means the game is available on your unified account also on 3DS and vice versa. Then give some discounts or gift cards or other special presents to those loyal customers who may have already earlier purchased the same game twice on both platforms. They already have a sort of system for this available since Wii VC purchases can be repurchased with a huge discount on Wii U and those are enhanced versions with off tv play etc.

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        February 17, 2014 9:15 PM

        good library... is this post some kind of a joke that I'm not getting?

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          February 17, 2014 9:35 PM

          You must not like to play games.

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          February 17, 2014 9:36 PM

          Zombie U, Lego City, Wind Waker, Pikmin3, DKC, Mario 3d World, Super Mario Bros U, Wonderful 101, Monster hunter 3, Nintendo Land

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            February 18, 2014 11:40 AM

            Well I do appreciate that you can list the entire library in one line. It's certainly a space efficient library.

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          February 17, 2014 9:53 PM

          Ehhhhh, try harder dude.

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      February 17, 2014 9:48 PM

      When I first bought my Wii U, I bought with it a 32 GB SD card.

      Just this weekend, I tried downloading Super Mario 3d World. I learned the hard way that the SD card is strictly for the Wii component. I had to use my external HDD to acquire the space needed.

      I have no idea why this bothers the fuck out of me.

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        February 17, 2014 10:12 PM

        Yeah, that totally sucks, I wonder if they can patch that.

        Do you have a 3DS? A 32GB card would go a long way in one of those.

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          February 17, 2014 11:34 PM

          I bought a pair. One is already in the 3ds. That's what I get for implying function based on visual design language.

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      February 17, 2014 10:42 PM

      Smash U will come out in Nov. Bayonetta in Aug. X in Sept. That's my prediction.

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        February 17, 2014 11:34 PM

        My prediction? At least one of those will get delayed until 2015 :D

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      February 18, 2014 6:16 AM

      I really really doubt X will be coming out this year... T__T

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