It’s no secret that Nintendo’s Wii U was a flop, with the console only selling a total of 13.5 million units in its entire lifespan. But the Switch has more than made up for its shortcomings, by becoming one of the Japanese gaming company’s best selling systems and fastest selling game console of all time. At the time of writing, the Switch has sold over 68 million units, officially surpassing the original Nintendo Entertainment System and solidifying itself as the second best-selling Nintendo home console, just trailing behind the Wii.
Because of the hybrid console’s massive success, it makes sense that Nintendo has slowly been porting over all of its Wii U games over to the console in hopes of making some extra cash and exposing the older titles to a new wave of gamers. And now in 2020, the Switch has gotten nearly all of the noteworthy Wii U games ported over with very few left. Pikmin 3 Deluxe finally launched last week, and Super Mario 3D World is set to launch early next year. With these titles out of the way, it’s time to look at the remaining Wii U first-party titles and see which games Switch owners could expect to get ported over next.
While there aren’t many Wii U exclusive titles remaining that haven’t already been ported over to the Nintendo Switch, the two titles that seem the most likely to make the jump to Nintendo’s hybrid system happen to be ports themselves. That’s right, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess are probably the most likely titles to be ported over, for multiple reasons. For one, both of these Zelda games have been in high demand by fans to get ported over, and have already been given HD remasters so moving them over to the newest generation likely wouldn’t take very much work on Nintendo’s part at all.
Additionally, the Zelda franchise will be celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2021, so it would make perfect sense for the franchise to get some sort of HD collection as part of the series’ celebration. With the two games already remastered, Nintendo could very easily package them together and sell them in a dual pack, and maybe even throw in one of the Nintendo 64 games as an added bonus.
Nintendo has been giving the Xenoblade franchise plenty of love in recent years, with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 launching within the first year of the console’s lifespan, as well as the full stand-alone expansion Torna: The Golden Country and then an HD remaster of the original Xenoblade Chronicles earlier this year. It would then make sense for the game’s sequel, Xenoblade Chronicles X, to get ported over to the Switch as well. While the game sold rather modestly on the Wii U, it could make a comeback if ported over and would put the complete Xenoblade saga on the single platform. Because of the release of Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, a Switch port for Xenoblade Chronicles X now seems somewhat inevitable.
Nintendo has always advertised itself as a family-friendly gaming company, so it’s understandable that it hasn’t been the most upfront with its ownership of the Frame Frame IP. The series got a fourth entry on the Wii, but was kept exclusive to Japan only. In 2015, the series finally made its jump to American consoles when Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water was finally localized. This port felt somewhat of a half-measure, however, as the game was only ever released digitally in the Americas and under performed sales-wise. A port to the Nintendo Switch could potentially remedy this, as the hybrid console has become host to plenty of great survival horror titles like Outlast, Amnesia, and Alien: Isolation.
There are a few issues with porting the title, however. The biggest hurdle is the gameplay, which heavily relies on the Wii U game pad. Unlike titles like Super Mario Maker 2, which remedy the issue by changing the controls, Maiden of Black Water uses the game pad in order to give the player a completely different viewing perspective, so removing it would cause many issues and change the game in some major ways. Because of this, it seems fairly unlikely that this title will ever make the jump to the Switch, although a sequel doesn’t seem out of the question.
Star Fox Zero originally advertised itself as a return to form for the Star Fox series, while also introducing a brand new and revolutionary gameplay style that heavily uses the Wii U game pad. Unfortunately, the new gameplay style was not well received by many fans and critics, with some players loving it and others disliking it. It’s a huge shame, as the game itself is a callback to the classic game, Star Fox 64. Zero ended up bombing in sales, selling less than half a million units worldwide. Star Fox Guard, the tower defense game that came bundled together with many copies of the game, also sold quite poorly and is also unlikely to get any sort of re-release. Because of these shortcomings, it seems quite unlikely that Star Fox Zero will ever be re-released, and a sequel anytime soon also seems unlikely. Fans will just have to wait and see, but this feels like one title that’s forever stuck on Nintendo’s worst selling console.
Paper Mario: Color Splash released on the Wii U in late 2016, during one of Nintendo’s slowest years. The game, which heavily borrowed from 3DS’s Sticker Star, garnered somewhat mixed reviews from critics. It’s unlikely that this title will be re-released on the Switch for several reasons, with the biggest being the fact that Paper Mario: The Origami King was just released for the console earlier this year. Looking back at the series’ history, every main Nintendo console has received an entry since the Nintendo 64, without any games getting ported over. And judging by the lack of demand for a Color Splash port, it feels unlikely.
This Kirby title defined itself by its beautiful clay-like visuals and touchscreen-centered gameplay. The game would have to jump through a few hurdles in order to work properly on the television, however it feels like a perfect game for playing in handheld mode. Unlike other Wii U-exclusive games that received sequels on the Switch, there really isn’t any current-gen game that’s comparable to Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. Unfortunately, the game garnered somewhat mixed reviews from critics, and is likely why the title has yet to make its jump to the console. It feels like a port of this title could honestly go either way, but it would be great to see it receive a second chance on Nintendo’s current console.
Overall, it seems like Nintendo is finally nearing the end of its Wii U ports for the Switch, with only a couple more likely contenders remaining. But one can never know for sure, with Nintendo continually surprising players with unexpected announcements. Fans still have the upcoming port of Super Mario 3D World to look forward to, which is shaping up to be a great new addition to the Nintendo Switch’s library.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury launches February 12, 2021, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
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