[Wii Send-Off] The Top Ten Third-Party Wii Games

10. Muramasa: The Demon Blade

As you may have read in last night’s smattering of lists, NintendoEverything readers really like Vanillaware’s side-scrolling slasher Muramasa: The Demon Blade. Blending Japanese artistry with the graphical style of spiritual predecessor Odin Sphere, a combination of beautiful scenery, smooth gameplay, and two separate campaigns earns the game a spot on this list.

9. ‘Trauma’ Series

Originally the Nintendo DS, Atlus’ “Trauma” series– beginning with 2005’s Trauma Center: Under the Knife— was considered one of the best games on Nintendo’s handheld prior to the launch of any sequels, but when a slew of successors and spin-offs arrived on the Wii (including New Blood, Trauma Team, and Second Opinion), the game was thrust onto a more mainstream audience. Despite not receiving universal acclaim, it enjoyed its audience, sold well enough to warrant sequels, and was eventually given the honor of being listed on NintendoEverything.com.

Which is sort of like getting a Nobel Prize, only for game developers.

8. Resident Evil 4

People considering a port of a Gamecube game as one of the best third party games on your next-gen console might seem odd at first, but when you consider the perfection with which Nintendo’s Wii and Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 mix, you’ll understand. Taking everything that was “bad” (see: “less perfect”) about the first few iterations of RE4 and fixing it, and then adding in every piece of bonus content they could muster meant that every dollar of the game’s price was well worth it. Heck, even if the Wii’s IR controls didn’t exist, it’d be hard to argue that this game shouldn’t make the list!

7. Just Dance (series)

If you’ve kept in touch with NintendoEverything at all over the last year, you’ll know that I’m quite the fan of Ubisoft’s Just Dance series. Making its debut on Wii in 2009 and since releasing four more games (including Just Dance 4), the game not only offered a remarkable amount of fun to those willing to give it their all– it also gave birth to a whole new genre, which is being endlessly copied to this day. While I understand critics’ plights with the game, I can’t help but feel like they’re just a bunch of grumpos who don’t like dancing.