Best WiiWare Games [Top 10]

The small-scale developers designed the exclusive best games for WiiWare with complete originality, without any remakes, and at reasonable prices ranging from $5-15 (equivalent to 500-1500 Wii points). However, the WiiWare was discontinued in January 2019, alongside the DSiWare, which also ended in March 2017. In this guide, we will narrow down and discuss the best possible, extraordinary, and classical WiiWare games by Nintendo that many Wii fans are familiar with and lucky enough to enjoy their excellent gameplay.

Best WiiWare Games

Fast Racing League

• Release Dates: 27 May 2011 (EU) / 30 May 2011 (NA)
• Platform: WiiWare | Developer: Shin’en Multimedia | Genre: Racing

Shin’en Multimedia made a masterpiece by introducing the highly rated and original fast racing league in 2011, long before F-Zero made its grand entrance. The technical aspects were top-notch in this fast-paced racing game. Considering its size (under 40 MB), the game showcased stunning graphics and became one of the best visual games in its category.

The game presents various game modes, but unfortunately, all of them are limited to offline multiplayer and single-player only. The single-player modes include League Mode; usual race games against AI/Bots, Fast Records; it’s a time trial mode in which you can play to improve your performance on each map; and lastly, Challenge Mode; completing small tasks like collecting a set number of items, finishing a track in given time or racing on a track without hitting any obstacles. There are a total of 21 challenges in the Challenge Mode. On the other hand, offline multiplayer consists of split-screen play of one to four players.

One of the key elements of Fast Racing League is “Phase Shifting,” which means getting power-ups based on your car’s color. These power-ups include speed boosts and high/long jumps. You can switch the car’s color by spending the points earned by gathering the energy power-up items during the race. This ability is crucial in the game, as your entire race depends on it.

Nevertheless, this game is unavailable on WiiWare, and you cannot buy or play it. The rest of the fast game series is still being developed, giving off similar gameplay experiences to this game.

Pros

• Exceptional graphics quality in-game in contrast to the game’s small file size, essentially having better looks than many Nintendo games.
• Getting boosts would change your vehicle colors, although it was super risky, making the achievements more worth acquiring.
• Offline multiplayer mode, a split screen that supports up to four players.
• Excellent map designs for challenging gameplay.

Cons

• Unfortunately, the online multiplayer option was unavailable in the game and only supported single-player modes.
• Adding Ghost (previous best) to the “Fast Records” mode would have been excellent.

Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth

• Release Dates: 27 Oct 2009 (JP) / 28 Dec 2009 / (NA) 26 Feb / 2010 (EU)
• Platform: WiiWare, GameBoy | Developer: M2  | Genre: Action, Adventure

A remake of one of the old classics featured in Game Boy, Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth, gives a side-scrolling action-based game style with improved graphics on WiiWare. The game’s main objective is to wander around the old castle, searching for the vampire.

The character (Christopher Belmot) has to jump across various hurdles while fighting various enemies. Our character’s primary weapon is a whip, which upgrades to provide lethal damage to stronger enemies. The last upgrade shoots a fireball from the whip, increasing its damage and range. There are five sub-weapons in the WiiWare version as well. Destroying the statues and candles, drop “Hearts.” Collecting these hearts upgrades the sub-weapons.

The game’s stages have many paths that lead to the same destination. These branching paths have different levels of enemies, so it’s intriguing to find out what lies in each path of every stage. The final boss is the vampire, Count Dracula. A few rooms in the stages are more like obstacle courses, which are tough to traverse, so there is also a little puzzle element.

Pros

• The improved remake of the famous Castlemania featured in the Game Boy.
• The addition of sub-weapons makes the gameplay more fun.
• Slightly improved graphics.
• Stages have more than one path that goes to the final location, which makes replaying the stage more engaging.

Cons

• The sales of this game were discontinued in 2019, so there is no other way to get a new copy of this game now.
• The game does not allow you to save your progress during the mission.
• The game length is concise, with only five stages and an additional boss stage.

NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits

• Release Dates: 19 Jun 2009 (EU) / 10 Aug 2010 (NA)
• Platform: WiiWare, Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android | Developer: Over The Top Games | Genre: Adventure, Action

The game focuses on the main character, Nyx, who was sent down from Olympus to Earth—wandering on the Earth, she encounters several types of evil. Her main objective is to purify Earth of all evil. In each level, Nyx has to avoid obstacles and fight off enemies. Luckily, Zeus granted her some divine powers which she could use to overcome these hurdles.

The powers provide diverse game mechanics. Players can use these powers to move objects, control winds, and shoot lightning bolts to eliminate enemies. The objects can be moved to open paths and block lethal attacks from the environment (like blazing sand). The character moves around by flying while avoiding all the possible dangers. The objects in the maps, enemies, overall terrain, and the power mechanism give a unique gaming experience.

The game’s difficulty is easy in contrast to other action games. The respawns are infinite, and you can try an unlimited number of times to complete a specific difficult section of the game without losing a lot of game progress. The game’s concept is easy to grasp, making this a little dull/less exciting game in the category of puzzle games.

Pros

• Wide availability as you can still play this game on Windows (available on Steam.)
• Not the best, but slightly better graphics and game mechanics than the other WiiWare classic games.
• The game features a magnificent blend of platformer and puzzle genres.

Cons

• Gameplay is a bit slow-paced.
• The conclusion of the game is not satisfying.

Contra Rebirth

• Release Dates: 12 May 2009 (JP) / 7 Sep 2009 (EU) / 7 Sep 2009 (NA)
• Platform: WiiWare | Developer: M2 | Genre: Action

One of the legendary hardcore shooting games, Contra, made a reappearance in 2009 on the WiiWare platform. This game offered the same side-scrolling style along with a bit of improvement to the graphics. Two players can simultaneously play this game in the offline multiplayer mode.

The game retains a variety of weapon upgrades like the Spread Shot, Laser Gun, and Homing Gun; however, the Flamethrower is the one thing it missed. The auto-fire and the stance lock option is still present in the game, allowing players to aim without any worry about the accuracy of the shots. There are four different playable characters, including the classic Bill Rizer.

Even though the story is concise, the game’s difficulty makes up for this deficiency. The stages are small, but much practice and tries are required to clear them. This game does not fail to give the good old classic action vibes.

Pros

• Graphics are marginally better than the previous iterations.
• More playable characters.
• Three difficulty levels.
• Two players can play together in Multiplayer mode.
• Follows the story of the original version of the game.

Cons

• Absence of classic weapons like Flamethrower.
• The length of the game is short and contains only five stages.
• The game is a bit too difficult.

Art Style: Light Trax

• Release Dates: 24 May 2010 (NA) / 6 Sep 2011 (JP) 
• Platform: WiiWare | Developer: Skip Ltd. | Genre: Racing

The Art Style: Light Trax brings a pretty straightforward racing experience. The game consists of colorful lines, accelerating and moving past the obstacles to get to the finish line first. Although this game has a fundamental graphical interface, many players still love it. Although the game is 2D, changing the perspective of tracks from one plane to another gives a nice effect of a 3D environment.

The game features two game modes: the Campaign, where you must race against other lines and reach the finish line first. Standing first in this mode grants points. The point system is very similar to Super Mario Cart; the one with the most points, in the end, wins the race. In contrast, the Freeway Mode allows you to race past the usual traffic (lines) and reach the final destination before the time runs out. Playing the Freeway mode unlocks new paths or roads on the highway, making the game more engaging.

Pros

• Two game modes, Campaign and Freeway, for a diverse game style.
• A nice mix of racing and puzzle.
• The combination of 2D and 3D perspectives makes up for the low visual quality.

Cons

• Straightforward visuals make the game boring.
• It lacks intriguing ideas for a racing game; the fundamental concept is straightforward.

Lost Winds

• Release Dates: 12 May 2008 (NA) / 20 May 2008 (EU) / 24 Dec 2008 (JP)
• Platform: WiiWare, iOS, Windows | Developer: Frontier Developments | Genre: Adventure

The Lost Winds game was initially released for WiiWare, but due to its popularity, it was also released on iOS. In Lost Winds, you take control of the main character, Toku. The movement mechanics of this game are pretty unique, as you will have to use your Wii Controller to configure wind bursts. These winds will be used for further tasks such as killing enemies and diverse movements. The variety of the stuff a player can do using wind power is insane. You can control the water streams and fire from fire torches using wind.

In addition to these complicated controls, the game also has a puzzle element. In many locations, you will be tasked to solve puzzles. These puzzles require using your wind powers to create new paths, move objects, sprout flowers by spraying water, and burn items using fire. It has a complete arsenal of actions that makes this game very exciting.

Pros

• Decent graphics as compared to the other WiiWare games.
• Unique game mechanics.
• Offline Multiplayer mode (Two players).

Cons

• The story is concise, and the game ends quickly in about a couple of hours.
• The game’s ending feels incomplete.

Cave Story

• Release Dates: 22 Mar 2010 (NA) / 10 Dec 2010 (EU)
• Platform: WiiWare, Windows, Nintendo 3DS | Developer: Nicalis | Genre: Adventure, Action

A game built primarily for PC, it made it into the WiiWare world due to its popularity with no changes in gameplay. The WiiWare version released six years after the original release has the same game mechanics with a bit of visual improvement. This game gives a decent mixture of action, story, and puzzle-solving.

The players control a robot soldier, who somehow appears in the caves where the rabbit-like inhabitants of the caves called mimigas dwell. An insane doctor wants to take control of the mimigas and create an army to take over the world. This game involves dialogues with many NPCs, which contribute to the story. These dialogues also give hints on where to head for the next task.

The game has a diverse set of weapons and power–ups that can be obtained by solving puzzles or wandering through secret areas. The game dialogs shape the story, and you can get different endings based on your choices.

Pros

• The game offers multiple endings.
• The WiiWare version contains a few more playable modes.
• The story of the main character makes the game more interesting.

Cons

• The original version is free, but the remake costs a few dollars, which is not worth it.

World Of Goo

• Release Dates: 13 Oct 2008 (NA) / 19 Dec 2008 (EU) / 21 Apr 2009 (JP)
• Platform: WiiWare, Nintendo Switch, Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android | Developer: 2D Boy | Genre: Puzzle

The World of Goo is undeniably one of the best puzzle games released on WiiWare. This game is an excellent blend of mind-challenging puzzles and distinctive game physics. However, the graphics of this game are not the best. Players are tasked to build a structure using “Goo” to complete the path to a pipeline. These structures are constructed to counter environmental hurdles like gravity, mountains, small hills, and rivers. There are various “Species of Goo” with special abilities, which are used to overcome many obstacles in the game.

There are two game modes: one consisting of five stages with multiple levels in each stage, and the other is the sandbox mode, where people can freely build structures and test game physics. The players can also compete for the tallest building among all the other players in the world. The game also supports multiplayer, where up to four people can play on the same WiiWare.

Pros

• Fairly unique game mechanics.
• Supports multiplayer of up to four players.
• Special abilities diversify the gameplay.

Cons

• Sound effects could have been made better.

Tetris Party

• Release Dates: 14 Oct 2008 (JP) / 20 Oct 2008 (NA) / 24 Oct 2008 (EU & Australia)
• Platform: WiiWare | Developer: Hudson Soft and Blue Planet Software | Genre: Puzzle, Strategy

One of the classic puzzle games made a comeback to the WiiWare world. In addition to the original gameplay, the game introduced a few interesting new game modes. The WiiWare version also featured a few new blocks, which improved the game’s complexity.

Some fun modes include Co-op Tetris, where two players play together against a bigger-sized field. Another time-based online mode is the Field Climber, where the player’s objective is to build a tall structure for the small man to reach specific heights. Shadow Mode features 30 puzzles, in which players have to fill the given background images with blocks while taking care that none of the blocks touch the non-image areas. The Multiplayer Mode supports up to four offline and six online players for people to compete against each other. A special mode was presented for the Wii Balance Board, but due to the difficult controls and single-player mode only, the public did not pay much attention to it.

Pros

• The developers added new blocks in the WiiWare version.
• Multiple game modes.
• Up to six players can play together in online Multiplayer.

Cons

• Less playable modes in online multiplayer.
• The graphics could have been made better.

Jett Rocket

• Release Dates: 28 Jun 2010 (NA) / 2 Jul 2010 (EU)
• Platform: WiiWare | Developer: Shin’en Multimedia | Genre: Adventure, Platform

The Jett Rocket is a decent 3D platformer game with outstanding graphics presented by Shin’en Multimedia. This game features a person (Jett) jumping around the place to gather solar cells. These solar cells are required to advance to the next level. Most of these solar cells are in plain sight, but a few are hidden, which requires some searching in the area.

Jett’s primary ability is jumping, using his jetpack on his back. Additionally, he can paraglide and hover as well using the same jetpack. These abilities give a little variety to the movements Jett can perform. During the game, the player encounters various enemies, which can be knocked down using the same jumping ability. The game is single-player only, and the story makes up for the deficiency of the multiplayer mode. The single-player consists of three worlds with four levels in each world.

Pros

• Insane graphics as compared to any other WiiWare platformer.
• 3D action-based gameplay makes this game unique and more fun.
• Diverse Gameplay

Cons

• A fast-paced game with a short story.
• No Multiplayer mode.
• A few glitches spoil the fun.

Final Thoughts

 So, we presented the best WiiWare games, which included many genres like racing, puzzle, story, and action. These games were the ones that received the best reception and turned out to be popular at later times. The development of several of these titles on many other platforms like Windows, iOS, and Android is evidence of their success following the WiiWare release.

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