Of the Wii U’s library, Nintendo Land is a game that has been seemingly forgotten in time. And that’s disappointing since it’s one that will be near impossible to port to Switch, and the Wii U and Switch have some better party games. However, Nintendo Land is still a ton of fun. With 12 minigames based on popular Nintendo franchises, you can play alone or with friends. What’s more fun than hopping in a spaceship battling aliens or chasing players in large maps or even tilting a roller toy down tracks and collecting bananas? Nintendo Land has it all, and it’s perfect for both casual, solo gaming as well and exciting and intense multiplayer action. For this list, I’ll be ranking all 12 minigames based on how fun they are, how well they work so and/or multiplayer, and since it was a launch title back in 2012, how well it utilizes the GamePad and TV functionality. In honor of the Wii U (and Nintendo Land’s) tenth anniversary, here are the 12 Nintendo Land minigames ranked worst to best, in my opinion.
#12: Octopus Dance
Kirby. Star Fox. Pokemon. These are some of Nintendo’s biggest franchises, but Nintendo for some reason decided to bring the Octopus from the Game & Watch to Nintendo Land. Why? Not only that, but Octopus Dance is lackluster, unfun, and boring. Basically, you stand next to a robot person and as the robot dances to an irritating music piece, you’ll try to mimic them. If they move their arms left, then right, then down, you better do the same; and on beat. The way to move is with the left and right stick, which are both dedicated to the arm on that side. But once you turn around, it gets so confusing since the control is flipped because of the backwards perspective. It’s also difficult to stay on beat, and it’s long and tedious too, to the point where it becomes more of a chore than a video game. Why Nintendo used this random IP for a minigame I will never know.
#11: The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest
This game can be fun for fans of The Legend of Zelda series, but otherwise it’s one to skip over, especially with a group of friends. In Battle Quest, you’ll play in a Story or Time Attack mode. Both support single player, but the Story Mode only supports multiplayer. In the Story Mode, you’ll go through a variety of quests attacking enemies to find the triforce at the end of each mission. To fight, you’ll play as an archer with the GamePad or a swordsman with a Wii remote. The archer uses the left stick to look around and the right stick to fire an arrow. You can hold the analog stick longer for a more precise thrust, but it takes longer to do. The swordsman swings their sword by swinging the Wiimote or guard with the shield with B. The players move automatically on a preset path. It feels clunky to shoot arrows on the GamePad. I wish you could use a button or even the touchscreen to map the direction you want the arrow to fire in. It’s even worse with the Wii remote since you can’t move the camera. Instead, you fight one enemy at a time and have to switch by clicking the A button. It works, but it’s difficult to get used to. Battle Quest is fine, but overall it isn’t very fun with friends or alone. Time Attack is okay, but all you do is fight a gauntlet of enemies in a specific time frame, so it isn’t very enjoyable.
#10: Pikmin Adventure
For someone who never really got into the Pikmin franchise, Pikmin Adventure in Nintendo Land was also so strange to play. In the challenge mode, you’ll go through missions in different landscapes to fight off the enemies within them. As Olimar (with the GamePad) you move around freely with the left stick, throw Pikmin with a tap on the touchscreen, and a button on the screen with a whistle icon calls back all of your Pikmin. The game is one of the most unintuitive experiences for me in Nintendo Land, which is sad. Fighting bulborbs by throwing Pikmin is fun, but the way you do it just isn’t. Then there’s playing as Pikmin, which is pretty lackluster since you can’t do much and I found the controls to be wonky. The versus mode on the other hand is loads of fun. Olimar and the other Pikmin battle it out on a small arena to collect the most candy. Rocks, question blocks, and even bulborbs drop onto the battlefield, which is useful to screw with your opponents. The control is the same, but it’s at least more exciting. Even though I find the minigame worse than The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest, the versus mode makes up for that.
#9: Captain Falcon’s Twister Race
Balloon Trip Breeze is probably the most relaxing minigame in Nintendo Land, which is pretty surprising since most minigames are hectic and action-packed. Balloon Trip Breeze has you taking flight in simple areas popping balloons for points. You’ll use the touchscreen to push a gust of wind at your Mii to fly. The idea of using the touchscreen doesn’t feel very responsive. You’re forced to control the wind, not the actual player. It feels very disconnected to your Mii. The game goes through morning, afternoon, evening, and night. Sometimes you’ll have to face harsh winds, torrential rain, and other forms of extreme weather. There’s also enemies and spike traps around the course, making the days harder as you progress. The game is fun, but I wish you controlled your Mii instead of the wind. Otherwise, a great solo minigame.
#8: Yoshi’s Fruit Cart
This minigame matches the tone and mood of Yoshi games perfectly. You’ll use the GmaePad’s touchscreen to move a Yoshi cart around a green area to collect fruit and other items. The catch is the fruits are only visible on the TV, and the line you draw for Yoshi to follow is only on the GamePad screen. The game lends a bit of strategy as maps get harder, and it works great. The game even spices up the gameplay with fruits you have to get in a specific order, presents for extra goodies, and more. Since you can’t see where exactly the fruit is on the GamePad, you’ll need to use markings on the grass, as well as making sure Yoshi doesn’t go too far or he’ll run out of energy. The game is fun, but a bit simple. It’s still fun.
#7: Animal Crossing Sweet Day
The split-screen multiplayer battle games are the highlight of Nintendo Land, and Animal Crossing: Sweet Day is no exception. The players with Wii remotes are the animals who work together to collect candy around maps while outrunning the GamePad player who controls the guards that try to capture the animals. The game ends when the animals collect a specific amount of candy or the guards capture three animals. The game is fun, but in comparison to the other multiplayer-only games in Nintendo Land, this one feels the least exciting and exhilarating. That does make sense since Animal Crossing has always been more laid-back, but then why was it one of the three multiplayer-only minigames? Despite that interesting question, Sweet Day is still a pretty fun minigame, like all the multiplayer games.
#6: Takumaro’s Ninja Castle
Now here’s a character you’ve probably never heard of, since he’s the star in a Japanese-only game released on the Famicom Disk System. In this minigame, you’ll use the GamePad vertically and the stylus to fling ninja stars at the ninjas in the scenes on the TV. A visual icon on the TV shows exactly where the ninja star will go, and the controller’s motion controls can move this icon around to throw ninja stars. You can go for combos, and use the stars to block incoming ones from other ninjas. The concept is unique, and the GamePad is used in a neat way. While it is a bit difficult to line the GamePad up with the Ninja you want to hit, especially when they’re farther away, the game can be a fun but short-lived experience in Nintendo Land.
#5: Balloon Trip Breeze
This is a very simple experience in Nintendo Land, but can be fun. You’ll hold your GamePad vertically and tilt the device to move your wind-up automobile. You’ll race along twisted-shaped tracks with dash panels plus some hazards to avoid. Each area you race through has a strict time limit, so you’ll want to make friends with those dash panels or you’ll be too late. I wish this game was also multiplayer so you could race against friends, and it would have also been cool if you went fast — you know, like in F-Zero. The game is fun, but can be underwhelming and it gets boring fast.
#4: Luigi’s Ghost Mansion
Like I’ve said with Animal Crossing: Sweet Day, the multiplayer games where you chase friends are the most fun, but they really get good with Luigi’s Ghost Mansion. Here, you’ll explore small rooms as the maps. The player with the GamePad is the ghost, and the player(s) with the Wii remotes are the ghost hunters. The ghost hunters will try to use their flashlights to hurt the ghost, while the ghost (who is invisible on the TV) tries to attack the hunters. There’s a bit of strategy, especially when it comes to your flashlight beam and its power. If you have your flashlight on too long, it’ll lose power, and you’ll need batteries that appear periodically to refill the power. This creates questions, like if your flashlight is low, should you risk going for a battery and how long should you use your flashlight? It makes for a really cool gameplay experience. Plus, the music. It’s basically the original theme of Luigi’s Mansion for the GameCube, but now it’s a bit spookier and more exciting. The only real downside is a couple of the maps. A perfect example is the roof, since there’s no blockades and a ton of robots equipped with flashlights join you, too. Except for that, this is one of Nintendo Land’s best minigames.
#3: Mario Chase
Honestly, I probably played this mingame the most with my friends when I was younger, and still sometimes today. Mario Chase is so addicting; you can play this one for hours with friends. I know I have. Mario Chase consists of the Toad players with the Wii remotes chasing the Mario player on the GamePad across three large maps. The Mario player has a view of the entire map and where Toads are, which adds some strategy. The Toads can also see how far away they are from Mario in yards. The three maps are all pretty fun, and the gameplay is very nice. The only real gripe I have with Mario Chase is when you’re playing with only one other person, since Toad is joined by a squad of Yoshi carts that can stun Mario for a short while, and a robot constantly alerts the Toad on the zone Mario is in. It makes the game feel very unfun, for both Mario and Toad. But that’s a small price to pay since playing with multiple people is a great time.
#2: Donkey Kong’s Crash Course
Donkey Kong’s minigame in Nintendo Land is arguably the most exhilarating single player experience in Nintendo Land. You’ll control a roller Mii along a track as you collect bananas all the way to the end of each stage. To move, you tilt your GamePad to move in the respective direction. This is much more intuitive than you might think. The game even makes use of the other buttons on the GamePad since some platforms can be rotated, tilted, or elevated with a different button or blow into the microphone. These platforms work like they do in Super Mario 3D World, but thankfully you can also use X to move them. The game can get a bit challenging on what to do to progress, but it’s overall a simple yet fun time.
#1: Metroid Blast
Of course Metroid Blast is the most exciting of the Nintendo Land attractions, I mean it’s Metroid for Mario’s sake. Metroid Blast has a couple of different modes dedicated to single and multiplayer experiences. In Single Player, you’ll go through a massive story mode, and in multiplayer you’ll fight each other or play the story mode together. The gameplay includes shooting ammo or missiles in the air, or bombs as well as rolling as a morph ball on foot. Both ways of playing are pretty fun. You’ll use the GamePad in the air or a Wii remote on foot. The story mode is expansive, exciting, and most of all, increasingly difficult as you progress. You’ll fire at multitudes of enemies, but they each have a power button as their weak spot. Some fly at you, some have multiple hits, and some just run around helplessly. The game is the most robust of Nintendo Land’s lineup, and it’s definitely the best attraction in the game.
Check out our other posts and videos for Wii U Day, including a post on Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, and Super Mario Maker!