5 Classic Games That Need to Come to the Wii U’s eShop

Mother 3

The impending release of Super Mario Galaxy has Nintendo fans rubbing their hands in anticipation. However, this small victory is but a blip on the radar of restoring classic titles for Nintendo’s latest home console. The release of Super Mario Galaxy is appreciated, but there are plenty of other games that Nintendo could bring along as well.

Mother 3 is easily the most oft-requested title in Nintendo’s library. This GameBoy Advance follow-up to the SNES masterpiece Earthbound, has yet to ever leave the shores of Japan. Super fan and translator, Clyde “Tomato” Mandelin took it upon himself to create an English ROM hack of the game for use with emulators to satiate the thirst of Mother fans all over the world. Hell, he even offered Nintendo his English script free of charge. Nintendo ultimately refused, and continued about its business. But all hope is not lost!

Earthbound had long been condemned to remain alive solely through high-priced eBay auctions, but then Nintendo did the unthinkable. They re-released Earthbound for the Wii U eShop! Riding that momentum, Nintendo would eventually drop another bomb: A remastered version of the NES Mother was released for the Wii U eShop under a new name: Earthbound Zero.

The recent release of Mother 3 on the Japanese Wii U eShop once again has fans talking. Will Nintendo finally release Mother 3 globally?

Super Mario RPG (North America)

This one just hurts. The twist of the knife came in the form of Nintendo announcing a Wii U eShop release of this beloved game… for Europe. So, European Wii U owners, rejoice! As for the American audience, you’re going to have to wait longer.

Originally, the Super Mario RPG was the wonder child of Nintendo’s loving relationship with Final Fantasy developer Square. This game marked Mario’s first foray into the realm of RPGs and would later go on to influence later Mario RPGs like the Paper Mario series and the Mario and Luigi series. It has a cast of wacky characters along with an exciting story that forces Mario to team up with long time rival Bowser. American audiences need to experience this game on the Wii U eShop, and hopefully sooner rather than later

Paper Mario and the Thousand-Year Door

Why GameCube titles haven’t made their way to the eShop yet is a complete mystery. Especially when you consider that one the best titles from the PS2, XB, Gamecube generation, Paper Mario and the Thousand-Year Door, is still locked up on the GameCube without a contemporary release.

Paper Mario and the Thousand-Year Door is the stand-alone sequel to the original Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64. Paper Mario helped introduce players to a paper world filled with interactive combat, hilarious writing, and clever puzzles. Thousand-Year Door takes those concepts, and chisels them to perfection.

Thousand Year-Door proves to be one of Mario’s greatest challenges to date, while remaining laugh-out-loud funny with its snappy, self-aware writing.

Super Mario Sunshine

Nintendo is often recognized as the house that Mario built. It’s a little depressing then that so many of Mario’s greatest adventures aren’t available on the Wii U for young and veteran fans alike.

Despite its divisiveness, Nintendo absolutely needs to provide fans with an up-res’d version of the Gamecube classic, Super Mario Sunshine. A personal favorite of our wonderful publisher and founder, Yami, the lush, tropical landscapes of Delfino Plaza are a major change for Mario, but a welcome one. The addition of F.L.U.D.D., a super-soaker/backpack, gives Mario access to all sorts of new movie such as hovering, jet-dashes, and more!

Pikmin/Pikmin 2

A re-release of Pikmin/Pikmin 2 is completely feasible on the Wii U. Long before the release of Pikmin 3, Nintendo circulated Wii remakes of these beloved Gamecube titles, allowing players to explore the alien world of Pikmin with Wii motion controls.

With a 4th entry, Pikmin 4, on the horizon, what better way to get players ready for a new entry than by giving players access to the entire franchise on the Wii U? Adding to that, allow players the opportunity to select their play style: classic or motion. This freedom would allow players to customize their own adventure in the delightfully sinister world of colorful vegetable alines.

What games would you like to see make a comeback on the eShop? Let us know in the comments.