Welcome to the next part of N-Europe's Top 50 Wii Games, counting down numbers 20 to 11. Be sure to check back on the 8th December (the Wii's 6th birthday) for the final part.

From the warpped and great mind of Gochi Suda aka Suda51 came No More Heroes. It was originally intended to be an Xbox360 until it was suggested to Suda51 that the Wii with its unique motion controls would be a better fit for the then titled "Project Heroes". In the game players take on the role of Travis Touchdown described as a typical "Otaku" from the fictional town of Santa Destroy. After winning a Beam Katana (think Lightsaber) in an online auction and after running out of money to buy new video games and wrestling videos Travis somehow finds himself entangled in the United Assassins Association and ranked as the 11th best assassin. Travis is soon left with no choice but to continue scaling the ranks of the UAA, killing all assassins ranked above him, he must become the number 1 or end up dying himself. There was some slight controversy over the games European and Japanese releases, not because of its violent content but because the violence was censored. While using the Beam Katana to defeat enemies Travis will likely also cut off a few limbs, a head or just plain old cut the body in half. In the US version this was all depicted with copious amounts of blood gushing from the enemy corpses like a Quentin Tarantino movie. But in Europe and Japan the blood was censored and replaced with enemies exploding into black dust. Luckily the game was far more than just blood and guts violence as story, characters comedy and gameplay are all on steller levels to provide one of the surprise gaming hits of 2008.

“Heroes, as it was originally known, caught my eye like a lot of other people. So impressed by that original trailer, I actually went to the trouble of downloading it and I still have it now on my HDD – I just don’t seem to want to part with it. Looking good and playing good are two different things though and when IGN, who had been championing the game right up until its release, posted a positive but not exceptional review for the game, I was far more cautious surrounding the title. So what swung it? Well it was a combination of a bit of a price drop just weeks after release and reading the EDGE review. It made it sound like the kind of game I could get on board with. A game that isn’t afraid to say, “I’m a game” and then run with it. You can laugh at all the one liners, explore the satirical take on gaming conventions and read into every seemingly flippant remark spewed by characters and then realise a new way of interpreting it. You can also beat up some chumps and then swing your Wii Remote to deliver a finishing blow and split them in two. Of course if it’s against one of the games assassins, the beating up part takes on a whole new level as you look for openings in their attack patterns and identify the key moment to strike at them but even the regular stock of enemies can present a challenge if they gang up on you. It’s not crowd control on a Dead Rising scale but it’s enough to give the player something else to think about whilst on their murderous rampage. But when you realise he’s only killing people to get laid, you can’t help but admire the spirit of his conviction.” - Captain Falcon

There was a time when if a Nintendo platform did not get a version of a major franchise, that was simply that and we'd have to live with it. No-one really expected Street Fighter IV to come to Wii, but in its absence, Capcom instead gifted us with one of the most surprising fighters of the generation. Tatsunoko vs Capcom is at its heart a tight, slick Capcom brawler, but the whole package is sugar-coated in a powerfully Japanese glaze with the bright colours turned up to eleven. Familiar fighters are joined by a raft of faces from the Tatsunoko animation stable, including a humanoid mech and a twenty-story-high golden cigarette lighter. With massive aerial combos and screen-filling special moves on offer, the game is a relieving contrast to the more controlled, melee-centric nature of Street Fighter. Looking back, it's a miracle it released here at all.

“I was really surprised that this was released in the West. I picked it up soon after its low-key release for a very reasonable sum; this is a lot of game for the money. A plethora of weird, wonderful and colourful characters provide many playing styles over countless gameplay modes. It was also one of my early forays into Wii online gaming, it is always refreshing to get away from facing the usual CPU opponents.” - SirToastaLot

“There was a time when such games wouldn’t have made it out of Japan due to the licensing issues, but Capcom found a way to make it work and managed to get the game a western release. The game is so easy to get to grips with and quite frankly, more fun that Streetfighter or Marvel vs Capcom 3 on the HD twins. Yes, like any fighter if you put the time in you could pull off stupid combos, but this didn’t make it a requirement to actually beat the game. The last boss was a breath of fresh air after all of the cheap SOB that is Seth in SFIV. The shooting mini game was a fantastic addition to the main game. I spent many an hour playing through that thing to try and get all of the unlockables. Time well spent in this humble gamers opinion. Well done Capcom for bringing this over and allowing me to play one of the best beat-em ups I have played in a long time.” - Hero-of-Time

While most early games that took the stance “look at all the different ways you can hold/use the Wii Remote” tended to be games like Wii Play or Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, Zack & Wiki did this within the walls of a meaty point & click adventure - proving that the genre had a great home on the Wii. Using the Wii Remote’s pointer to guide Zack and his trusty transforming companion Wiki, you have to solve a series of charming yet challenging puzzles in order to become the greatest pirate ever. With a wonderful cast and lots of humour, Zack & Wiki left many gamers wishing for more - which so far has sadly not happened.

Read our review.

“One of the best uses of the Wiimote! A fantastic challenging puzzler full of charming characters and beautiful level design. Really hope we see a sequel to this on the Wii U!” - Retro_Link

“Showing what the Wii-mote was truly capable of even before Nintendo could show it, and without MotionPlus no less, this was a superb and taxing puzzle game that deserved far more than it got.” - Ganepark32

“The only bad thing about this game is that there was never a sequel made utilizing Wii Motion Plus....okay and maybe the voices can get annoying too! This is a fantastic take on the adventure game formula that deserves to be in everyone's game collection.” - Ealdst

Dozens of enemies are after you, it’s not safe here, you don’t know where they’re coming from so you flee to the nearest house and run up to the second floor. Barricade the windows with closets, grab a grenade lying around and aim your gun towards the stairs waiting for them to show up. You are now in control, you’re aware of your environment, let them come. They show up with pitchforks and torches, you pick the nearest target, aim for his head and shoot. A few bullets fly and his head explodes. Next target, you aim and shoot, but he dodges and grabs you. You’re able to free yourself after a struggle and in panic discharge the rest of the magazine blindly. They’re still coming. You notice the villagers breaking in through the windows around you and are beginning to surround you once more. You slash your knife to try pushing them back, burst out the window to the roof and toss a grenade into the house, exploding in a glorious blaze of fire.

You think you’re out of the woods, but behind you a villager just climbed a ladder up to the roof. Bullets are low, not enough to take him down and you hear a chainsaw being revved up from inside the house. You fire at his knee and while he’s reeling in pain you run up to him and dish out a roundhouse kick. More are climbing the ladder, you kick it down taking them down with it, run to the other end of the roof and jump down. Time to find new cover and ammo, this isn’t over yet.

This is why Resident Evil 4 is so good, each enemy encounter is riddled with tons of small decisions and actions that matter, you feel every shot, enjoy every hit and every reload animation. After a brief moment of respite, you’re presented with another set piece that makes sure to throw something new at you. You’ve mastered the rules, so the game introduces new ones or changes them completely. And if a very meaty campaign with various difficulty modes (as well as adaptive difficulty) wasn’t enough, there are also two extra modes, a shooting gallery and unlockable costumes and weapons. Of course, the Wii controls need to be mentioned as the IR aiming allows for incredibly satisfactory pinpoint accuracy and if you don’t like them, you can just use the Gamecube controller.

Read our review.

“Resident Evil is a classic series comprised of some of the most loved games ever made. Resident Evil 4 is the best of the series and the best third person action title ever made. This is the definitive version of that game. With the graphics of the Gamecube version, the extras of the PS2 version and new improved Wii remote aiming (plus several other set ups) this game is an improved version of what already was a masterpiece. Amazing pacing, beautiful graphics and a great atmosphere of tension - this game has it all.” - Zechs Merquise

“Resident Evil 4 is awesome, right? We all know this. Brilliant action game, inspired a whole gaming generation. And the Mercenaries mode is icing on the cake.The Wii made it better in so many ways. Aiming your gun properly, hearing the shots from your Wiimote, shaking it in tense situations (as opposed to mashing a button. Much more engaging)... All of these managed to improve the experience by so much, this game set the bar for Wii shooters. A bar that barely anybody paid attention to, but still, I wouldn't be surprised if Zombi U took notes from this.” - Jonnas

It’s amazing how a little DVD can hold such value. Each Metroid Prime, while rooted in the same core gameplay, offers a different play style. The first one brought the series into a new genre while perfectly and unforgettably recreating Super Metroid’s exploration and feeling of isolation in 3D. Prime 2 comes with a more desolate and oppressive vibe, bumps up the difficulty considerably and tries the classic parallel dimensions trope completely changing the way you progress. Corruption focuses more on action making the game slightly more linear.

In their original form these games are tremendous but they go to new heights with the Wii remote. *Prime and Prime 2’s lock-on based aiming worked perfectly since the games were developed around it, but unless you’re one of those people who hate IR aiming, you won’t be able to go back to the Gamecube controls after taking out a room full of enemies with such ease and precision. Top all that off with new difficulty levels and plenty of unlockables like music tracks, artwork or dioramas and you have one hell of a package. Good luck finding it in stores though.

Note: We fully acknowledge the arguments for and against the existence of this game in the list, however a lot of work went into the Wii Remote controls and other upgrades. It’s a separate package, with its own version of the first two Metroid Prime games - we felt like this was enough reason to allow votes. For those interested - if we were to combine the votes of Metroid Prime 3 and Metroid Prime Trilogy, it would have come 7th.

Read our review.

“So many people may say that this shouldn't make the cut given that it's all 3 Metroid Primes but I have to include this... the disks that house these 3 games may well be the finest gaming disks to have ever been produced in the whole of gaming's lifetime.” - Kav82

“This should be a no brainer to anyone who enjoys games, in this pack you get all three Metroid Prime games with Wiimote enabled controls and an achievement system! Every one of the games in this set are worth the asking price, the important thing to remember is though it uses fps controls, it is first and foremost a 3d platformer and metroidvania-esq adventure. The stories of all three titles are augmented with logs and the ability to scan using Samus's visor, if you are willing to explore the world you will find a huge amount of lore that will enrich the game. It isn’t until the third title that the wiimote really comes into its own but even just having the ability to move Samus's head around in the previous 2 makes a huge difference. Lastly, this game looks AMAZING! On the Gamecube it was way ahead of its time, on the Wii it still looks great and no one is going to know its an older title unless you tell them.” - Shin Kagato

If there’s a divisive game on this list it’s this one. Going further down the line Metroid Fusion started with in your face story storytelling and linear progression, Other M is pretty far away from the beloved formula perfected in Super Metroid where minimalism and exploration were key concepts. It’s clear that some questionable decisions were made during the course of the game’s development, as evident by how many games love the game, yet many others hated it.

A lot of this has to do with the plot and characterisation - even in this celebration of Wii games we can’t help but mention the Varia Suit upgrade section - many fans were unhappy with Adam and Samus’ reactions to both him and Ridley. Even so, the gameplay was top-notch, taking a mixture of a shooting game and a simple-to-play beat-em-up. It was a good mix-up with of the Metroid formula and was a fun ride.

Read our review.

“More 'classic' Metroid than Prime and definitely tragically misunderstood.” - Sam Gittens

“Ah, the Metroid game that spilt the fans. Luckily for me I’m not a huge fan of the series anyway, so with me not being so invested in the series I just played this for what it was….an amazing game. What turned me off with the Prime games was the amount of exploration and back tracking that was needed to be done. The levels, though beautiful, always felt too big and I often ended up getting lost. With Other M the games was set in a more linear fashion and was able to enjoy the game a lot more for it. The story and characters really grew on me. Looking back at when I first started to play this I really didn’t care for what they had done to Samus, but by the end I liked that they showed a more emotional and human side to the character. Yes, the Baby thing was a little annoying, but I still loved the game. Hands down this is the best Metroid game I have played.” - Hero-of-Time

“Fun, friendly and familiar. It said proudly "This is Metroid". Other M reintroduced the idea that Samus should be fast and agile. Speed Boost, Wall Jump and Space Jump controlled just as tightly as the 2D games (if not more so). The post-game exploring and boss made it even better.” - Grazza

Part Excitebike, part 1080° Snowboarding with trucks, Excite Truck gave Wii owners a high-octane racing game...with less focus on the racing. Coming first in the race was not required to win (although it did help), instead it was all about collecting stars from stunts, flying through rings, smashing other racers and driving really close to trees.

With transforming landscape activated by hitting icons on the track, which could also cause other events like tornadoes and volcanic eruptions, Excite Truck has a lot of massive jumps, from which you could pull off truck spins. While at first you struggle to do a full spin, as you learn the mechanics you can successfully pull off 360° spins from the smallest jumps, and 2520° spins on the largest jumps.

While the lackluster multiplayer features were a bit of a downer, Excite Truck is still one of the most fun experiences on the Wii and left many people hoping for a sequel...which never came to Europe.

Read our review.

“Another 'accident' much along the same lines as NiGHTS. My friend xbox Rob liked racing games so I begrudingly brought it (I'm not a big racing fan, only having really enjoyed DKR and the Mario Kart series) but it was incredible. The shifting landscapes, the great graphics, the huge jumps and that Canada track.” - Josh64

“This game can't be quite put into words. The sheer fun, the thrill you feel when driving one of these cars and doing all these jumps and stunts at high speeds through beautiful scenery (dat water), all with the Wii Remote. Quite challenging, as well. Too bad the multiplayer is somewhat lackluster (2-player only? And no CPUs?)” - Jonnas

“Early on in the Wii's life this was a definite highlight and I found myself having more fun than with any racer since Mario Kart 64! The morphing terrain, the airborne tricks, chasing after the S ranks and, most of all, superb motion steering that puts MKWii to shame. Quite simply, it wouldn't be half as fun with analogue sticks. Together with Prime 3 this is as good a case as has ever been made for the humble Wiimote. Being able to play your own mp3s via SD card was a godsend as well!” - Lens of Truth

After the release of Clover Studio's Zelda-like adventure on PS2 in 2006, Nintendo fans around the world begged for Sun Goddess Amaterasu's journey to come to the Wii, and two years later, Capcom obliged. Your Wii Remote becomes the Celestial Brush, with which you assist the white wolf protagonist and her plucky artist sidekick Issun in their quest to save the ancient land of Nippon from the darkness that threatens the land. While Okami may appear similar to Twilight Princess, in many ways it couldn't be more different. While in Zelda, the controller is your sword, here you will be using your brush to manipulate the watercolour style environment in addition to conjuring spells on your canvas during combat. Despite being over half a decade old, Okami's unique visual style still feels very fresh. Its charming and hilarious characters, beautiful soundtrack and intense, puzzle-based, action-packed gameplay (it lasts for a good while too) make this an adventure that stands up with Nintendo's best. The use of the Wii Remote is superb. This is the type of game the Wii was made for.

“I know that it's originally a PS2 game, but my first experience with it is on the Wii and I really can't imagine making those brushstrokes with something other than the Wii-Mote. Now, I could go on and on about how this game blends ancient 'myths' and art from Japan with a great new story, but I'll try and keep it short. I'd just like to say that in Okami, everything is right except maybe the fighting system, because that gets a bit stale once you start to make progress. Other than that, a brilliant new take on ancient Japanese folklore with an artstyle that is more than fitting for the franchise. I dare even say that it's a stroke of genious! As a student of Japanese and its culture, I, obviously, wanted more . . . and I got that with Okamiden on the DS ” - Fused King

“Showing up Nintendo at their own game, Okami really was/is a beautiful adventure title, and not just in the looks department.” - Gamepark32

“The best Zelda game ever and there's not even a hint of green caps and golden triangles. I know this is a port, but the Wii was the console it seems to have been designed for.” - Hammishmash

Supposedly because of reports that some people found the previous Metroid Prime games’ exploration a bit daunting, Retro decided to slightly cut back on exploration and with the pointer controls coming into play, they dialed the action up a notch. This doesn’t mean Corruption turned into any other FPS, exploration and discovery was still a big part of the game, but not every area was connected now since you visited various different planets that presented completely different mechanics and environments, a lot of them jaw dropping gorgeous.

Retro took into account the fact that you could now aim easier and faster anywhere on the screen with the Wii Remote, so more enemies fill up the screen and make better use of space not being so limited to an horizontal plain as they tend to be. With a whole new level of speed and accuracy, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption brings a new pace to the series and ends the trilogy on a beautiful note.

Read our review.

“A great ending to an incredible trilogy. Way better than 2 probably not quite as good as 1, but still incredible. And I love Wii FPS controls, had to have one FPS game in there.” - Dazzybee

“After playing Prime 1 + 2, I was in the mood for more. Whilst it took me a long time to get used to the pointing and motion controls, Metroid Prime 3 provided a very traditional game experience. The Nova Beam might just be the best laser in the series.” - Grazza

“Going back to play Prime 1 with the Gamecube pad felt unbelievably clunky after this. Motion controls are spot-on and the whole game is nicely balanced (yep, looking at you Echoes). While it may not have the wow factor of the first it’s very solid conclusion to a polished trilogy. Skyworld is one of those deceptively gorgeous, serene areas that still means business (a la Phendrana Drifts), the search through the decimated husk of the G.F.S. Valhalla is as eerie as anything the series has to offer, and the descent into the bowels of Phaaze to the source of all the corruption, with Samus maxed-out in Hyper mode, makes for a tense, memorable finale.” - Lens of Truth

“From start to finish I was hooked on this game, what a way to finish the Prime trilogy.” - Lostmario

Such a lovely game. Little King’s Story gives you control of a kingdom and it’s people. While the gameplay is most comparable to Pikmin, it’s also very different at the same time. The aim of the game is to expand your lands by conquering nearby areas, which will also require harvesting and mining for money and other goodies in order to expand and improve your town.

While this may not sound particularly unique or amazing, the truth is that describing the game in words in no way explains the experience of the game. All the different elements of the game - the design and graphics, the music, the gameplay, the charming peasants, the simple yet effective town management, the storyboard cutscenes, the imagination - everything just works extremely well with each other, creating an extremely pleasing experience.

“I absolutely adore this game! First of all, I admire the fact that the composers have remixed the classical pieces so well. It even had me go looking for the original works, so the game taught me something about classical music from the likes of Dvorak and George Gershwin. Secondly, I love it that the developers chose for the 'kiddy' artstyle. To me, that was the ultimate slap in the face of so-called 'hardcore' gamers who only care for grey shooters and such, and who do not acknowledge the Wii's proper place in the gaming industry. This was a slap in the face, because this game was quite difficult to complete, and thus it felt like the developers were taunting these greylovers and were perhaps thinking: 'We're going to make one hard ass game, but we shall use a kiddy artstyle which will make realism-bloodorgy fans not come near it, missing out on one hell of an adventure.' But enough about those who won't ever play it. The game had its flaws, but nothing that you couldn't adapt to. All the different themes in every kingdom were simply superb and the ending was a nice little mindfuck. This game is a pure joy from beginning to end and should be owned and played by every Wii owner.” - Fused King

“There was a time on these boards before Fused King was around that I was the one always harping on about this game. I really pushed this game to members and wanted it to do well, so much so that I actually typed up the ONM review so that it would get people interested. Seriously, go check the LKS thread. There is something magical about this game, almost as if Nintendo themselves had created it. The game has a charm to it that very few games can replicate, both visually and in the audio area. The story book cut scenes are some of my favourite on the Wii. Gameplay wise the game was a master piece. Many simply wrote it off as a copy of Pikmin and although they are both kind of RTS games they are very different in execution. Like Pikmin though you do become attached to your units and you do everything to protect them and stop them from washing up on the beach the next day. One of the big highlights of the game are the boss battles and the music that accompanies them. Each was like some Japanese developer had experienced some nightmare as a child and then drew upon that experience to create some wacky creature, each more crazier than the last. Coupled with some classical style music these made for some very memorable gameplay moments.” - Hero-of-Time