Goodnight, Sweet Prince: The Wii U era comes to a close with the launch of the Nintendo Switch

Goodnight, Sweet Prince: The Wii U era comes to a close with the launch of the Nintendo Switch

Legend of Zelda Wii U
The Zelda game we never got

What a ride it’s been.

Since first being leaked and revealed at E3 2011, the Wii U had a roller coaster journey unlike most other game consoles. We like it, we hate it, we love it, we’re meh to it, and yet it’ll always hold a place in our hearts for what could have been. The Wii U, Nintendo’s first HD console, was meant to be the Swiss army knife of gaming devices. It could play games on the big screen, stream them to the Gamepad, communicate with video chat, surf the web, and build communities in MiiVerse, but it never really took off. In fact, its sales were downright abysmal after it launched, barely surpassing the Sega Master System.

Though it didn’t have great sales, it did have one thing: some really, really good games. Some of Nintendo’s best, in fact. Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, Super Mario Maker, Splatoon and more round out what was a nice little system to have, if you could handle some droughts along the way.

For those not buying a Nintendo Switch next month — instead picking up Breath of the Wild for the Wii U — we still have a few games left to chat about that we’ve somehow missed along the way these past few years. And, we may revisit a few of our favorites from the console as well.

Goodnight, Sweet Prince. Lay your head down on that cold stone pillow and go quietly into history.