Nintendo's Wii, a seventh-generation console alongside the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3, was made to target a wider demographic of casual fans rather than compete with Xbox and PS3 directly. This turned out to be a phenomenally smart move, as the Nintendo Wii managed to outsell both of its seventh-gen competitors, and the widespread introduction of motion controls via the Wiimote was revolutionary at the time.
One of the main contributors to the Wii's unprecedented success is how accessible it is to casual gamers, and even those who don't consider themselves gamers. While there are a ton of more serious titles as well, the Wii is home to various simulation games that just about anyone can pick up, play, and enjoy.
10 Befriend Villagers & Build Up A Town In Animal Crossing: City Folk
It may be the lowest-performing mainline title, but Animal Crossing: City Folk still offers a unique charm of its own. Players who haven't picked up an Animal Crossing title before this will likely find a lot to love about it, but reviews note that there isn't much in the way of new content for longtime fans of the series.
The biggest draw of City Folk is how the map is designed, being split between the town where villagers live and the City that's home to various shopping centers and NPCs. For players who were still playing their copies of Wild World for the DS at the time, City Folk also gives them the option to import their characters directly into the Wii version.
9 Survive On A Deserted, Tropical Island In The Sims 2: Castaway
The Sims franchise is best-known for its mainline titles, allowing players to create families and design the homes of their dreams, but they have a wide variety of spin-off titles as well. One such spin-off is The Sims 2: Castaway, where Sims have to build the tools for their survival from the ground-up after winding up on a deserted island.
Rather than getting a job and looking for love, Sims in Castaway instead craft items, build their own shelters from the ground-up, and discover treasure. Castaway even features an in-depth story, with mysteries along the way for players to solve.
8 The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces Is Primarily Controlled Using The Nunchuck
Most Wii games are primarily controlled using the Wiimote with the Nunchuck being used for secondary controls, but The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces flips this traditional formula on its head. The Nunchuck is held in the player's dominant hand instead, acting as the flight stick, with the Wiimote itself being used as the throttle lever.
Innocent Aces' story is told using a combination of movie-style cutscenes and in-flight dialogue, and while some reviews note confusion at points, it's still highly enjoyable. Innocent Aces stands out for its unique use of the Wii's motion controls and fun, fast-paced gameplay.
7 Bonsai Barber Is A Surprisingly Enjoyable WiiWare Title
WiiWare titles are Wii games that are only purchasable through the Wii Shop channel that never had physical versions made. They're typically known for being lower-quality compared to full-fledged titles, but Bonsai Barber is surprisingly fun — although it does leave something to be desired graphically.
In Bonsai Barber, players take on the role of a barber who styles fruit, vegetable, and plant customers, similarly to real-life bonsai pruning. Reviews praise the quirky nature of the game, as well as how responsive its controls are, though it is noted to be a bit expensive compared to how repetitive its gameplay loop is.
6 Order Up! Is A Cooking Sim With A Fair Amount Of Substance
It might not hold a candle to the famously-known Cooking Mama series, but Order Up! is an enjoyable cooking sim that provides players with lighthearted fun. Order Up! places players in the shoes of Port Abello's newest up-and-coming chef, who's just purchased their own diner.
The goal of Order Up! is to win the Fortified Chef Competition, as doing so would skyrocket the players into unprecedented levels of culinary success. The cooking section of Order Up!'s gameplay makes use of the Wii's motion controls to provide a unique, fast-paced experience.
5 Rebuild A Run-Down Kingdom In MySims Kingdom
MySims Kingdom is another spin-off in The Sims' universe, this time centering around a run-down kingdom, with a king who desperately wants to rebuild it to its former glory. This is where the player character comes in, who assists the King by rebuilding homes, unlocking new islands, and completing tasks for islanders.
The Wiimote's motion controls assist the player in performing certain tasks, like chopping down trees and mining, in which shaking the Wiimote is used in place of a button press. Players can interact with their fellow citizens in a manner similar to Animal Crossing, being able to dress them up in unique clothing or share a picnic with them.
4 Trauma Center: New Blood Combines Surgical Gameplay With Visual Storytelling
Most Atlus titles go on to become hits, as is the case with Trauma Center: New Blood. Its unique combination of surgical simulation gameplay and visual novel storytelling segments helps it stand out. Though the story is noted to be nonsensical at times, it helps balance out the darker surgical segments and is enjoyable as long as it isn't taken too seriously.
What truly sets Trauma Center: New Blood apart is that two players can actually work together through local play to complete surgeries, given that the game has two primary protagonists. The main complaint against New Blood is how unforgiving its single-player difficulty can be, but this can be solved by dragging someone else along for cooperative play instead.
3 Trauma Center: Second Opinion Remakes The DS Version With Added Motion Controls
Trauma Center: Second Opinion is a remake of the DS title Trauma Center: Under the Knife, but it's much more than a simple port. A new character named Naomi is added in order to make the story feel refreshing, even for those who had played the original title.
Second Opinion also makes heavy use of the Wii's unique controls in its gameplay, as surgical segments are almost entirely done using motion controls. There's also an entirely new story chapter added into the Wii version, revolving around the title's new character.
2 Dawn Of Discovery Is A Deep, Complex Strategical Experience
While it's considered unforgiving for newcomers of the genre, veteran fans of real-time strategy games will get a ton of enjoyment out of Dawn of Discovery. Players will have to balance keeping the many members of their empire happy while attempting to expand it and discover new places and cultures at the same time.
Player reviews cite Dawn of Discovery's gameplay loop to be challenging yet enjoyable, with the game's soundtrack being praised as well. There's a lengthy Story Mode that's essentially one big tutorial to help ease newcomers into the genre, and even this mode can take upwards of fifty hours to complete.
1 Trauma Team Greatly Improves The Trauma Center Series
Trauma Team takes Atlus' already-beloved Trauma Center series and builds upon it in a phenomenal way. Rather than simply taking on the role of a surgeon, Trauma Team places players into the shoes of a general surgeon, a diagnostician, an E.M.T., an orthopedic surgeon, an endoscope technician, and a medical examiner.
Atlus took into consideration the complaints about previous entries in the series being too difficult, as Trauma Team is gentler and more welcoming to newcomers. Trauma Team's narrative is noted to be especially enjoyable, making huge strides forward when compared to previous games in the series.