When Nintendo introduced the Wii console to the world, a door opened for a whole new wave of people to enter the world of gaming. With the simple wiggle mechanics of the Wiimote that made games easy to pick up and play, even for non-gamers, Wii Sports became one of the most successful titles on the console and a key game in selling the hardware itself. Since it was so popular, Nintendo continued on the theme of sports titles, and still adds to the catalog to this day with the recent release of Nintendo Switch Sports.
The Mario sports games are incredibly successful, fun, and innovative, changing up the rules of sports gamers are familiar with. But putting Mario sports titles aside, Nintendo has made a good number of games with a variety of sports offered in them. These games promote movement and active gaming, rather than the classic sit-and-play style. These offerings are spread across three generations of consoles and have seen varying levels of success, as seen on rating websites like Metacritic.
10 Mario Sports Mix Has A Surprising 64
It would be hard to leave out a Mario sports game when considering Nintendo sports titles, but this four-sport party game shows that not all Mario sports titles are great. Mario Sports Mix offered up hockey, basketball, dodgeball, and volleyball.
While these games are fairly fun when playing with a group of friends, the game lacks the variety and depth that the other Mario sports and Nintendo sports games have. The mechanics are fairly repetitive for each sport, so any player going solo will get bored fairly quickly. Mario Sports Mix also doesn't offer as large a roster of Mario characters as the other Mario sport titles.
9 We Ski And Snowboard Hits The Slopes At 66
With the success of Wii Fit, more games made use of the Balance Board peripheral. This sequel to We Ski refined the skiing controls and added snowboarding to the mix. The Balance Board offered a fun interactive way to experience these winter sports in players' living rooms.
Players can choose from several game modes including Racing, Slalom, and Search And Rescue, but beyond the surface experience, these modes offer, the game does little else. It provides a good ski and snowboard experience for people who want to get active without the cold weather.
8 Wii Sports Club Was An Okay Title At 68
Much like the Wii U itself, Wii Sports Club was a sequel but not quite a sequel. The Wii U was not a full next-gen console, but an iteration of the Wii. Wii Sports Club sits in the same limbo, as it works as a port of the original Wii Sports but now with online multiplayer.
I in Wii Sports Club layers can join a club and compete in sports in online communities. The tablet controller offered something new, but in the eight years since Wii Sports was released, this game felt like a basic port that offered little else.
7 Nintendo Switch Sports Still Has Time to Grow From 72
The latest offering of Nintendo sports games, Nintendo Switch Sports, was released in April of 2022 and offers six sports for players to get active with. The game includes the familiar Bowling, Chambara (sword fighting), and tennis while adding Badminton, Volleyball, and Soccer to the mix.
The returning sports have improved with the newer Switch controls, but Volleyball and Soccer suffer from poor mechanics and controls. Surprisingly, Badminton is one of the best sports on offer, with precise motion controls and fun gameplay. Nintendo Switch Sports only offered six sports, and since two of them are fairly lackluster, the game suffers in the eyes of gamers.
6 Wii Fit U Was A Lackluster Port 72
This direct sequel to the well-received Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus provided a friendly and accessible workout regimen. Wii Fit U still used the Balance Board but also incorporated the tablet controller in interesting ways to get players moving.
The exercises are not that intense, so they cannot really replace a good hard workout, but it is a good introduction for newcomers and offers a decent amount of activity for players to get going. The FitMeter, a pedometer peripheral it came with, was a nice tool that players could use to track steps in or outside the game.
5 Wii Sports Was The Original, But Left Room For Improvement At 76
The original game that got it all started launched on the Wii and offered gamers a chance to play Bowling, Boxing, Baseball, Golf, and Tennis. The main appeal of Wii Sports was that the motion controls were easy to learn and use, making the game extremely accessible. They mimicked the real-life motions, though precision was not a requirement.
That lack of precision meant, although it was approachable for non-gamers, players could find the gameplay a little tedious since they could just wave the Wiimote around haphazardly rather than properly. Nevertheless, Wii Sports was a great party game and a great introduction for non-gamers to the gaming world.
4 Wii Sports Resort Was A Great Sequel Scoring 80
Riding the success of Wii Sports, Nintendo brought out the sequel, Wii Sports Resort, offering players new sports to play and a new attachment for the Wiimote, the Wii MotionPlus. This peripheral clicked onto the bottom of the original Wiimote and added more precise movement tracking, meaning players could perform more accurate movements adding, another level to the gameplay.
The game offered a whopping 16 sports, a significant improvement from Wii Sports, which included Archery, Swordplay, Disc Golf, and Parachuting among many others. They were a lot of fun and the wide range of sports meant the gameplay wasn't too repetitive.
3 The Original Wii Fit Worked Out To 80
As players found themselves getting a good arm workout with Wii Sports, Nintendo decided that the rest of the body should get in on the fun. Wii Fit introduced the Balance Board peripheral, meaning players could stand on the pressure-sensitive board while it tracked the weight distribution in order to track the player's activity.
The activities on offer ranged from muscle stretches to yoga and included aerobics and games, all of which offered a good exercise regimen for players while staying fun.
2 Wii Fit Plus Added Some Extra Mechanics But Stays At 80
One year after the original's release, the follow-up to Wii Fit was released. Wii Fit Plus is not a full sequel, but actually more of a 1.5 version of the original. It added 15 new balance games and 6 new strength training and yoga activities.
This allowed players to further customize their workout experience to better fit their fitness level or fitness goals. Players could mix and match their own workout routine, or choose from the twelve routines offered in the game. Wii Fit Plus also added a multiplayer mode so that players could get active together.
1 Ring Fit Adventure Is A Full Package Workout At 83
With what seemed like a super awkward controller, Ring Fit is actually the best offering from the Nintendo sports and activity collection of games. The flexible Ring-Con provides a good amount of resistance, and when combined with the games and exercises in the actual game, players can get a proper sweat going.
The accompanying leg strap also gets players moving their legs in more ways than the Balance Board could. The games are fun, interesting, and engaging, which means players will want to keep a session going and return day after day to keep playing them.