10 Wii and Wii U Games I'd Like to See in VR




It's a common practice in the video game industry to take a popular title from a previous generation and give it an upgrade for re-release on the new gaming consoles and the most advanced PCs. Here's a list of 10 titles from the Nintendo Wii and Wii U that I think would be ideally suited for transition into virtual reality (VR).

Some Nintendo games have already made the crossover into VR. There's a VR Mario Kart game in a VR arcade in Japan, and the programmers of the Wii Dolphin emulator have experimented with Metroid Prime and Pikmin games in VR. In alphabetical order, here are some additional titles that I think should be available for play on VR headset in the near future:




Bully: Scholarship Edition: Even though Bully was available for multiple consoles during its run, the motion control-enabled Scholarship Edition for the Wii would be perfect for VR. Having this updated for first-person VR would be just like going back to high school, but with the added benefit of an "off" option.






The Conduit: At the time of its release, The Conduit was hyped as the first first-person shooter (FPS) to be designed exclusively for the Wii. The motion controls enhanced the gun play experience and allowed for the "All-Seeing Eye" (ASE), a tool that players used to interact with the environment in a variety of unique ways. This and its sequel Conduit 2 would be amazing in VR.






Endless Ocean 2: Blue World: If anything, the Endless Ocean games showed how amazing educational gaming can be. They let players explore a variety of aquatic environments from around the world and interact with detailed re-creations of those environments' numerous inhabitants. Giving Endless Ocean 2 a graphics upgrade and a VR rebuild would be a wonderful treat for both gamers and VR enthusiasts.






Escape from Bug Island: There are many, many other horror games that are much more deserving of re-release in VR than this one. However, being a fan of "big bug" movies such as Them!, Tarantula and Mimic, I think that this title would be wonderful in VR. I can just imagine a gamer who has a latent case of entomophobia playing this in VR for the first time and reacting to a human-sized praying mantis charging straight at him in interactive 3D. Priceless!






Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water: Like Bully, Fatal Frame games have appeared on many consoles over the years. However, I think that Nintendo has gotten the most mileage out of this series in terms of experimenting with new forms of game play. It incorporated the Wii's motion controls into Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly and Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, and it used the Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir spin-off to experiment with augmented reality (AR) on the handheld 3DS console. Maiden was an exclusive title for the Wii U, and it used the Wii U gamepad to add to the player's immersion into the game. As such, this particular entry would be the most logical choice to bring Fatal Frame into the realm of VR gaming.






Mobile Suit Gundam: MS Sensen 0079: For fans of the Gundam franchise--and of giant robots in general--converting this particular Gundam video game into a VR experience is mandatory. As games of this type go, it's one of the few I've seen for home consoles that gives players a pilot's perspective of controlling a giant robot. Seeing this upgraded into a high resolution 3D VR experience would be a dream come true.






Red Steel 2: A sequel in name only, Red Steel 2 was one of the best motion control games for the Wii. Players could use their controllers to seamlessly switch between shooting guns and swinging swords, which in turn heighten the enjoyment of this futuristic east-meets-west saga of a gun-slinging swordsman who is only known as Hero. This game may have been made for the Wii, but it needs to be in VR.






Silent Hill: Shattered Memories: There are plenty of entries in the Silent Hill franchise that would work well in VR, but I personally prefer this one. Its psychological tests added an interesting layer of variability to the game play, the motion controls were well incorporated, and the detailed environments added considerably to the game's story and atmosphere. I can only imagine how much creepier the "Nightmare" scenes would be in VR, or how much more chilling it would be to use interactive 3D game play to examine lost yesterdays encased in ice.






Vector Wars: Until someone makes a VR experienced that's based on the Tron franchise (and Disney does tend towards indifference when it comes to Tron), converting Vector Wars into VR would be the next best thing.






ZombiU: This game may not have been the blockbuster title that Nintendo was hoping it would be for the Wii U, but I think it deserves a second chance in VR. This is one of the rare zombie games that favors strategy and pervasive dread over excessive gun play and explosions, and I think this approach would be even more engaging (and terrifying) when brought into an immersive 3D format.



In addition to the above titles, here are some additional "honorable mention" Nintendo games that should get another chance through VR:

Nintendo Land: Not all of the attractions in this title would work in VR (such as "Donkey Kong's Crash Course" and "Balloon Trip Breeze"), but most of the team and competitive attractions would be a blast to play in a first-person 3D format.

Wii Sports Resort and Go Vacation!: Not everything in these sports game titles could be converted to VR, but I put them here anyway because I'd love to revisit the virtual resorts in both of these titles (Wuhu Island and Kawawii Island, respectively) via VR for whenever I can only afford to go on a staycation.


Wuhu Island.


Ikenie no Yoru (a.k.a. Night of Sacrifice): Not only was this survival horror game exclusive to the Wii console, but it was the only one that I've heard of that used the motion controls and the Wii Balance Board. With such an emphasis on motion for both hands and feet, I would love to see how this would translate into VR.




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