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Jun 21, 2023

Best Casual Games On Nintendo Wii

If you're looking for a casual gaming experience on the Nintendo Wii, then these games have got you covered! Released in 2006 to a raving public, the Nintendo Wii is one of the best-selling video game

If you're looking for a casual gaming experience on the Nintendo Wii, then these games have got you covered!

Released in 2006 to a raving public, the Nintendo Wii is one of the best-selling video game consoles of all time, best known for its motion controls and its accessibility to wide gaming audiences. There were plenty of intense action games and challenging platformers released for the Wii, but this skinny little console is best known for its games that catered to a more casual audience — to this day, it’s likely remembered as the platform for slower-paced, more relaxing games.

Related: Wii Games That Need A Remaster On The Switch

This is in part due to its massively successful launch titles like Wii Sports and Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, but the console was able to sustain this reputation for years to come as developers kept releasing some incredible casual games. From party games to sweet community simulators to LEGO remakes of our favorite stories, the Wii’s catalog of chilled-out games will forever be iconic.

Chaotic, fast-paced mini-games always make for a great time at a party, and WarioWare certainly delivers on that front. It’s wacky, it’s wild, and there’s a chance it could cause the night to devolve into bickering, but like, in a fun way.

This title really makes awesome use of the Wii’s motion controls, as it creates dozens of scenarios that require creative solutions. You can also play with up to twelve players in the multiplayer mode, so you can get all of your family and friends involved.

MySims is one of the lesser-known entries in the Sims franchise, but it’s also one of the best. It was a bit of a departure from the traditional formula for the series, and instead adopted a bit more of the community simulator genre.

The plot involves the player moving to a new town, and rebuilding it from the ground up for the residents. Throw it all together with an adorable art style and a catchy soundtrack, and MySims is a must-play for anyone who may have missed it.

Animal Crossing has been one of Nintendo’s flagship series for decades, and City Folk is one of the most beloved entries in the series. It introduced some new holidays and an online feature for sending letters, but was otherwise fairly similar to its predecessors.

While City Folk didn’t necessarily add a ton of new mechanics to the traditional AC formula, it perfected those that we already knew and loved. They say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and that was certainly the case when it came to Animal Crossing: City Folk.

The LEGO video game series has become a bit oversaturated at the moment, but back when they were coming out, the LEGO Star Wars games were some of the best games on the market.

Related: The Rarest Wii Games And How Much They're Worth

After all the games released for the original trilogy and the prequels, LucasArts released all six titles in one as LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. What could be cooler than recreating your favorite movies in LEGO style and a cheeky sense of humor? Nothing, that’s what.

When it comes to party games, you really can’t go wrong with Mario Party. Nintendo knew exactly what they were doing when they combined a digital board game and Mario-and-friends-themed mini-games.

Mario Party 9 introduced a controversial new mechanic of having all four players move around the board together in one car, but it’s a nice change of pace for those who have played the series to death.

The premise of Cooking Mama is simple: follow the prompts on the screen to simulate different cooking activities. In practice, however, this game can be complex and challenging, which is even funnier considering the adorable art style and Mama’s dreaded looks of disapproval.

The Cooking Mama formula is always a recipe for success because Cook Off only improved upon the previous games in the series. This is the perfect game to go back and try your hand at after you’ve been away from it for a few years, so maybe it’s time to dust off the old Wii.

Depending on who you ask, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz might not be best categorized as a casual game. It certainly takes a while to get a hang of, especially with the Wii’s motion controls, which can be a bit frustrating for some.

Related: The Best Motion Controllers Of All Time

However, it’s undeniable that Super Monkey Ball is a blast whether you’re going hard or just messing around. Either way you slice it, the characters are adorable, the stages are well-designed, and the music is downright catchy.

Just Dance has its own legacy now within the games industry, and that empire had to start somewhere: with the series’ first release back in 2009 for the Wii.

The title of course took advantage of the Wii’s motion controls, and gave us some of the best songs of the entire series, like Wannabe and Rasputin. Many dance games have tried to capture the magic that Just Dance gave us, but you just can’t replicate the style, polish, and fun that this game brought to the Wii.

You know it, you love it, you really can’t go wrong with it — Mario Kart is one of the most well-loved and instantly-recognizable game series on the planet. Mario Kart Wii of course added some iconic new courses, but its most memorable feature had to be its steering wheel accessory that would house your Wiimote while you played.

This series is already one of the easiest and most fun for non-regular gamers to pick up, but the easy-to-understand controls really made Mario Kart Wii one of the most beloved and widely-accessible games on the market at the time of its release.

Considering it was a launch title that went along with one of the most popular consoles of all time, it feels like there isn’t a soul alive who hasn’t played Wii Sports at least once, especially the tennis or bowling mini-games.

It perfectly showed off the Wii’s motion controls, and its accessibility made it enjoyable for players of all ages to enjoy. Not only is it the best casual game on the Wii, but it’s one of the best video games of all time.

Next: Hardest Nintendo Wii Games

Noelle is a writer and narrative designer with a passion for interactive storytelling. While she has worked as a games journalist for nearly five years, she has also worked as a game developer for franchises like The Last of Us and The Walking Dead. She even gave a TEDx Talk about video game storytelling while she was in college!Her favorite game genres include roguelikes, choice-based adventure games, and farming/community simulators. She lives in Los Angeles with her two feline fur babies, Deku and Bakugo.