What were your favorite Wii memories?

With the Wii U out, many of us are finally saying goodbye to that wonderful Wii console that came out over six years ago. After spending lots of time with family this Thanksgiving, I was reminded of all the fun times we used to have with the Wii, the console that brought us all together with countless memories, hundreds of hours of fun, and many unforgettable experiences. Let's look back at the console that changed the way we gamed forever, shall we? Here are my personal favorite Wii memories. What are yours?

NSMB Wii Multiplayer

The Wii was, in many families, the party box. Games like Wii Sports, Mario Kart, and Smash Bros. brought people together – gamers and non-gamers alike – to have an unthinkably enjoyable time. Those games still hold up today as some of the best multiplayer experiences of all time, but on game in particular made me appreciate multiplayer gaming more than anything... and that game is New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

NSMB Wii gets a lot of hate for some reason. Many people saw it as just "more of the same." The editors at IGN Nintendo called the game "tasteless." But I found it to more than just a simple expansion of the original NSMB, but a bigger, wider, better game that improved on just about everything in the original. It was a thrilling experience that ranks as one of my favorite games of all time.

But what I really loved about NSMB Wii was the 4-player co-op. My brother, cousins, and I have spent countless hours playing multiplayer on NSMB Wii. Sure, it was chaotic, but that was the fun of it. We would hate each other, love each other, laugh at each other, and yell at each other, but at the end of the day, we had a ton of fun. The only game that could rival the amount of fun we had would probably be Mario Kart 64, and for those who had that game as a kid, you KNOW how much fun that was!

Seriously, how can this NOT be fun?

Catching Up on Gamecube

Unlike most Nintendo fans, I didn't own a GameCube. I had a PS2, where I played a crapload of Ape Escape, DDR, and Burnout 3. My only access to the GameCube was at my cousin's house, where we basically played Melee every day I went over. But finally, with the Wii, I was able to experience those GameCube classics, those games that I had longed to player, those awesome experiences that I had only heard of around the internets.

So yes, I was able to grab a hold of several great Cube titles. Luigi's Mansion was fun, though disappointingly short. I played a ton of Wind Waker and Mario Sunshine, though I eventually grew tired of them and never finished either game. Double Dash and Star Fox Assault had amazing multiplayer modes that I loved playing with my brother. I even played some Star Fox Adventures, which surprisingly wasn't that bad of a game!

But all of that pales in comparison to one game that I managed to find. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was a flipping fantastic game. It was a mix of wonderful humor, amazing visuals, superb writing, charming characters, and beautiful soundtrack, all baked into a delicious Mario RPG cake. I loved it. You can read my review of the game here. (Spoiler: I gave it a 10.)

Boy am I glad I finally got to play this!

Living Xenoblade Chronicles

But perhaps one of the best experiences I had with the Wii was playing Xenoblade Chronicles, the open-world, Japanese RPG that introduced me to the wonderful genre. Yes, Xenoblade was my very first full JRPG experience, and it made me understand why people for ages have fallen in love with this genre. It was just a joy to play through.

In total, I've played over 70 hours of that game. I've never spent over 70 hours in a game ever. The story was amazing, the visuals were simply stunning, and the voice acting was f*cking terrible (but the OST... fipping amazing. OH. MY. GOD.). But yeah, Xenoblade really was one of the best games on the Wii, perhaps only behind NSMB Wii and SSBB, and, at least for me, made me feel that Nintendo did care about its fans. It was the sole reason why I didn't feel burned by Nintendo in 2012, and it made me appreciate what Nintendo was doing when it came to games, even if it was a year late. Thank you, Nintendo, for these wonderful memories.

Damn epic.

What were your favorite memories with the Wii?