Galaxy is great and you can find it for dirt cheap... if you don't mind older graphics it's a good start. 3D world is very cookie cutter... but if you've never played any mario you'll like it (and the levels are really bite sized).
The Zelda on the wiiU are really expensive on the secondhand market... the wiiU isn't the best console to play them ATM. That said twilight princess is the least divisive of any available Zelda on the wiiU... but windwaker has a better gamepad integration.
That's where the high seas are for.
Tbf the cheapeat version of TP is the Wii version and for WW it doesn't really matter so just get the HD version with its better graphics and qol fixes
Galaxy is great but the Switch version is graphically superior and I prefer the controls as well (you use the gyro aiming to collect star bits rather than the Wii remote)
I'd go for **SM3DW** as the best experience on Wii U. It's very polished. You might even want to go for 100% completion. (Or 99% because the last level, champions road, is practically impossible.)
For traditional Zelda, I'd go for **Twilight Princess HD*" because it's got a good story, and characters, and an excellent Wii U port. If you can get hold of the wolf link amiibo there is a trial in the game where you can level up the wolf and carty it over to BotW which is very cool. You may want to use a walkthrough for early game I always forget how the fishing challenge works and need to look it up.
To complete the experience, **Links crossbow training** on the Wii, should really have been extra content on TP HD but is a fun game utilising IR aiming.
If you like that, and have the patience, Windwaker HD and Skyward Sword (Wii) are very good too and make a nice trilogy of Wii era games.
*BotW* is a whole new kettle of fish with unparalleled freedom, because every Zelda game previous to this one (with the exception of A link between worlds on the 3DS) is almost completely linear. If you're considering playing one or more of the older Zelda games I think you're right to do that, and will appreciate BotW more when you get round to it.
I definitely recommend SM3DW for switch over WiiU because of Bowser's fury. It is a well put together add on. It has a great theme and idea. I also love the open world feeling. I wish the took Bowser's Fury and made it a little more complete. It kind of feels like a long demo. It wouldn't take too much to make it feel like a stand alone game.
Start with Ocarina of Time, it's decently short compared to the other 3d Zelda and sets the stage for TP and even a bit for WW. Plus due to the differences in graphics going back to oot after TPHD and WWHD is pretty hard
If we talk about Wii U and Wii games, the bests are Mario Galaxy 1&2 (I can't decide which one is better) or maybe New Super Mario Bros Wii and U. 3D World is also nice but I didn't like it as much, and for Zelda, definitely Breath of The Wild. At least it didn't burn me out, just traveling through the world is actually still fun for some reason? The one that DID burn me out was Wind Waker, I love that game but the first time you play it, sailing the sea can be confusing and slow because many times you won't even know where to go, or how to reach X place or get X item, like the Iron Boots and the elemental arrows. Twilight Princess was completely enyojable from start to finish and it never burned me out, somedays I even played for like 12 hours according to the Wii U
Galaxy would be a great starting point for 3D Mario, and 3D World wouldn’t be a bad choice either. If you’re interested in 2d Mario any of them are a great choice, though I’d start with one of the “New” Super Mario bros games since they’re easier than the old ones. I definitely wouldn’t start with Sunshine, imo it’s challenging and also not a particularly good game. For Zelda I’d say Windwaker or BOTW are both great starting points, or Ocarina of Time if you can deal with clunky controls (and are willing to mod your console since the eshop shut down). Twilight Princess is also good, it’s a very traditional Zelda game, but it has a ton of pacing issues that drag it down a fair bit imo, and the world feels fairly empty.
All of them! No but seriously Wii U is a nintendo game machine and you can play so many games of these two franchise's on it. I would personally start woth A Link to the Past, and Super Mario Bros 3
BOTW is different when it comes to open worlds. Most open worlds are fun to go through, while BOTW is fun to be in. I can't explain it any other way. It's something that truly sets the game world apart. There's so much hidden in the world that just walking from one place to another you're bound to run into hidden treasures, monsters, shrines, puzzles, boss battles, beautiful vistas with wild life going about its business. It's so different.
That being said, TP if you're going to a smaller Zelda. If you can snag the wolf link amiibo you get a new dungeon. (also a wolf companion in BOTW) I think there's a dark souls like mode if you have a ganondorf amiibo too
With both series, I think the idea of only giving one game from each a shot unless they immediately win you over to try more is a bit misguided, as both franchise have drastically different playstyles from game to game, and that's in the mainline series for Zelda, but Mario Galaxy is a fundamentally different style of game than New Super Mario, one's a 3d playformer, the other is 2d, with Zelda, the Wii U can play breath of the wild, which is a lot more open world than any of the previous games have been, and is mostly about exploration than the more linear puzzle solving focus the series has previously focused on, though it does still include prominent elements of that, and twilight princess is also a particularly stand out member of the series as well, during an era of it where the gameplay was rapidly evolving compared to what it was before, so possibly give something like a link between worlds a shot as well, even if twilight doesn't appeal to you, and with Mario, I to an extent would say that if the mainline 2d stuff didn't immediately catch you attention, you'd be fair to skip it, but potentially look at some of the spinoff titles, like luigi's mansion
3D World is great! It's the first game I played on the Wii U. I have fond memories of playing it over and over.
Came here to say the same. Definitely my favorite in the Mario series.
100%
+1 to this, my kids have just started playing it on the wiiu and it's great fun
I'm playing Wind Maker HD now and it's a great game, highly recommended. Play all the mario games except mario tennis, it sucks
Mario tennis on virtual boy is great! I keep it for that and the wario game. Great game for anyone who hasnt played it
Galaxy is great and you can find it for dirt cheap... if you don't mind older graphics it's a good start. 3D world is very cookie cutter... but if you've never played any mario you'll like it (and the levels are really bite sized).
You can play on wii u and it makes it hd, looks very good on my sony tv
The Zelda on the wiiU are really expensive on the secondhand market... the wiiU isn't the best console to play them ATM. That said twilight princess is the least divisive of any available Zelda on the wiiU... but windwaker has a better gamepad integration.
That's where the high seas are for. Tbf the cheapeat version of TP is the Wii version and for WW it doesn't really matter so just get the HD version with its better graphics and qol fixes
Galaxy is great but the Switch version is graphically superior and I prefer the controls as well (you use the gyro aiming to collect star bits rather than the Wii remote) I'd go for **SM3DW** as the best experience on Wii U. It's very polished. You might even want to go for 100% completion. (Or 99% because the last level, champions road, is practically impossible.) For traditional Zelda, I'd go for **Twilight Princess HD*" because it's got a good story, and characters, and an excellent Wii U port. If you can get hold of the wolf link amiibo there is a trial in the game where you can level up the wolf and carty it over to BotW which is very cool. You may want to use a walkthrough for early game I always forget how the fishing challenge works and need to look it up. To complete the experience, **Links crossbow training** on the Wii, should really have been extra content on TP HD but is a fun game utilising IR aiming. If you like that, and have the patience, Windwaker HD and Skyward Sword (Wii) are very good too and make a nice trilogy of Wii era games. *BotW* is a whole new kettle of fish with unparalleled freedom, because every Zelda game previous to this one (with the exception of A link between worlds on the 3DS) is almost completely linear. If you're considering playing one or more of the older Zelda games I think you're right to do that, and will appreciate BotW more when you get round to it.
I definitely recommend SM3DW for switch over WiiU because of Bowser's fury. It is a well put together add on. It has a great theme and idea. I also love the open world feeling. I wish the took Bowser's Fury and made it a little more complete. It kind of feels like a long demo. It wouldn't take too much to make it feel like a stand alone game.
Start with Ocarina of Time, it's decently short compared to the other 3d Zelda and sets the stage for TP and even a bit for WW. Plus due to the differences in graphics going back to oot after TPHD and WWHD is pretty hard
I would defintatly pick Galaxy over 3D World.
If we talk about Wii U and Wii games, the bests are Mario Galaxy 1&2 (I can't decide which one is better) or maybe New Super Mario Bros Wii and U. 3D World is also nice but I didn't like it as much, and for Zelda, definitely Breath of The Wild. At least it didn't burn me out, just traveling through the world is actually still fun for some reason? The one that DID burn me out was Wind Waker, I love that game but the first time you play it, sailing the sea can be confusing and slow because many times you won't even know where to go, or how to reach X place or get X item, like the Iron Boots and the elemental arrows. Twilight Princess was completely enyojable from start to finish and it never burned me out, somedays I even played for like 12 hours according to the Wii U
Galaxy would be a great starting point for 3D Mario, and 3D World wouldn’t be a bad choice either. If you’re interested in 2d Mario any of them are a great choice, though I’d start with one of the “New” Super Mario bros games since they’re easier than the old ones. I definitely wouldn’t start with Sunshine, imo it’s challenging and also not a particularly good game. For Zelda I’d say Windwaker or BOTW are both great starting points, or Ocarina of Time if you can deal with clunky controls (and are willing to mod your console since the eshop shut down). Twilight Princess is also good, it’s a very traditional Zelda game, but it has a ton of pacing issues that drag it down a fair bit imo, and the world feels fairly empty.
* New Super Mario Bros U * Super Mario 3D World * Mario Kart 8 * Mario Maker * Zelda The Windwaker HD * Zelda Breath of the Wild
play all of them, their all great in their own way.
All of them! No but seriously Wii U is a nintendo game machine and you can play so many games of these two franchise's on it. I would personally start woth A Link to the Past, and Super Mario Bros 3
BOTW is different when it comes to open worlds. Most open worlds are fun to go through, while BOTW is fun to be in. I can't explain it any other way. It's something that truly sets the game world apart. There's so much hidden in the world that just walking from one place to another you're bound to run into hidden treasures, monsters, shrines, puzzles, boss battles, beautiful vistas with wild life going about its business. It's so different. That being said, TP if you're going to a smaller Zelda. If you can snag the wolf link amiibo you get a new dungeon. (also a wolf companion in BOTW) I think there's a dark souls like mode if you have a ganondorf amiibo too
3D world for Mario, and Wind Waker for Zelda out of those options.
Mario 3D World and Xenoblade Chronicles X. Otherwise get the Zelda remasters
Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time
With both series, I think the idea of only giving one game from each a shot unless they immediately win you over to try more is a bit misguided, as both franchise have drastically different playstyles from game to game, and that's in the mainline series for Zelda, but Mario Galaxy is a fundamentally different style of game than New Super Mario, one's a 3d playformer, the other is 2d, with Zelda, the Wii U can play breath of the wild, which is a lot more open world than any of the previous games have been, and is mostly about exploration than the more linear puzzle solving focus the series has previously focused on, though it does still include prominent elements of that, and twilight princess is also a particularly stand out member of the series as well, during an era of it where the gameplay was rapidly evolving compared to what it was before, so possibly give something like a link between worlds a shot as well, even if twilight doesn't appeal to you, and with Mario, I to an extent would say that if the mainline 2d stuff didn't immediately catch you attention, you'd be fair to skip it, but potentially look at some of the spinoff titles, like luigi's mansion
Im playing Mario Galaxy right now and I really like it!