The 10 best Wii U games you can buy right now

The Pokémon games continue to be huge hits on the 3DS handheld console, but for those of us who are tired of those and want something new from the franchise, "Pokken Tournament" is a treat. It's actually a one-on-one competitive fighting game that's accessible enough for kids and deep enough to be fun for older players.

As a lapsed Pokémon fan, I appreciated the game's good mix of old and new Pokémon on the roster. You get your classic heavy-hitters like Machamp and Gengar, but there's also Chandelure, who appears to be a living chandelier.

Really though, "Pokken Tournament" makes this list because of Pikachu Libre, a brand new character. She's Pikachu in a luchador wrestling outfit and a bunch of wrestling-themed moves, including a perfect Stone Cold Stunner. It's the best.

"Hyrule Warriors" was a bit of an odd decision for Nintendo, as the "Legend of Zelda" spin-off gets rid of any exploration or puzzle solving in favor of killing hundreds and hundreds of enemies with ridiculous combos and spectacular ultimate moves.

It's mindless, but it just works. The combat is genuinely fun, and the diversity of playable characters from across the "Zelda" series gives it some much-needed variety. You can even play as women!

Really, "Hyrule Warriors" succeeds because it fully embraces how goofy it is. One ultimate move lets you pull the moon down to the ground, spltting it in half and killing every enemy onscreen in the process. It also has some pretty terrific (and cheesy) "Zelda" guitar shredding.

"Xenoblade Chronicles X" is a game for a niche audience in every sense of the word. It's a Japanese role-playing game set in a breathtakingly expansive open world where you get to assemble a mech squadron, manage like 18 different kinds of resources and try to establish a future for humanity.

After Earth is destroyed in the crossfire of a war between two alien races, a human ship crash lands on a beautiful (and hostile) alien planet. The city of New Los Angeles (yes, that's really the name) is founded, and it's your job to explore the planet, take out any alien threats and generally help anyone who asks for it.

"Xenoblade Chronicles X" is a mighty game that took me about 80 hours just to finish the main story, and even then, there is a whole separate multiplayer component that I didn't even touch. It feels truly endless, and its massive world is incredibly impressive on an underpowered console. The world really does feel alien, and whether you're exploring on foot or in your awesome, customizable mech, it's an absolute joy to explore.

If you want silly, bombastic and oftentimes hilarious action, "Bayonetta 2" is the game for you. The titular main character is a witch who dual wields pistols and also has pistols in her shoes, meaning she has four guns at all times. She can also turn her hair into demonic creatures, or something. It's not very well explained, but it sure is fun.

More importantly, it's a terrific action game. The core "witch time" mechanic rewards perfectly-timed dodges with brief moments of slowed down time, so being good at dodging is a must. You can take time to learn all the best combos, or you can kinda just wing it and still have a good time.

Did I mention that it's ridiculous? It's super ridiculous! The boss fights are often so spectacular that words can't do them justice, and in one level, the game turns into "Star Fox" for a little bit. Like, with the ship and sound effects and everything. It's incredible.

Here's a franchise you're probably more familiar with: "Mario Kart 8" does little to seriously shake up the "Mario Kart" formula, and why should it? These games are great and widely beloved. Don't fix what isn't broken.

It's one of the best looking racing games out there, period, and the racing action is every bit as chaotic, accessible and downright fun as it's ever been. This time around, you can create custom vehicles using different combinations of bodies and wheels, giving it a little bit more depth and plenty of things to unlock.

The online play is fantastic, as the 12-player races are buttery smooth. There were also two great downloadable add-ons that added characters, cars and tracks from other Nintendo series like "Zelda" and "Animal Crossing." There are even two tracks from "F-Zero," a great futuristic racing series that Nintendo won't make anymore because they hate us!

But seriously, "Mario Kart 8" is as good as "Mario Kart" gets. If you've ever enjoyed one of these before, you'll definitely enjoy this one.

You didn't think we'd get through this without seeing Nintendo's Italian plumber mascot, right?

The closest thing the Wii U has to a big, proper "Mario" game, "Super Mario 3D World" ditches the outer space shenanigans of "Super Mario Galaxy" in favor of four-player co-op goodness. Join your significant other, your friends or your kids on adventures through beautiful, colorful levels full of perilous jumps, enemies to stomp, secrets to find and plenty of jaunty tunes.

It's also fully playable and enjoyable by yourself, in case you're more of a lone wolf. There's nothing mindblowing about "Super Mario 3D World," but it's a terrific "Mario" adventure with tons of challenging secret levels to unlock even after you've taken down the final boss.

Despite having just about the worst title, "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U" is almost too beautiful to be real. Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Cloud from "Final Fantasy VII," Ryu from "Street Fighter," Mega Man, Pac-Man, and Bayonetta are all in one game. It's bananas!

The fighting action we all love from prior "Super Smash Bros." is back and as smooth, frantic and easy to pick up as it's ever been. The game unfortunately lacks a traditional single-player mode and the online multiplayer is pretty iffy, but sitting around with a few buddies and duking it out with the game's enormous roster in one of its countless stages inspired by other games is a pure delight.

It's worth the price of admission for that nonsensically amazing character roster alone. It's like every gaming forum on the internet had its wishes made manifest, and that alone makes it one of the very best Wii U games.

There's really nothing negative to say about "Splatoon." Nintendo successfully made a hyper-addictive online shooter that can be equally enjoyed by adults and children, completely doing away with the violence and toxicity of something like "Call of Duty."

Two teams of ultra-stylish squid teens try to paint more of the map with their color of ink before the timer runs out. You can use a variety of weapons to accomplish this task, from conventional rapid-fire paint guns to paint buckets and even giant paint rollers. Stepping in your enemy's ink makes you move incredibly slowly, while stepping in your own ink allows you to swim at high speeds and refill ammo.

"Splatoon" is joyously fun to play, but that wouldn't matter without the game's wonderful sense of style. You can outfit your squid in all sorts of fashionable snapbacks, sneakers and jackets, and the whole thing has a great mix of modern fashion and 1990s Nickelodeon.

Also, the music is some of the most unique in any big game in years. Basically, you should go out and buy "Splatoon" right now if you haven't already.

This was an extraordinarily difficult decision. "Splatoon" is so, so wonderful, and it's the only game on this list that isn't a sequel or part of a series in some way. New series are tough to come by with Nintendo games these days, and I want to reward it. So, for "Splatoon" to not get the top spot, there better be something pretty fantastic to take its place.

Luckily, "Super Mario Maker" is outstanding. As its name implies, it's a game where you make "Super Mario Bros." levels. If you own a Wii U, you probably have some interest in that, right?

But seriously, "Super Mario Maker" is an amazing creation tool that's so easy to use that anyone can whip up a playable level in a matter of minutes. It's the only Wii U game that really justifies the existence of the controller's touchscreen, as its creation tool is a breeze to use with the stylus.

That's just the beginning! If you make a great level, you can upload it to the internet and share it with your friends and loved ones. If you have no interest in making levels, you have an unlimited supply of "Super Mario Bros." levels to play, made by people all around the world. Everybody wins!

Ultimately, "Super Mario Maker" is the game I'd recommend if you could only play one Wii U game. It makes better use of the console's unique features than anything else, and most importantly, it's just a ton of fun to play.