Mario lands on the Wii

Technically our good friend Mario has been available on the Wii since launch via the Virtual Console. But as far as most people are concerned the first new Mario game for the Wii will be Super Mario Galaxy. Which isn't quite true. Mario's on the Wii now in the form of Super Paper Mario (links: GameSpot, GameSpy, GameFly).

While Galaxy is going to be a jaw dropping 3D glitz explosion, Paper Mario is low tech. That's not to say it looks bad - its flatness is quite charming. For those of you that played Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door on the GameCube, you know exactly what I'm talking about. But instead of being an RPG with some platformer elements, Super Paper Mario is a platformer with some RPG elements. In other words, it should appeal to more people. I found The Thousand Year Door to be a high quality RPG, but RPGs aren't for everyone.

And given that it's primarily 2D, Super Paper Mario may hit that sweet spot that New Super Mario Bros did for the DS: simple and classic. I haven't had a go at Mario's new Wii adventure, so I can't say for sure. But consider it at the top of my queue.

IGN's Top 25 GameCube Games

IGN posted a list of the top 25 GameCube games. Which isn't only valuable for nostalgic value, given that the Wii has 100% compatibility with all GameCube games. So if you're looking for some good games to feed your Wii, this might be a good place to start.

Here's the list, which I've annotated with my own personal status (whether I own the game (*), rented/borrowed it (~), or never played it).

1) Metroid Prime *
2) Resident Evil 4
3) Super Smash Bros. Melee *
4) The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker *
5) Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem *
6) Pikmin 2 *
7) F Zero GX ~
8) Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time *
9) Super Mario Sunshine *
10) Wave Race: Blue Storm
11) Animal Crossing *
12) Beyond Good & Evil *
13) Resident Evil ~
14) Soulcalibur 2
15) Metroid Prime 2 Echoes *
16) Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door *
17) Viewtiful Joe *
18) Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader *
19) Timesplitters 2
20) Killer 7
21) Super Monkey Ball 2 ~
22) Battalion Wars
23) Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
24) DK Jungle Beat
25) Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes

You can also get a similar list just by doing a review filter on GameSpot or GameSpy.

Some of the selections are a little odd, but in general it's a good list. And I'm happy to see that I have 13 of those 25 in my personal collection. Which if I run out of things to do with my Wii gives me a lot of great titles to fall back on.