Wii U vs. Switch ports, from both Nintendo and 3rd-parties, let's talk about them!

[Hero of Legend]

We've talked about ports from Nintendo most specifically with how many they've brought from Wii U from games like New Super Mario Bros. U, to games like Hyrule Warriors and Pokken Tournament, and we can still talk about those, but I'd like to mainly bring up ports of 3rd-party games, because there's been a few to date, particularly of larger games released physically.

The main inspiration for the thread was Darksiders 2 on Wii U vs. Switch, as shown quite nicely by NWR:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw3UDah0tmc

Of course there's Darksiders 1:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTF0ZvWraMA

And DF did a comparison where they briefly touched upon Wii U vs. Switch for AC3 (at 6:36):

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-TbwwW90iY

Both funny enough were Wii U launch titles. COD Black Ops 2 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Switch ports when? :P

Another game which to me counts is of course Metro Last Light, because that WAS infamously announced for Wii U at E3 2011... only to get canned long before launch due to IIRC CPU issues. Well 4A Games made up for it by personally handling the Switch port (plus 2033) themselves and to great success!

Metro Redux on Switch: The Digital Foundry Tech Review

Another fantastic Switch conversion - and this time it's 4A Games itself that teases out some stunning visuals from Nintendo's console hybrid. Metro 2033 Red...

www.youtube.com

We also of course have Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag on both Wii U and Switch. We're just missing Watch_Dogs and Batman Arkham Origins from around the same period. :P

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v5EiyL88dg

(no Wii U mention sadly)

Another small late gen example is Legend of Kay Anniversary, which came out when nearly every ounce of Wii U retail support had dried up, alongside The Book of Unwritten Tales 2, and fellow launch title The Great Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams:

Now this might be cheating as it was never officially announced but was confirmed to have existed, being Crysis 3. Apparently seemingly all but fully finished on Wii U, it got canned, but thankfully Saber Interactive did a brilliant Switch port many years later:

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Of course we can't forget Rayman Legends:

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(I believe some issues were fixed in patches)

Last example I almost forgot; Skylanders Imaginators:

I think that covers the major physical released examples unless I missed any. I'd be here all day if I went through the indie stuff. :P One special shout out to Shin'en's FAST Racing NEO on Wii U vs. FAST RMX on Switch for one:

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How many here played games on both Wii U and Switch? How did they compare to you?

 

[BDGAME]

I don't played much third party games on Wii U. but I it's always a consensus that Switch is a lot stronger and the same games ported for it will look a lot better.

 

[Oscarzx n]

Haven't bought many Switch ports of games I bought on Wii U, but out of them:
-3D World, other than online and Bowser Fury Is basically the same with some nice qol improvements and 1080p
-Mario Kart 8: just bought it but so far seems the same with some new content. 200cc sems much more playable but maybe that's just me.
-Fast RMX: other than the new content it feels very different, much easier than Neo, which not sure how to feel since it takes away Challenge but at the same time Neo's AI could be annoyingly punishing at times, so I guess is better now.
-Rayman Legends: same thing but Is a shame the Switch version you can't play the Murphy levels how you want, if you want to play them like on Wii U you have to unlock them first.

 

[GrendelKhan]

You've convinced me I need to upgrade my Wii U versions of Darksiders 1 & 2 to the Switch versions once they hit a deep enough discount.

 

[Hero of Legend]

You've convinced me I need to upgrade my Wii U versions of Darksiders 1 & 2 to the Switch versions once they hit a deep enough discount.

Click to shrink...

They're on sale semi-frequently. Hopefully both will be within a week or two again. Both so far have topped out at 70% off, but I'm hoping they'll push them further next time. 90%+ off like we got for Saint's Row 4 and Red Faction Guerilla on Switch would be fantastic. :(

 

[emperor bohe]

i was still playing Mario Kart 8 on Wii U despite having a Switch, but finally upgraded once the dlc tracks came out

 

[Hero of Legend]

Well now we can add Batman Arkham City to the list. :P

 

[Temtastic Muns]

First party title, but the faster load times alone made DKC: Tropical Freeze on Switch far, far superior:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DEGLO7dpxo

 

[KezayJS1]

I have Darksider 2 on Wii U and it was great from what I played, but I never beat it. I contemplated getting the trilogy on Switch and making my way through that way.

I also forgot Skylanders lasted long enough to make it to Switch. I was actually pretty down with the concept initially but I think they really went off the trails after Giants which I think was the second or third expansion.

 

[RPG_Fanatic]

First party title, but the faster load times alone made DKC: Tropical Freeze on Switch far, far superior:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DEGLO7dpxo

Click to shrink...

As someone who watched two people race this game (one playing WiiU and one playing Switch), I can agree with this.