Gaming Wii U Games that work without a Gamepad?

Yandere-chan · Oct 11, 2017

Could someone tell me what all Wii U Games work at least 90% without a gamepad? The ones I am 100% sure about are

Mario Kart 8 (from start to end, without Gamepad)
Super Mario 3D World (100% playable, theres about 3 to 4 levels that need a Gamepad, excluding Captain Toad levels.)
New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi. U (Works 100% without a Gamepad, full game is completely playable from start to end)
Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze (Works fully without a Gamepad, from start to end.)

Games I'd like confirmation on

Zelda Breath of the Wild
Pikmin 3
Wind Waker HD
Sonic Racing Transformed (Full Game, tried Demo, worked wonderfully with Pro Controller.)
Sonic Lost World (Heard something about needing a Gamepad for Single Player mode, and to launch the game)
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Wii U
Mario Tennis Ultra Smash
Splatoon
Super Mario Maker (kind of a dumb question, since it completely needs the Gamepad but, I heard that you can use Pro Controller for PLAYING levels if you already have a save or something like that)
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Yoshi's Woolly World
Hyrule Warriors

Aswell as Virtual Console titles from the following systems

NES
SNES
GBA
NDS
N64

Thank you.

ThisIsJohn · Oct 11, 2017

Honestly, no offense meant towards you specifically, but I will never understand these threads. The Gamepad is part of the system. It's not that big of deal. Use it when you have to and use another controller when you have the option to you. It's not that bad, trust me.

Yandere-chan · Oct 11, 2017

ThisIsJohn said:
Honestly, no offense meant towards you specifically, but I will never understand these threads. The Gamepad is part of the system. It's not that big of deal. Use it when you have to and use another controller when you have the option to you. It's not that bad, trust me.

I do not own a Gamepad full time. I am currently borrowing a console from a store to just do some things that need the Gamepad then returning it. It is way out of my price range as I don't have any way of making any money and when I do, it's very small. I did some things like

Added nearly 50 Mii characters to my Mii Maker since a Gamepad is REQUIRED for it and I wanted to use Miis in Mario Kart 8
Did anything I needed to in System Settings
Tested out Netflix and YouTube
Tried launching a title that needs the Gamepad connected (Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric Demo) and tried playing it with another controller (Fail, didn't work.)
Tried out games on the Gamepad without the television being on and while being in another room.
Tried out the Internet Browser, not like that matters.

Things I still need to do

Complete all of the Gamepad levels in Super Mario 3D World with all stamps and stars collected, aswell as playing through them with all of the characters for golden stars on the level icons (and for another star on my file)

SANIC · Oct 11, 2017

Smash and Both zeldas work sans game pad. The rest including super Mario maker (the intro forces you to use game pad to set up the first level) need it
Hyrule Warriors ultra smash and Sonic All Stars Racing transformed work too

Proust · Oct 11, 2017

pedro702 · Oct 15, 2017

every game that is compatible with wiiu pro or Classic controller works without the gamepad...

SANIC · Oct 15, 2017

pedro702 said:
every game that is compatible with wiiu pro or Classic controller works without the gamepad...

That's not true tho, many games like Sonic Lost World or Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games specifically require you to use the game pad at start up no matter what

Yandere-chan · Oct 15, 2017

SANIC said:
That's not true tho, many games like Sonic Lost World or Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games specifically require you to use the game pad at start up no matter what

Yeah

wolf-snake · Oct 18, 2017

Proust said:
For some it's simply an annoying part of the system. I'm one of those that can't stand the gamepad and prefer to have it off, while playing on a pro or other controller.

Trust me it can't be as annoying as dealing with a crappy 360 d-pad or that damn touch pad on the PS4.

pedro702 · Oct 18, 2017

wolf-snake said:
Trust me it can't be as annoying as dealing with a crappy 360 d-pad or that damn touch pad on the PS4.

oh yeah i hate the touch pad on ps4 controller i mean killzone sucked on ps4 an the touchpad commands just made it even worse imo.

wolf-snake · Oct 18, 2017

pedro702 said:
oh yeah i hate the touch pad on ps4 controller i mean killzone sucked on ps4 an the touchpad commands just made it even worse imo.

I wish that touchpad was used for something, after launch it pretty much became a glorified select button.

YukidaruPunch · Nov 7, 2017

ThisIsJohn said:
Honestly, no offense meant towards you specifically, but I will never understand these threads. The Gamepad is part of the system. It's not that big of deal. Use it when you have to and use another controller when you have the option to you. It's not that bad, trust me.

I'll never understand these types of posts. OP specifically requests an information and the very first reply is questioning one's motives on why they're asking what they're asking for. It's about as unhelpful as it can be. It's almost like they're deliberately trying to derail the thread.

Now, onwards to what the OP has requested:

Zelda Breath of the Wild - 99% playable. There's, like, six shrines in the entire game which require the gamepad for motion sensor puzzles. I only found two so far, and they're entirely optional as far as I know.
Pikmin 3 - No idea
Wind Waker HD - Unsure, but I believe so. The game specifically asks you which controller you want to use once you boot the game. Twilight Princess does the same.
Sonic Racing Transformed - No idea
Sonic Lost World - No Idea
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Wii U - I guess so? Played it tons of times with friends and there wasn't a single thing that seemed CRUCIAL to use the Gamepad with. Maybe not 100%, but probably over 90%.
Mario Tennis Ultra Smash - No idea
Splatoon - Unplayable. You can't even go past the title screen.
Super Mario Maker - I think it's exactly as you said. Once you start a new game, you'll absolutely need a Gamepad. Once the tutorial part is done, I think you can let it go and the downloaded level totally work with the Pro Controller.
Xenoblade Chronicles X - No idea
Yoshi's Woolly World - No idea
Hyrule Warriors - No idea

As for VC:
NES, SNES, GBA and N64: you're fine. Press ZR to configure stuff.
DS: don't bother.
Just, uh, be careful not to leave the Virtual Console Menu button (usually ZR) unmapped. On most games, touching the screen will bring up the menu, so no idea how you'd manage if you somehow didn't map this function and didn't have a gamepad around. The exception, obviously, being the DS VC, in which the touchscreen works... as a touchscreen.

I do have a question for you, though: how is SM3DW completely playable without a gamepad, not counting the Captain Toad levels? I remember a very specific level (I think it was Peach only, something like that) where I had to touch platforms and blow in the mic to proceed. How are these playable using only the Pro Controller?

Deleted User · Nov 8, 2017

Pikmin 3 requires the gamepad.

AmandaRose · Nov 10, 2017

YukidaruPunch said:
I'll never understand these types of posts. OP specifically requests an information and the very first reply is questioning one's motives on why they're asking what they're asking for. It's about as unhelpful as it can be. It's almost like they're deliberately trying to derail the thread.

Now, onwards to what the OP has requested:

Zelda Breath of the Wild - 99% playable. There's, like, six shrines in the entire game which require the gamepad for motion sensor puzzles. I only found two so far, and they're entirely optional as far as I know.

Pikmin 3 - No idea

Wind Waker HD - Unsure, but I believe so. The game specifically asks you which controller you want to use once you boot the game. Twilight Princess does the same.

Sonic Racing Transformed - No idea

Sonic Lost World - No Idea

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Wii U - I guess so? Played it tons of times with friends and there wasn't a single thing that seemed CRUCIAL to use the Gamepad with. Maybe not 100%, but probably over 90%.

Mario Tennis Ultra Smash - No idea

Splatoon - Unplayable. You can't even go past the title screen.

Super Mario Maker - I think it's exactly as you said. Once you start a new game, you'll absolutely need a Gamepad. Once the tutorial part is done, I think you can let it go and the downloaded level totally work with the Pro Controller.

Xenoblade Chronicles X - No idea

Yoshi's Woolly World - No idea

Hyrule Warriors - No idea

As for VC:
NES, SNES, GBA and N64: you're fine. Press ZR to configure stuff.
DS: don't bother.
Just, uh, be careful not to leave the Virtual Console Menu button (usually ZR) unmapped. On most games, touching the screen will bring up the menu, so no idea how you'd manage if you somehow didn't map this function and didn't have a gamepad around. The exception, obviously, being the DS VC, in which the touchscreen works... as a touchscreen.

I do have a question for you, though: how is SM3DW completely playable without a gamepad, not counting the Captain Toad levels? I remember a very specific level (I think it was Peach only, something like that) where I had to touch platforms and blow in the mic to proceed. How are these playable using only the Pro Controller?

Exactly there are several levels in sm3dw where you either need to touch the screen or blow the microphone or a combo of both.

kolosus · Nov 12, 2017

Tried playing Mario maker workout game pad today, turned off. Game won't launch without pad. Turn on pad, ok or cancel. Without game pad no launching game.

Ryccardo · Nov 15, 2017

X - technically playable without 99% of the time, but you'll miss the map (including warping to sectors potentially across the world, probe configuration, destination indicator(s), and the nice side effect of being warned of battles you accidentally triggered without realizing)

Retro_Mod_Gamer · Jan 29, 2021

Late to the party by 4 years but this is for passers by

Wii U Games that work WITHOUT the Wii U GamePad

YukidaruPunch · Feb 21, 2021

Retro_Mod_Gamer said:
Late to the party by 4 years but this is for passers by

Wii U Games that work WITHOUT the Wii U GamePad

oh my god had it really been 4 years where has time gone

sha33 · Aug 30, 2022

YukidaruPunch said:
oh my god had it really been 4 years where has time gone

it has been running at super sonic speed

Gaming Wii U Games that work without a Gamepad?

The One and Only

Member

The One and Only

GBATemp's Sonic Fan in Residence, 後

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

GBATemp's Sonic Fan in Residence, 後

The One and Only

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Deleted User

Guest

Do what I do. Hold tight and pretend it’s a plan

Well-Known Member

Penguin accelerator

Niche List Enthusiast

Well-Known Member

New Member

Similar threads

Popular threads in this forum