Best games
Best Wii U games of 2001
The 10 best Wii U games released in 2001, ranked from 977 critic and player ratings.
The best Wii U game of 2001 is Advance Wars, with a critic score of 100/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 30 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 2001.
- 10 games are listed on this page, carrying 977 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 10
01
Advance Wars
Just because this battle fits in the palm of your hand doesn't mean the stakes are small. On the contrary, this all-or-nothing fight will have you accessing guns, grenades, launchers, and weaponry of all sorts. Players assume command of an army that's out to reclaim a world that's been broken up by warring factions. The battle map is essentially a grid, and moving units is like moving chess pieces on a board -- each of the units can move a specific amount of spaces within this grid, and can only attack at a certain distance from specific enemies. Advance Wars features more than 115 maps, a map editor, head-to-head play via link cable, and an easy-to-understand tutorial mode for beginners.
100
/100
02
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World is a remake of Super Mario World for the Game Boy Advance starring Mario's dinosaur friend Yoshi for the first time. Super Mario Advance is a four-part series for the GBA with Super Mario games of the NES and SNES era. The remakes came with adjusted graphics, sound and additional content. Each game of the series includes additionally the arcade-classic "Mario Bros" which can be played in multiplayer via link cable.
92
/100
03
Mario Kart: Super Circuit (2001)
Classic Mario Kart action is back once again, this time in a colorful, lightning-fast game that you can take anywhere. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Wario, Yoshi and Bowser are all tearing up the track, tossing Koopa Shells and laying banana peels along the way. Mario Kart Super Circuit puts your driving skills to the test on 40 tracks, each littered with wild weapons and obstacles. Choose to play as any of your favorite characters as you speed around classic and brand-new tracks. If you're feeling combative, try out the creative weaponry (mushrooms, bananas, thunder bolts, and stars) in Battle mode. Feel like making some friends eat your dust? No problem. Four players can compete in Mario Kart Super Circuit using only one Game Pak! If each player has a copy of the game, bonus features and new modes of play become available.
93
/100
Advance Wars
Just because this battle fits in the palm of your hand doesn't mean the stakes are small. On the contrary, this all-or-nothing fight will have you accessing guns, grenades, launchers, and weaponry of all sorts. Players assume command of an army that's out to reclaim a world that's been broken up by warring factions. The battle map is essentially a grid, and moving units is like moving chess pieces on a board -- each of the units can move a specific amount of spaces within this grid, and can only attack at a certain distance from specific enemies. Advance Wars features more than 115 maps, a map editor, head-to-head play via link cable, and an easy-to-understand tutorial mode for beginners.
100
/100
02
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World is a remake of Super Mario World for the Game Boy Advance starring Mario's dinosaur friend Yoshi for the first time. Super Mario Advance is a four-part series for the GBA with Super Mario games of the NES and SNES era. The remakes came with adjusted graphics, sound and additional content. Each game of the series includes additionally the arcade-classic "Mario Bros" which can be played in multiplayer via link cable.
92
/100
03
Mario Kart: Super Circuit (2001)
Classic Mario Kart action is back once again, this time in a colorful, lightning-fast game that you can take anywhere. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Wario, Yoshi and Bowser are all tearing up the track, tossing Koopa Shells and laying banana peels along the way. Mario Kart Super Circuit puts your driving skills to the test on 40 tracks, each littered with wild weapons and obstacles. Choose to play as any of your favorite characters as you speed around classic and brand-new tracks. If you're feeling combative, try out the creative weaponry (mushrooms, bananas, thunder bolts, and stars) in Battle mode. Feel like making some friends eat your dust? No problem. Four players can compete in Mario Kart Super Circuit using only one Game Pak! If each player has a copy of the game, bonus features and new modes of play become available.
93
/100
04
Golden Sun
Evil is slowly covering the world. Forces of darkness are pursuing the lost art of Alchemy, and the fate of mankind hangs in the balance. You and your companions, armed with weapons, Psynergy magic, and a host of elemental creatures, must return peace to the world. Golden Sun is an epic role-playing game with an engrossing story, set in a massive world. Gather the elemental Djinn – fire, water, wind and earth – and combine them in unique ways to produce awesome magical effects.
91
/100
05
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is the first of the series to be based on the action/RPG structure of Castlevania:Symphony of the Night rather than the level-based action style of all previous Castlevania games. Dracula's castle is a single continuous building, and as Nathan discovers artifacts within it he gains new abilities that allow him to explore more of it. While Nathan can only use his Killer Whip as a weapon, he can find and equip different kinds of armor and accessories that change his stats. Unique to this entry in the series is the Dual Set-up System, where a combination of two cards will give Nathan unique magical abilities. For example, equipping a fire type card with a whip card will give the Killer Whip a fire attribute, while equipping it with a summon card will let Nathan summon a fire demon to attack onscreen enemies.
91
/100
06
Wario Land 4
Wario's back for more...and more...and MORE! Hey! You! Yeah, you! Listen up when Wario's talking to you! I just read about this legendary Pyramid of Gold, and you're gonna help me go explore it. There's lots of treasure in there for the taking, and I want it all. I'm sure there are gonna be all kinds of weird enemies and big, bad bosses in there, so if you don't think you can hack it, put the game down now. I don't want any losers making me jump into bottomless pits, you hear me? -Wario invades the Game Boy Advance! See Wario in all his greedy glory as he explores vivid worlds made possible by the power of the GBA! -Flex your muscles! Wario is no longer immortal, so you'll have your work cut out as you roll, punch and jump your way to tougher and tougher challenges. Wario will get stung by bees, zombified, bitten by bats, set on fire, and much more - what a way to make a living! -Over twenty enormous stages await! Hunt down CDs for your listening pleasure, or collect treasure to spend on all-new items that you can use against the most bizarre bosses ever!
88
/100
07
Sonic Advance
Sonic Advance is notable for being the first Sonic game released on a Nintendo console, despite both Sega and Nintendo being well-known rivals on the console market throught the 1990s. Sonic Advance features four playable characters and marks the first playable appearance of Amy Rose on a 2D title. The game borrows elements from the original Sonic the Hedgehog titles for the Sega Genesis, but with the post-Dreamcast artstyle for the characters which was introduced in Sonic Adventure. The game also includes multiplayer features and mini-games. The title was also ported to the Nokia N-Gage under the title "SonicN".
85
/100
08
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Gyakuten Saiban is a visual novel adventure game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance. The story follows Phoenix Wright, a rookie defense attorney who attempts to have his clients declared "not guilty". Among other characters are Phoenix's boss, Mia Fey; his assistant and Mia's sister, Maya; and prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. The player controls Phoenix through two sets of sections: investigations and courtroom trials. During investigations they gather information and evidence. During trials they cross-examine witnesses, and answer questions from the judge, the prosecutor, and the witnesses. The story is split into four cases.
80
/100
09
Breath of Fire (1993)
79
/100
10
Super Mario Advance
An updated re-release of Super Mario Bros. 2 (the American reskin of "Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic," later re-released in Japan as "Super Mario USA") as a Game Boy Advance launch title. Based heavily on the Super Mario All-Stars version of the game, it also features an updated version of the original Mario Bros. arcade game, which can be played with up to three other players via link cable.
78
/100
Golden Sun
Evil is slowly covering the world. Forces of darkness are pursuing the lost art of Alchemy, and the fate of mankind hangs in the balance. You and your companions, armed with weapons, Psynergy magic, and a host of elemental creatures, must return peace to the world. Golden Sun is an epic role-playing game with an engrossing story, set in a massive world. Gather the elemental Djinn – fire, water, wind and earth – and combine them in unique ways to produce awesome magical effects.
91
/100
05
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is the first of the series to be based on the action/RPG structure of Castlevania:Symphony of the Night rather than the level-based action style of all previous Castlevania games. Dracula's castle is a single continuous building, and as Nathan discovers artifacts within it he gains new abilities that allow him to explore more of it. While Nathan can only use his Killer Whip as a weapon, he can find and equip different kinds of armor and accessories that change his stats. Unique to this entry in the series is the Dual Set-up System, where a combination of two cards will give Nathan unique magical abilities. For example, equipping a fire type card with a whip card will give the Killer Whip a fire attribute, while equipping it with a summon card will let Nathan summon a fire demon to attack onscreen enemies.
91
/100
06
Wario Land 4
Wario's back for more...and more...and MORE! Hey! You! Yeah, you! Listen up when Wario's talking to you! I just read about this legendary Pyramid of Gold, and you're gonna help me go explore it. There's lots of treasure in there for the taking, and I want it all. I'm sure there are gonna be all kinds of weird enemies and big, bad bosses in there, so if you don't think you can hack it, put the game down now. I don't want any losers making me jump into bottomless pits, you hear me? -Wario invades the Game Boy Advance! See Wario in all his greedy glory as he explores vivid worlds made possible by the power of the GBA! -Flex your muscles! Wario is no longer immortal, so you'll have your work cut out as you roll, punch and jump your way to tougher and tougher challenges. Wario will get stung by bees, zombified, bitten by bats, set on fire, and much more - what a way to make a living! -Over twenty enormous stages await! Hunt down CDs for your listening pleasure, or collect treasure to spend on all-new items that you can use against the most bizarre bosses ever!
88
/100
07
Sonic Advance
Sonic Advance is notable for being the first Sonic game released on a Nintendo console, despite both Sega and Nintendo being well-known rivals on the console market throught the 1990s. Sonic Advance features four playable characters and marks the first playable appearance of Amy Rose on a 2D title. The game borrows elements from the original Sonic the Hedgehog titles for the Sega Genesis, but with the post-Dreamcast artstyle for the characters which was introduced in Sonic Adventure. The game also includes multiplayer features and mini-games. The title was also ported to the Nokia N-Gage under the title "SonicN".
85
/100
08
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Gyakuten Saiban is a visual novel adventure game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance. The story follows Phoenix Wright, a rookie defense attorney who attempts to have his clients declared "not guilty". Among other characters are Phoenix's boss, Mia Fey; his assistant and Mia's sister, Maya; and prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. The player controls Phoenix through two sets of sections: investigations and courtroom trials. During investigations they gather information and evidence. During trials they cross-examine witnesses, and answer questions from the judge, the prosecutor, and the witnesses. The story is split into four cases.
80
/100
09
Breath of Fire (1993)
79
/100
10
Super Mario Advance
An updated re-release of Super Mario Bros. 2 (the American reskin of "Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic," later re-released in Japan as "Super Mario USA") as a Game Boy Advance launch title. Based heavily on the Super Mario All-Stars version of the game, it also features an updated version of the original Mario Bros. arcade game, which can be played with up to three other players via link cable.
78
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Wii U game of 2001?
Advance Wars currently tops the ranking with a score of 100/100 across 82 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.