New Super Luigi U

The Year of Luigi, guys!

This one was quick and simple. It's essentially the same game as New Super Mario Bros. U except for two major differences. One, obviously, is that you play as Luigi, who jumps higher than Mario and falls slower, but who also lacks traction and therefore slips around a lot. It's an interesting trade off, made more interesting by this game's second big dynamic; every level has a time limit of just 99 seconds. These aren't exactly the same levels that appeared New Super Mario Bros. U, but each one feels like a 99-second cut down version of the same levels from that game. The world maps from both games are identical, and so is whatever barebones plot exists - even the final boss battle plays out exactly the same as it did last time around. (This much was fine; it's a great final boss battle!)

This really isn't essential, even for a Super Mario platformer, but it was fun and different and slightly more difficult with its short time limits and floatier controls. It also costs just $20 at full price, so keep that in mind if you're looking to build up a little Wii U library on the cheap.