Five Wii games you should have played, but probably didn't

Unlike the DS, there's still a smidge of life left in the ol' Wii--thanks to 2012 releases like Mario Party 9, Rhythm Heaven Fever and Xenoblade Chronicles. That trio of titles is about all that's worth picking up for Nintendo's little white wonder next year, though, which means it'll be all but dead by the time the Wii U hits store shelves later this year.

As such, this is a good time for new and old Wii owners alike to pick up a few of the system's should-have-been-classics (in my opinion, of course)--like the ones included on the following list--before they become impossible to find or impossible to afford:

1. Art Style: Cubello--This often-frenetic puzzler (called Cubeleo in Japan, for some strange reason) was one of the first WiiWare titles, yet it's still among the very best the service has to offer. All you really need to know about this pleasingly and colorfully 3D release: It was made by the folks at skip Ltd.--aka the same folks responsible for the Chibi-Robo! series as well as wackadoodle titles like Captain Rainbow and GiFTPiA.

2. Endless Ocean--Here's another game, like Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, that I've mentioned so many times that half of you (if not more) probably let out a huge sigh when you saw I was going to talk about it again. Sorry about that. It's just that this "scuba simulator" was all but ignored in every region, as far as I'm aware. Curiously, this game's sequel, Endless Ocean: Blue World, is cheaper at the moment, so you may want to pick up that version instead. Just be warned that I've yet to play it, so I can't say if it's better or worse than developer Arika's original effort.

3. Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon--This recommendation comes with a disclaimer: If you're not at all interested in or at least curious about roguelikes and/or dungeon-crawling RPGs, you're probably not going to get much enjoyment out of this game. To everyone else: Go into this one (order it here) with an open mind and expect to grind, old-school style. Oh, and don't be afraid to say "awww" whenever the titular Chocobo does something cute (which will be often).

Hey, Nintendo: Where are my Art Style compilations?

At the end of October (on the 25th, to be exact), Nintendo of America will offer up to the DS-owning masses a $19.99 piece of software called Art Academy.

If you don't own a DSi--or if you do but you haven't paid much attention to Nintendo's DSiWare service--you may not know that Art Academy began life as a pair of downloadable titles.

As a DSi-less gamer who would love to experience the above-mentioned, buzz-worthy titles, I'm pleased as punch that the brass at Nintendo have decided to go this route. Given that, I have to wonder why they haven't yet combined all of their DSiWare and WiiWare Art Style games into similar available-at-retail compilations, especially considering seven of the former (Art Style: PiCTOBiTS, right, among them) and five of the latter currently exist.

Admittedly, the Art Academy games may be more attractive to the casual set that Nintendo has shown such an affinity for this generation and, as such, they may be more marketable as well, but I think the Art Style games could go far, too, if given the proper backing.

Pre-order: Art Academy