Ok, here´s the thing.. I´m getting a Wii U soon, along with The Wonderful 101, Wind Waker HD and a Pro controller, and was wondering if I´m missing some 'essential' part of the experience by choosing the Pro controller for those two games.

See, my brother has a Wii U and I´ve played it enough to come to the conclusion that I don´t really like the Gamepad..I mean, I like it for multiplayer experiences like Nintendo Land, but for single player games I find the Pro controller way superior when it comes to comfort, not to mention I think the battery life in the Gamepad is shit.

So, has anyone played those games with both controllers?...is that screen in controller used for any important part of the gameplay?

I don't have Wind Waker HD, but for Wonderful 101 there isn't really anything that essential about the Wii U gamepad that is game changing, in fact they even give you the option for off tv gaming with it.

No, it's not. But the gameplay feels way better, when you can easily switch weapons or look at a map while sailing in Wind Waker. I also love it to play the game on the gamepad while watching tv. At the Moment it don't revolutionize how you play games, but controlling with it is really awesome ;)

It doesn't make it better and the battery life is terrible. Maybe when the battery comes back?

Well there you have it folks. The wii u gamepad is pretty worthless for trying to change gameplay in a significant way. Not even the nintendo owned games take advantage of it in a meaningful way.

It is all about the right game. Rayman played pretty good with the gamepad in the Murphy sections. Every game is not going to be better with the gamepad but it can be for some.

Actually the GamePad has spoiled me.

To take Wind Waker as an example, your Item select and Map screen are naturally on the GamePad. Now that I got accustomed to this, I find switching back to the old menu-based systems and pausing the game to be overly cumbersome. It's just so slow and unnatural. I say, that screen is a keeper!

Not to mention off-tv play is genius (too bad that brings the menus back though ).

This is precisely the "big difference" I feel the gamepad brings. Off-TV gaming is a huge, huge thing IMO.

Wonderful 101 can be played without the gamepad, but is better played with it, the gamepad makes the gameplay really faster.

Wonderful 101 has some segments where you're using both screens together. For example one of them has you navigating a ship by jumping on giant buttons on the bottom screen. The top screen shows the outside of the ship. Hard to explain a bit, but it's a cool concept. Without the Gamepad, they do the same thing with picture in picture which felt awkward to me.

In Wonderful 101 you can also use touch screen controls for drawing shapes. Some people find that more comfortable, and some people like the second stick better.

For Wind Waker, I found switching items easier with the Gamepad, and I really enjoyed having my sea chart out at all times. I also used off screen play a lot, particularly for sailing before you can warp or use the swift sail.

So, personally, I think the Gamepad does make the experience a bit better. Both games are perfectly playable without it, but I'd suggest spending a bit of time with the Gamepad and seeing if it grows on you. Naturally the Pro Controller is going to be more comfortable at first because it's modeled after a 360 controller which you're more familiar with.