In the United States, the Wii has often been a repository for mediocre party and fitness games. This is less true in Japan, where Nintendo has released many big-budget, critically acclaimed Wii titles. Unfortunately, they have often decided that Americans don’t deserve these games, inspiring a major advocacy group to demand the release of several of these games. Nintendo’s refusal to release many games likely to appeal to core gamers on a platform that — in the U.S. — has a dearth of core games has infuriated many.

Of the eight games on this list, three — after much fanfare and an online campaign from advocacy group Operation Rainfall — were released in the US. While Nintendo denies any influence from OR in their decision, five major games they didn’t lobby for are permanently off-limits in North America — four from Nintendo, and one from a third-party company that Nintendo should have offered to publish here. Here’s a look at the lot.

What It Is — An entry in the creepy survival horror series co-developed by series creator Tecmo and Suda 51, the man behind the No More Heroes series. The game uses the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to aim a mind-destroying camera and a flashlight.

Interesting fact: Since the game was never released for English speakers, some clever gamers created an English patch for the game.