2009 Wii games – Part 3

In part 1, I previewed action and role-playing games and in Part 2, I previewed other up-market games. I think without a doubt, 2009 will be much better for the Wii core and hardcore gamers. The good thing, too, is that we’re not seeing an isolated up-market game here and there–we’re going to have several come out.

• February -5
• March – 3
• Q1 – 3
• June – 2

And several more are confirmed for 2009 but do not have specific dates announced. Is there a chance we’ll have a repeat of 2008 in which most of the better games come out in the first half? Yes, but if we look at even the unconfirmed though likely or possible games, I think we have good reasons to be encouraged for a solid second half of 2009 as well.

I think the success of the Q1 releases will be important and will perhaps have an effect on more game announcements. The fact is that, although the Wii has been out for 2 years, publishers weren’t on board from the outset. As its sales continued, the Wii was too popular to ignore. As a result, it appears that third-party games are just now catching up and releasing good, up-market games.

Below, I list the interesting but unconfirmed 2009 games or games worth mentioning at least.

Ougon no Kizuna – Genre: Action RPG – Release: Unconfirmed for NA and Europe
Giant, climbable bosses. Great art style. Xseed is “looking into it” so we might see it.

Icarian: Kindred Spirits [wiiware] – Genre: platform adventure – Release: TBA
A 1 or 2 player game, Icarian puts you in control of character flight, as well as shoot, “control winds,” and “move platforms.” This could be another Lost Winds.

Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon – Genre: RPG – Release: Unconfirmed for NAmerica and Europe
This is looking like not only a good, atmospheric RPG but a very deep one as well. See a link to a dev interview and my comments.

Dragon Master Spell Caster [wiiware] – Genre: – Release: Unconfirmed for NA and Europe
Ride dragons and cast spells? Developed with the Gamebryo engine? It’s like the opening bars to an Elvis Costello song–it could be great or not so, but it’s hard not to check it out.

Sorcery Blade [wiiware] – Genre: Action RPG – Release: Unconfirmed for NA and Europe
This is a random-encounter, turn-based RPG. More than likely, it won’t release outside of Japan, but who knows for certain.

Cosmic Walker – Genre: Shooter – Release: TBA
Who knows what we’re getting here, with no details except that it’s a title that Nintendo has announced. See a short clip at 2:45 in the following video.

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile – Genre: – Release: NAmerica 3/10/09 Europe 6/5/09
Even though a confirmed game, it’s a remake of a game that got mixed reviews. So far as is known, it is not being signficantly enhanced.

Rygar - Genre: action – Release: Namerica 2/3/09
Like Klonoa, this is another remake with a confirmed release date. And, again, it’s a remake of an average game, although some may find it fun.

Dynamic Slash – Genre: Action RPG – Release: TBA
This is a sword-slinging action game that was shown at Nntendo’s October 2008 conference, but little detail has been revealed.

Eternity’s Child [wiiware] – Genre: Platformer – Release: NAmerica unconfirmed Europe TBA
If this game ever releases for the Wii, and it may not, it could be a very entertaining game. Unfortunately, the metacritic score for the PC version is 63. However, Luc Bernard, the creator, is working on two other Wiiware games.