This blog goes out to my friend Julianozuca, who relies on me to condense several weeks worth of GoNintendo articles into one pithy Gamespot blog. Oh wait. Did I say GoNintendo? Just forget I said that.
Be warned. My Friday plans were cancelled, so I had lots of time to write. It's long.
Q3 (aka Near Future)
Bit.Trip Void

I like these Bit.Trip games. They're hard, but so charmingly uber-retro that you just have to love them. Retro, but at the same time, very new and refreshing, which is a condradiction, but it's my blog, so moo. What I'd love, and this is my distaste for digital distribution showing, is if once all six Bit.Trips are out, if they'd release them on a disc, called Bit.Trip Disc. Or Bit.Trip Bonanza. Bit.Trip Bundle. Bit.Trip Box? I don't know. I'm not a marketing graduate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWXtcDc8JY4
So in this Bit.Trip, you're a black orb (Well, chunky pixels made to simulate an orb), and you have to collect the black pixels and avoid the white ones. But the more black pixels you collect, the bigger you get and the harder it is to avoid the white ones. There's also this thing where you can deposit the black pixels you've collected so far, and they're worth more the more you deposit at once, but if you hit a white pixel you lose them. Did I make sense? It's fun, dagnabbit!
Cave Story

Ah, Cave Story. The 2D fan-made internet smash hit phenomenon RPG/sidescoller hybrid nostalgia-infused game-thing-what-I-never-played. I know some of you are saying "Bah humbug. I can plays it fer free, I can. Why shoulds I buys it on the WiiWare like a sucker?" Well Becky Sue, I'll tell you why. Because they've spent many a fortnight purdying up the graphics for you to enjoy. Odd thing to say about a game designed to look like a NES game. But Nicalis (one of my favourite developpers, currently) has decided that SNES is really where the nostalgia is at. And I'm inclined to agree, especially watching this trailer here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULxQOotbngo
So I've never played the thing, but word on the street is good. And the music gives me the happies. I love chiptune music, don't you? I would buy albums of the stuff if I could.
You, Me, and the Cubes

I just found out about this game a couple days ago. Apparently it was at E3. Why did I not hear a peep about it during E3? That tears it, I'm going to E3 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds2jzQNdLNo
So it's a puzzle game that sort of makes me think of the Mii Channel, only imagine chucking your Miis onto a slippery, tippable surface on the brink of an abyss, and then trying to make sure they don't die an unimaginable death.
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"When you fall into a bottomless pit, you die of starvation."
Q4 (aka Just Before Christmas)
And Yet It Moves

Say what you want, but I like arty games. And And Yet It Moves is pretty arty. (Sorry about that And And business. I just couldn't resist.) If there's one thing developpers are doing a lot this generation, or at least on the Wii, is perspective games. Mario Galaxy, Super Paper Mario and Fez are all games that challenge your feeble human brain to rethink your perspective and find solutions you wouldn't normally consider using ridiculous concepts like logic or physics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAg0eJcuQZs
And Yet It Moves was a project created by European computer science students, but has since won awards and accolades, so they decided, hey, let's Cave Story it's ass. And so it was.
Lost Winds: Winter of the Melodias

If you haven't heard of this game, or it's predacessor, I'm going to assume you either have never visited my blog, or you are an ugly poo face and I hate you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w84pKWdsK1M
Hello new people and ugly people! Lost Winds! It's about this kid who can control the powers of the god of wind, and it's all sweet and peaceful and full of nature and old timey buildings and ruins and goopy monsters who want to eat your face. It was a launch game for WiiWare and it kicked everyone else's arse. Even Nintendo's. Come to think of it, what did Nintendo release at WiiWare's launch? All I remember is this, Defend Your Castle and FFCC: My Life as a King.
So right. Now there's a sequel. Wait. Scratch that. Now there's finally a sequel. Yes.
Zombie Panic in Wonderland

Oh man I love this game. So here's the basic rundown. Wonderland, meaning "Alice In" not "Canada's", has been infested with zombies. Lots of zombies. And it's up to you, asexual anime hero boy, to shoot those zombies. With machine guns. A lot. It seems to take a page from Sin & Punishment. Only unlike S&P, Zombie Panic doesn't take itself seriously. And that makes me happy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuAefQ8IN_U
Snow White also seems to be in the trailer, killing everything. It also seems to offer local multiplayer, which will make my offline friends happy.
Q1 (aka The Q of the Skinny Wallet)
La Mulana

Now, you'll have to forgive me, but this is a title I don't know all that much about. But it's on my radar for 2 reasons. a) It's being made my Nicalis, who is actually making 3 of the 9 WiiWare games on this list, and is my hero. And 2) It's a 2D retro platformer. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'd a 2D platformer junkie. But look at it! Oh wait. Let me give you the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAsDRIF25SE
But look at it! It's like Indiana Jones meets Castlevania meets Cave Story meets 1989. I don't have to know much about it to know I want it to come out.
Night Sky

Some of you with good memories might recall I've been waiting like a good muggle for this game for a long time. It was called Night Game for a while, then just Night, but now it's Night Sky. And it's purdy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h08ZvuC1QDI
It seems to be a physics-based game in which you move this little marble across levels of silhouetted rocks and cliffs and construction sites and hangy death chains, while a really kind of serene music plays. Again, I like arty games and I like Nicalis. And this has to be my most anticipated on this list.
Super Meat Boy

Shame I had to say Night Sky was my most anticipated and then ask Super Meat Boy to follow up. Sorry Super Meat Boy. But I mean, wow. Look at this thing. That blob of meat can really jump. Playing this almost scares me. But in a good way. This seems to be a trend, but this is a 2D platformer, that takes a page from old cartidge game days, which was a hit flash game and has been Cave Storied!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl8MVEfWong
The game reminds me in no small way of Earthworm Jim. And I hear there are several cameos or playable characters maybe? All from the indie game scene. Alien Hominid, the guy from Braid, the Bit.Trip thing, all in this insanely difficult game about a chunk of meat out to save a pink chunk of meat. Or something.
So there you have it! 8 games you probably didn't know existed, and LostWinds 2. All coming to your Wii between now and.. what, March? Sure.
Comments
That was a fantastic read and I love the humor! I am looking forward to Night Sky, Cave Story, LostWinds 2 and La Mulana! 2-D platformers FTW!
And Yet It Moves, I heard about that game awhile back, but never thought it could come to Wii.
Looks pretty psychedelic.
Lost Winds 2 !!! Can't wait for that.
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I would also buy chiptunes if they were commercially available. Shame on you, music industry. *crosses arms*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJukB5hJybE
WiiWare is such an under-appreciated platform, but it really has started to come into its own lately, and it looks like it's about to explode in the near future. Heck, with only a handful of retail Wii games that excited me for the rest of this year, it's both great and a tad worrisome to know that there are a number of WiiWare releases that are going to put some pressure on me as far as gaming budget goes. It also looks like I'll definitely need to invest in an SD card soon, as I can't keep trying to manage the games on my system in order to enjoy them. lol
If you don't excuse me, I'll be trying to update my list wish with these games to ensure that I'm aware of them come release time.
I do entries like these basically because I hear comments around Gamespot and the like so often, that there's nothing worth playing on the Wii. And I figure I can either argue with them or help get the word out. There has to be some info not getting out to your average gamer, because I only own a Wii and DS and gaming costs me a lot of money.
This list has only made me more excited about the future of the service and I think the Wii's future is great if these games are executed well and are well-supported. Not that I'm one of those people who tries to scare people into buying certain games, but I do hope that these upcoming titles are given some time in the spotlight. Blog entries like this one are my favorite to read, seeing as how it takes something pretty cool to get my hyped about something I wasn't already eyeballing. That's why I can't help but give you kudos for doing at least a few times in one entry.
And thanks to you my 'tracked games list' reached the number 193 - maybe I'm a tracking junkie, I don't know... I wish Gamespot could handle me an emblem or something.
Just downloaded the free PC versions of La Mulana and Cave Story and I'll try them anytime soon. I'll be back to tell you how they look. Keep up the good work!
By the way, I'm not into game such as the conduit
You'll have to let me know what you think of La-Mulana. I'm interested, just not entirely sure what to expect.
In time, here is something for you:
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/wiiware/artstyle/index.html?cubeleo.
Looks good to me. I hope I can add at least one game to your tracked list...
Gamespot doesn't have it for us to track though... (sad)
johnsteed7