Wii RPGs of 2007

Being an RPG Site, some might say we're just a little bit bias, but we think that RPGs have a massive effect on the so called "console wars." Just look at the PS1, for example, which received a gigantic boost from Final Fantasy VII switching production from the N64 to Sony's console. This damaged Nintendo and was a major contributing factor in propelling Sony to become number one.

Similarly, we can expect Square-Enix's moving Dragon Quest IX, the latest game in the most popular series in Japan to keep fuelling crazy DS sales until everybody in the country has one. But what about the Nintendo Wii? How does its line-up look for the upcoming year? Let's take a peek.

Super Paper Mario
Super Paper Mario was a surprising game -- first shown off in the midst of the Wii hysteria at E3 2006, but for Gamecube, it was considered by many to look great - a fitting game, perhaps, to say goodbye to the Gamecube with. It seems that Nintendo realised they wouldn't be maximising potential sales for this game by releasing it on the Gamecube after the Wii has launched, and so they cancelled the Gamecube version and shifted all production to the Wii.

While the game looks like a 2D platformer with cute graphics, the game actually takes the Paper Mario universe and turns it into a semi-3D action adventure. Making use of 2D and 3D perspectives, Mario can jump deeper into, or further out of the pages of the game's "book" as well as from side to side. The game will have you sliding from 2D to 3D with ease. Naturally, all the rest is down to tradition -- eight worlds, puzzles, items, and of course all the RPG elements you'd expect from a Paper Mario title. Definitely one to watch.

Alien
When I think Alien, I think of the classic movie franchise. I also think of the final battle of Conker's Bad Fur Day on the N64, and the Sega Saturn Alien game that used to scare the life out of me when I was younger. It's been a long time since an Alien game has been on a new console, but soon, thanks to Sega, you'll be able to play an all new Alien RPG on your Wii.

Sega has commissioned Obsidian Entertainment of Neverwinter Nights 2 fame to develop the title. The game is actually set to be multiplatform -- on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC as well as the Wii, but undoubtedly thanks to the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, the Wii version will control very differently. Little is known about the title so far, but looking at Obsidian's RPG track record and the great Alien franchise, we've got very high hopes for this one.

Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors
Wow, what a name. Try saying that one when you're drunk. Well, first of all, we can very much see this getting a renaming (or just dropping the subtitle altogether) for it's Western release. Names like that don't tend to fly over here. Aside from that, this title is an interesting one as it's a spin-off, not a main entry to the Dragon Quest series. Dragon Quest Swords puts you into a first person view to tackle battles, and you hold the sword in your hand with the Wii Remote. Imagine a Time Crisis with swords -- your character moves on a fixed path through levels and you must slash, stab and strike your way to victory.

Only swinging your sword around wouldn't be much fun, and would get old fast -- because of this you'll also have a plethora of defensive moves, special attacks and magic spells of both the offensive and defensive variety. You don't use the nunchuk in this game, instead you just press A to bring up your shield to defend yourself from enemies. While Dragon Quest Swords isn't the deepest game in this list, it's a hell of a lot of fun and a worthy addition to the Dragon Quest series.

Fire Emblem: Goddess of Dawn
Aside from Zelda (whose RPG status is under constant debate,) the Fire Emblem series is hugely popular and a Wii title is already in the works. The game is running on a similar engine to the previous title on the Gamecube and as such you can expect similar gameplay. Expect better visuals that make use of the extra horsepower the Wii has over the Gamecube and of course an all new, engrossing story.

The most interesting thing about this game is that the last time we saw it, it was controlling with the classic controller -- rather than using any new Wii Remote method of inputting your attacks, they are selected exactly as you did on the Gamecube version with the Classic Controller add-on. Nintendo declined to comment if this was the final setup for the game or if it was a simple test setup for the early version of the game we saw. They did tell us that it was a very early build of the game, and much will change, so we'll bring you more on that aspect as we get it. As the latest entry in a popular series, this is definitely one to watch. It hits Japan in February 2007.

Pokemon Battle Revolution
A lot of people overlook the fact that Pokemon is an RPG - but it is! Turn based, levelling up... it has all the requirements for our RPGSite definition of an RPG anyway, so here it is. Pokemon Battle Revolution is the spiritual successor to the Pokemon Stadium titles, allowing players to upload their Pokemon from their DS wirelessly and play with them in glorious 3D.

There's one interesting addition this time around - Online Battling! The first Wii game to make use of the Nintendo WiFi network, you'll be able to battle your Pokemon against others from around the world. Finally, the evolution Pokemon's been waiting for has arrived with online competition. With luck, we should see this by the Summer in the West.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
This game was announced way back in E3 2005, and since then we've seen one very small clip of it. The game is a sequel to the multiplayer Action RPG for Gamecube of the same name. While it isn't a main entry in the Final Fantasy series, it is still a spin-off and features all the hallmarks you would expect from a Final Fantasy title.

What we do know about the game is that it will still be a mainly multiplayer experience. It is also tipped to feature Wi-Fi elements, though what these will be is anybody's guess -- here at RPGSite, we're hoping for online play with people from your Wii friends list. The game is also set to be compatible with the Nintendo DS version of the game in some way, but again, nothing has been confirmed yet. While details are shadowy, the series, developer, and amount of promise the Gamecube title showed tells us that this one will be a biggie. Will it hit in 2007? Well, that's a whole other question.

All other business...
There's also a few announced games that we've had no details on yet that are worth mentioning--There's a Koei RPG that as yet is untitled, and another from Konami. From Software, the guys behind 360 and PS3's Enchanted Arms are also bringing us an Action RPG, and Nintendo's own Camelot has one in the works.

Namco are working on an RPG title called Sword of Legendia, which we believe is related to Tales of Legendia.

The amount of RPGs announced for the Wii right now (compared to the PS3 and the Xbox 360) is somewhat lacking. Despite that, the console already shows promise for us RPG fans, with some interest and most importantly unconventional titles on it's line-up for 2007. Interestingly, so far Wii seems to be the spin-off system - it's getting versions of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, but not main entries into the series proper. Is this down to the Wii's weaker graphical power, or something else? We'll investigate this later in our RPGs of 2007 series. Every title on this list should land in one region by the end of 2007, so keep an eye out for them.

Stick with us at RPGSite for all the latest information on Nintendo Wii RPGs. Next in the series: Xbox 360 RPGs for 2007.

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