So Phoenix Wright for the Wii. Very cool, right? I should have waited to post, because the Sequel Gods weren't through granting good cheer upon the niche gaming masses.

First, yesterday, Bully 2! Remember when I.. oh who am I kidding? Nobody would remember this. I mention Bully 2 in that blog. That was back in May. I was itching for a sequel to Bully, and Rockstar (Rockstar? Let me check. Yep, Rockstar) came through!

But most importantly.. Far more important than Bully or perhaps even Phoenix Wright, is this little announcement that came down the pipe today.

That's Hotel Dusk 2! Hotel freaking Dusk 2! And it's coming out (in Japan) in like 2 months!

If Nintendo of America doesn't bring this to western shores, they're going to have serious problems from me. This isn't like Trace Memory 2 or Fatal Frame IV. Hotel Dusk is a very big deal.

Ahem. Anyway.

Thank you Sequel Gods. Your generosity has not gone unnoticed in the usually apathetic gaming community. At least not by this gamer.

"Pleased to meet you, I just moved in. My name is Gerry Ford."
"Oh! Former president Gerald Ford?? Put 'er there. I'm Wonkyman."
"Say Wonk, do you like Phoenix Wright?"
"Do I ever!"
"Do you like the Wii?"
"Yes, Mr. Ford."
"Well, why don't you come over, and we'll play Pheonix Wright on the Wii. And then have some beer."
"Oooh!"

Germany had better not be yanking my chain!

Be warned ye gamers,
For these haiku have spoilers.
Tread at your own risk.

Phoenix Wright was great!
Then the sequel was alright.
The third rocked my socks.

Apollo Justice:
Higher production values
made me quite happy!

7 years later
Phoenix is a welfare case?
That's not cool, Capcom.

And then, where's Maya?
Not even in the flashback?
What is up with that?

I want to be told
What happened to Mia's sis
by Capcom themselves.

She's not a secret!
Phoenix has Kurain power
In the last chapter!

It would have been nice
To see her in the flashbacks.
That's all I'm saying.

Anyway, the game.
The first case set it all up
And was pretty good.

Wocky Kitaki
Stole the show in the second.
Wockyy! Bizzoyyyy, G!

Lost interest on 3.
Put the game down for a month.
It was quite farfetched.

But 4 saved the day
Made it interesting again
With several plot twists

It even cleaned up
The mess left in the 3rd case.
Quite a feat, I say.

In all, it was fine.
Crystal Skull of the franchise.
Which fits pretty well

My review is thus:
7.5 - A good try.
But I miss Maya.

Pros: Snackoos, Wocky
Very interesting last case.
Trucy is charming.

Cons: Mason System?
Case 3. Phoenix is a bum.
No Maya! Scandal!

Thank you for reading
Haiku can be difficult.
It's 5-7-5

So I'm not here to make any accusations or generally act like a dink. But I thought I'd share something unusual with you today. As you all know, I'm a big fan of the 2D platformer. And when one comes out for a system I don't own, it still catches my attention. So, today, I found myself clicking on a link to find out more about Lucidity for the 360.

Here's what Gamespot thinks as of the writing of this blog.

That sounds great, doesn't it? And nothing seems out of place until you realize one crucial detail. This game has yet to be reviewed. Look:

I found that odd, that they describe an upcoming game as "addictive" when they haven't reviewed it yet. And even moreso, that the average gamer and non-Gamespot critic response to this title is a mid-to-high meh. Isn't it a bit misleading for a gaming news site to be using opinion adjectives like "addictive" before they have even decided on a score for the game? It would be like if the defendant in a trial was referred to as guilty before the evidence was even presented. (THIS close to finishing Apollo Justice.)

But I didn't want to pick on Ludicity and find out that it's just something Gamespot does all the time. So I thought, let's be fair. What other downloadable, upcoming 2D platformers could I compare this to?

See that? That's a description that doesn't editorialize. .. Then again, it doesn't say much about the game at all. Action Adventure tells me butt. At least Lucidity's described the game. Let's try again.

Well that's even more terse! I'm really looking forward to Night SKY. Not only does this synopsis not do the game justice, nor contain any slanted adjectives to promote it before it's review, but the game page still has the working title. How insulting. Let's try one more time.

... Ugh. Come to whatever conclusions you'd like. I'm gonna climb into a hole and get back to playing niche games nobody cares about. Message me when gaming dies, hm?

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.

"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.