-A deep, realistic racer
-A really fun, wacky, kart/arcade racer not called Mario Kart
-A deep RPG, preferably fantasy-themed, preferably turn-based, not Twilight Princess
-A really fun platformer not named Mario Galaxy
-Another new retro game in the spirit of Mega Man 9
Or are any of them on the horizon?
Just considering turn-based RPGs:
Dragon Quest X will be coming out for the Wii, but probably not until next year at the earliest.
For this year, Arc Rise Fantasia looks to fit that bill.
There are several good action RPGs already on the system (Okami, Rune Factory, Tales of Symphonia II) or on their way (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers - I hope).
Kart/Arcade racer: Excite Truck (Launch game) / Excitebots (shiny new, lots of fun)
Bethesda is coming out with something for the Wii… should be interesting.
Codemasters is coming out with F1 2009 and Dirt 2 (off road rally racing) this Fall.
For kart racing, NASCAR Kart Racing would be your best bet. But I haven’t played it and the reviews are only average.
For arcade racing, pick the previously mentioned Excite Truck. It rocks.
Dragon Quest X is coming, but it’s really far away. Otherwise, I’d have to dig some more.
Klonoa just came out a few days ago, it’s a remake of a PS1 game, but the original rocked and by all accounts, the remake does too.
Gradius ReBirth came out a few months ago. It’s done in 16-bit style and it pretty decent. And Contra ReBirth was just announced, it’ll also be done in 16-bit style, but it has no release date as of yet.
Since DQ IX isn’t due until July in Japan, and a nonspecific time in the fourth quarter of the year in NA (and don’t even bother asking about Europe), and may be delayed yet again before then…I wouldn’t expect X until at least mid-2011.
Super Paper Mario for the Wii was a lot of fun. It’s kind of a mix between the older NES and SNES Mario games, but with some RPG twists. It’s mostly a platformer, though.
Thanks everyone so far. NASCAR Kart Racing (grrr, I hate Nascar!) and Contra Rebirth look the best out of what’s been posted, from what I can tell. That F1 2009 game looks like it could be really good, too!
I thought for some reason Dragon Quest X was already out. Is that the one that’s supposed to be on rails, or am I thinking of something else?
That’s Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors. It came out a while ago but was just a spinoff. Dragon Quest X will be a turn-based RPG in the main DQ series.
Ah, thanks. I will definitely keep my eyes open for Dragon Quest X then. Dragon Warrior for the NES was one of my favorite games as a kid. It completely blew me away. I never played any of the other games in the series, though.
A really quick search suggests there’s no trailer yet?
Nah. Dragon Quest IX (which is coming to the DS) isn’t even out yet.