8 Popular Franchises You Forgot Had Wii Games

Highlights

• Wii was a hit with all ages, but some forgotten third-party games failed to capture hardcore gamers’ attention.
• Konami’s
  ReBirth
  series on the Wii received positive reviews for enhancing classic titles like
  Contra
  .
• Some Wii exclusives like
  Soulcalibur Legends
  brought unique gameplay experiences to popular franchises.

When the Wii was released in 2006, it quickly exploded as the number one console across a wide demographic. It became so popular that the elderly were even getting down to play some Wii bowling. There were a lot of good first-party games from Nintendo to keep the hardcore gamers satiated, from Super Mario Galaxy to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

However, third-party companies that tried to capture those same hardcore players with spinoffs to popular franchises made games that are now forgotten on the Wii. A lot of them were ports like Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, which was just the first game with added motion controls. Are these other examples just as forgettable or should they be more widely-remembered?

8 Castlevania Judgement

A Dracula-Infused Fighting Game

• Released: November 18, 2008
• Developer: Eighting
• Publisher: Konami

Most games in the Castlevania franchise fall into the action-adventure or Metroidvania categories. Castlevania Judgement is the one time Konami published a fighting game featuring classic series characters battling along with new ones. It was a Wii exclusive, and it has never been ported to another console.

One of the for that reasons might stem from the low review scores as seen aggregated on Metacritic. It gave players some fun crossover fan service, but it didn’t add much to the franchise as a whole, and certainly douldn’t compete in the fighting game landscape.

7 Contra ReBirth

Trapped Konami Remakes

• Released: September 7, 2009 (NA)
• Developer: M2
• Publisher: Konami

Konami made a better move with the ReBirth series, which was a trilogy of remakes from the NES era. There was Contra ReBirth, Castlevania ReBirth, and Gradius ReBirth. All three were enhanced, 16-bit adjacent remakes for the Wii, and they remain trapped on the console too.

All three reviewed well thanks to graphical upgrades and gameplay tweaks, making for smoother experiences overall. Konami has been re-releasing some of their classics lately, including Castlevaniaand Contra games, so maybe a boxed set will eventually come out featuring these three remakes.

6 Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed

A Missing Chunk In The Trilogy Timeline

• Released: February 25, 2008
• Developer: Locomotive Games
• Publisher: THQ

Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed is the final game in the trilogy, and was not supposed to be a Wii exclusive. It was set to release on the PS2 and the PSP, but both ports were canceled.

The first two games have been remastered recently, so there is the possibility that Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed can escape the Wii someday. For now, players will have to take over mankind and turn them into hot dogs on an older system. The plot is truly one of the wackiest in the trilogy, so it is actually worth the effort to play.

A Prequel That Sets Up Isaac’s Misadventures

• Released: September 29, 2009
• Developer: EA Redwood Shores, Eurocom
• Publisher: EA

Dead Space Extraction is a rare game on this list that did escape the Wii. However, the PS3 port into HD also remains lost to time on that console.

This was a light-gun spinoff to Dead Space, filling fans in on how the USG Ishimura fell to the Necromorphs in the first game. Players could grab a hold of classic weapons from the series, from tools to real guns. For an on-rails horror experience, it holds up well, especially with a buddy along for the co-op experience.

4 Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen And The Tower Of Mirrors

A First-Person Take On A Classic Formula

• Released: February 19, 2008 (NA)
• Developer: Genius Sonority, 8ing
• Publisher: Square Enix

There have been a lot of Dragon Quest spinoffs over the years, but this is up there as one of the most unique takes on the series. Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors is a first-person on-rails experience similar to Dead Space Extraction, minus the violent horror. Players could use the Wiimote as a sword to thwart classic monsters like Slimes.

There were moments where players could explore freely, like in towns, but these sections were brief. Also, players could gather party members to help in battle, making it feel like a legit Dragon Quest game. Square Enix tried this with a plug-and-play setup too, with Kenshin Dragon Quest: Yomigaerishi Densetsu no Ken, but that was only released in Japan.

3 Far Cry Vengeance

An Enhanced Remake Among Dozens

The beginning of the Far Cry series was quite confusing before Ubisoft started naming them with numbers. Originally, the first Far Cry was a PC-only game, but it was remade for the original Xbox under the title Far Cry Instincts. That version received a direct sequel called Far Cry Instincts: Evolution.

Far Cry Vengeance is a remake of Far Cry Instincts: Evolution for the Wii, with enhancements like movement controls making it a unique entry. Far Cry Instincts: Predator was an Xbox 360 collection of Far Cry Instincts and Far Cry Instincts: Evolution and the port is not based on the Wii version, making Far Cry Vengeance a Wii-exclusive experience.

2 Samurai Warriors: Katana

A New Way To Musou

• Released: January 15, 2008 (NA)
• Developer: Omega Force
• Publisher: Koei Tecm

Koei Tecmo has tried a lot of things with its various Musou series, including with Samurai Warriors. The third main entry in the series was a Wii exclusive, which made sense given Koei Tecmo tends to release this specific series on the most popular console of the day. They also made a spinoff called Samurai Warriors: Katana which was a Wii exclusive.

It is played in first-person, with players controlling their katana with the Wiimote’s motion sensors, like with Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors. Players are given more freedom in Samurai Warriors: Katana though with their weapon choices, and as far as the series goes, this Wii version holds up well to other Samurai Warriors games.

1 Soulcalibur Legends

A Fighting Game Turned Brawler

• Released: November 20, 2007
• Developer: Project Soul
• Publisher: Bandai Namco

Not many fighting games make the jump into the brawler genre, but Soulcalibur did via Soulcalibur Legends. This is a Wii exclusive, and it remains so to this day. It can be played like a normal action game, though without many motion-based gimmicks that make it unique.

Players can jump into the shoes of famous fighters like Siegfried, Ivy, and Sophitia, and many others. The game makes good use of the weapons for the playable characters – like Ivy’s weird sword-whip – which makes every character feel unique.