So Nintendo finally made the big reveal: Xenoblade Chronicles is coming to North American Wii consoles in 2012. Plenty of gamers were hoping for the Big N to make the announcement, and at times, it seemed as though the company didn't want to bring the game to this region. Thankfully, that wasn't the case in the end, and we now have another Wii title deserving of our attention. Hey, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword would have been an excellent swan song for Nintendo's shiny console, but Xenoblade Chronicles is pretty cool, too.
The thing that gets me most stoked is that I know I won't be unplugging my Wii and watching it collect dust for all of 2012. I'm currently playing through Skyward Sword, and I'm loving every minute of it. The art style, the music, the familiarity of the series, the new additions, and the impressive gameplay all add up to create an epic, and it's games like Skyward Sword that make me glad I invested in a Wii back at launch.
But my excitement shouldn't end with Skyward Sword. No Wii owner's excitement should end with this stellar entry in Nintendo's long-running epic. Those of us who have stuck with the console deserve at least one more great game, and I truly believe that Xenoblade Chronicles will be that next great game. So far, Nintendo hasn't announced anything too grand for 2012 aside from Xenoblade Chronicles. While Dragon Quest X is sure to turn some heads, its release for the Wii U makes it more the type of game to watch out for during that console's launch than a game to watch out for as the Wii fades away.
Xenoblade Chronicles is one of a handful of games that Wii owners living in North America have been asking for. Hell, a lot of Wii owners have been begging for the game. Nintendo's decision to release Xenoblade Chronicles in North America not only provides us all with something to look forward to, but it gives us a beacon of hope that maybe other games will be released here in North America–games like The Last Story and Pandora's Tower. That's right, Nintendo, we haven't forgotten about those.
Whether or not those two RPGs will get released here in North America currently remains to be seen, but it's very possible. If it does happen, 2012 could be a great year for the Wii. If The Last Story and Pandora's Tower do get localized in this region alongside Xenoblade Chronicles and Dragon Quest X, it would be an excellent year for Wii-owning RPG lovers. While not everyone likes RPGs (what's wrong with these people?), there are certainly plenty of RPG fans who want some solid titles for the Wii. Bringing the four games mentioned here to North American Wii consoles, all within the span of one year, would provide Wii owners with something great to look forward to as the Wii draws its last breath.
Of course, there's one other game that never got released for the Wii here in North America. This game received positive reviews but sadly failed to sell a lot of copies, which means it will likely never launch outside of Japan. The game is Captain Rainbow, and it's a Wii title that should have gotten more attention in Japan and a release outside the land of the rising sun. In all honesty, I know Captain Rainbow will never launch here in North America, but a gamer can dream, right? It won't happen, but I truly believe that Captain Rainbow–with all its quirkiness and colorful charm–would be a great way to end 2012 for the Wii here in North America. Four epic RPGs followed by a crazy action-adventure game–that's how you end a console's life cycle.
Of course, it won't happen that way. Currently, all we have to look forward to in 2012 is Xenoblade Chronicles, as far as Wii exclusives are concerned. Still, that's not a bad thing by any means. If we only get Xenoblade Chronicles, that will be one RPG we wanted and got, as opposed to not getting anything at all. I think I speak for a lot of gamers when I say that for a good while it seemed as though we weren't going to get much of anything for the Wii in 2012.
Like many of you, I really hope The Last Story and Pandora's Tower come to North America along with Xenoblade Chronicles. Will it happen? It's hard to say at this point. One thing is certain, though: North American Wii owners have something grand to look forward to following Skyward Sword. We have something to look forward to besides Dragon Quest X. We have a Japanese RPG that we were all asking for, that we all thought we wouldn't get. Nintendo is bringing Xenoblade Chronicles to North America, and that's definitely a good thing. Don't get rid of that Wii just yet!
