Sonic programmer not sure if Wii game Rodea the Sky Soldier will ever be released

From the lead programmer of NiGHTS into Dreams.

Yuji Naka, who programmed the original Sonic the Hedgehog and did most of the work on NiGHTS into Dreams, created a game called Rodea the Sky Soldier, which was scheduled to be released on the Wii and 3DS. It was reportedly finished a whole year ago but has yet to be published.

Naka: "We have finished developing the Wii version and we have already submitted it. That was around a year ago. But it seems like they are still considering the [details of] the 3DS version."

When asked about the possibility of the game possibly being released on the Wii U, Naka wasn't too keen on the idea.

Naka: "One unfortunate thing about the Wii U announcement: It doesn't come with a Wii remote," Naka lamented, "so Rodea and all the other Wii titles I created, people won't be able to play it with a Wii remote. They'll have to use the Wii U GamePad.

"I created the game specifically for the Wii remote, so it's going to turn into a totally different experience. I'm really down about that because Rodea is a really good game."

It's been finished for a year. Why hasn't it been released?

It seems odd that Naka doesn't seem to want to port the game to the Wii U simply because it doesn't come bundled with a Wii Remote. The fact is Wiimotes can be used with the new console and Nintendo Land even requires it. A lot of people who buy the Wii U will already have Wiimotes lying around the house so it seems like a non-issue. Also, the Wii U is backwards compatible with Wii games, so it's not like Naka and his development team would have to tweak the code or do an overhaul of the graphics if they didn't want to. If the game's as fun as he claims it is, people would buy it, and seeing as how Nintendo's new system will support digital distribution, making it available on the eShop would eliminate all the risks and costs of manufacturing. When a finished game doesn't get released, it's a real shame. It seems like a repeat of the Super Nintendo game Star Fox 2, which was "fully completed" but never released.

In addition to his work on the Sonic series, Yuji Naka was also the lead programmer of NiGHTS into Dreams, the classic action game with flight-focused gameplay. Rodea the Sky Soldier is also an action game based around flight, as you can see for yourself. Here's hoping the publisher, Kadokawa Shoten, will get around to releasing it at some point. Trailer after the break.


Source: The Verge