Retro Review: Excitebots Trick Racing for Nintendo Wii

Excitebots: Trick Racing – A Forgotten Gem

When it comes to unique racing games, few stand out as much as Excitebots: Trick Racing. Developed by Monster Games, this 2009 release deserves more love than it received during its initial launch. Whether you’re a fan of high-speed racing (similar to F-Zero) or wacky over-the-top minigames, Excitebots is worth a look—though it might not be what you’d expect from a typical racing game.

A Brief Background of Monster Games

Monster Games, the studio behind Excitebots, is no stranger to Nintendo fans. Before Excitebots, they developed the predecessor Excite Truck, a launch title for the Wii. They’ve also worked on notable 3DS games like the launch title Pilotwings Resort (I love that game) and the port Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, which included extra levels.

Excitebots debuted in North America in 2009 and later made its way to Japan in 2011. Unfortunately, the game never saw a European release due to poor sales and lukewarm reviews—a true shame for a game that’s both innovative and fun.

Gameplay: Racing with a Twist

If you’re a fan of high-speed racers like F-Zero or chaotic kart racers like Mario Kart, you may or may not like Excitebots. I’ll be honest, it’s a unique game almost in its own category (save for Excite Truck).

At its core, Excitebots is a racing game, but it breaks away from conventional mechanics in a big way. Unlike most racers where first place is the ultimate goal and the only way to win, Excitebots emphasizes scoring points.

That means you could lose a race while coming in first place. While some points are earned by performing well in the race, the real fun comes from its outlandish mini-games and stunts during the race.

Imagine racing at breakneck speeds and suddenly stopping to:

• Go fishing
• Throw pies at clowns
• Swing from poles

It’s as chaotic as it sounds, but thanks to stellar execution, it works. Few other racing games dare to blend traditional mechanics with such absurdity, but Excitebots pulls it off surprisingly well.

Controls and Presentation

The game is entirely motion-controlled using the Wii Remote (or Wii Wheel), with no Nunchuk support. While this might seem limiting, the motion controls are surprisingly tight and responsive about 99% of the time. Using the Wii Wheel makes the experience even more immersive. I believe using regular controls would make the game less fun.

However, it would’ve been nice to at least have the option to use regular controls for friends and family members that hate motion controls (but I understand that would’ve been hard to implement).

Visually, Excitebots is impressive. The graphics are vibrant, and the frame rate remains smooth even during its most intense moments. The sense of speed is astonishing—so much so that it almost makes F-Zero feel sluggish by comparison (like Sony’s Modnation Racers).

The soundtrack, while mostly enjoyable, features some dubstep tracks that might not be to everyone’s taste. Sadly, unlike Excite Truck, there’s no option to play custom music via the SD card slot. I have to ask: why not?

Multiplayer and Replayability

One area where Excitebots shines is its multiplayer mode. The game included online functionality that worked surprisingly well, allowing you to compete with others and show off your racing skills. Obviously, online multiplayer is not available in 2024, but you can still enjoy local multiplayer.

However, Excitebots remains a single-player joy too, with plenty of tracks, modes, and challenges to keep you coming back years after release.

Excitebots is a unique, crazy racing game that was overlooked by gamers on release but definitely deserves another chance if you have a way to play Wii games in modern times. Hopefully, we’ll see a sequel on the Switch 2 (but, to be honest, the chances of that are slim).