Monster Games arcade racer with spectacular jumps and barrel rolls. Precise tilt-Wiimote controls, snappy tracks, stylish challenges. An excellent Wii arcade racing series, recommended for fans of unfiltered arcade thrills.
Your verdict
Category
Racing1 player7+
Description
Futuristic racing game developed by Monster Games and published by Nintendo in Japan in January 2009. Animal-shaped robots - frogs, spiders, butterflies - race on elaborate circuits sliding, jumping and performing acrobatic tricks. Wii Remote tilt steering, trick points, in-race mini-games - bowling, soccer - and speed boosts. Japanese version known in the West as ExciteBots.
Excite Mou Machine review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
The vehicles have been replaced by metal animals. A frog with articulated legs, a spider that folds up, a butterfly with sheet-metal wings: every chassis borrows an animal anatomy and translates it into visible mechanics, rams, hinges, riveted plates. The tracks, cluttered with funfair props, finish turning the race into a carnival ride rather than a championship.
The writing follows arcade-hall logic. Every successful trick sets off a rising chime, every mini-event dropped into the middle of the race brings its own few-second ditty, and the backing track, light electro-funk, just holds the place between two audio rewards. You end up playing for those little chords as much as for the standings.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Piloting souped-up bug-bots that cartwheel, score points mid-flip and chain absurd stunts: this sequel pushes Excite Truck's madness even further. The racing favours style and risk-taking as much as speed. Snappy, deranged and bursting with ideas, a gleeful arcade racer that turns every jump into a chance to show off.
A wild arcade racer where animal-robots chain flips and minigames at full tilt, a supercharged heir to Excite Truck. Released only in North America and with no promotion, it stayed invisible elsewhere. For fans of breakneck speed, generous content and pure fun, it's a sparkling blast that few ever got to try.
Is Excite Mou Machine still worth playing in 2026?
The Japanese version of Monster Games' Excitebots concept, Excite Mou Machine pushes the arcade formula towards animal robot vehicles able to pull off acrobatics and wild mini-games mid race. The tilt steering with the Wiimote, the generosity of the stunts and the inventiveness of the challenges give it a frankly offbeat character. Occasional lack of readability and uneven content limit the momentum. An original arcade racer for fans of motion driving and atypical Japanese designs.
