And so we’ve had our Nintendo Direct goodness for the day. And, as usual, a lot was shown. And boy was it amazing. First, a new Pokémon X and Y trailer. Oh it is looking so good, and by the time of release, it will just be too good to even play. But play it we must. Two new features, one of which is a new type. Fairy. It is super effective to dragon. Returning Pokémon Jigglypuff, Gardevoir, and Marill will take on this new type. Hold on, Marill? Anyway, the new Eeveelution Sylveon also takes this type. The next feature, called Pokémon Amie [A-Me] sees you feeding and petting Pokémon to bond more with them. Seems interesting. Oh, and did I mention that the game will be coming October this year. On the twelfth?
Super Mario 3D World takes the 3DS game and makes it better. Four players, stunning scenery, even more additions to the gameplay, and Cat Mario… A new powerup that gives the player the abilities of a cat, including scratching enemies to defeat them and climbing up walls (and the end flagpole). Playable characters are Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad. The game will be available in December this year.
Next up, Mario Kart 8. And boy does it look even better than before. Bikes are back, it looks like twelve racers are back, new karts and returning gliding and underwater sections. New is hover mode and anti-grav racing, which leads to twisting tracks and even driving upside down.
As for tracks, it looks like we have a new Luigi’s Mansion track, a new Peach’s Castle track, a new chocolate/candy themed track, some type of city themed track (City Escape from Sonic Generations-like), a ruins type track, a desert type track, and it seems returning 3DS favourites Piranha Plant Pipeway, Melody Motorway, and the Wii’s Dry Dry Ruins. I cannot wait for it, but we’ll have to wait until Spring 2014 to get our hands on it.
Party games! Wii Party U. 80 new minigames, control schemes using both Gamepad and Wii Remotes, and brand new board game styles [of play]. Bad news. It’s not coming in the Summer as previously stated in the January Direct. Same goes for Wii Fit U. Wii Party U will instead be coming October, and Wii Fit U will be coming December. Miiverse has become a centre for quality drawings. So, new Art Academy. And as a bonus, the Miiverse gets new tools for it. Like coloured pens.
Third party developers. Small trailers. Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag. Batman: Arkham Origins [Blackgate – 3DS]. Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut. Disney Infinity. Just Dance 2014. Rayman Legends. Scribblenauts Unlimited – A DC Comics Adventure [WiiU/3DS]. Disney’s Planes. Shin Megami Tensei IV [3DS]. Skylanders SWAP Force [WiiU/3DS]. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Sonic Lost World [WiiU/3DS]. Watch Dogs. All in 2013.
2013 eShop releases [with small trailers]. Ballpoint Universe. Cloudberry Kingdom. Coaster Crazy Deluxe. Duck Tales: Remastered. Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara. Mutant Mudds Deluxe. Oddworld: New ‘N’ Tasty. Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails. Shovel Knight. Spin the Bottle: Bumpie’s Party. A World of Keflings.
And then. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. Visuals rendered at 1080p, and it looks amazing. The shaders of the WiiU are fully utilised to make this version look the best it can be. Tingle Tuner replaced with the Tingle Bottle so you can post on Miiverse with text or screenshots, so that bottles might wind up in someone else’s game. The game looks so good, this might just be my first proper Zelda game I will buy.
The Wonderful 101, the Pikmin-esque game featuring super heroes battling in a city against an invasion force of giant robots. New moves can be purchased from the in-game shop with credits earned from missions, and to activate them and go into ‘Unite Mode’ by drawing the symbol on the Gamepad. Five players can also play together, with Wii Remotes and one with the Gamepad, with each player controlling their own heroes, and have their own powers. Releases September 15. It was also said a Direct will be coming soon focused entirely on this game near to launch. Good to hear.
The new Donkey Kong Country game looks even more hectic than the previous one, and much more stunning. A lot more camera angles able to be used, and the visuals are fully enhanced. The plot is Donkey Kong island has been over-run by Vikings from the north sea, and DK needs to travel to five islands to stop them. Co-op is in again, with Dixie Kong available for the second player, as well as Diddy, who’s returning. Dixie has flight abilities which help in the game. It looks just as hard as previous games in the series. Oh, it looks a good game for those who like platformers, but since I’m not really one of them (okay, okay. Mario and Sonic are the only two though) I’d recommend it to anyone who is. This is – Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, available November.
Bayonetta 2 now has a new trailer, showing two characters duking it out, before gameplay footage of the game. It showcases the range of moves available, and looks over-the-top in a good way. A vague release of 2014 was given, but more info will soon be coming our way when E3 starts proper, which I suppose is now. Monolith Soft’s game, and it looks like we Nintendo fans have our own version of Titanfall in X. Open world action gameplay, and mechs that can fly. The graphics are stunning. The action is incredible. And if this looks good, I’m getting it. I’m all up for open world games.
And then. The ultimate. Animal Crossing! No. It’s Super Smash Bros 4. We got the 3DS gameplay first, which looks cel-shaded. And then, we got to the WiiU version. Looking just as good as ever, Pit is retuning again, as is the usual cast. But, two new characters were revealed. They wouldn’t show Animal Crossing without reason, and that reason came with a net landing on Mario’s head and the words ‘Villager comes to town’. Showing a male villager from Wild World. His attacks range from the various things in the Animal Crossing universe. And then, the logo’s for both games, then the date. That would seem to be that.
Oh, no it wasn’t. We was then treated to the classic New Challenger Approaching sign. And, up on a mountain, a figure with hair. Which then turns to a helmet, and then, the silhouette is revealed. Megaman comes to Super Smash Bros. A new trailer commences with Megaman battling. The website is open now. Many fans have waited for this game, and no way did many of us expect such a deep look at this game. I am so going to get it, as this looks to be great.
Iwata then takes us behind the scenes at Nintendo’s E3 booth with a sneak peak. Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D World are among those that can be played in the booth, as well as select North American Best Buy stores. And then ending the Direct with the Pikmin section of the show floor.
Images Taken From:
Nintendo Direct@E3 2013 | Nintendo of America
