Nintendo surprised a good many people today. The first Nintendo Direct conference that was worth the time it took, the first conference of the show that was predominantly first-party products and the first time Nintendo has truly given us more than one reason to own the Wii U.
Nintendo, in the shortest conference of show, presented heavy-hitters and no-brainers like Super Smash Bros Wii U & 3DS and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby, as well as exciting new projects like the adorable Yoshi Wooly World and Splatoon. We were even blessed with a sneak peak of the new Zelda Wii U and Starfox Wii U titles. It’s unusual to say this, but Nintendo has the most solid conference of show, with best promised value and smallest amount of fluff or gimmick – plus 100% more Robot Chicken than any other show.
Nintendo has a lot of titles in its library that are system movers, but it would be hard to argue any of those are more appealing than their flagship fighter, Super Smash Bros. The Wii U and 3DS iterations of Nintendo’s titan is shaping up to be absolutely phenomenal.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVz-2VuAYlY&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDVb1fcG806HoyBYNMzED0uy&index=3[/youtube]
Super Smash Bros. Wii U releases this Fall. Super Smash Bros. 3DS releases 10.6.2014.
Nintendo also introduced their new line of Toys-To-Life products, the Amiibo. The Amiibo are collectible Nintendo-themed figures that plug-into the major Wii U and 3DS releases, as well as third-party juggernauts like Skylanders and Disney: Infinity.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odUjMhc6YgU&feature=share&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDVb1fcG806HoyBYNMzED0uy&index=2[/youtube]
The Nintendo Amiibo line launches Fall of 2014 for Wii U and 3DS.
Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby need no introduction.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ma2CBnBlXs&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDVb1fcG806HoyBYNMzED0uy&feature=share&index=4[/youtube]
Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby release in November of 2014.
Inspired by the Toad platforming puzzle sequences in Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is an extension of that game-play, featuring everyone’s favorite little Toadstool. Players guide the intrepid little adventurer around 3D chunks of terrain, solving puzzles, braving hazards and facing off against adorably menacing bosses.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m91qkP5ZaN8&feature=share&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDVb1fcG806HoyBYNMzED0uy&index=3[/youtube]
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker releases Holiday 2014 for the Wii U.
The long-absent Bayonetta 2 reared its sassy, violently over-the-top head after months of flying beneath the radar. It made its apologies by offering the entirety of the first Bayonetta with exclusive Nintendo content. Also of note, the Nintendo product detail page for Bayonetta 2 lists 1-2 players.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvP4EFjagfU&feature=share&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDVb1fcG806HoyBYNMzED0uy&index=5[/youtube]
It’s unquestionably Bayonetta, and that’s exactly what we want. Bayonetta 2 will release October of 2014 exclusively for the Wii U.
Staying on the third-party love train, Nintendo and Tecmo Koei teamed up to deliver the Zelda/Dynasty Warriors mash-up Hyrule Warriors, and after months of wondering whether we’d get a stateside release, Nintendo Direct confirmed the title will indeed be bound state-side. What’s possibly most exciting about this is the fact that we might finally get genuine progress in the Dynasty Warriors game-play formula in the form of Zelda-style bosses, and items that seriously affect the game-play formula.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z107NbGUIOk&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDVb1fcG806HoyBYNMzED0uy&feature=share&index=6[/youtube]
Hyrule Warriors releases September 26th of 2014 exclusively for the Wii U.
It’s hard to imagine a bigger 3rd-party success on a Nintendo console than the Wii’s darling Xenoblade Chronicles – the title sold incredibly well, surpassed every sales goal, and remains one of the hardest to find titles in the Wii library. Not content to rest on their laurels, Monolith Soft – not to be confused with Condemned and FEAR dev Monolith – announced a new entry into the franchise Xenoblade Chronicles X.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg2PTVi7fl8&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDVb1fcG806HoyBYNMzED0uy&feature=share&index=8[/youtube]
Xenoblade Chronicles X will release in 2015.
Pre-E3 Rumors of a Little Big Planet-Cum-Mario game flew rampantly about the community, and surprise of surprise, weren’t totally baseless. While the rumored mashup is somewhat less accurate than other potential descriptors, Mario Maker looks like an absolute ball. Giving players the ability to pause and manipulate assets and enemies in the environment in order to solve platforming puzzles seems like a great move for the Mario franchise.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLS458ekSEI&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDVb1fcG806HoyBYNMzED0uy&feature=share&index=9[/youtube]
Mario Maker will release in Q1/Q2 of 2015 for the Wii U.
This will sound like blasphemy to the Nintendo faithful but the single most innovative, interesting, and captivating title shown in this year’s Nintendo Direct was Splatoon – the 4v4 team-based psuedo-shooter between teams of anthropomorphic squid-people. Yes. That sentence just happened to you. Conveniently, there’s a trailer that does a much better job of illustrating Splatoon’s crazy game-play dynamic.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L54s2m1dPs&feature=share&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDVb1fcG806HoyBYNMzED0uy&index=10[/youtube]
Splatoon will release in Q1/Q2 of 2015 on the Wii U.
Finally, Nintendo wrapped things up with our collective favorite way to lose friends and destroy relationships – Mario Party. Mario Party 10 is exactly what you think it is, and for a wonder further enhances the troll-ability of it’s players by adding Bowser as a … well, you’ll see.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I69x8Bvm9zM&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDVb1fcG806HoyBYNMzED0uy&feature=share&index=12[/youtube]
Mario Party X will release in 2015 for the Wii U.
Some of the most exciting titles didn’t have full trailers per se, but rest assured that Yoshi Wooly World, The Legend of Zelda Wii U, and Starfox Wii U will all be phenomenal works in their own right. Stay tuned to Pixelated Geek for continuing coverage of E3 2014 and all of Nintendo’s biggest games!