What we learned about Nintendo at E3 2014
Mario:
While it was clearly stated there will be no new Mario games we still managed to get one and it was surprising indeed. Mario Maker is coming to the Wii U in 2015 and it allows gamers to create their own 2D Mario Levels. Gamers will have the choice to either use the new Wii U style graphics or the old but good first Mario graphics. While that’s really about all that is known it’s enough to really make the game a real attention grabber.
Yoshi:
We got to see a lot more of the new Yoshi game coming out and it really looks like it takes advantage of Yoshi’s abilities to really make this game have a similar gameplay to Mario but with a lot of major changes to adjust to Yoshi. Also the co-op multiplayer really has a lot of options the most notable one is the ability to eat your partner and turn them into a ball of yarn and throw them. It looks like this game has a lot of possibilities.
Toad:
Finally Toad gets his own game. Coming around the Holiday this year is Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. This game was based off of the toad mini games featured on Super Mario 3D world. For those who aren’t familiar with the concept the gamer used the gamepad to view the game map and navigate Toad to all the treasures. From personal experience I can say that you will have to stand up and really use the game pad to play this game which is why I think this game will be a nice addition to the Wii U. Finally a game that really starts to take advantage of the gamepad and to actually make Toad a stand a lone character.
Hyrule Warriors:
We got to see a lot more gameplay of Hyrule Warriors but the biggest things we learned was the fact that Zelda is a playable character along with Midna from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. You can also obtain items during the game which is a nice inclusion from the Legend of Zelda games. Finally we also get a release date as gamers can play this interesting crossover on September 26, 2014.
Legend of Zelda:
Yes we actually got two Legend of Zelda console games. Legend of Zelda for Wii U was introduced as the first ever open world Zelda game. The game features a beautiful map and unlimited possibilities instead of the standard do one level then go to another format. Also we have an interesting twist. We saw a character that we assumed was Link but due to the lack of the green outfit and a sword it was hard to tell. Also we got an official statement on it basically saying who said it was Link? So if it’s not Link who is it and where is Link? Finally all the animation we saw at E3 was actual in game footage.
Kirby:
We saw some gameplay of Kirby and the Rainbow Curse which looks interesting as gamers can use the gamepad to draw paths for Kirby to take in the game. Seems interesting but still little is known about the game.
X:
The game officially called Xenoblade Chronicles X has been postponed to 2015 but it’s clearly a battle for earth against some sort of alien invasion determined to wipe out all human life. From the trailer it’s clear the same amazing graphics from Xenoblade Chronicles will return and also possibly the same deep and highly involved storyline.
Bayonetta 2:
We got a new trailer for Bayonetta 2 which looks interesting and seeing more of the main character personally makes me more excited for the game. Also the game comes with a copy of the first game which includes new content such as costumes from Zelda, Metroid and attacks based off of the Nintendo games such as being able to summon Boswer’s foot to smash enemies. Now the e shop download does NOT include the first game so if you want the two for one deal and the Nintendo content you have to get the physical copy.
Star Fox:
Yes that’s right there’s Star Fox news. We don’t know much yet but it’s confirmed there is a Star Fox game coming to the Wii U and it’s definitely going to have Arwing dog fights like many Star Fox games before. We really don’t know much beyond that though but hey finally a new Star Fox game.
Amiibo:
This new idea takes figures of Nintendo characters to add to the game content. For Super Smash Brothers you can use them to summon personally customized versions of your fighters Mario, Marth, Link, Pit and more to fight with or against you. You can customize their moves and they level up with how much they are used. Amiibo’s work by touching the figure to your gamepad which then adds the content directly to the game. Amiibo’s will also be used for Mario Kart 8, Mario Party 10 (which was announced in that brief statement about Amiibo’s), and will have a port to use them for the 3DS. The prices will be similar to Spyro and Disney Infinite figures around $10 to $15.
Super Smash Brothers:
New fighters were confirmed we now have Mii Fighters which come in three forms: Sword, Brawler, and Gunner which speaks for itself. We also get Palutena from the Kid Icarus series which was something covered in one of TSCN’s first articles and Pac Man. So we get to see a fatal fourway between four of the most iconic characters in history Mario, Megaman, Pac Man, and Sonic. We also know the 3DS version will come out October 3rd, 2014 later than what was said earlier and the Wii U version is coming around the holidays.
Pokemon:
So far not much to be honest just a November 21st, 2014 release date for Japan and everywhere else on the 28th and a glimpse of Primal Groudon and Kyogre. Also we found out that Sabelye will get a mega form which not all that exciting considering it’s a rarely used pokemon.
Fire Emblem:
I was really hoping to find out a lot more about the upcoming Shin Megami X Fire Emblem game however we got nothing. Oddly enough while Fire Emblem is my absolute favorite series, and I even played Shin Megami games specifically to learn what that series has to add to Fire Emblem, I’m not worried. We did find out that the game is still in production it’s just we can’t find out any more about it because it could get people fired.
Steam:
A new game from the creators of Fire Emblem involves a task force assembled by Abraham Lincoln to stop aliens. Obviously this game will have some humor to it. Also it is a strategy game that is turn based and has a steampunk theme to it. It does appear interesting but there’s not a lot known about it.
Jacob Carpenter is the writer for TSCN.TV and also a blogger under the name JSnakeC on IGN