Editor’s Note: This should have posted Tuesday, after the Nintendo Digital Event, but our posting software apparently failed us. As such, this includes ONLY information that was available as of Tuesday, 6/10. Please check back next week for a Nintendo E3 2014 Retrospective, where you can find more of Jeff’s impressions for what happened over the entire week!
Original Story:
Coming into E3 2014, there are many questions that Nintendo has to answer. What games will be coming out for Wii U? What’s next for 3DS? And of course, would we see a new Legend of Zelda game for the Wii U?
Well it all started with a Robot Chicken style puppet of Nintendo of America President and COO, Reggie Fils-Aime robot having a press conference and answering questions. It was a great way for Nintendo to poke fun at itself and also, acknowledge its fans and the concerns that many have had. The brilliant minds of Robot Chicken did a great job of embodying the quirkiness and fun sense of humor that Nintendo has always seemed to exhibit. We definitely enjoyed the collaboration of both parties for setting the mood. They did a wonderful job setting us up for everything that was to follow.
Smash Bros. News GALORE!
Smash Bros. director, Masahiro Sakurai revealed that Mii characters will be playable in Smash Bros. In addition to playable Mii characters, players will also be able to create a custom moves set for their Miis. Nintendo showed an Abe Lincoln Mii battling against the infamous rapper, Ice-T. Although this isn’t groundbreaking new, it will adding a fun element into a title that has so many exciting things going for it, already. At the end of the Digital Event, Nintendo announced that the Goddess, Lady Palutena, from Kid Icarus: Uprising, will be joining the fight.
On the 3DS front, Smash Bros, originally slated for summer of 2014, has been delayed to its new release date of October 3, 2014. Although there wasn’t an official date for the Wii U version, Nintendo changed its verbiage of “Winter 2014” to “Holiday 2014”. So perhaps we’ll see Smash Bros come to Wii U in late November or sometime in December.
The Rise of Amiibo
Reggie unveiled “Amiibo”, a system that uses the NFC (near field communication) capabilities of the Wii U gamepad, to download data contained on a toy figure. Each figure has a chip that will be recognized by touching the figure to the Gamepad. Information can also be transferred from the Wii U to the figure, as well. This will be available for Smash Bros for the Wii U. It will also be integrated into Mario Kart 8, however we don’t know if we’ll see this integration in 2014. So if you want race as Dry Bones or other characters from the Nintendoverse in Mario Kart 8, you might get you wish.
Yoshi’s Woolly World
Nintendo developer, Takashi Tezuka and Etsunobu Ebisu of Good Feel studios, talked about how they have been developing Yoshi’s Woolly World, for the Wii U. The developers wanted to go for a “hand-made” look and researched the look, feel, and movement of yarn fabrics. “We said we wanted to make a Yoshi game, but we asked them to use the yarn and fabric as materials for creating new gameplay mechanics to create a new kind of Yoshi game filled with those kinds of elements,” said Tezuka. Ebisu mentioned the integration of 2 player co-op and his hope for what that mode will bring to the game. “I always want to put in the element of surprise, and I want to make it a game that brings a smile to your face just by owning it.” Yoshi’s Woolly World is currently slated to arrive on the Wii U in 2015.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
This Super Mario 3D World spin-off was a title that we hadn’t heard of until the Digital Event. Some of the best moments from 3D world were the mini-games, in which you would navigate Captain Toad through rotatable puzzle levels, in order to collect green stars. This has been expanded into a full game and will be available Holiday, 2014. Whether it will be digital download only, or if it will be available as a physical copy, has not been confirmed, yet.
The Legend of Zelda: WII U
Oh, the infamous Wii U Zelda title. The Legend of Zelda director Eiji Aonuma talked about the game’s development and the challenges of making a Zelda game feel wide open and connected. He mentioned that Wind Waker gave us that “open world” feel, but the islands were still so disconnected from each other. Cut to an image an image of Link, on Epona, looking over a vast landscape. Aonuma stated that if you see mountains on the horizons, you’ll be able to reach those mountains, alluding to a true open world experience. This new Zelda game will allow us to experience a vast, expansive world akin to games like Skyrim. The art-style is a nice mixture of WindWaker and Skyward Sword. If your most anticipated title is this new Zelda, we are right there with you. Consider us thoroughly excited about this.
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Release date announced
Early last month, the remakes of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were announced alongside a teaser trailer which invited us to a brief glimpse at how these two titles would look and play on the 3DS. Today, Nintendo gave us a lengthier trailer and boy, does this game look pretty. Considering how well Pokémon X and Y were received, it’s exciting to see Ruby and Sapphire get the X/Y treatment. Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire will be available on the 3DS November 21st.
Bayonetta 2
The Bayonetta 2 introduced several new bits of information. First, Bayonetta 2 will come bundled with the first Bayonetta. Being that Bayonetta 2 is a Wii U exclusive and the first Bayonetta wasn’t ever on a Nintendo platform, it’ll be great to bring both experiences to the consumer, for the price of one game. Second, during the trailer, the title character, Bayonetta, was wearing a Link costume and later, Samus’ suit from Metroid. It looks like the game’s developer, Platinum Games, has taken the opportunity to celebrate the tradition of Nintendo, in a fun and unique way. Last, Bayonetta 2 will be available October 2014.
Hyrule Warriors
The big announcement for Hyrule Warriors was the cast of warriors. In this title, we’ll be able to play as Impa, Zelda, Midna, from Twilight Princess, and several other characters that have not yet been revealed. This seems very much like a love letter to the Zelda franchise. You’ll be able to play with other players, however, we don’t know the maximum amount of allies will be. We cannot wait to play this celebration of the Zelda and Dynasty Warriors franchise. It will be available September 26th, 2014.
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
This title, a sequel to the DS title, Kirby: Canvas Curse, seeks to optimize use of the Gamepad. In this title players will use the Gamepad stylus to guide Kirby through levels, interact with the environment, and help him solves puzzles. Kirby will be able to transform into tanks, rocket, and submarines. This title will make its way to shelves and the eShop.
Xenoblade Chronicles: X trailer
The trailer for Monolith Soft’s long anticipated title gave us an official title and an idea of what the game’s plot will be. Humans must defend earth, when caught in the middle of a war between 2 alien races. This game will be a spiritual successor to 2012’s Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii. We already knew that the gameplay was beautiful but now we have an idea of it will look cinematically. Look for it, on Wii U, in 2015.
What is Splatoon?
Splatoon, for the Wii U, pits two 4-player teams against each in battle of territorial domination. With their trusty paint gun, players try to cover the entire map with their team’s paint color. It looks like the Gamepad is integrated more with this title, in that when you press on a fellow teammate, it sends you to their side. If there is a Nintendo version of competitive shooters, this would be it. Color us excited and intrigued! Splatoon will come to the Wii U in the first half of 2015.
Oh, and one more thing…
Shiguro Miyamoto explained that there were many titles that simply couldn’t make it into the condensed Digital presser. What other titles? Well if you look closely you can see a new Starfox playing on the screen behind him. We have very little details, so far, but once we hear more, you can bet on the GWW crew discussing this much anticipated title.