We haven’t even seen the Digital Event yet and we already know Nintendo is having a good E3. They had a special Smash Direct that revealed new characters Roy and Ryu joining the fight. They had the Nintendo World Championships, which culminated in an incredible demonstration of Super Mario Maker. And before the NWC, we saw the first ever western release on Mother, now known as EarthBound Beginnings. And just to help out, select Nindies have set up demos for their Wii U games to be downloaded for just this week.
But the conference is what you get remembered for. We’ve already seen two just absolutely nail it the past two days in Bethesda and Sony. Can Nintendo make it three? Let’s see.
We begin with… muppet Iwata, Reggie, and Miyamoto? Transforming into Star Fox characters?!
Okay, so we got the world premiere trailer for Star Fox on Wii U, now known as Star Fox Zero. I must say that scene was definitely a creative way to introduce it. As for the game, it looks like it will be using the GamePad in some interesting ways, allowing for gyro-controls and using the screen on the GamePad as a way to aim from the cockpit, and will even allow the Arwing to switch to a land mode and walk around (something that was originally supposed to be in the cancelled SNES game Star Fox 2). It is expected to release Holiday 2015.
Next up, we get some talk about amiibo. Specifically, they talk about Bowser and Donkey Kong showing up in Skylanders Superchargers. Both characters will be getting special “Turbocharged” amiibo that can be removed from the amiibo and put on a Skylander base for the Nintendo versions of the game.
Following this announcement is The Legend of Zelda: TriForce Heroes. This is a 3DS game that will feature multiplayer with up to two other players and the ability to customize your Link’s outfit. Unlike the Four Swords games, this will be more serious and focus on the full adventure rather than competition. This game will feature a new Totem mechanic that allows you to stack the Links (or your Link and the two dolls if in single player mode). It’s because this mechanic that it is only up to 3 players, since they said 4 wouldn’t look right. TriForce Heroes will be coming Fall 2015.
Also announced during this time is Hyrule Warriors Legends. This is the 3DS port that Koei Tecmo accidentally leaked last week. Wind Waker characters Tetra and the King will be coming to this version. It will be coming in the 1st Quarter of 2016.
Next up is the next Metroid game, Metroid Prime: Federation Force. The trailer was unfortunately quick, so we couldn’t get much. However, it does appear that multiplayer will be a part of it. It will be available in 2016. Also shown during this time was the Metroid Prime: Blastball game that debuted during the NWC Sunday.
After this, we get the first English trailer for Fire Emblem Fates, the 3DS game teased earlier this year. It will be coming in 2016. No word on if it will be two versions like in Japan.
Next is the SMT-FE crossover. While no English name was given, the Japanese logo was shown. Today, we get a new trailer, which features some interesting elements from both franchises. It is expected in 2016.
Continuing with the JRPGs, we move over to Xenoblade Chronicles X. We’ve already received a lot of information for this game, which you can see in our recap of the XCX presentation earlier this year. However, it appears that the game is now in English (or at least the parts they showed were). Expect it December 4th, 2015.
After that barrage of RPGs, we slow down with Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. This is the new 3DS game in the series that will feature you as a designer for a city. This will also be the first game to utilize amiibo cards. It will release September 25th, 2015.
Also announced for Animal Crossing is a party game called Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. And with it comes a series of Animal Crossing amiibo, such as Isabelle, Tom Nook, K.K. Slider, and others. This will be a Wii U game coming Holiday 2015.
Next, we move on to Yoshi’s Wooly World. We start be hearing of the origin of the Yarn Yoshi amiibo, started because they thought it would be cooler to have a squishy amiibo rather than the normal plastic. Also, if you use an amiibo in the game, a Yoshi will appear in the game in that color scheme.
Up next is the first western trailer for Yo-Kai Watch, the Level-5 behemoth. This is a game that deals with collecting ghost creatures called Yo-Kai, a la Pokemon. Expected release window is Holiday 2015.
Following this trailer is a new Mario & Luigi RPG, called Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. This game will be mixing elements of the Mario & Luigi RPGs will Paper Mario, bringing characters from both series together. This will be coming Spring 2016.
Next is the next Mario Tennis game, coming to Wii U. In this version, it appears that characters can become larger versions of themselves during play. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash will be coming Holiday 2015… Holiday 2015 is gonna be busy and painful for your wallet folks.
Next is Super Mario Maker. And with it is a discussion featuring Miyamoto and Tezuka with some of the original drawings from early Mario games. From this, they describe how they came about with the design of Mario Maker. Also showed, and even teased during the Event, was the ability to transform into other Nintendo characters just by tapping your amiibo onto the Wii U GamePad. In addition, an 8-Bit Mario amiibo was revealed, which will allow you to make Mario bigger with a special large mushroom. Super Mario Maker will be releasing September 11th, 2015.
Finally, Nintendo announced an opportunity to celebrate 30 years of Super Mario with your chance to help a good cause. Go to letssupermario.com to see how making a celebratory video of the Super Mario franchise can help raise money for Operation Smiles, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids smiles by fixing things like cleft lips and palates.
That’s it for today’s Nintendo Digital Event. What did you think? Any of the new games interest you? Let us know in the comments below.
Also, apologies if there are errors in this recap right after posting. We have to run over to the Square Enix presentation. We’ll take care of these errors later.
