Nintendo Land will be a launch game for the Wii U. It will feature twelve different attractions, each with elements from different Nintendo franchises, five of which were shown at the E3 conference.
Takamara’s Ninja Castle is based on a game released in Japan on the Famicom. It has you using the Wii U’s game pad to aim and throw ninja stars at ninjas as they pop up to attack. Swiping across the touch screen on the GamePad sends the ninja stars flying. The player is able to move the GamePad around as they play to suit themselves.
Animal Crossing: Sweet Day features a player on the GamePad controlling two guards protecting an orchard full of candy, while the other four players attempt to steal fifty pieces of candy. Should they succeed, they win. However, should a guard catch any one player three times, then it will be the guards who are victorious.
Luigi’s Ghost Mansion can have up to four players on the regular Wii remotes and one on the Wii U’s GamePad. The player on the GamePad is the ghost, who must sneak up on the other players (who each control their own Luigi with a torch) and knock them out one by one. The goal of the Luigis is to shine their torches on the ghost to whittle down its HP to nothing, which is made difficult by the fact that they cannot see the ghost. The Luigis are able to revive a fallen ally by shining their torch on him. They have a limited amount of time to do so. If the ghost is still alive when the timer runs out, it wins. If it loses all of its HP, the Luigi team wins.
Donkey Kong’s Crash Course has the player tilting the Wii U GamePad to move a rolling cart across an obstacle course that has features and backdrops from the original Donkey Kong game. It is a single player game played on the TV, which allows for anyone to watch and participate by giving advice.
The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest has up to three players on Wii remotes and one on the GamePad. They must work together to overcome monsters that resemble those found in Zelda games. The player on the GamePad uses the touch screen for archery, while those on the Wii remotes must have the MotionPlus attachment so they can wield their sword successfully.
There are to be seven more attractions announced at a later date.
