What We Saw: Nintendo At E3

Nintendo came out swinging with a fast and to the point conference (about 45 minutes). Filling in brief gaps with choreographed fight scenes and Nintendo themed stop motion animations à la Robot Chicken.

Starting with Super Smash Brothers on Wii U and 3DS, Nintendo featured a grudge match between Iwata and Reggie. Using their Miis to duke it out, they show off the variation in available and customizable Mii character move-sets. At the height of their battle a figure of Mario is touched to the Wii U gamepad and Mario is summoned into the fight!

Confirming everyones Mii characters for the upcoming Super Smash Bros. title, Miis will come in 3 classes; Brawler, Swordfighter, and Gunner. All of which are able to choose their special moves, 12 per class for 36 special moves total for the Miis. Almost finished already, Sakurai showed off some gameplay from the various modes available in the 3DS version before he revealed that it’s scheduled for an October 3rd release with the Wii U version still scheduled for this holiday season.

The figure used to summon Mario into the Smash Bros. fight at the beginning of the show is the first of a new line of figures called Amiibo. Similar to Dinsey Infinity and Skylanders, a special chip in these figures able to be read by the Wii U gamepad, both sending and receiving information. These figures are able to “evolve” meaning that two identical figures could have entirely unique properties.

The new Super Smash Brothers title will be the first to take advantage of Amiibo capabilities but other titles are already planned. Mario Kart 8, Mario Party 10, and Yoshi’s Woolly World are all planned to support Amiibo with more titles on the horizon.

Speaking of Yoshi’s Woolly World, the game got a bit of a spotlight as Nintendo showed off it’s fun art style similar to Kirby’s Epic Yarn. More three dimensional than Kirby’s title, Yoshi’s Woolly World will showcase some beautifully colorful sewn together “textured” style graphics. The game will also have a co-op mode where two players will be able to help each other and accomplish tasks in new and unique ways. Release information pointed towards 2015.

Followed immediately by our first looks at the familiar face of Captain Toad! Appearing in what looks like his own puzzle platformer. Captain Toad Treasure Tracker shows a visual look very similar to Super Mario 3D World and similar gameplay to the existing Captain Toad minigames with some new elements thrown in. So far we know this one is set for a holiday 2014 launch.

Next up, The Legend of Zelda sought to re-connect to its roots by looking to its original releases and their emphasis on large world exploration. While Zelda games have used techniques to look and feel large before, the new Zelda title aims to be more open world and vast than ever. We didn’t really get a title or launch information but the game certainly looked stunning.

New footage of the third generation Pokemon remakes, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, showed off some of the additions we can expect to see upon release. Including new mega evolutions and completely re-mastered graphics. Expect these ones November 21st.

Another fantastic entry, Bayonetta two showed off some gameplay and story elements. While the trailer was short it did have enough time to give us a taste of some of the Nintendo themed outfits that will be available in the game. Not only is it set to release in October but it’s set to release with both Bayonetta 2 and the first game as well.

The interesting new title Hyrule Warriors got some attention as we got an inside look at the direction the game is taking. With multiple battles happening all over a large battlefield you’re given alerts to keep you apprised of when and where your help is needed. Giant bosses add extra challenge to what is already massive battles against armies. We also got a look at the 2 player mode which splits between the Wii U gamepad and the TV screen giving each player their own perspective.

Though I suspect that many players are most excited by the fact that, for the first time ever, players will be able to take control of some of their other favorites from the Zelda series. Link, Zelda, Impa, and Midna were shown off as playable characters as they tore through tons of enemies with unique and impressive moves. Called a “collaborative title” it’s said to posses the essence of both the Zelda series and the Dynasty Warriors series hoping to please both communities. We also got to see that it should be headed our way September 26th.

Kirby also had some time in the spotlight as we got a short look at a claymation style adventure titled Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. Not that we got a very in-depth look but we did see Kirby spending most of his time controlled by set pieces of yarn placed by the player as he rolled around, transformed, and bowled through his enemies. Expect to hear more about this one later as it’s set for 2015.

Another 2015 release, Xenoblade Chronicles X got a cinematic trailer. Very dramatic with great visuals but not much to see other than that on this short teaser.

Mario Maker is a title that allows you to create and play your very own Super Mario style courses. Available with both the old retro graphics or the polished New Super Mario Bros. style. Simple and to the point, you can make the Mario courses you’ve always wanted as hard or easy as you’d like come 2015!

Lastly, a game that should have Super Mario Sunshine fans ready to go, we get our first looks at Splatoon. An 4 vs. 4 online multiplayer action game that is focused on controlling territories and maps by covering them with ink in your team’s color. The game feature characters who transform from humans to squids, spraying ink with squirt guns as people and jetting around the ink you’ve splattered as a squid. The opposite team’s ink will prevent you from swimming through and slow you down.

With the ability to instantly jump to your teammates and swim through ink quickly around the map and up walls, it looks as if Splatoon will be a pretty fast-paced game. Squirt guns aren’t the only weapons either as paint rollers, ink grenades and rocket launchers also made and appearance. Expect this one to show up sometime 2015.

Nintendo couldn’t help but end with more Smash Bros. news though as it ended with yet another character debut. Starting with a bright and flashy anime style fight between Link and Pit they are interrupted by a familiar face…

Palutena joins the fight as she demonstrates her wide range of powers and abilities.

Nintendo really brought some beautiful titles and it looks as though we have a lot more to see and expect in the future. Especially since we were treated to Mr. Miyamoto playing a blurred but awfully Star Fox looking title immediately after the show. Looks like there’s more to see from Nintendo right around the corner even after a hard hitting, fast paced digital event!