Nintendo
It has been quite the week leading up to E3 2015 with a steady stream of incredible reveals, leaving you wondering, “What exactly will there be to announce at E3?” From the “Fallout 4” reveal, the return of rhythm gaming, and YouTube taking on Twitch; the gaming industry is charging full speed into its biggest week of the year. Fortunately, the fun hasn’t stopped. Microsoft started off the console wars with a bang, and we’ve seen some great output from Bethesda, EA, and Ubisoft. Sony also threw some punches, but now it’s time for Nintendo to dazzle us! Here is everything you needed to know about the 2015 Nintendo Press Conference, live from E3 2015 on Tuesday, June 16.
The conference kicks off with all of the Nintendo executives… in Muppet form? Suddenly Miyammoto (Muppetmoto?) transforms into a fox Muppet, hinting at a “Star Fox” title? Reggie transforms into Falco, and it’s pretty much confirmed.
A gameplay trailer for “Star Fox Wii U” is shown off, followed by a small vidoc where Miyamoto discusses his inspiration for “Star Fox.” The TV screen will be used for a more cinematic view during dogfights, while the GamePad will utilize an in cockpit view for enhanced precision. It’s also revealed that you can seamlessly transform between the R Wing and a walker with the press of a button. Miyamoto says they “Decided to make the game ‘Star Fox Zero’ because the kanji character for Zero looks cool.”
Reggie says more Amiibos are on the way and will be showing up in a “totally unexpected way.” This coincides with an Activision tie-in reveal for Skylanders and Amiibos, featuring a turbo-charged DK and a huge Bowser, both of which have vehicles. They work as a Skylander character or an Amiibo, and can be switched by twisting the base. This character, however, is exclusive to Nintendo’s version of “Skylanders.”
The Nintendo Muppets return briefly, dancing to music, and it looks like it’s time for Zelda. “The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes” is announced, a co-op dungeon crawler/puzzler for the 3DS. It has a great soundtrack, as expected, and looks pretty awesome. A vidoc plays, discussing the development of “Triforce Heroes.” They wanted to shift the focus of Zelda multiplayer to a cooperative gameplay. It includes a thing called the “Totem Mechanic” where you can jump on top of each other’s shoulders to reach higher places. It also includes a fashion element.
“Zelda” is also coming to 3DS with a special version of “Hyrule Warriors.” “Hyrule Warriors Legends” It will contain all of the DLC from the Wii U version as well as additional unique features. No release date was announced. I brief trailer shows off gameplay and various characters. It’s then revealed that it’s coming first quarter of 2016.
The Nintendo Muppets briefly return before a new trailer starts playing. “Metroid Prime Federation Force” It’s a 4 player co-op 3DS game that will also include “Metroid Prime Blast Ball” available 2016.
A classic Mario shows up, but then suddenly changes into a “Fire Emblem” character. A cinematic trailer plays introducing “Fire Emblem Fates.” Look like standard “Emblem Fare,” possibly continuing the previous story line. It will release sometime in 2016.
Now a trailer for a new Atlas game plays. “Mirage” is packed with anime characters, bright colors, and over-the-top visuals.
Back to the Muppets briefly followed by another trailer reveal. The main characters are “marooned” on a foreign planet. It looks like another RPG where massive monster are going to be fought. Throw in some robots and a lot of futuristic vehicles, and you have yourself “Xenoblade Chrnoicles X” coming December 4, 2015.
Mario appears in a water level and it transitions into a reveal for a new “Animal Crossing” 3DS game. It looks like a great upgrade to the previous “Animal Crossing” title, mostly because of the new easier placement of items. “Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer” is revealed to be the title with a Sept 25, 2015 release date. It’s hard to tell if it will be just a home design tool as the name suggests or if it will actually be the next title in the series.
More “Animal Crossing” appears, now in the style of a “Mario Party” game. It also appears as if it’s going to require Amiibos to play the game. Other than that, it’s almost identical to “Mario Party.” “Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival” releases holiday 2015.
Switching gears to “Yoshi’s Wooly World,” a behind-the-scenes documentary talks about the making of the game. It’s packed full of adorable real-world yarn Yoshis, among many other characters. This was actually the inspiration for the game, leading to everything being designed from yarn in the game. The game is easy to play, but can be as difficult as you want it to be, especially if you want to 100% the game. It ties in with Amiibos, and looks like you can use them to reskin Yoshi to create a Mario or Samus Yoshi. The game will also be co-op. Oct 16, 2015.
More Nintendo Muppets and we move on to a trailer for “Yokai Watch” coming Holiday 2015. Another catch-em-all game. It’s basically like “Pokémon,” but with a lot more ghosts and a fancy watch replacing Pokéballs.
New “Paper Mario” 3Ds game is shown, and it’s time for worlds to collide. The world of “Paper Mario” is being merged with the 3D Mario in another RPG adventure. It looks pretty awesome, and seems to incorporate a lot of new design elements “Mario & Luigi Paper Jam” is coming Summer 2016.
Mario keeps going with a new “Mario Tennis” title. “Mario Tennis Ultra Smash” looks to incorporate power-ups into the classic “Mario Tennis” game. It’s coming Holiday 2015
“Super Mario Maker” now takes the stage while Miyamoto discusses the creation of the original game. He talks about how they used to hand draw levels on graph paper. It shows off even more features of the game, like how you can combine elements from the various Mario titles and put things where they normally wouldn’t go – like Goombas under water. You can use Amiibos to transform Mario into a costume version with a mushroom power up, They’ll be displayed in all the 8-bit glory. It turns out, this is what all the cut scenes have been hinting at throughout the presentation. They’re also releasing a commemorative 8-bit Mario Amiibo, which will cause an even larger version of him in the game. He’ll function just like other Amiibos, as well. They also talk about how they created the original 1-1 to be a tutorial level – a fact that is well known. It ends with a September 11, 2015 release date.
Reggie – real Reggie, that is – comes back to talk about everything they have shown off so far. He also announces the “Nintendo Access” program through Best Buy where you’ll be able to play “Mario Maker.” More details at E3.Nintendo.com
He closes by reflecting on the impact Mario has had on the company, not just as a character or mascot, but the effect he has had on everyone who has played with him. The conference ends on a montage of Mario games and a celebration of the 30th year of Mario.