[GAMES] Highlights of E3: Nintendo

Like last year, Nintendo opted to have a digital event to announce their plans for the rest of the year, spring 2016. Without further ado, here are the highlights of the Nintendo digital event.

Star Fox: Zero

Star Fox makes his first appearance on the Wii U with Star Fox: Zero. The new game is reminiscent of older Star Fox titles, with the inclusion of newer vehicles. Players can use the Wii U gamepad to better aim their shots as it will feature the point of view from the cockpit of the vehicle Star Fox will be piloting.

Skylander Superchargers

In March, Activision announced the release of Skylander Superchargers. Today, we learned that Bowser and Donkey Kong will be joining the Skylander Superchargers roster, and they will have Amiibos that will be usable in the game exclusively on the Wii U console.

The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes

While the Zelda series has traditionally been a single player game. The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes is a three-player multiplayer game. Players can play with two other friends to solve puzzles by using the game’s totem mechanic where players stack atop one another. However, if players would rather play alone, switch controls between the two other ‘doll’-like characters to complete the same task.

The game will feature the classic dungeon-crawler layout and “should appeal to fans of the series.” Player upgrades come in the form of different equipment, where different clothes will provide players with different abilities. The game is set for release in November 2015.

Hyrule Warriors Legends

Hyrule Warriors was a smash hit on the Wii U and Nintendo’s co-operation with Koei Techmo looks set to continue with the announcement of Hyrule Warriors Legends, the game is a re-imagining of the Wii U game for the 3DS with all the Downloadable Content  in the Wii U version ported over as well. The game will feature levels from Zelda Windwaker to expand the game even more. The game is slated for release in the first quarter of 2016.

Metroid Prime

Two new games were announced for the Metroid Prime series. Metroid Prime: Federation Forge, and Metroid Prime: Blast Ball. We caught a glimpse of Ball Blast, during the Nintendos World Championship competition. The game looks like a game of football played by robots. While not much is known about Federation Forge, it seems like a traditional rendering of the Metroid Universe.

Fire Emblem Fates

This game is another entry to the much loved franchise. The Japanese release saw two versions of the game, where players decided on which of two distinct stories they would like to explore, and it is likely that we will see western release get the same treatment.

Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem

Nintendo confirmed during the Nintendo Digital event that Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem will be released in the west for Wii U in 2016.

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Xenoblade Chronicles X finally has a release date and will ship on the 4th of December 2015.

Animal Crossing

Get ready to dive back into the wonderfully cute world of Animal Crossing later this year with Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival. In Happy Home Designer, as the name entails, you have to plan the layouts of houses according to the client’s specification.

Amiibo Festival however, is more like a party board game where players tap their Amiibo pieces when it’s their turn.

Yoshi’s Wooly World

At E3 last year, Nintendo announced Yoshi’s Wooly World. This year, we got a clearer picture of what the gameplay mechanics for the game will be like. Yoshi will be able to dig into the world and create platforms with his tongue. A yarn Poochy was also revealed, and he will play a crucial role in helping the player get some items, by barking to alert players of nearby items. Yoshi will also be able to wear the skins of other Amiibos.

The origin story behind the upcoming plush Yoshi Amiibo was also revealed.

“At first I decided to make some yarn Yoshis just for fun,” Watanabe said, “because I’m not an artist or a programmer. … I went home and got some yarn and decided to make my very first yarn Yoshi. When I brought it back to the office, the smiles on the faces of my colleagues really struck me.” said Nintendo’s Emi Watanabe.

From then on, the decision to make Yoshi Amiibos out of yarn was an easy decision.

“I fell in love tight the idea, and decided to make more yarn Yoshi prototypes,” she said while seated behind row after row of her knit dinosaurs.

Yokai Watch

The game from the hit anime Yokai Watch is making it’s way to western 3DS devices. The Yokai Watch anime will also be localized for North America in 2016. There is no news on when the game will be released. However, Yokai Watch together with Fantasy Life and Professor Layton will be making their ways to iOS devices. With Yokai Watch Puni Puni arriving in Summer this year.

Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam

Two worlds collide as the Mario and Luigi series meets the gameplay and aesthetics of Paper Mario.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash

Mario and friends will return to the tennis court later this year when Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is released for the Wii U. The trailer shown at the Nintendo Digital Event showcased Mario and Peach using their super shots after turning into giant versions of themselves. This is the first Mario Tennis game in three years since the release of Mario Tennis Open, which was launched on the Nintendo 3DS.

Super Mario Maker

Nintendo is handing over control of the level editor tools for the Mario games over to fans of the series with the release of Super Mario Maker. Players will be able to create their own levels and play them instantly. They even suggested that people who were interested in the field of game design could cut their teeth on Super Mario Maker.

The game will also feature Amiibo support where players can tap Amiibo figures to create a special “costume Mario” that will take  the shape of any Amiibo the player uses. An 8-bit Mario Amiibo will also debut with the game.

Players can trial the level building tools at over 100 Best Buy outlets all over the United States where Nintendo is holding special demos.