June 19, 2013 US/Pacific
Nintendo @ E3 Expo 2013
By Jamie Alimorad.
New York -
Ahh E3, Christmas for gamers in June. A time where the major and independent video game publishers and developers come
together to show off their latest and greatest offerings across video game home consoles, handhelds, computers and phones.
It's not just what's unveiled, but how it's unveiled that makes E3 truly stand out in the sea of video game conferences and
presentations. The big companies will set up massive stages, with lights, dancers, singers and entertainers while each game
is rolled out like trailers to the year's biggest blockbuster movies. Following the press conferences the show floor opens
and attendees can play demos of selected games and get a taste of what's to come in the world of gaming.
This year there was one member that was conspicuously absent from the big press conferences. While Sony and Microsoft
rolled out their new consoles to all the fanfare you would expect in the 8th generation of consoles, the gaming industries
most famous name went about things a little bit differently. Nintendo passed on its usual lavish press conference to
instead hold a Nintendo Direct, an online presentation hosted by Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata that can be
streamed live. Nintendo does several Nintendo Directs a year, each focusing on different things from the Wii U, to the 3DS,
to game announcements and DLC. The E3 Nintendo Direct was mainly for Wii U games that will be released from the summer
through the spring of 2014.
Fans of the Big N had a ton of expectations and hype coming into this year's E3, and who can blame them? There were a lot
of announcements made prior to E3 that listed what fans could expect as well as saying there would be some surprises. Well
after watching the Direct, there were certainly less surprises than many Nintendo fans had hoped. The big announcements
were there. The new 3D Mario game was revealed to be Super Mario 3D World, a spiritual successor to Super Mario 3D Land on
3DS, offering up to 4-player co-op, a first for a 3D Mario game. The next Mario Kart is Mario Kart 8 and introduces
anti-gravity racing, ala F-Zero, and all the fast-paced kart action any gamer could want. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
brings back the 2003 GameCube classic to the Wii U with visual upgrades and improved menu browsing with the help of the
GamePad.
Fans were also eagerly waiting to hear the new project that Retro Studios is currently working on. Many anticipated the
group that brought Metroid back into the mainstream with the Metroid Prime series to return to the franchise or perhaps
revive another "forgotten" Nintendo franchise such as Star Fox or F-Zero. What they got was Donkey Kong Country: Tropical
Freeze. This marks the third Donkey Kong Country game that Retro is developing. Many fans were disappointed with the
announcement but what was shown off in the Nintendo Direct was very impressive. You can expect classic Donkey Kong Country
platforming gaming with Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong and the return of Dixie Kong, with some new twists.
Nintendo also showed off some new footage from the game currently titled "X" from Monolith Soft. The game was first
announced in the January 23, 2013 Wii U Nintendo Direct. For the first time viewers so game play and some stunning cut
scenes of a futuristic world. There's still a ton of mystery shrouding this game, but we do know that it is a successor
to their critically acclaimed game Xenoblade Chronicles and is open-world.
The biggest blow was saved for the finale. We all knew it was coming and the anticipation was palpable. Super Smash Bros.,
what would it be like? All that was said prior to E3 was that the new Smash would be there. Were we to see video? Game
play? Maybe just some teaser artwork? We got all three!
The new Smash is being released for both 3DS
and
Wii U
, marking the first time the series will be released on multiple
platforms. The 3DS version of the game features the characters with a slightly cell shaded look with black outlines of the
characters. Smash series developer Masahiro Sakurai revealed that this is done so purposely because on a smaller screen it
is much harder to keep track of the characters. The Wii U version is in stunning 1080p and the trailer showed off some
familiar faces and some new ones. The first new challenger is the Villager from Animal Crossing. He'll use items from the
Animal Crossing series including a net and a Final Smash attack that has him grow a tree to take on his opponents.
The trailer appeared to be over following the reveal of the symbols for both the 3DS and Wii U versions and a black screen
with "2014" written on it. But then in true Nintendo dramatic effect the biggest announcement of the Nintendo Direct was
revealed. The familiar "New Challenger Approaching" warning appeared on the screen. Mario, Link, Kirby and Donkey Kong
fighting in a canyon stop and look up to the top of a cliff. There they see a figure staring down at them. A familiar
sound effect from the NES and there he was... Mega Man!
Fans have been asking for Mega Man to be included in the Smash Bros.
series since Melee in 2001 and finally he has arrived. And he's shown up with a complete arsenal of Master Robots he's
defeated over the years including Meta Man's Metal Blade, Crash Man's Crash Bomber, Wood Man's Leaf Shield, Hard Man's Hard
Knuckle, Sword Man's Flame Sword, Slash Man's Slash Claw, Spark Man's Spark Shock, Guts Man's Super Arm and Flame Man's
Flame Blast. We also saw a tease of Mega Man fighting the Yellow Devil in front of Dr. Wily's castle, which conjures up
all sorts of memories from his first adventure over 25 years ago.
Overall the Nintendo Direct produced a solid line up which offers a ton to current and perspective Wii U owners.
Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, the Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker HD and Super
Smash Bros. is enough to get any gamer excited. There's a lot to look forward to with the big N as we all impatiently wait.
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Remember: Play it well; or, you'll get well played.
