Nintendo at E3 2015

I really don't know what to think of this year’s Nintendo Digital Event...

At first I was quite annoyed at Nintendo, I still believe they had a very bad showing this year overall, they seemed to think that it was a great idea to spend most of the digital event interviewing deveopers about games they announced last year, as well as showing off some very uninspired sequels, including possibly the most hated game of E3, Metroid Prime: Federation Force. While not quite as bad as something like E3 2009's awful Wii Music debut, it is up there (down there) with some of the worst shows since it began back in 1995. I did really enjoy some bits of it such as the developer section with Miyamoto about starfox, and the overall feel of the conference was fun and light hearted with Thunderbirds esque puppets.

Fortunately it seems they have heard all the criticism and will be working hard to make next year a better show, I do feel sorry for Iwata it must have been heart-breaking to work so hard on all those announcements just for the fans to bombard them with negative comments. Have a look at this tweet from Mr Iwata. A better translation is "Thank you for watching. We take opinions of this year's Digital Event seriously and will work to better meet your expectations."

Reggie said later that it was not meant as an appology, more of a "We hear you" message.

Maybe they will see some sense and bring back the live stage shows? Seeing the crowds reactions is one of the most fun things about E3 so it is a shame that you don't get that with Nintendo anymore. Plus it just gives me an excuse to show this clip once more...

We need this again Iwata, make it happen! The closest to seeing this live seems like it would be to watch at Nintendo's store in New York.

I think the main problem was that apart from a new Mario & Luigi game (Or was it a new Paper Mario game?) there weren't any real surprises, sure there was a Metroid game, but really, it's just some strange spin off, not a proper entry in the series, same can be said for the new 3DS Zelda which was basically Four Swords, but with only Three players. They also spent too long talking about things people already know, such as the gameplay and graphical style of Yoshi's Woolly World. Everything else was either games they announced last year or quite frankly boring spin offs that no one asked for. Each year people's expectations get higher and higher, it will always be impossible to please everyone.

On a more positive note, there were a few games that interested me. The event was still full of their own style of quirky humour and had some interesting documentary style bits for the fans, especially the Mario Maker segment in which they showed off some original designs for Super Mario Bros.

It's not all doom and gloom for Nintendo at E3 this year, The Nintendo World Championships event the day before was very exciting and a blast to watch! Actually, the championships had a better announcement than the actual Digital Event. The translation of the original Mother, re-titled as Earthbound Beginnings. I think They should have re-announced it during the event for those that didn't watch it. For the highlights, check out the video below!

Anyway, just like last year, here are my opinions on the games! Some of which, for reasons unknown, they completely left out of the video, instead showing them only on the show floor or on their live Treehouse stream.

Star Fox Zero.

This game looks fantastic, just like an updated version of Starfox Assault which is exactly what I wanted, honestly I couldn't be happier about it. The gamepad controls look really cool and precise, I'm glad they are finally coming up with some interesting ideas for the gamepad. I actually used the idea of starfox showing a first person view on the gamepad and third person on the TV way back in 2011 when the WiiU was first announced!

The graphics look really smooth, and it seems like there is a great sense of scale to some of the areas. I really like the idea of the different transformations too, it will add some variety to the game, the robot sections look like a nice change of pace and will add some different gameplay possibilities. I just hope it doesn't slow the game down too much.

Overall I'm extremely happy with the way this is shaping up, it can't come soon enough!

I also recorded my E3 thoughts while playing Starfox Assault on my Youtube Channel if you want to hear even more...

Metroid Prime Federation Force

On the complete opposite end of the hype spectrum is Metroid Prime Federation Force.

While I'm not quite as mad as some of the fans seem to be, I'm still far from impressed by this lacklustre entry in the Prime series. It's certainly not what anyone expected from a new Metrod game, there is actually a petition going round to cancel the game! I wouldn't go that far, it might be fun with a few friends, but still, a HUGE letdown.

Metroid Prime Blast Ball

Shown off the day before during the Nintendo World Championships as simply Blast Ball, the surprise announcement that is actually part of the Metroid Prime game actually seems to have made people even less interested if that was even possible... Metroid Prime Blast Ball is a futuristic game of football, in teams of four you have to.. uhhh... nope. No one cares.. NEXT!

Poor Nintendo Treehouse trying so hard to make it seem exciting!

Skylanders

I'm not a big fan of the Skylanders games so I can't really comment on this one, apart from the fact that the figures look cool. But why are they wearing clothes? I'm happy to see that Donkey Kong has his Barrel Blaster from the long forgotten Wii game, Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, but that's about it.

Zelda: Triforce Heroes

A nice little surprise Zelda game in the style of Link Between Worlds (which i'm not that keen on, graphically.) This game is a multiplayer zelda adventure where you and two friends can team up to complete dungeons, and dress up as girls... It looks fairly by the numbers and basically just a 3D version of four swords, minus the fourth sword. It does have online play this time round though so even if your friends aren't all in the same room you can still enjoy playing together! Also... Link can wear Zelda's dress?

Hyrule Warriors Legends

This announcement was supposed to be a surprise but it was leaked a few days before E3. It's just a port of the WiiU game of the same name as far as I can tell, with some new characters from wind waker. These new characters will also be available as DLC for the WiiU version. Nothing terribly exciting as most people will probably have already played this game.

Fire Emblem Fates

I've never been hugely into the Fire Emblem series, I played a bit of one for the GBA and a bit of the 3DS one, from what I can tell this one looks just like you would expect. I'm sure it has plenty of new characters and an engrossing story to sink into. This one lets you play as one of two characters, depending on which character you pick actually makes the game completely different, with one team being the good guys and one being the bad guys. It sounds like it could be quite interesting as each side has their own reasons for doing what they're doing...

Genei Ibun Rok #FE

Or Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem. This looks like it will be a great RPG for fans of both games, unfortunately my experience with both series is pretty limited so I can't really say whether this looks any good or not but the fans seem to be happy about it and that's what matters, right? No idea why they thought it was a good idea to show the completely untranslated trailer at E3 though... Even the title was in Japanese so no one knew what they were watching!

Xenoblade Chronicles X

This one I can comment on, I'm a huge fan of the original Xenoblade on the Wii. One of the best RPGs of the decade and one of the only games I've played for upwards of 80 hours and it felt like no time at all... This sequel looks like it will continue the trend of having an amazing world to explore, this time however, it's set on a planet rather than a god. I'm a bit worried that the story won't be as exciting as Xenoblades as there is no official main character. You get to make your character at the start of the game, choose his / her appearance, choose his name etc. The game seems from what i've seen to be a more mission based game than the first one so I'm not sure how that will work with progression in the word, only time will tell as this game is out by the end of the year!

Check out the latest awesome trailer!

Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer

This animal crossing was made entirely to sell some new animal crossing cards, similar to the Animal Crossing eReader cards that came out more than ten years ago. These cards, called Amiibo Cards, will allow you to get new furniture in the game. This time, it seems like you'll have much more freedom to decorate your house, and the rest of the houses in the village. 'looks like it will be a fun animal crossing spin off... unlike the next game.

Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival

This game looks entirely pointless and really was built for the sole reason of selling more Amiibos. Granted, the AC Amiibos do look very cute, as does the game, the main problem is the fact that the game also looks extremely boring!

Yokai Watch

This game is a LONG time coming! It's been super popular in Japan for years, in fact, when I was in japan last year they had Yokai Watch adverts all over the place and even Yokai Watch happy meal toys in Mcdonalds! I'm not sure it will catch on there in quite the same was as a lot of the ideas in it are very eastern compared to something like pokemon or digimon which has more universal appeal.

Yoshi's Wooly World

I'm quite surprised that still included Yoshi's Wooly World as it's out next week here! I've already got it ordered and very excited to play t, I always love a new 2D platformer by Nintendo, and adored Kirby's Epic Yarn on the wii. This looks like it will be just as good and cute! Plus it comes with a knitted amiibo yoshi! what could be better than that :)

Mario Tennis Ultra Smash

Mario sports games are always fun and this one looks to be no different. That’s also the problem, it looks no different. Just another filler title for the WiiU while we wait patiently for the next original mario game that actually gives us some new gameplay ideas.

Mario & Luigi Paper Jam

Yet another spin off, this one is a spin off of a spin off of a spin off… A mix of both the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series. I haven't actually played the latest games in either series so I’m not sure i’ll get this, but the ones I have played have been really fun with great gameplay and a funny script, hopefully this game will continue the trend and provide some light hearted RPG entertainment!

Super Mario Maker

The second best game of the show, although this was also shown off last year, it’s come on a lot since then. Now there are four different mario styles to choose from, Super Mario, Mario 3, Mario World and New Super Mario. The levels look like they can be quite big which is awesome and puts to rest some of the worries I had about the game before. The ammount of customisation seems crazy and they did an amazing job at showing it off during the World Championships. Watch this video below to see two of the best Nintendo player (besides myself) go through some tough levels designed by some very lucky people at the Treehouse!

Watch the Mario Maker section of the championships here, and listen to the team talking about their level designs below!

And a few other games that weren't mentioned in the event, but still had a showing at E3.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water

A game I’ve been looking forward to for a long time, I’m glad they did finally show it on the Treehouse stream on the last day. Fatal Frame looks just as creepy and engaging as I could have hoped, definitely one to pick up when it comes out here, especially as I overlooked the Wii game a few years ago now its pretty hard to find.

Dim the lights and enjoy this great look at the game from the Treehouse!

Chibi Robo Zip Lash

Another game they didn’t show at the conference. I have no idea what they were thinking as this looks like a really fun platformer. It’s a completely different style to the earlier Chibi Robo games but still has the same aesthetic and charm you would expect. Plus it comes with an adorable Amiibo chibi robo!

Super Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

Yet another Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game, not much to say about this it looks and plays exactly like all the others, just more of the same with a new name and probably some new pokemon. One for hardcore Pokemon fans only I think! Where was Pokemon Snap! thats the one everyone was waiting for, not yet another sequel to a spin off that's been stale for a while.

Sonic Boom Fire & Ice

I haven’t actually played the last Sonic Boom game, I got kind of put off after the terrible reception it got. The dev’s have promised to improve on this one, but I can’t help but feel ery disappointed and would much prefer a new real sonic game for the 3DS, or the WiiU!

Earthbound Beginnings

A surprise announcement at the start of the World Championships. The first time this game, Mother, has been translated officially. It’s quite antiquated now as the game is over 25 years old. Still it has a great translation and some fun, if very challenging gameplay. It’s a great way to see how the series started and maybe if they sell enough we might see a release of the third game, Mother 3.

Fast Racing Neo

An eShop game that was shown off at the Treehouse stream, the chat went crazy during this one. It’s a fast (as the name implies…) racing game set in the future, much like a certain long forgotten Nintendo franchise… This looks like loads of fun, with some very challenging gameplay and a new mechanic that sees you changing the colour of your car to get boost at certain points. The graphics also look stunning. Nintendo, take note, this is what people want!

This one is worth a watch as it was completely unexpected and looked amazing!

Amiibo’s

A whole load of new Amiibo’s were shown off at E3 this year. My favourite being the Mr Game and Watch amiibo that has several poses which can be swapped out using a clip on the base. The wooly Yoshi amiibos also look amazing, as do the animal crossing ones! My poor wallet…

I know that was a lot of information to take in so thanks for reading this far! Nintendo did have a pretty good E3 once you get past their terrible initial showing at their event… They more than made up for it during the following days, unfortunately, I think a lot of people were put off at the start and didn’t give them a chance after that. I hope this post has helped you find out about some of the lesser known games they showed off!

Any comments let me know on here or twitter @nicktendowii