E3 2014 Part 4: And the Winner is…Nintendo!

At last, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…maybe. It’s not like I kept you in suspense.

Microsoft
EA
Ubisoft
Sony
Nintendo
More From Nintendo
Conclusion

I was looking forward to Nintendo’s show the most out of all of them. Sure, it wasn’t going to be a traditional press conference, but after the past few videos released by Nintendo, a “digital event” sounded like the perfect format for an entertaining show. I was hoping it would be crazy, and it was.

It started with Robot Chicken animation, as an animated Reggie Fils-Aime took the stage and joked about how we thought they weren’t having a press conference. An animated audience member complained that it would just be another Mario game, to which Reggie said there would be no new Mario game. The scene cut to an irate Mario.

The audience member then asked for Mother 3, and Reggie blasted him with a fireball. Some fans took offense at this attitude, but I thought Nintendo meant it in good fun–and possibly a tease of a future Mother 3 announcement. To me, the entire animated opening showed that Nintendo is aware of what people say about it, and isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself.

You can use Miis against your friends in Super Smash Bros. 4, but this is Nintendo. You didn’t think they’d just announce that, did you? Of course not. Reggie and Satoru Iwata appeared in a black void, and proceeded to battle.

(At this point, some people declared Nintendo the winner of E3.)

Their battle then switched over to the game, so we could see their Miis in action. This gives me more incentive to get Smash Bros. 4. I want to fight as Miis of some of my favorite characters, especially with the customization options.

The battle also gave us our first look at an Amiibo, a figurine you can transfer into the game. Amiibos will store data from the game as well, and they become stronger the more often you use them. I’m not sure how I feel about this sort of toy model popularized by the Skylanders series, but I’ll reserve judgment until I learn more about them.

They showed Super Smash Bros. for a while longer, and even though I’m not a big fan of the series, I plan to try this one, so I remained attentive.

From its hilarious start, the show’s pace slowed slightly as they discussed the Amiibos, but then it was time for a game full of yarn. I wasn’t interested in this game when it was first revealed as Yarn Yoshi in 2013, but now Yoshi’s Woolly World looks adorable. Cuteness alone isn’t enough to make me buy a game, but a cute Yoshi platformer with exploration and–best of all, perhaps–no time limit?? I’m not sold yet, but I want to see more.

Speaking of adorable games, the next thing Nintendo revealed made me glad I finally got a Wii U and started Super Mario 3D World, even if I haven’t had the chance to play very much.

You mean the fun puzzle platformer mini-game level I discovered just a few days before E3 is being expanded into a full game? More Captain Toad? Count me in!

Another animated short featuring Bowser and Peach made me laugh, even if many people thought it wasn’t funny.

Next up was one of Nintendo’s most anticipated games, the new Legend of Zelda game for Wii U. I’ll be honest–it makes me uneasy when I hear them talk about how the game will be open and not have the usual Zelda conventions. Open world isn’t one of my favorite things, as you’ve probably gathered by now. And while change and innovation are great, some games are great because of their conventions. It’s Zelda, though. I’m not saying it won’t be good. I’ll keep my eye on it for sure.

A short bit of gameplay was shown, and as the character galloped forward on his horse, bow and arrow ready to fire at the monster, I thought, Hey, that’s not Link–that’s Zelda, isn’t it?

It was Link. Oops.

I wasn’t just completely crazy, though. There was a lot of debate later on about whether that character was Link, and many fans thought it was a woman, until Aonuma finally just said it was Link.

Onward to Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and their 3D graphics! Ruby and Sapphire were my least favorite generation, and I’m not sure how they’re working in Mega Evolution, but I’ll probably play them. Pokemon is great.

Yet another animated short demonstrated Nintendo’s growing insanity.

And then, hey, you know how people complain that Nintendo is a kiddie console and never gets anything adult gamers will enjoy, blah blah blah? Aside from the stupidity of claiming adults can’t enjoy fun, lighthearted, and even *gasp* E-rated games…….

There are still people who insist that Bayonetta 2’s Wii U exclusivity is a death knell for the game (because only kids play Wii U, remember?), never mind that it’s thanks to Nintendo that Bayonetta 2 can even exist. Anyway, Bayonetta 2 was shown off, with the surprise announcement that the original Bayonetta will be included as well. I never played Bayonetta, and I’m not sure I will, but it could be fun. Fighting monsters as a witch–it has its appeal.

Let’s go back to Zelda, with Hyrule Warriors, the Dynasty Warriors take on Zelda. When it was first announced, it didn’t look that good to me, but now it looks like it could be fun. I’m interested in seeing who besides Link, Zelda, Impa, and Midna will be playable, too. Keeping my eye on it…

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. Not a Kirby fan, not really interested.

And then, one of the many moments I was waiting for–X! Or, as it’s now known, Xenoblade Chronicles X. It isn’t a sequel, just a spiritual successor, which makes the name kind of confusing. It looks like it will have a great sci-fi JRPG story, though, and if it plays like Xenoblade, it should be fantastic. Xenoblade was great, after all, if a little too long for me.

Next up was Mario Maker! I’ve never been interested in level creators, so even though this was one of the fan-favorite announcements of E3, I don’t really care.

Colored ink… swimming squids…. squid-people with guns? Splatoon is Nintendo’s unique twist on multiplayer shooters, as each team tries to cover as much of the map with its color of ink as possible. It sounds weird, unusual, and like it could be a lot of fun–although I won’t decide if I want to get it or not until I learn more about its local multiplayer, which might be quite different from the online multiplayer it’s built for.

Super Smash Bros. 4 returned with the revelation of a new character–Lady Palutena, the Goddess of Light from the Kid Icarus games. Viridi and Dark Pit both had cameos in the announcement, but it’s unclear as to what extent they’ll be involved in the game.

That was it for the main digital event, and I knew Nintendo had won E3 for me. The humor, the wackiness, and the games–between Captain Toad, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and all the other fun games shown, I was excited. Best of all, it wasn’t finished yet. (And neither is this blog series.)