So, Nintendo's E3 Digital Event is done and over with, and just about everyone's crying foul at their showing. I kinda knew they wouldn't live up to Sony's incredible show last night, but not to this extent...
I'll provide my full thoughts later this week in my original E3 format, but here are some quick opinions to tide you over.
-Star Fox Zero was the star of the show and I'm absolutely baffled people are hating on it. "Clean" artstyle is akin to that of a playset and I think it looks very appealing within SF64's aesthetic. Also glad to see I was correct in that Star Fox 64 3D would pave the way to a reboot. Titania was GORGEOUS. They started out very strong with this and the puppet segment. What a shame they decided to move on to Skylanders, and I'm shocked that they didn't announce their collaboration with Platinum Games (you'd think they'd have learned from The Wonderful 101).
-The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes looks hilarious (especially with the plot: Hyrule is obsessed with fashion!). Glad to see both the A Link Between Worlds engine and Four Swords gameplay return.
-Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is such a wonderful idea! I'm really excited to see the best of Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi come together. Just make sure it's more open and Paper Mario has proper side characters. Also, stealth confirmation that Super Mario is host to alternate universes is...interesting.
-That's about it for good announcements, though. The less said about Metroid Prime: Federation Forces, the happier I'll be. Same goes for Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. I had a feeling the series wouldn't arrive with a proper entry on Wii U (assuming that the NX was their next home console, anyway), but...not like this...
-Not to mention we've known a good chunk of this stuff (Super Mario Maker, Yoshi's Woolly World, and Xenoblade Chronicles: X) for some time. While Super Mario Maker is especially welcome, we've already seen it at its best at the Nintendo World Championships just the other day. I wonder if they showed too much of their hand too early.
-Fire Emblem: Fates looks great. Still not sure if Genei Ibun Roku is a proper crossover, though. Looks really weird.
-I need Chibi-Robo! Zip-Lash now.
So yeah, very mixed show. Definitely not their worst, but not their best. I have a lot to say about it, definitely. In the meantime, please keep a lookout for a reaction roundtable at Nintendojo!
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Alas, Anthony, I tried to watch the stream, but it wouldn't load for me no matter where I tried, so I was stuck watching the Nintendojo tweets. As such, I was initially more impressed at the various game reveals because I could only see them in text, and didn't know what they looked live in video form. Now, having watched the video, I can give my reactions.
ReplyDeleteHonestly? I think people's reactions to Star Fox are because either a) it opened the presentation and was therefore muted down by medium-quality tastes afterwards, or b) because many gamers weren't quite sure what to make, from a practical standpoint, of the "Gamepad-As-Cockpit" notion, and how it would actually perform. Any other reason is just fan quibbling. Now, I've never played a Star Fox game, but this makes me want to! I felt my first live Nintendo Direct couldn't have gotten off to a better start.
Then, Skylanders. Now, I am a series fan, and I have played the first three, but I've lost my enthusiasm by now. Whether it's because of too many iterations, or the shark-jumping character designs, I'm not sure. What I'll say is that this company co-op, clearly a rebirth of the initial notion of Skylanders being a Nintendo exclusive (yes, it very nearly was), would have fared better two years ago, or even last year. There exists little overlap between Amiibo fans and Skylanders fans, and even less that would get excited about this. Imagine, were Skylanders a Nintendo exclusive, it might have felt more at home, but alas...
I'll hold out on the new Metroid title, for there was not a whole lot revealed, though it doesn't look like a winner. Same goes for some of the others. I agree on Paper Jam and Tri Force Heroes looking great, with the aesthetic, both in the visuals and the humour, looking to be a winner. So there's two bright spots. Indeed, there were many spots I feel would have been better received by the fans in a different year, Mario Tennis being a good example.
I'll say this much, Anthony - I never thought I'd see a Nintendo Direct with a negative Like/Dislike bar on Youtube!
Of course, I personally feel a little sour that my two big Nintendo franchises - Pokemon and Kirby - received nothing. I am somewhat glad that we're not getting another main series Pokemon game this holiday again, for Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire felt rushed, but they could have done a bit with Super Mystery Dungeon. And Kirby... well, we'll just have to wait and see. It might be a while before a Kirby game is an E3 highlight like it was in 2010 and 2011.
So yeah, those are my thoughts. I held out of a weekly Pokemon meet-up to watch this, and I'm still not sure whether it was worth it, especially since I didn't end up watching it live at all.
Anyway, till next time, Anthony.
Mike.