Everyone's been down on Nintendo's Switch Presentation in one way or another, be it the pricing, the launch line-up confusion, the bumbling live translator or the news shared above (my own
brief, conflicted thoughts were shared on a
Nintendojo Roundtable). I suspect the influx of rumors lining up the weeks before the presentation had a hand in this: there were reports of several enhanced Wii U ports for fan-favorite titles, the bizarrely enticing
Mario/
Raving Rabbids crossover, and, of course, the ever-eternal localization of
Mother 3. While undoubtedly more will be revealed this E3, I imagine most--including myself--got caught up in the hype and expected a bigger blowout than what we received.
Don't get me wrong: I think there's many valid complaints over went down this past Friday, but I can't help but blame myself for being disappointed in this regard. It's not like what was shown wasn't very cool, be it the unexpected surprise of
Xenoblade 2 and the mouth-watering give-it-to-me-now goodness of
Super Mario Odyssey. In the case of
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe not having new tracks, I imagine that a) Nintendo didn't want spend too much resources on improving an older title and b) they thought 48 tracks was enough, and, well, I can't exactly blame them. While I would've loved to have seen a
Splatoon track, I'm just happy we're seeing a revamped Battle Mode (and hey, no one ever denied anything about DLC!)
At the very least, I still think more Wii U ports are happening; it only makes sense Nintendo wants certain active, big-name Wii U titles to get more exposure. (And besides, why else are the amiibo for Cloud, Corrin and Bayonetta taking so long?) Smash and Mario Maker are obvious, but I can't help but entertain the thought of a Hyrule Warriors port that combines content from both versions, and I think it's about time Pokken Tournament got some of that arcade-onlky goodness.
Really, I'm left with one important question: will Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as well as any following Wii U ports, inherit save data from their previous versions? I'd hate to have to say goodbye to my battle data from Smash 4, for instance, so Mario Kart will be a litmus test for what's to come.
...that reminds me: I know I said I wouldn't be discussing my review schedule anymore, but to drive up excitement for the fresh new year, I'd like to share a taste of what's to come. I'm planning reviews for certain Wii U titles before their accompanying Switch releases hit stores, so you can expect me to discuss Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon right when Deluxe and Splatoon 2 hit. Any following Wii U ports will likely get the same treatment, so stay tuned for those.
Oh, and remember when I said a famous Nintendo franchise will get its Leave Luck to Heaven debut? Expect that to start very soon...word has it a big blowout's coming to celebrate a certain launch title.
