Nintendo had a lot of games as this year’s E3 so here’s our recap of (almost) everything Nintendo had to play on the E3 show floor.
Hyrule Warriors
Clearly meaning to be a large title for Nintendo is Hyrule Warriors. This Zelda/Dynasty Warriors mash-up shows a lot of promise. Finally being able to control and fight with characters other than Link is a draw and each has flashy unique attacks. Classic Zelda characters, items, and enemies make appearances but it all still feels very much like Dynasty Warriors. The demo ended in a boss encounter with a Dodongo but it was still very basic in what needed to be done to defeat it. This one might just be for the hardcore fans, but we’ll see later in the year when it releases.
Mario Party 10
The newest and first Wii U entry in the series looks to be on the right track. I got to try out 8 of the minigames and they were all fun and didn’t control or feel broken. There were even some 5 player games where the fifth player is bowser and he tries to defeat the other players. If you’ve skipped the last few Mario Parties, this one might be the one to go back to when it comes out later this year.
Mario VS Donkey Kong
Did you know there’s another one of these coming out for the Wii U? The Mario VS Donkey Kong games have slipped under the radar but they are all very solid. Guide all the wind up Marios to the exit by taking advantage of all sorts of contraptions along the way. The Marios just move on their own so a lot of strategy is involved to get them safely to the end. It’s a different type of Mario game and I hope more people check it out.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
A clear continuation of the extra stages in Super Mario 3D World, Captain Toad is back for more treasure. The levels still take place on cubes for the most part but now it is a more comprehensive experience. There are also bosses that poor little Toad has to avoid. The same unique puzzle action gameplay looks to be even better when expanded upon like this.
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
The new Kirby game is basically Canvas Curse 2 and that is not a bad thing. The levels are larger and more complex and promoted a lot of exploration. The only issue with a game that requires so much use of the touch screen is that you’ll end up staring at it instead of your TV. The first one was great though so we’ll just have to wait until 2015 to find out what mess Kirby has gotten into this time.
Mario Maker
This Mario creator is super simple to use. The levels I’ve seen created are absolutely crazy and the idea that we could be sharing/playing hundreds and hundreds of original Mario levels next year is even crazier.
Basically you can select and shape platforms, item blocks, enemies, you name it. Except for the horizontal area of the level, there don’t seem to be any limits as to what can be placed in the level. It was a lot of fun to create and quickly test out how things work. This was extremely promising and something I’d love to see Nintendo do more of. Perhaps a Zelda Maker?
There’s one more game I’d like to mention but it deserves its own article: Super Smash Bros.
