Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Brothers, Donkey Kong, and Kirby, oh my!
The newest Nintendo Direct had something for everyone. It had news regarding new characters for popular games. It had existing franchises being taken in new, unexpected directions. It had reveals for brand new games and everything in between. We have a lot to cover so let’s get right into it.
The newest Super Smash Brothers is one of the up and coming games of 2014 and just recently it was rumored to be releasing in the first half of the new year. That wasn’t true but it will be coming out in 2014 and to give the Smash Brothers fans something in the Direct, Rosalina, of Mario Galaxy fame, will be a combatant in Smash Brothers as well as a driver in Mario Kart 8. A Luma will be her ally in battle and from what the trailer showed, should be a good battle accessory to block items and other things of that nature.
As for Mario Kart 8, the trailer showed off some new courses and the return of some of the Baby Drivers, like Baby Mario and Baby Luigi. You’ll be able to drive around Sunshine Airport and the HD makes the planes and the other scenery look fantastic. The main feature of Mario Kart 8 is being able to drive in all directions as well as upside down. It should be interesting to see how course design is used in Mario Kart 8.
I think the term “out of nowhere” is the best way to describe the Zelda/Warriors crossover that was shown called “Hyrule Warriors.” The name isn’t official but should hold the Zelda fans at bay until the next Legend of Zelda installment on Wii U. The game is being developed by Tecmo-Koei and is separate from the Eiji Aonuma led Zelda games. NES Remix is another game that could be considered unexpected from the Nintendo Direct. The game is available now on the eShop for 15 bucks and shows that Nintendo is still tweaking the classics after all these years. The game takes parts of 16 classic NES games and creates new challenges for them. That could range from playing Excitebike in the dark to playing Donkey Kong with Link. NES Remix also has Miiverse connectivity where you can post stamps like in Super Mario 3D World. Sonic Lost World will be getting new downloadable content in terms of a new level that is Nintendo themed, specifically Yoshi. There will be another piece of DLC for Sonic Lost World but that won’t be available until 2014.
Dr. Luigi, similar to Dr. Mario, stars everyone’s green plumber turned doctor, Luigi. The game plays just like Dr. Mario where you use pills to vanquish germs. The game has a new mode where “L” shaped pills are used to fight off the germs. The game has online play as well as Dr. Mario mode. It launches December 31st for $15 dollars. Wii Sports Club and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze had some info revealed in the Direct. Golf was released to the public and details were shown about hitting the golf ball with assistance from the Wii U Game Pad. The game will have the Wii Sports original 9 hole course as well as a course based on the Famicon game, Golf US Course, Mr. Iwata’s baby that he helped develop more than 25 years ago.
A little more info was revealed about Cranky Kong joining the Kongs in their fight with the Snowmad Vikings that invade Kong Island. Funky Kong takes over the shop duties while Cranky is out in the field and sells items to the Kongs. Also, if 100 bananas are collected, Kong-Pow combo moves can be performed. All enemies on the screen at the time of Kong-Pow will be turned into an item. Fans will have to wait just a little bit longer for February 21st to come along to play DKC: Tropical Freeze.
News regarding Bravely Default, one of the most anticipated RPG games, was revealed and a demo was mentioned, available on the eShop January 2nd. The demo will be different from the final product, with material not in the main game. Sleep Points will be gathered for every 8 hours of sleep mode the 3DS is left in. Sleep Points can be used in battle to revive a fallen ally or heal someone. You’ll also be able to buy SP Potions that fills up Sleep Points so you don’t have to wait. The limit is 3 Sleep Points so I can understand why people might want to buy them. You can buy the SP Potions from the Nintendo eShop.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe brings out favorite Pink Puff back to the Side Scrolling adventure game we all know and love. Kirby can traverse between the background and the foreground in each level, similar to Mutant Mudds. Kirby will have the new Hypernova ability at his disposal, which powers up his inhale. There will be 20+ abilities for Kirby to copy into, with four brand new abilities. Two mini games for the game were also mentioned: Kirby Fighters has ten abilities to choose from and you fight to see which one is the best, and Dedede’s Drum Dash is a rhythm based game where you press buttons to match the Kirby music being played. Kirby Triple Deluxe has a 2014 scheduled release.
Chibi-Robo! Photo Finder is an interesting idea. You, as Chibi, run a museum and have to find items that match the shapes provided. You use the 3DS camera to find the items that match the provided silhouettes with the items being called NostalJunk in the real world. NostalJunk challenges will have the players show their creative side where they the freedom to find the best silhouettes and earn a special costume for Chibi-Robo. Pokemon Bank lets the players store up to 3,000 Pokemon. If you download Pokemon Bank from December 27th to September 30th 2014, you’ll get your hands on a special Celebi, with the move Hold Back. Hold Back is a move Celebi can’t learn by normal means. Yoshi’s New Island takes the look and feel from the SNES classic game and brings Takeshi Tezuka, Creative Director of original, along for the ride.
“Today’s announcements reinforce that Nintendo systems are consumers’ best options for enjoying quality games now, and will continue to be in 2014,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s president and COO. “From new upcoming games in the Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. series to original Nintendo eShop content like NES Remix, Wii U and Nintendo 3DS provide a combination of value and variety that only Nintendo can offer.”
