Nintendo has always held a special place in my heart and for many reasons. For starters, it was the system that my mom was comfortable with me playing after I blew out my Sega Genesis. Plus, it has a wider variety of games that two people (i.e. my brother and I) can play. Since then, I’ve always been a big fan of Nintendo and their products. Even their avant-garde approach to press conferences and showcases has always tickled my funny bone. This year was no different.
Every year, Nintendo opts for a more intimate approach with their press conferences preferring to show off their future releases through Nintendo Direct and pre-recorded videos. This year was no different and the most anticipated.
Of course, they showed off new releases starting off with new installments for their established franchises: Fire Emblem: Three Houses for the Fire Emblem series and Super Mario Party for the Mario Party series. But what was great was the fact that they were going back to basics for the new Mario Party by making the mini-games more classical like in its previous installments. As for Fire Emblem: Three Houses, I saw that they were implementing an army like play style but more information is needed.
I was delighted to see that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was getting an another DLC called Torna The Golden Country and it meant to move the story along. And they keep the ball going (literally) with announcing that new Pokeball+, an accessory for Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu & Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee, will come with a Mew already inside of it.
They, again, reiterated that Fortnite, Octopath Traveler, Hallow Knight and many others are coming to the Switch (some sooner than others). Then, of course, they showered us with a bevy of trailers; I couldn’t fit them all so I only focused on the ones that stuck out to me:
- Arena of Valor
- Dragonball Fighter Z
- Pixark
- Captain Toad
- Ninjala
- SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy
- The World Ends With You
- Paladins: Champions of the Realm
- Mega Man 11
Finally…Oh my goodness, finally, we got information about Super Smash Brother Ultimate. And, for the record, it’s not a port…it’s a balanced overhaul. They explained that EVERYBODY from the Smash lineup – past and present – will be on the roster and will have to be unlocked organically. The only real new characters are Inkling (Splatoon), Ridley (Metroid) and Daisy (Super Mario – but she’s more of an Echo character).
That’s not all. They explained how they worked to balance the game to a T. EVERBODY got an adjustment overhaul to their movelist and appearances. There will be new items including a fake Smash Ball and new stages. The Omega (Final Destination) and Battlefield version of the stages will be an option. And, to make it more like a real brawl, they added a short hop, directional air dodge, perfect shield, the ability to KO assist trophies (well…some of them), ladder fighting and damage adjustment proportional to the number of players on the field. Best of all…it’s compatible with the GameCube controller.
Nintendo is going to get a 98 out of 100 from me. It was just that good. Not perfect but pretty damn good. We’re just going to have to see if the games are as good as they claim. Haha!
