Countdown to E3: Top Five Anticipated Nintendo Games (-4 Hours Remain-)
Posted on June 07 2011 by Alex Plant
Okay, so I said that E3 is inevitably all about you guys, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have a vested interest in the games being shown for the sake of getting a chance to test drive them for myself. We know that Nintendo has a bunch of unannounced software to unleash, and certainly a lot of it will steal the show, but as far as software we already know is coming, there’s already plenty to be excited about.
#5: Kid Icarus: Uprising
This was the 3DS’s opening charmer at last year’s E3, and even though it’s supposedly slated for release sometime this year, it seems that information has been pretty sparse compared to other Nintendo titles. Good straight-up action games from Nintendo are hard to come by, so when a new Kid Icarus was announced that planned to branch the series off into that genre, I was massively stoked. It looks to be the first major classic Nintendo franchise on 3DS to put touch controls at the center of the gameplay, bringing the DS and 3DS philosophies together for one sweet package.
Not to mention that the game looks gorgeous – and that’s without experiencing the 3D effect. I can only imagine how awesome those epic flight scenarios and ground battle sequences will seem with the added depth of the 3DS screen. I’m hoping we learn more about the game tomorrow morning – and that a final release window is imminent.
#4: Paper Mario 3D
I freaking love Paper Mario. I’m talking the original, mind you – apparently I’m one of those black sheep who wasn’t a fan of the steps the series took with Thousand-Year Door, and obviously Super Paper Mario, while it was a pretty fun game, just wasn’t the same. Paper Mario 3D looks to be going back to the series’ roots, which I’m obviously totally on board with.
We don’t know much about the game, really, aside from that it’s on 3DS, is going to use some kind of partner system, and will feature a lot of Mario series characters and enemies that we’ve missed in previous editions, but still – it’s Paper Mario. The way in which the series refuses to take itself seriously by capitalizing extensively on the “paper” theme was always charming, and I can see Intelligent Systems amping this up now that the 3D effect gives them more ways to play with the papercraft world.
What? Am I too old to be folding up paper cutouts and playing with them? Pshh, you don’t own me, man. I do what I want.
#3: Xenoblade Chronicles
Okay, so admittedly I have no idea whether this is going to get shown at E3 this year, but it is a Wii game set to come out this year in September, so it meets the criteria for “things that will likely be shown.” I’ve been waiting for a good RPG of this scope and scale to come to the Wii since the console first released (after all, the PS2 certainly delivered more than its share), and while Monolith Soft dropped this one out in Japan several months ago the game hasn’t reared its head in the West until recently.
Xenoblade promises to capitalize largely on free exploration of its huge, open overworld. Of course, there are still towns, NPC quests, and monsters to find and battle along the way, so it’s far from a large but empty game. It’s also got a fan-freaking-tastic soundtrack – one of the best I’ve heard in years – and an interesting storyline that I’m really looking forward to experiencing for myself.
#2: Super Mario 3D
This game somehow got me really excited based on a really tiny palette of information. All we know so far is that the game’s being made by EAD Tokyo, the same team behind the beloved Super Mario Galaxy series, that it looks like it’s going to incorporate more of a classic Mario feel, with a tiny Mario spotted in an early screenshot and some form of the raccoon tail powerup from Super Mario Bros. 3 confirmed, and that gameplay-wise it’s going to be a blend of Super Mario 64 and Galaxy.
Personally, I believe that the Galaxy games are the best games to come out in the last decade (2001-2010) period, so to see that EAD Tokyo is going to continue with the 3D Mario games is friggin’ exciting. And with this one slated to come out by the end of this year, only a year-and-a-half after Super Mario Galaxy 2, I’ve got to say that I’m positively loving the renewed attention Nintendo is giving to their King of Franchises.
#1: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
You knew it was coming – Skyward Sword is definitely my most anticipated Wii game since launch, perhaps even my personal most anticipated Zelda title ever. I’ve already counted the ways numerous times in various articles, so rather than suffer me repeating myself, why not just take a look at everything I’ve said on the subject?
