You may be right. D23 has been great for Kingdom Hearts in the past. We shall see....
Nintendo's stream is imminent in 3 minutes, & Square Enix follows. Stream links are in the first post. Alternatively, here's liveblogs at
Forbes and
Gamespot.
Nintendo @ E3 2015?Official Website
I think I'll mimic my Sony post and probably edit in thoughts right here...
-NINTENDO X MUPPETS!
-Whew. Star Fox Zero confirmed for "holiday 2015". Miyamoto's narrated presentation seems impressive. Transformations, giant enemies, spaceships, the works. This might be the first Wii U game that truly integrates the gamepad with the attempt at immersion and recreating the feeling that you're piloting an airplane.
-Some Mario Maker hype. This game was put on amazing display at the Nintendo World Championships.
-Reggie says nothing has transformed Nintendo's franchises as much as Amiibo. Uh, really? I wouldn't say that's the case based on Smash Bros.
-And we're cutting to figures for Skylanders. I guess they meant it when it was said they didn't intend for Amiibo to compete with other toys-to-life stuff.
-The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes. Looks like another game in the vein of Four Swords Adventures. Fall 2015 on the 3DS.
- More commentary after the trailer. Big focus on puzzle solving and getting through dungeons. Multiplayer is possible. Uses a "totem" mechanic to a great extent. Links can stand on one another to reach higher spots. You have 3 characters to manage.
- The Links can be outfitted with different costumes. Not just a cosmetic feature, they grant unique abilities.
- By the way...there's a Zelda costume. Yep.
-Hyrule Warriors 3DS includes all DLC characters from Wii U version. Tetra and the King from Wind Waker are in, which we knew from a premature trailer upload earlier. 1st quarter 2016.
-Oh ho, here we go. New multiplayer 3DS shooter. Metroid Prime: Federation Force. Shooter action in the Prime universe.
-Wow, didn't expect this: epic new English language trailer for Fire Emblem If. Wisely localized as
Fire Emblem Fates outside Japan. Affirmed for 2016. Looks like there's some serious stuff going on with the heroine Aqua...
-Fire Emblem x Shin Megami Tensei. This is still so weird to look at. What is this even supposed to be? Slated for 2016.
-Epic Xenoblade X trailer with lots of giant robots. Dated for...December 4, 2015. Yikes. There goes one prospective Wii U title for the summer or fall.
-Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer...well, it's exactly what the title says. Due September 24, 2015. Nintendo 3DS.
-And here's something else for Wii U that's using Amiibo. Animal Crossing x Mario Party? It's called Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival. Another thing for "this holiday".
-Emi Watanabe of Nintendo talking Yoshi's Wooly World. She was involved in Kirby's Epic Yarn too. Some fun backstory. The idea for Yarn Yoshi Amiibo came because of a mockup she made.
- "The difficulty level is all up to the player," she says. You can just be casual and have fun, but if you're trying to be a completionist there's supposed to be a lot of challenge. This is the same successful attitude applied to Super Mario these days.
- Think I just caught that Amiibo can be used to give Yoshi yarn costumes. Yarn Yoshi with a Mario or Samus motif, for example. Too cute.
- There's a release date: October 16, 2015.
-Yokai Watch from Level 5. Anime style, cel-shaded game. "Holiday 2015" again. This strikes me as "if Pokemon were an adventure RPG game with a goal".
-Mario Tennis Ultra Smash: "Holiday 2015". Noticing a pattern yet?
-New Mario & Luigi RPG game that seems to blend with Paper Mario. Due out early 2016.
-Mario Maker. Ah, here we go.Due September 11, 2015.
- Apparently there's a booklet that'll show you some of what can be done and / or used with the level creator.
- Lots of talk about the background of level design. This part of the video is worth watching.
And....that's about it.
This was a middling presentation. Very fixated on 2015, and not great news for the Wii U. Nintendo is releasing not a thing for the console this summer. Mario Maker is the next big thing after Splatoon. At least after that, there's possibly at least a game a month for awhile. Yoshi in October, Xenoblade early December. Possibly Star Fox Zero in November?
What led the presentation for the Wii U were things previously announced. For new Wii U stuff there is.....Mario Tennis. Okay, fine, but it's Mario Tennis. Not a super inspiring reveal. The Animal Crossing stuff seems pleasant enough but I don't feel like I really have to have it. 2016 is a giant question mark outside of knowing Zelda Wii U is theoretically coming out at some point, and the wacko SMT / Fire Emblem thing (seriously, what is this about?!). To not even hint at more at this point is something. And go figure: a game with the Metroid name in the 3DS and Wii U era and it's a spinoff and Samus isn't involved.
Fire Emblem Fates makes me happy though. An English trailer already gives me some hope this one is early 2016.
