by Luke Kirby
Ever since 2011 Nintendo have been in contact with their fan base via Nintendo Direct presentations which they release every few months. With a whole new year of gaming now sprawled out ahead of us, Nintendo has been the first to step up and reveal some surprises in their 2015 line up.
And boy were we surprised!
Ever since 2011 Nintendo have been in contact with their fan base via Nintendo Direct presentations which they release every few months. With a whole new year of gaming now sprawled out ahead of us, Nintendo has been the first to step up and reveal some surprises in their 2015 line up.
And boy were we surprised!
'Amiibo' figurines can be used to unlock bonus content. The presentation got underway with Satoru Iwata wishing us the best for 2015 and cutting to a new video showing a battle involving mythical creatures and men. Turns out this new game is the latest in the Fire Emblem series, coming to the Nintendo 3DS (developed by Intelligent Systems), bringing in a comic book writer to add a unique feel to it and choices can affect the outcome of the game more so than in other series.
Next up they announced that Puzzle and Dragons, a puzzle-based RPG adventure title which has been very popular in Japan, will be coming to Europe as well as Puzzle and Dragons: Super Mario Edition, and available in May 2015 as one package. Pokémon Shuffle will also be coming out which is pretty much the same game as Puzzle and Dragons in terms of gameplay but with the added Pokémon brand. It will be available on Nintendo E-shop from February. Excitingly, Wii titles will now be available on the E-shop such as the critically-acclaimed Super Mario Galaxy 2, out now and priced only at £8.99 (while the 50% deal is on) along with both Punch Out and the very highly reviewed Metroid Prime Trilogy, both out later this month. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse will be released February 20th and features amiibo functionality.
Nintendo moved onto the upcoming Mario Party 10 which features a Traditional Party Mode, Bowser Party Mode and Amiibo Party Mode. Using an amiibo in Mario Party 10 unlocks a special stage for those characters; the game will work with nine different amiibos from the Super Mario, which brings Toad in as a new amiibo that can also unlock features in Captain Toad Treasure Tracker. Mario Party 10 will be released March 20th.
Next up they announced that Puzzle and Dragons, a puzzle-based RPG adventure title which has been very popular in Japan, will be coming to Europe as well as Puzzle and Dragons: Super Mario Edition, and available in May 2015 as one package. Pokémon Shuffle will also be coming out which is pretty much the same game as Puzzle and Dragons in terms of gameplay but with the added Pokémon brand. It will be available on Nintendo E-shop from February. Excitingly, Wii titles will now be available on the E-shop such as the critically-acclaimed Super Mario Galaxy 2, out now and priced only at £8.99 (while the 50% deal is on) along with both Punch Out and the very highly reviewed Metroid Prime Trilogy, both out later this month. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse will be released February 20th and features amiibo functionality.
Nintendo moved onto the upcoming Mario Party 10 which features a Traditional Party Mode, Bowser Party Mode and Amiibo Party Mode. Using an amiibo in Mario Party 10 unlocks a special stage for those characters; the game will work with nine different amiibos from the Super Mario, which brings Toad in as a new amiibo that can also unlock features in Captain Toad Treasure Tracker. Mario Party 10 will be released March 20th.
'Splatoon' now features a hub world for players to interact in. Upcoming shooter Splatoon now has a central hub where players can communicate with other ‘inklings’ and go to different game modes, online or single. Customization to weapons, equipment and general appearance is also an added function from the previous announcements. Player inklings have a main weapon, sub-weapon and special weapons. Splatoon will be available sometime in May. The highly-anticipated Xenoblade Chronicles X trailer highlighted different environments with vast wilderness, huge mountains and giant creatures roaming the land. Mountainous regions, artic, lava, woods and even urban settings illustrate that there will be a lot to explore in this game.
A new four player co-op action game which is free to download, currently codenamed Project Treasure and developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment, is coming but without much information given by Nintendo at this time. A myriad of other E-shop games were also announced such as Elliot’s Quest, Citizens of Earth, Gunman Clive 2, Moon Chronicles Episodes 2, 3 and 4, SEGA 3D Classics, Etrian Mystery Dungeon, Story of Seasons and Fossil Fighters Frontiers.
A new four player co-op action game which is free to download, currently codenamed Project Treasure and developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment, is coming but without much information given by Nintendo at this time. A myriad of other E-shop games were also announced such as Elliot’s Quest, Citizens of Earth, Gunman Clive 2, Moon Chronicles Episodes 2, 3 and 4, SEGA 3D Classics, Etrian Mystery Dungeon, Story of Seasons and Fossil Fighters Frontiers.
The New 3DS, Majora's Mask Edition. Reggie appeared later into the presentation to give a special announcement about the newest member of the 3DS family, the New Nintendo 3DS. The new console features all the same features of the 3DS but with added features such as face-tracking (so the 3D aspect now works at multiple angles), the new C-stick, a near field communication system, much better processing power (further boosting the console's performance) and can be easily accessed and navigated by developers. Save data can also be transferred from old 3DS system to the New 3DS systems. The console is coming to the US and UK February 13th. Code Name S.T.E.A.M utilises amiibo features of characters from the Fire Emblem series such as Marth, Ike and Lucina who each have special abilities. The game releases March 13th and, if pre-ordered from GameStop, customers get a free Majora's Mask pin. On that subject, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask allows full 360 camera control using the C-stick. A new bundle was shown off, featuring the game and a special Majora's Mask New 3DS XL will be available February 13th. On a personal note, the Majora's Mask special 3DS looks absolutely beautiful… I must have it.
'You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?'
It’s been a rather successful Nintendo Direct, unlike others where it seems to be information that’s already been released there was a lot that got me excited, specifically; a new Fire Emblem entry, the chance to play the Metroid Prime Trilogy, new information about Splatoon, Code Name S.T.E.A.M and of course that gorgeous Majora's Mask New 3DS which WILL BE MINE.
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