Thoughts from the 11/12/15 Nintendo Direct

Following the Nintendo Direct a few days ago, I talked about it and the accompanying Canadian press release in brief over on Mario’s Hat; at the time, I wasn’t able to do more. But now a few days have passed and I’ve had time to reflect on the whole thing, I figured I’d look back at it here and just recap my highlights.

Overall, I felt it was good. Most of what interested me has already been shown previously, though, and much of what was left is actually more up Nadia’s alley (due to the heavy role playing game nature of it), so hopefully she’ll talk more about it on Tiny Girl Tiny Games.

Even so, things started off with a bang for me. Confirmation of the rumored high definition remake of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess made my day, as it’s my favorite 3D Zelda game of all time — that is, barring the possibility of including Hyrule Warriors and not counting A Link Between Worlds. The Wind Waker is cool, and Skyward Sword is a close second, but this is the one that does it for me. (Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask? Try as I might, I just can’t get into them — not even the 3D remakes. And believe me, I’ve tried. I wish I could explain it; I recognize the originals are great games and the remakes seem even better, but they just don’t connect with me.)

For the most part, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD looks better than the original. The guys over at GameXplain put together this cool comparison video to highlight the differences:

Granted, it’s not as drastic as Wind Waker‘s update, but the textures are much improved, things seem a little brighter and more colorful (if only just a bit at times), and you can really see the detailing in things like Zant’s mask a lot more clearly. That said, I don’t know much about HD remakes, so maybe this is par for the course, but I was disappointed in some instances where there were still some lower-polygon models being used. Aesthetically, this doesn’t bother me — everything since the GameCube/Xbox/PlayStation 2 era has been gravy as far as what makes me happy in 3D game models, but just the same, I sort of expected more, you know?

In addition, my experience has been with the Wii version of the game only. I love it, but I’ve long been curious about the flipped GameCube version (well, technically the Wii is the one that was flipped, but you know what I mean), and it looks like this will be my chance to play it, in a manner of speaking. Just the same, given the Wii U can still use the Wii Remotes and stuff, I’d love to see the ability to play it that way as well. It would almost be like a second quest! Plus, I love pointer aiming with the bow.

There’s going to be a Wolf Link and Midna amiibo, which I hope I can get — I’m quite curious how that will be incorporated into the Wii U’s own original Zelda game. I just wish it was compatible with Hyrule Warriors.

Speaking of which, Hyrule Warriors Legends looks good, too. I’ve yet to review the original, which is a crime for which I should be tried and hung for (there have been… issues), but I hope to do that in time for this release. The additions of Tetra, Skull Kid, Toon Link, and the King of Hyrule are all cool, but I’m most looking forward to Linkle. Odd name aside, the dual crossbows seem to be a callback to another Zelda game I really enjoyed, Link’s Crossbow Training, and look like a lot of fun to use. I like her character design, too.

Splatoon and Super Mario Maker‘s updates look cool, and much as I adore Splatoon, I just haven’t gotten to play it too much since launch. Maybe with this update?

I like what little I’ve played of Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival, so I hope I get a chance to try it in full. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash looks fun, and I’ve already begun on Xenoblade Chronicles X. Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, I’m so-so on, as well as Pokémon Picross, but at least the latter is free to try.

Pokken Tournament, on the other hand? I have little experience with Tekken, but I’ll gladly give this a go. Lucha Pikachu! I do have reservations on the whole “spirit” thing or whatever it was with the humans in there, but I’m not too concerned.

On the indie game front, I’m looking forward to SteamWorld Heist, and I’m amused that all throughout FAST Neo Racing‘s portion, they never once referenced F-Zero — despite name-dropping Zelda and Metroid during Xenoblade Chronicles X. Typoman looks like a lot of fun, too; I’ve got the demo, but have yet to get to play it. So many games, so little time. Hive Jump looks like it may be right up my alley, and I might like to give Terraria a shot, too.

The Star Fox Zero trailer looks good, even though it’s not actual gameplay, but doesn’t really show anything new — unless using characters besides Fox is an option, in which case I’m calling dibs on Falco. Either way, I’m looking forward to this one.

Likewise, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam still has me hyped, and I like the inclusion of these Battle Cards you can get with amiibo. I just hope there is a wide variety in what they all do to make them worth collecting.

Final Fantasy Explorers, I’m kind of torn on. I’m not much of a Final Fantasy person, but seeing as this one is an action RPG, I might give it a go if I get the chance. Still, it’s more Nadia’s bag, I think. Meanwhile, my interest in Fire Emblem Fates has only grown, particularly since this Nintendo Direct for some reason.

I talk about Mega Man Legacy Collection for Nintendo 3DS over on The Mega Man Network; as it is, I’m playing and enjoying it on PlayStation 4, but that gold Mega Man amiibo is calling to me. I’m also rather curious about Project X Zone 2 — namely how well the developers listened to complaints about the original, as they’ve said. I liked the first, but can’t refute a lot of those arguments.

Dragon Quest VII and Dragon Quest VIII are coming west! Huzzah! As I’ve said, I’m not much of a role playing gamer when it comes to things which aren’t tabletop or Mario, least of all Final Fantasy, but if I were to start, Dragon Quest is where I would go. This is more for my wife, though, and I know she’s thrilled.

Finally, we have the bombshell of the whole thing: Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/Nintendo 3DS. Some people take issue with this, but for me, it’s one more face to punch. Nadia is thrilled, though, and I am curious if this might have any broader implications — some have theorized this might mean that the Final Fantasy VII remake could come to a Nintendo platform, and that would be pretty cool.

And that’s pretty much it! Sheesh, even when I try to keep it brief, I still went for over a thousand words here. This is why it was a good idea to hold off, apparently.

—

David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

For a full list of places to find him online, click here.