Nintendo first’s Nintendo Direct for 2014 just concluded. It was the first time Satoru Iwata took the stage in front of a national audience since its financial meltdown last month. Understandably, it was a big opportunity for the company.
A lot was shown during the 40-minute presentation, although a lot of it isn’t very memorable. Nonetheless, below is a rundown of everything that happened:
- Mario Golf World Tour has been given a release date of May 2nd. The additional development time as a result of its delay has gone into implementing a large item count allowing players to collect equipment and customize their stats. Power, shot trajectory, and more will be taken into account when choosing a loadout.
- Kirby: Triple Deluxe has many usable abilities that Kirby can acquire from enemies. An example shown during the presentation had Kirby learning skills from a Horned Beetle, including a charge and piledrive. The game will release on May 2nd alongside Mario Golf World Tour.
- Yoshi’s New Island for the 3DS will feature transformations such as turning Yoshi into a jackhammer or submarine. There will also be a Super Yoshi mode that allows him to run vertically and upside down like Sonic the Hedgehog. The game will launch on March 14th.
- A new tactical first person shooter for the 3DS has been announced, Steel Diver: Sub Wars. It will allow players to command submarines in first-person in addition to providing many options for customization. A free version will be released on the eShop which includes the first two missions of its campaign. The game releases today on the eShop.
- Nintendo is tackling the Baseball market with a free-to-play game called Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball for the 3DS. There will be a variety of game modes.
- Pokemon is hitting the puzzle genre with a game called Pokemon Battle Trozei. It’s a 3DS game that has some strategic flair to accompany its Pokemon flavor.
- eShop games are a big deal for Nintendo moving forward. Treasurenauts, and Shovel Knight are just a couple examples of games that will be coming to the eShop.
- Child of Light is coming to the 3DS on April 20th.
- Several minutes of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze gameplay was shown. It depicted underwater gameplay, fast platforming, and plenty of vine swinging action.
- Starting April, Game Boy Advance’s Virtual Console games will become available on the eShop.
- Mario Kart 8 made a two minute appearance using a new trailer that showed Nintendo’s first-party cast racing in every orientation imaginable: upside down, sideways… you name it. A release date was also set which is May 30th.
- Monolith’s X finally got a proper gameplay trailer. Four characters were equipped with futuristic weapons to take down intimidating creatures in an open field. The main character then hopped into a mech and blasted away a couple enemies for good measure.
- Bayonetta 2 made a flashy appearance. Several story characters were put on display for the first time. The cinematics are true to spirit for Platinum Games. In addition, a new combat mechanic called Umbran Climax was announced which allows players to store energy from dodges before unleashing a powerful super attack.
Out of everything listed I found X to be the highlight of the show. The Xeno series is outstanding and X should carry that torch to the Wii U giving the platform some bragging rights.
Is there anything you’re interested in? Let us know in the comments below.
