Nintendo a bit lackluster at E3

Like last year, Nintendo opted to air a 45 minute digital event rather than hold a traditional press conference. To their credit, their use of Muppet-like dolls actually made me chuckle a little bit, and had my son rolling on the flour with laughter. It was a bit odd, but I guess it worked.

The issue with Nintendo’s E3 presentation was that it followed up three outstanding conferences by Bethesda, Microsoft, and Sony. Nintendo’s came across as…flat. Sure, the games were there and they all stand alone on their quality, but there was nothing particularly exciting.

We knew about Yoshi’s Wholly World, Star Fox – although the new game play footage either sold you or pushed you away – Xenoblade X, Yo Kai Watch, and the unfortunately leaked Hyrule Warriors Legends. We did get a few new titles to get excited about, but nothing on the level of a new 3D Mario – Mario Galaxy 3 or Super Mario Sunshine HD anyone?

You can watch the entire digital event below, but here are a few of my favorites:

Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam is a new title coming to 3DS next spring. It actually combines two franchise: Paper Mario, and Mario and Luigi. As far as the trailer showed, be prepared for great papery RPG action with a touch of hilarity in the writing.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is slated to land on Wii U this holiday. It won’t be a lot different from past Mario Tennis titles, but it is about time we are getting another version. Lets hope it is much better than the 3DS release from a few years back.

Super Mario Maker: While this title isn’t a new announcement, we did get to see more details. The biggest announcement from this segment was that Nintendo is launching special amiibo to coincide with the launch of Mario Maker. Some outlets have already sold out of preorders for the new 8-bit GIANT Mario amiibo. No really, it is HUGE.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a new Zelda game coming to 3DS. It is actually cooperative, and you will need multiple partners to clear dungeons. Don’t worry though: if you are a series loner, or if your friends are not cool enough to own a 3DS, the game does have a single player element to it where you control all three characters.

What did you think of Nintendo’s E3 presentation. Thanks to our great relationship with Nintendo of Canada, we will have reviews of most of these titles at or around launch, so stay tuned to Games Reviews for further information.