Nintendo Post E3 Event.

We here at GameGrin didn’t manage to get a huge team to E3 this year so we were grateful to be invited to a Nintendo post E3 event to get hands on with all the new titles coming out in the next few months for the Wii U and 3DS. It was an enlightening experience for someone such as myself who has held off on purchasing a Wii U or 3DS seeing as, up to this point, I didn’t feel like there was a game on either system that could justify the price of a new console.

As someone who skipped the Wii altogether (seeing as everyone I knew had one I felt no need to own one) this was the kind of experience I had never expected. I went in with no desire to own a Wii U and left looking at my finances to see if I could afford one! I would say to anyone who’s been on the fence about the Wii U since its release, that if you get the chance to play some of its upcoming games, you should. With that said let’s talk about some of those games you should be looking forward to.

Bayonetta 2

When I first entered I felt this was the closest thing to a comfortable feeling I was going to get in the whole event. I’ve played the original Bayonetta to completion and really enjoyed myself with it. While it felt less fluid than say Devil May Cry 4 or Ninja Gaiden 2, it had its fantastic moments and Platinum had secured their place as a supergroup of the game development world.

Bayonetta 2 then was, frankly, more of the same. If anything it’s more frantic and hectic than the original. The new mechanic of the Umbran Climax just makes things even more insane than before allowing Bayonetta to use these huge claw attacks to take down anything in her way. This literally decimates groups of enemies bosses. This climax can be activated when your magic bar is full and it recharges your health while in use.

Also, being dialed up to eleven wouldn’t even describe the opening moments of this game. I played the prologue and it was simply non-stop. I had at least three mini boss fights and one humongous one at the end. Platinum has not only fine tuned the combat but also the level design.

Lastly, I would like to mention the fact that this game is running at 60fps 1080p. This might seem like the expected standard nowadays, but for a game that focuses so heavily on dodging, it’s important. I cannot overstate how much this improves this game (and the original which I also had playtime with) and makes things just that little bit better.

Hyrule Warriors

Yes! Something else familiar! Let’s start at the obvious. This is a Dynasty Warriors game that has been reskinned for the Zelda franchise. To most people, though, this won’t matter; its got the Zelda name and that’s enough.

How does it play? Exactly like Dynasty Warriors. The only big change to the formula I saw was the bosses. Every now and then a large boss creature would be brought onto the field that would need bashing. Why so different? Well, you can’t just hack away at it, well you can but you won’t get far, you have to use specific moves and items at certain times like any normal Zelda boss battle.

I was impressed with the visual fidelity of the title as well. It’s that bold coloured, cartoony Nintendo style that all of the company’s games seem to ooze, but it looks stunning. I didn’t get a huge amount of time with this so there really isn’t much else to say. It was fun but it still just felt like Dynasty Warriors: Zelda. Is that a bad thing? I think you already have the answer to that.

Yoshi’s Wooly World

There is one word to describe this game: adorable. It’s classic Nintendo design. Get from the far left of the level the far right and do it by jumping, bouncing and throwing your way to solving the simple puzzles that line the gorgeous worlds.

While very clearly a game aimed at the lower end of the age spectrum, the game is so much fun to play that it just blew my mind. It may be the same thing we’ve been doing for years on Nintendo systems but the platforming feels challenging yet simple. This is something not to be understated with all of the games coming out in the next year or so for Nintendo: refinement within creativity.

The cuteness doesn’t stop with the visual design but also the way in which you dispatch foes or, even accidentally, your friends. All that was on display was the two player co-op, which doesn’t seem to offer any unique differences over going it solo, except being able to suck up your co-op partner and throw them anywhere seems like a neat little trick. Although my Nintendo rep that played the level with me might not have thought so when I threw her off the edge of a sunflower to her peril.

When you do come undone, you are respawned as a cute little wooly egg that floats from the top of the screen. A nice little touch is that you can shake the gamepad to descend faster. This idea of using the controller’s motion functions, in a small but interesting way, is something that I started to see more and more as I saw more games.

Kirby & The Rainbow Curse

Once again, adorable. This game seems to be even more aimed at the young crowd, with no real movement controls but instead a cute pink ball...thing, that’s continuously moving to the right. You must navigate your way right by tapping on the gamepad where you’d like Kirby to attack, or draw lines that turn into lovely clay rainbow paths for Kirby to travel along and help solve simple environmental puzzles and get more of those precious stars.

At first I wondered if this was enough of a gimmick to entertain a whole game but, as I’ve already said, this is all about refinement within creativity for Nintendo. They know what they are doing when it comes to these sorts of games, and it shows. An effortless claymation art style seems to blend seamlessly with the controls leaving you feeling like you’re playing with a clay Kirby that can transform into anything.

The art style was the biggest thing here that stood out to me, it certainly feels fresh and even if the style has been attempted before, it’s never been done this well. I was genuinely impressed by it when I first saw it and enjoyed my time with it a lot. A game I would like to see more of.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

This was the game that took me by complete surprise. This is Captain Toad’s first solo outing and boy is he getting the five star treatment. If we’ve learnt anything from this article so far it’s that Nintendo does cute and adorable extremely well and this is no exception. Toad is simply the cutest little guy. He has no attacks to speak of so he’s entirely passive. The whole game is based around manipulating the environment to find all the treasure and get to the end of the area.

There are various obstacles in the way of that goal including enemies, which you can manipulate with your finger on the touchpad to move them out of Toads way, and the environment itself also moveable with the touchpad. This is the big gimmick: move the gamepad around and as you do, you rotate the level. This allows you to gain a better view of the puzzle you’re up against and where those pesky hidden crystals, that inhabit every level, are.

The game simply caught my imagination. I was shown three separate levels that showed off different aspects of the game. Straight forward puzzle solving and getting from one end of the level to the next, an on-rails section that played like a first-person shooter using the gamepad as your reticle, and lastly a boss level where I was tasked with navigating a room with a giant dragon in it and getting Captain Toad through safely.

All of the levels had me engrossed and I wanted to beat them. This game has hit written all over it. Not only is it challenging for children but adults with find themselves scratching their heads thinking about where that last crystal could be hidden. This may actually be the game that tips me over the edge on the decision to buy a Wii U.

Splatoon

New IP from Nintendo? “What is this madness?” I hear you shout. Well calm down, you’ll be happy to know that even at this stage it’s polished and mechanically fantastic. A game I wish I could have had more time with.

In typical Nintendo fashion, there are gimmicks galore here: you must use the gamepad’s motion controls to look up and down, there are no bullets, instead there is ink and the aim is not to kill your opponents but to control as much territory as possible by covering the level in your team’s ink. Oh, and you can transform into a squid to traverse your ink. This allows you to move faster and to areas you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to get to, adding a further element of strategy to the game.

Also the way the game played out was extremely fun. Close matches were very regular and kept you waiting for the very last little infographic, telling you the exact percentages of the map your team had taken control of. The atmosphere was one of fun and excitement every match so this is only another box ticked by Nintendo.

Family friendly? Tick. Innovative, but not so much as to alienate existing fanbase? Tick. Are we seeing a pattern emerging here? Nintendo has this making video games thing down to an art. Just when you think Nintendo are down and out, here’s a new IP that ticks every box and tons of games that show off just how masterful they have become at the creating distinctly Nintendo experiences. 

Super Smash Bros

Lastly, I played possibly the most anticipated game on the whole Wii U platform. I will be honest from the off. Super Smash Bros has never been my thing. Never. I don’t understand it and I don’t really see why it’s so popular. So existing fans will be happy to know I came away feeling...exactly the same way I did when I went in.

There are new characters and new levels. That’s what I took away from my time with the game. It’s just Super Smash Bros. If you’re a fan you’ll love it. If you’re not, this won’t change your mind.  
I had a crash course from the very helpful resident Smash Bros expert, this consisted of him talking at me for about two to three minutes explaining what buttons do what. He was lovely and extremely informative. Unfortunately, the other two players didn’t need his help, so I had my arse handed to me several times. While I pressed buttons and hoped to do something.

Overall Impressions

So after all this, I am very much looking forward to the future of the Wii U. I will be keeping a close eye on the price of the console as well. I would urge anyone who loves playing games for the fun, and not the gamerscore or rep that completing games brings to their E-peen, to check out the new games from Nintendo and seriously consider investing in a Wii U at some point in the close future. I just apologise I can’t be of more use to the die hard Smash Bros fans. Sorry.