Nintendo’s President Satoru Iwata took to the Nintendo Direct with a series of updates and game trailers for the Nintendo 3DS.
Mario Golf World Tour – Available May 2
This Mario Sports title will feature a single player mode called Castle Club which allows players to use their Mii avatar to play through the game. You can customise your character’s equipment and clothing by purchasing items, giving you the ability to tweak your character to your preferred play style. The Castle Club also features a training mode, allowing you to focus on improving aspects of your game. Iwata also mentioned that you’ll need to use Castle Club to prepare for tournaments against other players, but did not go into detail.
Kirby Triple Deluxe – Available May 2
The pink puff is back and during the Nintendo Direct Iwata showed off Kirby’s signature mimic ability and how it influences gameplay. There are a number of 8-bit keychain collectibles seeded through the level, however, you can also expand your collection through the Street Pass feature. During your play through you’ll encounter a waddle that will give you items, if you’ve had a Street Pass encounter prior to playing the game the items will be more useful to you. If you’ve Street Passed a person that owns the game, you’ll net one of those 8-bit keychains.
Yoshi’s New Island – Available March 15
Yoshi’s Island features two new gameplay features the giant and metal egg dozers. The giant egg takes up most of the screen and when thrown by Yoshi will create unprecedented destruction, allowing him to destroy pipes and locks in the level. The metal egg dozer is obtained by inhaling a metallic ‘shy guy’ and is heavier than Yoshi’s other eggs. The metal egg will roll along the ground and can also be used underwater.
Yoshi’s Island also features a number of transformations of which we were shown the ‘jack hammer’ Yoshi, the ‘submarine’ Yoshi and the powered up ‘Super Yoshi’!. Some of these transformations will be controlled using the Nintendo 3DS gyroscope, while the Super Yoshi is more of a traditional Mario trope – the key difference being that Yoshi will run around the level Sonic-like and even launch into the air like a rocket. It looks like it could be really fun.
For players who struggle with this game, there is a new item called the ‘flutter wings’. This item gives Yoshi the ability to float through the level, avoiding most of the enemies below. It will be triggered based on how many mistakes you’ve made, so that anyone can enjoy Yoshi’s New Island.
Nintendo 3DS eShop Titles
Mr Iwata also dedicated a good deal of the Nintendo Direct to discussing some new and upcoming 3DS eShop titles. Two of these games show Nintendo’s commitment to experimenting with Free-To-Play games and DLC discounts through gameplay.
Steel Diver: Sub Wars – Available today
Dubbed a ‘contemplative first person shooter’, Nintendo is attempting to bring the thrill of multiplayer first person shooters to a wider audience. They’re doing this by creating an environment where fast paced action gives way to slow moving torpedoes and submarines that can make certain, quick manoeuvres. As Iwata describes it, this gameplay is designed to be more tactical, you’ll need to plan ahead to stay out of harm’s way. You can take on your friends in local multiplayer matches or take on scurvy sea dogs from around the world in online multiplayer matches.
Nintendo is offering two versions of Sub Wars: a free to play version that is limited to two basic subs and a handful of the single player missions. The multiplayer, however, is completely unhindered and you can compete without needing to upgrade. The premium paid version features submarines with unique stats and the full single player campaign.
Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball – Available in April
A new title for the Nintendo 3DS that’s being developed around ‘the good feeling’ of playing baseball. This is games is really a collection of mini-games that have a baseball theme. These mini-games cover all aspects of the game including batting, pitching, fielding and weirdly umpiring. To unlock these games you’ll need to visit Rusty’s Sports Shop to purchase these games.
The unique aspect of this transaction is that you can haggle with Rusty by either listening to his problems or giving him in-game items to get a discount. This discount will then be applied to the ‘real life’ cost of the game. It’s a meta move that will either infuriate parents still reeling from in-app purchases or delight bargain driven casual players.
Pokemon Battle Trozei – Available March 20
An ‘action puzzle game’ that has you matching Pokemon on a bejewelled-esque grid while you battle Pokemon. The game features the entire 700 strong cast of monsters for you to capture and then use in battle. These support pokemon will inflict more damage the more you use them and you’ll also need to consider type match ups if you want to succeed. You can also play cooperatively with four other players, allowing you and your friends to take on more difficult Pokemon like Entei.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy – Available February 28
Nintendo have a new trailer that focuses on Emmy Altava as she narrates her last adventure with the dapper Professor. The game features a ‘treasure hunt’ mode where you can find hidden items in locales throughout the game. Complete these missions and you’ll receive points that you can exchange for exclusive and rare items. You can create your own scavenger hunts, by hiding up to three items and then sharing your hunt with others through Street Pass.
Weapon Shop de Omasse – Available February 20
In this game from Level 5, you’ll be in charge of a weapon shop inside of a traditional role playing game. Instead of going on quests, you’ll be forging and renting out weapons and equipment to a cast of colourful adventurers. You’ll forge weapons by tapping on the touch screen in time to music similar to a rhythm game. To create stronger weapons you will have to master your timing and achieve optimal temperatures during the forging process. Your success in this game depends on the quality of your weapons. It’s a weird, meta experience that looks like a whole lot of fun, below is a Japanese-language trailer to give you an idea of what to expect.
Special Edition Yoshi 3DS XL coming to Australia and Europe March 14 & 15
Via Vooks.net, Nintendo has shown off a special themed 3DS XL Unit which features everyone’s favourite green dinosaur. The 3DS XL base colour is white, with a green lid with Yoshi in the corner. The unit will be released alongside Yoshi’s New Island March 15 in Australia.
Monster Hunter 4 confirmed – Early 2015
‘Monster Hunter 4G’ is coming to the 3DS in ‘Early 2015’. For Western audiences the game will be known as ‘Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate’ with co-op gameplay over the internet. No more details were revealed at this time.
