Nintendo Direct 10/01/13 — A Whole New 3D World

We were long overdue for a new Nintendo Direct, the likes of which we haven’t received since one dedicated to The Wonderful 101 nearly two months ago, not including the “mini” iterations they directly upload to Youtube. Fans were wondering when Nintendo planned on rolling out marketing for their non-Pokemon holiday titles on Wii U and 3DS — especially for the former, since it needs the most help. They mentioned this Direct would focus on titles coming for the remainder of 2013, but some of us crossed our fingers for some new announcements.

It kicked off with a lengthy gameplay preview of Super Mario 3D World, showing previously announced features like the ability to play Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Peach, and some familiar powers. They also announced a new power: a berry that grants the ability to produce miniature clones of the player and have them all attack enemies. From the press previews circulating around the web today, it’s clear the game is more than simply Super Mario 3D Land in HD. As announced before, the game releases on November 22nd, a little earlier than its originally-scheduled December date.

Additionally, Mario and Luigi-themed Wii Remotes are coming on November 1st. But this is the Year of Luigi! Mario shouldn’t have a remote! Geez, Nintendo, what’s wrong with you?

Wii Party U is coming on 10/25, and Nintendo used this opportunity to show the various forms of play that will be possible. In order to enjoy them more comfortably, though, the retail version will include a horizontal stand for the Wii U Gamepad. You’ll probably need this setup for other software too, like Wii Fit U. It’s a good investment provided you enjoy the kinds of games that use it.

There’s a good reason why Super Mario 3D World was moved up to late-November: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze has been delayed until February 2014, dealing a severe blow to the Wii U lineup this holiday season. Remember when everyone said it felt like Nintendo was saving all the good stuff for Wii U until 2014 around E3 this year? That’s even more true now.

This is your reminder that Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games is coming soon. And by “soon,” that’s November 15th. It’s coming well ahead of the actual Winter Games, which begin on February 7th. They needed another game for the holiday season now that Tropical Freeze won’t make it. While we’re on the topic of Sonic, he was also confirmed for the roster of the new Super Smash Bros. game on 3DS and Wii U. A Sonic: Lost World stage will also be included. This shouldn’t surprise anyone, but seeing the trio of Mario, Sonic, and Mega Man going at it in one game would have blown some of our minds as kids.

Pikmin 3 has actually been out for a while, but hey, they decided to feature it on here. It turns out people are enjoying its Mission Mode so much that Nintendo has decided to make downloadable content. No, it’s not free. They will have a few free ones, though, with occasional updates. The big software update came today, letting players see worldwide rankings for Mission Mode at any time.

The focus switched to third-party 3DS and Wii U titles releasing this month, a packed schedule due to publishers who want to dodge the next generation console launches next month. This focused on games like Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millenium Girl (in stores now!), Lego Marvel Super Heroes, and Sonic: Lost World. There was nothing surprising here, even if you’ve been only slightly paying attention to upcoming releases.

Well, aside from one announcement; you might have known that Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney:  Dual Destinies is planned for releases on October 24th on the eShop, but a demo is now available for download. No one will object to that. Also, anyone who purchases the game between the 24th and November 7th will receive three alternate outfits for Phoenix, Apollo Justice, and Athena Cykes free. Following that, they’ll be $.99 each. The DLC case “Turnabout Reclaimed” will be available a few weeks after that.

As for first-party  titles: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD releases in stores this Friday. In order to promote digital titles on the eShop, Nintendo released the game digitally two weeks earlier, on September 20th. Link’s shirt from early in the game is available via a QR Code for Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

You’ll also remember a little title called Bravely Default, which Nintendo announced earlier this year, despite it being Square Enix’s game. They provided a new trailer, and announced that it will release in America in Q1 2014. It releases in Europe on December 6th, which is fair considering they’re still waiting for Shin Megami Tensei IV.

Though The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds looks like your typical 2D Zelda, and will mostly play like one, they’re making a sizable change to the formula. Instead of finding items and equipment in dungeons, you’ll buy them in stores with Rupees. This will give players the option to tackle the game’s dungeons in any order. But this could go horribly awry, depending on how it’s implemented. It will be nice to be unbounded by the shackles of linearity, especially with how the last few Zelda games have had trouble releasing their grip from the player’s hand, but hopefully you won’t have to tediously grind for hours on end for Rupees. This game also releases in America on November 22nd. With this SM3DW and the Xbox One launch, that will be a big day.

The last game they had to present was a brand new title: a new Kirby game is coming 3DS in 2014. They didn’t provide any detail, but it’s graphically impressive for a 3DS title. The system is nearly three years old, but it’s finally getting a new Kirby game. This is the longest it’s ever taken for Kirby to grace a Nintendo handheld, an incredible amount of time for a franchise that started on one. They should talk more about this soon, along with their other 2014 games.

Hopefully you didn’t go into this Direct expecting much new info, because they sure didn’t deliver that. When they said its intention was to promote the holiday lineup, they meant it. But the additional info for some 2014 games was welcome. This won’t be the last Direct this year, and hopefully those will be more interesting.

If you want to watch the entire North American Nintendo Direct, you can check it out here.