Nintendo Spotlight: E3 2017 — Put a Cap on It

Every press conference thus far has been devoid of surprises, leaving many with the feeling that this will be an underwhelming E3. But that was good for Nintendo, as they benefitted from the lowered expectations going into theirs by going last. Of course, they did a good job setting those expectations low themselves, when Nintendo of America’s Reggie Fils-Aime mentioned the presentation would be less than a half an hour on a stream this past Sunday (it was just under 25 minutes). With that, it was clear this would be a quick showcase of games coming soon to Switch, with some surprises scattered in.

Nintendo started this off by providing a new “Playing to Win” ad, which showcased a series of multiplayer games. While titles coming soon like Arms (which arrives this Friday) and Pokkén Tournament DX were shown, a glimpse of Rocket League for Switch was subtly shown. More on this port was revealed later.

The main presentation began with Reggie getting philosophical, explaining the reasons why many play video games, and how those experiences can be taken everywhere with them through the Switch. This set the tone of how this would be entirely focused on upcoming Switch games, despite Nintendo still having games in store for 3DS.

This showcase started with a new trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, previously announced during the Nintendo Switch Presentation in January. The visuals have been notably strengthened, though its performance during battle could be better to eliminate slowdown and framerate issues, and whether you’ll like the character designs will depend on your personal tastes. It also showcased the English voice acting, which will contain a mixture of American and British voices. The game is still due for release in the holiday 2017 season, despite skepticism as to whether it would slip into 2018.

For the first brand-new announcement: A new Kirby title is coming to Switch, though it doesn’t have an official name yet. It will inherit the spirit of the previous 2D (or 2.5D, more specifically) games, but will also include ability mixing, a returning feature that hasn’t been seen since Kirby 64. It’s due for a release sometime in 2018, so it’s still a little while off. But that’s understandable considering Kirby: Planet Robobot just released on 3DS a year ago.

Nintendo’s Shinya Takahashi, who’s possibly being groomed to be a future CEO for the company, appeared to say he’s delighted that so many are enjoying the Nintendo Switch console and games. This led to a segment featuring The Pokémon Company’s Tsunekazu Ishihara, who first reminded players of the recent announcement of Pokkén Tournament DX. He also confirmed that a new mainline Pokémon game is coming to Switch, but it could be more than a year off due to its current development status. That a new mainline Pokémon game is coming isn’t surprising news, but it was nice to see this confirmed anyway.

As for news that was surprising: Metroid Prime 4 is coming to Switch. Unfortunately, details are currently light, suggesting it’s very early in development. Following the presentation, it was confirmed that Retro Studios is not developing this installment. Instead, a new internal team at Nintendo will handle it. Hopefully they understand what made the previous games enjoyable. See? Metroid has a future after all.

Along with Kirby, there’s also a new Yoshi game in development that currently has no name. It’s being developed by Good-Feel, who previously handled Yoshi’s Woolly World for Wii U and 3DS, and will inherit a number of mechanics from the previous title — albeit without the yarn aesthetic. Interestingly, it’s being made with Unreal Engine 4, which will make it the first Nintendo title to use it. Like Kirby, it won’t arrive until sometime in 2018.

New Fire Emblem Warriors info surfaced nearly two weeks ago, but Nintendo took this opportunity to show the first new trailer showcasing the newly-introduced characters, and confirm more appearances. Specifically, female Corrin, Ryoma, and Xander from Fire Emblem Fates will appear (because they needed more sword characters!). A demonstration of the game on Nintendo’s Treehouse stream showed how it will play more like a typical Dynasty or Samurai Warriors game instead of Hyrule Warriors and Dragon Quest Heroes. It’s due on September 28th in Japan, and sometime this fall in western territories.

Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma also had a segment. First, he discussed The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for Switch, which will include the option to play as a custom character designed after Link, who wields the Master Sword. He also previewed the two DLC packs coming for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The Master Trials pack will arrive first on June 30th, which will include a series of trials for Link. The second one, The Champions’ Ballad, wasn’t detailed as heavily, but artwork of multiple BotW characters was assuredly shown for good reason (maybe they’ll be playable?). It’s due for a release sometime this fall. New amiibo are also coming for Daruk, Mipha, Revali, and Urbosa.

Nintendo will be holding tournaments for their upcoming summer multiplayer games, including Splatoon 2, Pokkén Tournament DX, and Arms. The events will be streamed, so keep an eye on Nintendo’s schedule.

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is coming to Switch, something you already knew if you watched/heard about the official announcement at Ubisoft’s conference yesterday, or if you saw the plethora of leaked information and media. As those leaks said, this is essentially an XCom game with Mario and Rabbids characters, where they’ll take turns fighting enemies familiar to both universes. The game will release on August 29th.

Rocket League was officially confirmed for Switch. It will be the same game released on other platforms, albeit with added Nintendo-themed customization items like a Mario cap. It will also allow for cross-play between those playing on Xbox One and PC, but not PS4 — for asinine reasons. It will release this fall.

The final game of the presentation was Super Mario Odyssey, with a trailer that was a sight to behold. The game will have both 3D and 2D aspects, the latter of which will resemble Super Mario Bros. sprites, and will allow for seamless transitions between them. New Donk City will serve as a hub world, where regular humans walk around seemingly unaware of the odd occurrences unfolding around them — much like actual New Yorkers. The trailer also showed Pauline, who’s mayor of the city. But the biggest feature is how Mario can use Cappy, his new living cap, to capture (get it?) and possess all sorts people, places, and objects. The feature could allow for plenty of creativity regarding the level design. All of this was accompanied by a track that wouldn’t be out of place as part of a show on Broadway, which is included in the game. Odyssey will release on October 29th.

This was a quick-moving presentation, and it was nice of Nintendo to come prepared with several first-party surprises when competing hardware makers didn’t. But a segment of their audience was also hoping to see third-party title announcements for Switch, and outside of Rocket League, this was devoid of them. Perhaps they’ll announce more on the Treehouse streams, though the only 3DS games like Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions and Metroid II-reimagining Metroid: Samus Returns (!!!) have been revealed thus far. There’s still two more days of E3 left, so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, keep an eye out for another post about games Nintendo announced on their Treehouse streams, because…well, how could I not post about a new Metroid?

If you want to watch the showcase, feel free to do so here. Also check out Nintendo’s E3 site to see a bunch of videos and assorted media.