Thoughts On: Nintendo Direct 11/12/15

by Harry Sheridan + Brandon Sultana

November 15, 2015

 

Nintendo finally had their first Direct since E3. If you want to see our predictions and hopes for the presentation, you can go here, and if you want to see a very concise list of everything that was announced, you can go here. In this article, we will detail our deepest feelings about what we thought about the Direct.

Spoiler: We are upset at the lack of Melee HD.

 

Twilight Princess HD

Bran: This game was one of the worst kept secrets since Roy and Ryu, and going in, we all knew this was coming. Unfortunately, as much as I really enjoyed the original Twilight Princess, there isn’t a whole lot of positives I can pull from the reveal. The game doesn’t really look bad, but it definitely leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn’t look like many textures were actually updated, and instead, the entire game was simply upscaled with a couple of new lighting effects thrown in for good measure. Some things look really nice, like like Zant, while Wolf Link looks pretty bad. Add to this the fact the developer co-developing this game, Tantalus Media, has a resume made almost exclusively of licensed games, and I struggle to really have a lot of faith in this game. They said that key changes will be made to the game, which is good seeing as while I did like the original, it’s far from perfect, but none of that was specified, leading me to believe that it won’t be anything of incredible importance. The Wolf Link Amiibo is a cool collector’s piece for fans, and even if I don’t pick up the game, I might end up snagging one of them. Overall, the game was essentially a guarantee, so it’s hard to be excited for it, but even still, what was shown was pretty underwhelming and leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Linkle (why):

Bran: As much as I really like the idea of a female Link, c’mon… "Linkle"? That name is awful. Call her Linka or Linkette or something, literally anything that isn’t Linkle. That aside, thanks to GameXplain, this wasn’t a big shocker, but I do really like the idea for her character and her playstyle looks pretty unique. I never picked up the original Hyrule Warriors, but this game is looking so great and since it’s a good game for portable, has all the original DLC, and retails for 40 dollars instead of 60, I’ll almost surely be picking this one up at some point.

 

Zelda Wii U:

Bran: MORE ZELDA! I’m really glad they finally showed some Zelda Wii U. I know it was only like 10 seconds worth of footage but seriously this needed to be done. Tons of people were getting increasingly worried that the game wasn’t even coming to Wii U anymore, and while I still think it will dual release on Wii U and NX, them reaffirming that it’s coming to Wii U restored a lot of confidence in the game. The game still looks as staggering as ever, and while I’m not the biggest Zelda guy out there, this is one that I will absolutely pick up once it releases.

 

Game Updates:

Bran: Throughout the presentation, Nintendo showed us a lot of different updates coming to their games. Triforce Heroes, Super Mario Maker, Fire Emblem Fates, Splatoon, and of course Smash Bros, all have very rich, content filled lives ahead of them, and it’s great to see more things coming to those games. I won’t deny that I did expect a little more out of Splatoon and Super Mario Maker, namely playable Octolings and new game elements, respectively, but it’s clear that Nintendo wants to continue supporting both of these games. Updating games like this is a great way to fill in the gaps in between game droughts.

 

Pokemon on VC:

Bran: IT’S ABOUT TIME! Me and Harry had been joking about how we never thought this was going to happen, but GameFreak and Nintendo finally pulled through, and the original 3 games are coming to the 3DS virtual console. They even updated trading to be done wirelessly, which was an absolute must. As much as I love Pokemon, I’ve never played the original generation, so perhaps I’ll finally give them a go. It also opens the door for them to add future generations to the Virtual Console, which I’d love to see. Plus, they are even launching on the exact 20th anniversary of the franchise, which is a really nice touch.

 

Upcoming RPGs:

Harry: This Direct was totally stuffed with RPG news. We received more information regarding the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles X, which isn’t surprising considering it comes out here in about a month. Next up, we learned about Final Fantasy Explorers’ NA release, which will include all of the DLC for free. This is a game that I’m pretty excited for, since it’s supposed to be very similar to Monster Hunter, a series I recently got into. Also from Square Enix, we have Bravely Second: End Layer coming to NA. I’m a huge fan of classic-style, turn-based RPGs and I really loved the first game in the Bravely series (Bravely Default), so this is going to be a “must-buy” for me. Finally, we have the announcement that Dragon Quest 7 and 8 will be coming to the Nintendo 3DS in NA, something Dragon Quest fans have been eagerly awaiting for a very long time. Hopefully, this means that the new DQ games will also be making the jump to NA in the future.

 

Fire Emblem Fates:

Harry: As we know, FE Fates will be released in two separate versions, Birthright and Conquest, with a third DLC campaign (Revelation) to be released later. When Nintendo first announced the split versions of the game, a lot of FE fans, myself included, weren’t very happy. Sure, each version is a full game unto itself, but I’d rather have it all on one cartridge. Luckily, my prayers to Reggie were answered and a Special Edition containing all three campaigns on one cart has been announced for NA. Priced at $80, the Special Edition of Fates will come with all three games, an art book, and a 3DS bag. For me, this was huge news! I wasn’t looking to having to buy 3 different versions of the same game (BECAUSE I NEED THEM) and now that we’re being given the option buy them all in one package, it looks like I’m going to be spending $80 when the game releases in February.

 

Super Smash Bros for Wii U/3DS: Cloud (screw him he’s not K. Rool)

Harry: Okay, now THIS is big news. In one of the most unexpected announcements in recent memory, the famed Final Fantasy VII protagonist, Cloud Strife, will be coming to Super Smash Bros for Wii U/3DS as a playable character! While some people are complaining about his inclusion for various reasons, I’ve been a fan of the Final Fantasy series for a long time (my favorite is FFX) and I’m super excited to see the iconic RPG series finally have representation in Smash. While I was kinda disappointed that he won’t be available until at least December, the fact that we have a Smash Presentation coming means that he’ll likely launch alongside even more, exciting DLC.

Bran: While I’ve never played Final Fantasy, I can’t deny how much of a monumental inclusion he is. Sakurai is pulling out ALL the stops, and we have ANOTHER Smash presentation coming on the horizon, and you know we are going to speculate about it to no end.

 

Conclusion:

Overall, I think this was a pretty great Direct. Most of our predictions came true, at least in some sense, and there were plenty of surprises to be had, such as Cloud in Smash and Pokemon VC games. While there are a few things we were disappointed about, such as the highly expected and totally likely Mother 3 NA release and the fact that Twilight Princess HD doesn’t look quite as good as we’d hoped, it was a mostly successful Direct that managed to build back a lot of the hype that’d been lost in the aftermath of Nintendo’s disastrous E3 Presentation. Also, the skit with Bill and Reggie was really funny.

also Shadow Mewtwo is really stupid