I wouldn’t have even looked at this unless my friend Dan had posted something about this on Facebook, but I’m so glad that I took an hour or so out of my time to look at this, because I’m now enthusiastic about games in some way again. It’s so great to know that something refreshing is coming in the gaming world. So let me step you through a few great things that are coming from Nintendo.
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
I’m not usually a massive Zelda fan unless I’m playing link in Smash Bros. (though I usually choose Marth). Of course I recognise the significance of the franchise - many people love it and it is known to be one of the great RPG games, possibly the greatest of all time.
The fact that Nintendo have chosen to combine Zelda and the Wii Motion Plus to demonstrate new gameplay opportunities is fantastic news for me, as it fills a gap in both concepts for me that I thought would not be filled. I have been proven to that the Motion Plus is actually a valuable peice of technology - you can freely move your sword (should the developers of the games allow you to), with no major glitches (unlike The Force Unleashed). It also gives you a more fluid control mechanism in a Zelda game, something that was kind of missing for me in that franchise. I can safely say that if I was given the chance, I would be highly excited to play this game.
Mickey Goes Nintendo - “Disney Epic Mickey”
Actually, that’s one thing that I picked up from this concept - following the overuse of the term “epic” in popular culture, this trend has also reached product titles. Both the Mickey game and the new Kirby game have the term “epic” in their titles, which I see as not-so-fitting or even professional.
Moving on, Mickey is very much leaning towards being a toy moreso than a game, in that it looks like it is overusing a mechanic - something Nintendo tend to do quite a bit. This gameplay mechanic is fairly cool though. You get to paint and erase the world around you (at least while you’re in your 3D world). Depending on what you paint or erase, this will also effect the relationships you have with the characters in the game and the flow of the story, something that I think is very cool in any storyline - some sense of being able to choose your own destiny. Mickey also gives you a 2D “Travel Mode”, which to put simply is a 2D Platformer part of the game.
Kirby’s Epic Yarn
While I wouldn’t ordinarily get excited about a pink ball, even in Smash Bros., this game looks promising. The central mechanic by the looks of things is Kirby whipping objects and enemies around it in order to destroy or manipulate them… but get this, his whip is a string of wool.
Another thing that I thought was cool about this game is the art style - it reminded me oh so much of Yoshi’s Story - a very cool game that I enjoyed on my N64 back in primary school. Look up some images on google if you don’t know what I mean, for both games.
Donkey Kong Country Returns
I am probably going to get a lot of people frowning at their computer screens when they read this - I have never owned an original version of a Donkey Kong game (unless you count Diddy Kong Racing). I did buy the original, arcade Donkey Kong on my Virtual Console, however it would be nowhere near as fun as if I was playing it on an arcade machine.
I have to say, I’m pretty pumped for Donkey Kong Country Returns. It looks a lot like the Donkey Kong that my sister owned on her Gameboy Colour, but refined, and the levels look a lot larger and a lot more spacious, something that kind of bugged me on her Donkey Kong game. I’m killing to try this new version of a timeless platformer.
Nintendo 3DS
Excuse me while I take my clothes off… you know the holodecks in Star Trek? This is the first step towards one of them, and I’m not shitting you. I haven’t held one personally, but if they’ve managed to create a non-goggle 3D experience then they’re doing something right. It also looks like they have some great franchises looking to get a hold of this technology and start making some advances. Apparently the depth perception is amazing.
Goldeneye……..3?
Ummm, I’m actually going to say this is one of the let-downs that Nintendo will probably produce in the next year or two. It’s great that they’re trying to bring back a classic, but somehow I think that if they’re going to use motion-sense (a casual games ploy) on a game that was designed for more hardcore gamers (that much prefer the accuracy provided by a traditional controller), then they’ve already made their first mistake.
Their second mistake? Getting the wrong BOND for the job. SERIOUSLY. This annoys me. A lot. Why put DANIEL “DUMB FOOTBALLER” CRAIG in Pierce “Suave Gentleman” Brosnan’s shoes? It’s wrong, wrong, wrong, and wronger. They should just sit there and sulk in their wrongness and be wrong. Pierce is still perfectly capable of voice acting, and it’s not hard to make a 3D model of him - he hasn’t really gained 30000 pounds in 10 years. So why Nintendo? You ruined Goldeneye for me. They have at least made it online multiplayer, hopefully it won’t be laggy as shit though (but hey, it’s Nintendo, their middle name is “lag”).
Oh well, I guess I can forget it exists…
All in all Nintendo really do have a pretty good lineup in the next couple of years, one which I can actually back up with a cheesy grin when I’m discussing Nintendo with my mates as opposed to the “nothing since N64” attitude I’ve had up until now.
1 year ago
