Nintendo Direct 1/4/15

So the Nintendo Direct that aired today had some rather interesting news. Watch it here:

As for my reactions on things… well, read on.

Things started with a trailer for Mewtwo’s appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Those who registered both games online will be able to play as Pokémon #150 on April 15th, whilst others will have to wait until April 28th and it will cost them to download.
There will also be a software update for the games on April 15th, which will allow players to buy more costumes for their Miis – costumes that are based off of characters that appear in the games.
Also, Lucas will be available as a DLC character in June.
There is also a Smash Bros. microsite, where there will be a Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot – you can go and tell Nintendo what characters you would like to see in Smash Bros., and they might just listen to you – as long as you keep the request reasonable, I imagine…

A new wave of amiibo will be unleashed on May 29th, starting with Jigglypuff & Greninja. More will follow in June, and they will all probably be ridiculously hard to get hold of if you don’t get a pre-order in…

With the release of amiibo Touch & Play: Nintendo Classics Highlights, players can use amiibo to play demos of random NES and SNES games. The software will be available to download for free in May 2015.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., Mario Maker will be released in September 2015. Players can create Mario levels, with four different themes – Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World & New Super Mario Bros. U. These levels can be shared online – maybe we’ll see some ROM hack levels of difficulty.

Satoru Iwata handed over to Satoru Shibata after this, so everything after this point was stuff shown in the European Nintendo Direct.

First was Yoshi’s Woolly World. It will offer two different modes – Classic and Mellow. Classic will retain the Yoshi’s Island gameplay, whilst Mellow is basically an easy mode.
There will also be a yarn Yoshi amiibo, which will summon up an ally for a single player to abuse in the game.
Yoshi’s Woolly World will be released on June 26th.

Splatoon information followed, and we learned a bit more about the multiplayer options. Online will have Ranked Battles, whilst there is a local 1 vs. 1 mode in the form of Battle Dojo. In Battle Dojo, 1 player uses the GamePad and another the TV screen to pop balloons.
There will also be amiibos of the Inklings, with a special squid-form Inking amiibo that only comes bundled with the game. These amiibo unlock missions in the game which earns you special weapons and gear.
Splatoon is due out May 29th.

We were shown Affordable Space Adventures next, which has a player controlling a spaceship. The GamePad serves as the cockpit, with the player having to manage several systems to overcome obstacles. This one will be released on April 9th, via the Wii U eShop.

Another eShop game followed, Swords & Soldiers II. A mix of side-scrolling action & strategy that is due out on 21st May.

After waiting for quite a while, we are finally receiving Nintendo 64 and DS Virtual Console titles on the Wii U. The first DS games to be released are Mario Kart DS and WarioWare: Touched!, whilst the N64 games are Super Mario 64 and Donkey Kong 64.
The games are available to buy from the Wii U eShop right now, and more will be released in the future. Paper Mario and Yoshi’s Island DS will be released in May.

As for Wii titles being available on the Wii U eShop, Pandora’s Tower will be released on April 14th, and Sin & Punishment: Successor of the Skies follows that on April 30th.

Next was a game I had some doubts about the existence of, but I was proved wrong. Fire Emblem x Shin Megami Tensei still exists, and we got a trailer. Not much else, but I’m happy to see that it will happen eventually.

Following that good news was even more good news. Project Zero 5 (or Fatal Frame V depending on what territory you are in) will be released later this year. Naturally, the GamePad serves as a camera, which will be used to battle of ghosts. I can’t wait for this.

Another title I would speculate about before a Direct has been confirmed for a European release. That title is Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains. You can play as characters from the manga/anime and take down Titans. There is also local and online co-op. The game will be an eShop only release, available in May.

As many people suspected, the release of Azure Striker Gunvolt was confirmed for the eShop. There will be free 3DS themes to celebrate its launch, which is April 2nd.

Next was BOXBOY!, a title developed by HAL Laboratory. There’s 150 stages in the game, and the concept looks pretty simple. Players are able to send demos to other 3DS systems, and it is available right now.

Pokémon Rumble World will be a free-to-play game, featuring Pokémon from Red and Blue to Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. There will be in-game purchases.
This will be released on April 8th.

There will be an update to the 3DS’ StreetPass Mii Plaza, which includes two new games – StreetPass Fishing and StreetPass Zombies. Also available will be Mii Plaza Premium, which includes a VIP room and Miis you’ve met via StreetPass will tell you if it is there birthday.
This update will go live April 16th.

We were shown some information about Puzzles & Dragons Z + Puzzles & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition – specifically, gameplay information. There’s 250 creatures to collect, and using the correct elemental monsters is a key strategy. A demo will be available soon, with the game launching May 8th.

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. will have local and online multiplayer. There will be a Death Match mode, where a player has to perform their turn within a limited time. The other mode is A.B.E. Battle, which is 1 vs. 1 giant mecha Abraham Lincolns fighting each other. There will also be worldwide tournaments, and you can set up your own private tournaments as well.
May 15th release for this one.

In the next Fire Emblem game, the player’s character serves as the protagonist – which is a first in the franchise. The story has two kingdoms at war – Hoshido & Nohr, and you have to choose which one to side with.
Hoshido offers more traditional gameplay, but the story for the Nohr side is more complex – and more difficult.
This game isn’t due out until 2016.

The final announcement Satoru Shibata made was Animal Crossing amiibo cards. They will be compatible with the upcoming Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer game, where the player attempts to create the dream home of the animals they scan in. These will be released in Autumn, along with a NFC reader/writer so those without a New Nintendo 3DS or New Nintendo 3DS XL can scan their amiibo.

For the last announcement, we returned to Satoru Iwata. The Animal Crossing DLC for Mario Kart 8 will actually be released earlier than scheduled, April 23rd. The Animal Crossing course available in that pack will have the season change each time you race on it.
Isabelle, male and female Villagers and Dry Bowser will be available in this DLC pack, along with new vehicles and 8 new tracks, including the Animal Crossing one.
More Mii racing suits will be made available, which can be used by scanning certain amiibo.
In addition, there will be a software update that adds a new level of difficulty for the first time in the Mario Kart series – 200cc.

So, my thoughts on stuff… well, I’m glad I don’t have to wait too long until I am able to play as Mewtwo in Smash Bros. I will probably purchase Lucas when he is available, too.
As for the fighter ballot – well, I would like to see an Inkling in Smash, or maybe even more Fire Emblem characters. Heck, why not upgrade Takamaru to be a fully playable character? Yeah, there’s a lot of suggestion I can think of… hmm, might make a blog post about that in the near future.

I’m really looking forward to Splatoon, and I very much desire an Inkling amiibo.

Super Mario 64 is a really tempting download for me, as I never finished the original game fully – the DS remake, yes. I used to own the Nintendo 64 original, but the cartridge just vanished into thin air one day.

I was pleased to see that Fire Emblem x Shin Megami Tensei is still a thing, and the fact that Project Zero 5 will be released over here makes me happy. Also tempted by Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains, though I kind of wish everything wasn’t being released in May…

The story for the upcoming Fire Emblem sounds intriguing, and I can’t wait to play it. The franchise will always be one of my favourites. Shame about having to wait until next year for that to happen, though.

A fairly interesting Direct, I’m glad to see games I’ve been waiting for are finally going to make appearances over here. Seems Nintendo will be keeping me occupied until E3.