Being a Nintendo fan in today’s active gaming community doesn’t always score big points. It’s a kid’s machine. Are you 12? I had one of those in elementary school.
But Nintendo is one of those recognized name brands that continues to deliver to its loyal and patient fans.
When we look at the reason The Legend of Zelda for the Wii U was pushed back, this just furthers that Nintendo really believes in making quality over quantity.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at my top 5 hopes from Nintendo at E3 2015.
#5 – Star Fox Steals the Show
Pending #1 on this list doesn’t happen (and that Metroid ends up being a no-show again), this is the overall takeaway for me at E3. I grew up a NES & SNES kid (N64 was more my early teens), so Star Fox was one of those titles that I really enjoyed playing on the SNES. Last year we reported early on the fact that Star Fox was indeed coming to the Wii U and it’s still pending for a 2015 release.
We’ve seen little to nothing about this title. We’ve seen more for Yoshi’s Wooly World and that doesn’t have an exact release date yet.
I fully expect for Nintendo to wow us with a release trailer that will blow our minds and make us all do barrel rolls in the aisles.
#4 – Nintendo Mobile Title Will Be Revealed
I think this is kind of a given, but what I kind of expect to happen is that we’ll see an obscure old Nintendo franchise get some light again.
Ice Climber is an ideal first launch mobile title, as they’re an obscure title from Nintendo. Ice Climber is one of those games that really drives repetitive game play as seen in modern games like Candy Crush. These games provide for “quick-fix” scenarios where you just have a few minutes to kill and want to try to progress further.
#3 – The Rumored New Mario Game will be an All NEW Adventure
There has been a lot of buzz on the internet that a new Mario game would not continue in the similar styles of New Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario 3D Land/World, and that it would a sequel to Sunshine or Galaxy, but in fact would actually be a brand new Mario adventure.
The heaviest part of this rumor is the sequel to Super Mario Sunshine or would be Super Mario Galaxy 3.
Galaxy 3 makes the most sense as Rosalina’s rise to fame is getting quite impressive. But just because Rosalina is tied to the Galaxy series, doesn’t mean she can’t appear elsewhere. She’s unlockable and playable in Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U. And let’s not forget that Rosalina is playable in the new Super Smash Bros. as well as Mario Kart 8.
I feel that a new Mario game would still incorporate a gameplay similar to Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario 64, but the story would include Rosalina in a greater capacity.
To further increase hardware sales, a bundle announcement would not be a surprise at all.
#2 – Hyrule Warriors 2 / New Hyrule Warriors DLC Packs
The main idea here is more Hyrule Warriors. I have a good feeling on this, mostly because while the story of Hyrule Warriors was incredible, there were a lot of other games that were left out – and with that in mind, a lot of interesting villains left out of the mix. There’s a way to create a new story here with new characters to the Hyrule Warriors series and still pay homage to The Legend of Zelda series.
That being said, if HW2 doesn’t get announced, then I expect a new wave of DLC featuring the handheld characters. I definitely could see a Vaati or Hilda DLC pack.
UPDATE: This appeared to not be too far off, as of 6/10 – Hyrule Warriors is making its way to the 3DS!
Hyrule Warriors ended up pleasing a lot of fans in the long, agonizing wait for Zelda Wii U. Now with that being delayed, I could see Nintendo pulling this out as a peace offering for the delay.
OR
#2 – Splatoon Nintendo Characters DLC
I was unsure if this was an honorable mention or not, but I’ll leave it as my potential alternate #2.
Splatoon has really taken off and the overall consensus from fans is that it’s a really fun game. Personally, I’m not one for shooter games save for Goldeneye 64. Splatoon has made me happy to own a Wii U and has made me a fan of shooter games, at least in this style.
Artist Credit: http://chicken–scratch.deviantart.com/
The recent DLC for the game has added the old NES Zapper as a splatter weapon and a few new levels. I’d like to think by September or October of this year that Splatoon will allow daily power-ups of some kind from all Amiibos.
I’m also thinking that Mario, Luigi, Peach, Link, and Zelda will Amiibo’s will either grant playable character unlocks for those characters, or at least specific items related to them – The Master Splatter perhaps? Or what if FLUDD showed up and you could remove the other teams ink?
#1 – The Legend of Zelda Wii U gets a full cinematic and game-play trailer
I stand by my theory that Zelda Wii U takes place AFTER the original NES game.
Yeah, I know. “Zelda won’t be at E3.” I will be incredibly surprised if Nintendo has no mention, no progress update at all, for Zelda Wii U at E3.
Why?
Zelda is arguably the next largest franchise in regards to fan support next to Mario and Pokemon. It would be a missed opportunity to win back some of the fans that are now getting a little worried with a hefty delay for this game.
We could watch this 1000 more times and still be OK with the delay if this is the final product.
The delay isn’t a bad thing in my opinion. Zelda Wii U will be one of the most epic games in the franchise – and I use epic in regards to map size, dungeon numbers, item usage, and time manipulation. If the motif for Skyward Sword was likened to walking into a water color, then I’m guessing the motif for Zelda Wii U is epic poetry (i.e. Beowulf).
Nintendo knows what they’re doing with this franchise, and that sweet looking bow and arrow thing only gets cooler after every re-watch.
Am I completely wrong? Is this nothing more than a fan wish list? We’ll see next week at E3! So be sure that you’re added us to Facebook, follow us on Twitter, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and bookmark our site to stay up to date on all the Nintendo and Zelda news live from E3 next week!
