This year’s E3 conferences have been thoroughly mid. Given that the pandemic has greatly affected the production pipeline, my expectations were very tempered going into this E3. So, you can imagine my surprise when Nintendo woke up this morning, looked at its wrist, and said “I got time today.”
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Honestly, if you’re a fan of Nintendo games, they covered a surprising amount of bases. While there was no Metroid Prime 4, or the long awaited localization of Mother 3, there were quite a few surprises sprinkled throughout Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct.
Full disclosure: I don’t share in the internet’s nostalgia of the 2D Metroid games. I didn’t get into gaming until the original Playstation, and I get why y’all go crazy for that 8-bit and 16-bit shit, but I just can’t relate. That said, it was really cool to see Metroid: Dread bring back the 2D platforming the series was originally known for. Even cooler was the fact that you won’t have to wait too long for the game as it’s set to be released this Fall.
Quite honestly, the general theme of this Direct was long dormant franchises making unexpected comebacks. Deadass, my dog, Yuna, looked at me with severe concern when I yelled “HOLY FUCK,” at the announcement that Advance Wars 1 & 2 were being remastered for Switch. Y’all don’t understand the amount of hours I put in on Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, and of course the Battalion Wars spin-offs on Gamecube and Wii. This shit is deep and it’s real.
Nintendo announced a new WarioWare game, a new Fatal Frame, and a new Mario Party that’s essentially a greatest hits collection of the series Nintendo 64 era. There was also an overview trailer for the long awaited Shin Megami Tensei V that will finally be releasing this Fall.
The biggest reveal was saved for the end, when we finally got to see some gameplay of the eagerly anticipated sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. BotW is easily my favorite open-world game to ever exist. The sense of discovery, the innovative approach to combat and physics, the subtle yet lovely soundtrack, and gorgeous landscapes all combine to create a world that I’m never not in the mood to return to.
The trailer instantly brought back all the feelings the original game evoked. There appears to be some new powers that play with time and allow you to phase through platforms. Also, there looks to be a focus on exploring the skies of Hyrule. Real talk, I was already going to buy this game after it was announced, but this trailer did much to only further increase my excitement.
Nintendo didn’t come through with big announcement after big announcement, but they did a better job than just about every other company outside of Microsoft of giving you fun surprises to be excited for. I mean, y’all, we’re getting a new Fatal Frame! I didn’t wake up today thinking that was even in the realm of possibility!
So while E3 overall was a whimper, Nintendo definitely sent it out with a bang.
Straight From 
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