E3 2018 In Retrospect: Nintendo

I honestly didn’t feel all that blown away by Nintendo this year. I don’t mean to imply that they did a horrible job, but their presentation definitely felt weaker than previous years. They spent an inordinate amount of time on Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and while I’m ridiculously excited for that to arrive, I wasn’t about to sit through a description of the full roster, as well as a walkthrough of the characters’ abilities.

Outside of the Super Smash Bros Ultimate news, Nintendo was pretty concise and managed to sneak in some great games that I otherwise would’ve missed the announcement for.

Go Big Nintendo, Go Big

I can’t think of a single announcement from Nintendo that left me thinking that they missed an opportunity, or made me question their choices. Sure, I wouldn’t qualify any of their news to be of “bombshell” quality, but I still coursed with excitement on occasion.

Obviously, Super Smash Bros Ultimate stole the cake and threw it over the fence for me. That’s the big game I’ve been waiting for from Nintendo, and I can’t wait for December 7th. The fact that every character from the older versions of Super Smash Bros will be back is glorious news to me. I loved playing as Solid Snake, and the knowledge that I not only will be able to hide under cardboard boxes fills me with delight. Oh, and Snake is going to voiced by David Hayter again!

I’d be omitting a huge portion of what makes the new Super Smash Bros game impressive if I didn’t at least mention the scale of multiplayer though. Nintendo is bringing back 8-player battles, and the ability to use GameCube controllers and Amiibos. That said, the actual usefulness of the option to use GameCube controllers will hinge entirely on Nintendo’s supply chain. If you remember, when they brought GameCube controller support to the WiiU, they dropped the ball completely, making the required adapters almost impossible to find.

Another interesting release, coming on October 5th, is Super Mario Party. It appears that Nintendo is doing away with the traditional naming conventions of their franchise, but I’m not hurt by that. It’s clear that they put a ton of love into the game as well, because there appears to be literal (maybe figurative) tons of minigames to play. The list of minigames include, but are not limited to:

• Homerun derby
• Cooking
• Flying obstacle courses
• Horse racing
• Tricycle racing
• What appears to be a photo bomb contest
• Fishing

If I had friends, I might consider buying it!

There’s a technical aspect of Super Mario Party that I thought is rather neat too. Apparently, for some of the activities, the orientation of multiple Nintendo Switch screens will be important. I love the idea that you can somehow influence the layout of the field of battle by changing the way your screens are connected. That’s the kind of outside-the-box thinking that got me to buy a Switch in the first place.

First out of the gate though, was Daemon X Machina, an almost stereotypical mech game which looks like it’s ripped straight from those Gundam cartoons I’ve never watched. It looks pretty intense, and definitely anime-inspired with the cel-shaded art style. Being a Nintendo Switch exclusive, I’m happy to see that some developers are going all out with development on the platform. More remains to be seen though.

Then Fire Emblem Three Houses got its time in the sun, showing off more of the game’s tactical combat. Admittedly, I don’t know a great deal about the franchise aside from the basics. I know there’s generally a storyline they follow, along with romance options for some reason. While it looks interesting to say the least, I’m not a huge fan of the anime aesthetic. In fact, if I were to be drawn to a game in this genre, I’d like to see another Advance Wars hit the Switch instead. Then again, I may be totally wrong, so feel free to school me.

Apparently Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee will have their own controller when they launch on November 16th too. I don’t know much about those titles myself, but I will say that the Pokeball Pro looks like a collector’s item already. I don’t think it will have much functionality outside of the one game it’s made for, but at least it comes with a free Mew!

A number of indie games made an appearance as well, like Killer Queen Black, Hollow Knight, and Overcooked 2.

How have I not mentioned Overcooked 2 yet? Jennifer and I LOVED Overcooked!

Anyways, the new Overcooked 2 is adding a crap-ton more recipes, stages, chefs wrenches to be thrown at chefs, and abilities. Now Jennifer and I will be able to throw food at each other! Not that we didn’t already possess that skill, but we were unable to do so in the first Overcooked, much to my chagrin. I can’t believe I’m looking forward to another opportunity to pull my hair out.

Where was I? Right… Hollow Knight is already on the Switch, and features all of the DLC in addition to the original game. All in its hand drawn splendor. As for Killer Queen Black, it’s coming out sometime this year, and it looks like Joust on steroids. With bugs.

DLC And Other Stuff

The good news for fans of Splatoon 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles 2? Both are getting DLC later this year; this summer and in September, respectively.

Oh, and Fortnite released on the Switch finally. In case you were wondering. However, you’ll be in for a nasty surprise if you have your account linked to your PS4, because apparently Sony is doing something to block Epic Games from allowing players to access their Fortnite accounts on the Switch. I imagine it has something to do with Sony’s refusal to allow cross-play with Xbox, but I can’t be sure.

All in all, it was an interesting showcase. Not the best I’ve seen, but there was enough going on to keep my interests in my Switch up. Now I just need to find time to play it!

What stuck out to you during the showcase? Anything I missed that you felt I should’ve mentioned? Anything you’re absolutely unable to wait for? Let’s hear it!

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