Posted on June 17, 2013
Vindicated!
I’ve been wanting to justify me buying a WiiU for a while, now.
I bought it in January, and although there were a few games that really piqued my curiosity, I didn’t go very far beyond New Super Mario Bros. U. NintendoLand is a fantastic pack-in title, even better than Wii Sports was, but it took me a while before I could actually say “aawwwwww yeaaahhhh, WiiU in the hiz-ouuuse!”
After watching Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct, I finally felt vindicated. I finally felt that my spur-of-the-moment decision to buy a WiiU had paid off.
Seeing footage of Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD was a breath of fresh air. Sure, the graphics I had seen during the Microsoft and Sony conferences were quite jaw-dropping, but they were so… gray. Dark, gritty and realistic can be cool and all, but sometimes, you just need a change of pace.
For example, I’d pay to see this!
Part of what has drawn me back to Nintendo time and time again is the colour. If I’m ever feeling grumpy, I can usually count on Mario or Link to cheer me up with their flashy disposition. Sure, I can get some measure of satisfaction by killing Nazis or zombies or whatever. It’s just a different kind of satisfaction, altogether.
In any case, I’m glad I own a WiiU. I may end up buying a PS4 or an Xbone (haha, Ex-Bone), but I’ll definitely be using that glorified DS of mine!
There was another game Nintendo showed that I seem to be forgetting… oh yeah!
Two Super Smash Bros. games, both of them starring this guy!
I’m not going to lie – I got a little misty-eyed when Mega Man was revealed as a playable character in both upcoming versions of Super Smash Bros. It was like being brought back to my childhood, where I only wished I had a way to settle the “who would win in a fight” argument. I had a similar feeling when Sonic was announced for Brawl, but this was an even more amazing reveal. Mega Man definitely played a bigger role in my childhood than Sonic ever did!
The WiiU version is going to look fantastic, whereas the 3DS version is taking a slightly more artistic approach.
Lookin’ good.
The dark lines give it a cel-shaded look, which I like. They also serve a purpose, making it a bit easier to see your character on the smaller screen.
As they did with Brawl, Nintendo will be using the official Smash Bros website to release little bits and pieces of information. Doing that gave fans that little extra incentive to wake up in the morning (not that we have no other reason to live, or anything), and the excitement for the game kept building and building. It was a fantastic idea, and I’m glad they’ve decided to do it again!
As a first “major announcement” (aside from the Mega Man thing), Nintendo revealed on the floor at E3 that the female WiiFit instructor would be a playable character. At first, I thought “oh great, they just went and Microsofted themselves”… and then I saw this screen shot.
Nice try, Link.
I’m not sure if she’s avoiding Link’s attack or simply reacting to getting hit, but it’s a friggin’ yoga pose! Every movement she makes is based on a pose of some kind. I don’t know about you, but I find that hilarious!
“Oh no! Mario fireball! *modified crescent lunge* Success!”
I can’t help but be incredibly excited for the future of gaming. I know the battle between Microsoft and Sony is bound to be nasty, but I really hope it makes everyone (Nintendo included) up their ante a little bit.
In the next few days, I’ll be posting some of my favourite E3 memories… stay tuned!