Well, people are posting some crazy articles about PS4/X1, so i thought i should at least post something for the Wii U.
And since those 2 articles were pessimists about the consoles that are selling well, i am going to post something optimistic about the one that is not. =P
Nintendo held another Direct yesterday, this time one that had nothing to do with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, as the company does actually have other projects in the works, it wants to remind us. We heard about a huge number of upcoming projects, the highlights of which were Majora’s Mask for 3DS, Codename: STEAM and Xenoblade Chronicles X, but one stood out more than most.
That was the revelation that the upcoming Splatoon would not just be a multiplayer-only battling experience, that the game would actually have an extensive single player campaign as well.
Nintendo if often criticized (very, very often) for recycling the same franchises over and over again. It’s hard to even keep track of how many Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong and Pokémon games there are at this point, and Nintendo keeps piling on more year after year, which is generally what fans want, critics aside.
But in order to survive, Nintendo has to keep pushing the bounds of their own creativity, not just by expanding on their existing series, but making new ones.
Splatoon looked to be an interesting step in that direction at E3, which only showed us multiplayer and had everyone assuming that it would be like one of Nintendo’s famous party/co-op games like Mario Kart, Smash Bros. or Mario Party. Games without true single player campaigns, but that were fun regardless because of your interactions with friends.
Still, going full multiplayer only, and without an established set of characters in your roster, is a risk. It may seem weird to compare Splatoon with Titanfall, but many were turned off by that game focusing only on multiplayer, and feeling like an abridged experience as a result. Without Mario and his pals in Splatoon’s roster, it could suffer the same fate.
Yesterday, however, Nintendo revealed that Splatoon is a bigger project than we initially imagined, with a single-player campaign in the game as well, utilizing all the same sorts of goo and movement controls we’ve seen so far in the multiplayer. You can watch that trailer below, and it looks like one of the most interesting, engaging platform experiences we’ve seen in gaming in quite a long time.
Now, it’s clear that Nintendo may have rather huge plans for Splatoon, and it’s going to want to try and make it iconic in its own right, full of its own memorable heroes and villains, new characters to add into their Mario/Samus/Link/DK/Kirby pantheon (though as of yet I don’t know what to call those two characters above). That’s a far more ambitious idea that just a new multiplayer party game, and his has me really excited for the first entry as a result.
Splatoon, with an emphasis on creative movement and problem solving, reminds me a lot of Portal, specifically Portal 2 where though you didn’t have a goo gun, you did use Portals to spray different types of goo all over the map to help you solve puzzles via bouncing or running. It’s clear Splatoon draws at least some inspiration from that aspect of the game, but Nintendo’s spin on the concept appears to make for a frenetic, fun experience in both single player and multiplayer.
In my eyes, Splatoon could be the most exciting thing Nintendo has done in years. As much as I love Majora’s Mask, I’m growing tired of Nintendo HD-remaking every game that was once popular on their systems, and calling it progress. Rather, Splatoon’s infections charm and creativity are what we’ve always liked from Nintendo, and just because the lead isn’t a character we’ve grown up with since childhood like Mario or Link, doesn’t mean that a new generation can’t have their own Nintendo heroes.
There’s still no one in the industry that can match Nintendo in terms of original, quality software. Their hardware issues are a different sort of problem, but it’s truly amazing how they can almost single-handedly exist in a vacuum, supporting their systems with first party games now that many third party series can’t be bothered with them. Obviously in a perfect world, Nintendo would have both its amazing first party titles and third party hits in its roster, but for now, it really says something about them that they can create an attractive system based on their exclusives alone. And now Splatoon appears as if it’s going to be yet another draw for the Wii U, given that it seems like more than just an experiment, it’s a new iconic franchise.
