Asriel on 26 June 2015
I'd hardly say it was my favourite, but I definitely think the reaction has been hyperbolic and overly negative. Nintendo's main problem this year was poor communication. Here's what I enjoyed:
- New multiplayer Zelda out of nowhere. Yes, it might be a spin-off, but we knew before hand no Zelda U would make a showing. 3DS is a much more promising platform for multiplayer Zelda than both GBA and GameCube, and Four Swords Adventures was very good.
- Trailers for Xenoblade X, Fire Emblem: Fates, Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem: all probable buys.
- Both "Developers Story" sections featuring Miyamoto, I enjoyed the insights into Star Fox and Mario level design.
- The initial ten minutes with muppets, Star Fox Zero, and Reggie sensibly managing expecations. A shame everything after this was confused and poorly paced.
- Mario & Luigi x Paper Mario: the Mario RPG I've been waiting for, it seems.
- Mario Tennis U: skipped Tennis and Golf on 3DS, and always enjoyed local multiplayer on Mario Tennis, so it's a good Christmas game for me.
Didn't enjoy:
- Developers Story: Wooly Yoshi amiibo. Waste of time in an E3 broadcast.
- Skylanders x amiibo: an important sign that Nintendo may yet corner the family market through strong partnerships with Disney and Activision on toys-to-life, but this broadcast was the wrong place. Again, a seperate video or press statement would have been enough.
- The lack of 'non-Nintendo' exclusive games, such as Devil's Third, Project Treasure, Fatal Frame, Bravely Second.
- The lack of new 2016 announcements for Wii U. Wasn't expecting much in the way of blockbusters, but would have liked a couple of small announcements such as Pokken Tournament coming to Wii U in 2016, a new spin-off or collaborative effort.
- The too-long self-indulgent Mario montage to finish the event. Have Nintendo learnt nothing from 2012, when they finished with that ridiculous Nintendo Land fireworks show? Send people out with a bang.
- Hated the Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival reveal. Looks cheap, and like too much of an amiibo cash in.
Overall I think Nintendo have good content but poorly presented it. I will probably buy Yoshi, Super Mario Maker, Xenoblade, Starfox and Mario Tennis. I will consider Devil's Third and Fatal Frame/Project Zero. Following Treehouse footage, I'm very interested in SMT x FE.
For 3DS, I'm not that fussed about the 2015 line up, with the exception of Triforce Heroes, but I am looking forward to Fire Emblem: Fates, Bravely Second, Yokoi Watch, and Paper Mario & Luigi (I forget what this is actually called) in 2016. I'll reserve judgement on Federation Force until I know more about it.
Given I game across 3DS and Wii U, and that I will soon own an Xbox One, I think Nintendo have done enough to keep me interested. Across both systems, there's varied software coming into 2016, and I think they complement one another nicely. Given Wii U's commercial fate (failure), my expectations weren't massively high. Personally I really think Nintendo need to seriously review their communication before they reveal NX, because they could and should have done a better job this E3, even if there aren't any more blockbuster announcements to come for Wii U, they are supporting a failed platform with at least 9 more exclusives and 3DS has support stretching into 2016. Under the circumstances--little to no third party support, new system in the works, three years of losses--I can respect that.
