Written by In a live, 35-minute Nintendo Direct broadcast, Nintendo’s energetic and fun Deputy General Manager Yoshiaki Koizumi (who is now RAPIDLY growing a fanbase) provided gamers with a massive update on future games and features for both the Nintendo 3DS and Switch–he also did a snazzy finger pointing motion a bunch of times to play in each clip. Here at ComedyNGaming, we’ve done the work of compiling and summarizing a list of these games and updates for you. Yesterday we posted on the Switch games and updates. Today, we’re listing all the non-Switch related information, and there’s A LOT of it.
Nintendo’s pink, puffball and secondary mascot Kirby is turning 25! Appropriately, the Kirby Series is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a bunch of games. There’s Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, a free new multiplayer game where you can take on a variety of classic RPG roles with different Kirby copy abilities subbing in for your standard mage and cleric classes. The game has already been made available for download!
There’s also Kirby’s Blowout Blast (coming sometime this summer for 3DS), which features 3D stages where Kirby runs around inhaling and spitting up enemies as he fights his way out of multiple castles. The more enemies Kirby sucks in, the stronger he gets. Players will also be timed and ranked on how fast it takes you to murder everyone in each level. I wouldn’t want to play Escape the Room with Kirby!
Lastly, Nintendo teased ANOTHER multiplayer Kirby action game for 3DS that will be released sometime in the Holiday season.
Splatoon for Wii U is holding the U.S. Inkling Open with open qualifiers for teams of four on April 22nd and the grand finals on April 29th. You must be 18 or older to get involved. Prizes include a trip to E4 2017. The top 16 teams will qualify for the grand finals after proving themselves in best-of-five matches in Turf War, Splat Zones and Tower Control. In the finals, the final two teams will duke it out in Rainmaker mode. For more information on competing, follow this link. http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/show-off-your-skills-in-the-splatoon-us-inkling-open-tournament
Nintendo also announced some new amiibo.
Special Link Amiibo from different incarnations of the Legend of Zelda Series come to stores on June 23rd.
Super Smash Bros 4 for Wii U and 3DS might not be getting any updates anytime soon, but on July 21st, amiibo for its final trio of DLC characters, Corrin, Cloud, and Bayonetta are being released. And each amiibo comes in two different costume flavors—this is especially lovely for Fire Emblem fans because you can collect a male and female Corrin! Ominously, Nintendo mentioned that some will only be available at select retailers. Prepare for a price-scalping brawl!
Nintendo’s favorite handheld system got a ton of time devoted to release dates and new content within upcoming games.
- Bye-Bye Boxboy was announced as the final installment in the Boxboy triology, and it launched on April 12th . Qbby, the box-shaped protagonist can use his powers to climb, hover, warp, bomb, or rocket through his sidescrolling levels. There are over 100 puzzles in 18 worlds. Nintendo also mentioned that players can download demos of any game in the Box Boy series or use Kirby character amiibos to unlock special costumes for their box boy. Lastly, if there is prior game save data on your 3DS, you can play through the game with a retro Gameboy filter.
- Fire Emblem Echoes, which is coming on April 20th, revealed it will continue the trend of downloadable content started in Awakening and carried into Fates. Specific features were not elaborated upon, but players will be able to purchase DLC either mission by mission in bundles or altogether in a special season pass. Let’s hope I have money left after Fire Emblem Heroes!
It’s like Six Flags…. any deaths that occur are like totally within your control.
- Ever Oasis by Grezzo received a release date of June 23rd, 2017. Developers talked about the game’s primary objective of defending and maintaining the world’s last oasis. They also introduced Esna, a whimsical water spirit and pivotal partner on your journey. Lastly, they stressed that the game’s story stresses the importance of kindness, which is not a common theme in many video games, though the protagonist’s bond with Esna looks eerily similar to mine with Azura’s in Fire Emblem Fates.
I’m putting my evil in you.
- RPG Maker Fes is arriving on June 27th, and it allows players to share their world-building creations online with others. There will also be downloadable character skins from the Disgaea series. The coolest feature, however, is Maker Player, an app that will let people without the game play through the levels others have designed.
- Hey! Pikmin, the new 2D sidescroller got a release date of July 28th, 2017. Also debuting that same day will be a new and adorable Pikmin amiibo, but its uses beyond taking your money remain unknown. Nintendo also demonstrated a touch screen feature that allows players to tap and manually throw Pikmin and followed it up with some colorful, nightmarish cutscenes. Bottom line: there are A LOT of monsters that can and will try to kill you in classic Pikmin fashion.
- The card-boardgame hybrid, Culdcept, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a new game called Culdcept Revolt. It has a release date of August 28th. “Wonder Wall,” “Kelpie,” “Megalodon,” and “Yeti” were some of the cool cards I saw floating around the brief trailer.
- Monster Hunter Stories got a vague release time of this Fall and an even vaguer introduction. Nintendo outlined the player’s ability to ride monsters over land, air, and sea, hatch eggs to find more monsters, and “participate in turn-based battles with a party of multiple monsters.” The last one sounds like something people should already know. Actually, all of it sounds pretty normal for the franchise. I guess they just wanted to show off their graphics?
- YO-KAI Watch 2: Psychic Specters also has an uncertain release date for Fall. The game will grant players the power to befriend dark Yokai as well as ride the punny Hex Express to a new resort. There’s also a new, extravagantly titled multiplayer mode called Psychic Yokai Watch Blasters, where you and friends can exorcise demon bosses to your heart’s content.
- Miitopia is a new 3DS game that has players placing their miis in a parody and homage to classic JRPGs. Characters can explore a variety of special classes and equip skills, but their movement and actions are fickle and independent—JUST like the people they’re probably based on! Miitopia has no specific release date beyond sometime in 2017.
Last modified: April 14, 2017
