Nintendo Direct Recap

Wow, what a day. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata dropped some pretty big bombshells yesterday during the Nintendo Direct broadcast. So let's break them down one by one.


Smash Bros, 3D Mario, and Mario Kart Confirmed for E3

Although it was generally accepted that Nintendo was working behind the scenes on a new 3D Mario and Mario Kart, confirmation from Iwata was welcome. The Wii U Mario game is being developed by the team behind the Mario Galaxy games and Super Mario 3D Land. Both Mario and Mario Kart will be playable at E3, meaning the games will probably release in the fourth quarter. The much-anticipated Super Smash Bros. game, which will launch on Wii U and 3DS, will also make an appearance. Although it sounds like 2014 is a more likely launch year for Smash Bros.

New HD Zelda Teased

Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma briefly took over for Iwata-san to tease a brand new Zelda in high definition. There were no images to show, but Aonuma explained the philosophy behind the game: it will look to the beginning of the series for inspiration; and it will "rethink the conventions of Zelda."

Wind Waker, Remade 

Because the new Zelda will take some time, Nintendo intends to keep us entertained in the meantime. The Gamecube game The Wind Waker will be remade for Wii U with new Gamepad features, enhanced graphics, and some tweaks to the gameplay. It will launch this fall.

Wind Waker graphics in HD.

Yoshi Rumor Confirmed

The rumor that Nintendo was working on a new Yoshi game was confirmed yesterday by Iwata. It will be a 2D platform game directed by Takashi Tezuka, who supervised Yoshi's Story and Yoshi's Island. The team behind Kirby's Epic Yarn will develop.

The new Yoshi game shares a similar art style with Epic Yarn.

Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem

As if one Nintendo crossover titles wasn't enough (see Project X Zone), Nintendo will be bringing to the Wii U a crossover game featuring characters from Atlus RPG Shin Megami Tensei  and Intelligent Systems RPG Fire Emblem.

Wii U Party Announced 

We already knew Wii Fit U was coming this year. Now we know another title in the Wii series is on the way: Wii U Party, the sequel to hit game Wii Party. From the footage shown during Nintendo Direct, Wii U Party looks like a virtual board game mixed with some Mario Party-style mini-games.




New Game from Monolith Soft 

The stat of Nintendo Direct might have been footage from a new RPG from Monolith Soft, the company that developed Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii U. It may even be a sequel to Xenoblade. The "X" at the end of the game trailer would indicate it at least belongs to the Xeno series.

A screen capture of Monolith Soft's new RPG for Wii U.

Virtual Console Coming to Wii U

Lastly, Iwata also announced that the Virtual Console will arrive on Wii U after the spring firmware update. NES and SNES games will be available at first, with games from other systems -- including Game Boy Advance -- available later. There will be an introductory campaign where users can download select NES titles for a 30-day trial period for 30 cents each.


And that's about it. There were a few more announcements, some new footage, and glimpses of the future, but all the big news is represented above. Please see the video of Nintendo Direct below for the entire presentation.