Nintendo at E3 2018

Nintendo took the stage at E3 2018, advertising to us that they were going to cover some excellent games coming out this year, while focusing on Super Smash Brothers. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, that’s exactly what they did.   Their presentation ran about 45 minutes long and they covered a wide variety of titles coming out in the near future.   They also delighted people like me who don’t want to experience the grind of Pokémon Go, by revealing that you get Mew in Pokémon: Let’s Go! if you buy the Pokéball Plus.   However, that’s just a side note from their main show, so let’s get to the good stuff. 

DAEMON X MACHINA  is a mech-based shooting/action that goes over the top with gears and explosions. This reminds me a lot of Armored Core, and will be a fun addition to 2019. (7.5/10)

Torna ~ The Golden Country is the storyline DLC coming out for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on September 21, 2018 that takes place before the events of the main game and it instantly made me want to put XB2 back in my system and pay them more money.  Damn it, Nintendo. (9/10)  

Super Mario Party — Finally! A new Mario Party that holds true to the original roots of the franchise. I was looking for a reason to throw Joy-Con at my friends more often.  Friendships will be ruined when this game drops October 5, 2018. (8.8/10) 

Fire Emblem: Three Houses — I’ve never been a really big fan of Fire Emblem games, and this trailer didn’t change that. It looks like everything a Fire Emblem fan would want, but it’s still not for me. We will find this title hitting the Switch in the Spring of 2019 . (7/10)

Fortnite — Available today, and it’s about damn time. I would be lying if I said this blogger didn’t play a round before typing up this recap. (10/10)   

Overcooked 2 — If Mario party wasn’t a big enough reason for you to break controllers and ruin friendships, you’ll find this lovely sequel hitting your Switch on August 7, 2018. I wasn’t good enough to beat the first one and I’m assuming it holds true for the second.  (6/10)

Killer Queen Black — Apparently this is a super popular arcade game, but it just looks like a more fun version of joust to me. Seems fun to play on the couch with friends and will probably be a day one-ish pick up for me.  This game will be available this winter. (7.2/10)

Hollow Knight — This highly sought after, hand drawn, epic action-adventure was made available on the shop today! It’s the perfect kind of quirkiness that will make me pick it up as soon as I’m done playing Fortnite.  (8.1/10)

Dragon Ball FighterZ —  Better late than never, but there’s not a prayer in Hell that I’m paying full price for this.  FighterZ releases sometime in 2018. (7.1/10)

 Octopath Traveler — Game looks awesome, but I’m sick of hearing about it. Regardless, I will buy it day one, when it comes out on July 13, 2018. (9/10) 

SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy  — I know nothing about this Waifu fighting game, but I can tell you that comes out September 7 of this year. (Waifu/10)

Nintendo did blitz a bunch of other titles that they were showing off, so I may not have caught them all... mostly because I lost my ability to think when they displayed their final game today.   

Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate — Almost half of Nintendo’s 45 minute direct today was focused on Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate. This title does not lie to you, as they re-introduce every single character that has been playable in Super Smash titles to date, while also revealing two new fighters, an Inkling from Splatoon and Ridley from the Metroid series. Characters' re-tweaking, robust changes, and a few simple adjustments to existing fighters have all been made to give this classic fighter a fresh new feel.  We were given a ton of information in this massive 25 minute first look into the game, so look forward to a Smash Brothers specific blog in the near future.   All of this and more is coming your way on December 7, 2018. (10/10)

And that’s it! Though I would’ve loved to see a reveal of Metroid Prime 4 or Bayonetta 3, Nintendo did exactly what they told us they were going to do by highlighting the next games coming out on their timeline, while giving us a nice deep dive into Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate. Undoubtedly, we will see more from them via one of their seasonal directs between now and the end of summer, and they’ve left the door wide open to delight. 

 Final Grade: A-