Thursday, April 2, 2015

Nintendo Direct (UK) 01.04.15: Not-so-live Impressions



It's Thursday, April 02. It's well after midnight. Let's see how far I can get into this before I fall asleep, hopefully not from boredom. :D



  • 00:00 - Ooh, Pegi 18? What they could be showing off now to warrant that? Devil's Third maybe. 
  • 00:11 - Straight into Smash Bros. So, I've seen something about DLC after glancing at GAF by accident. Before they announce it, I'm busting out my heavily Mario Kart 8 inspired, but rock-solid prediction of two DLC packs, each with one new character and about three new/returning stages. And one of the characters is the Ice Climbers. Boom!
  • 00:15 - That looks like Lucario.
 

  • 00:16 - No, it's Mewtwo. Man, if this is the only DLC they're showing off here, I'm going to be disappointed. Already have a code for him (her?) on the way after buying both versions of the game just to get the soundtrack. (Damn it, Nintendo).
  • 00:46 - I have to say though: I don't get the appeal of Mewtwo at all. Granted, I've seen very little of the show and none of the movies, but just look at how dumb that thing looks.
  • 01:33 - I don't know, Iwata. I'm having a hard time believing that this took that long to rehash a character from from Melee and Brawl.
 

  • 01:41 - Wait, €3.99 for just a character. That's a fair bit of an escalation from the DLC pricing we've from Nintendo up to now. (DeNA's toxic influence already seeping in. The end is nigh!!!!)
  • 02:22 - Yeesh, they're going in and rebalancing Smash Bros.. I don't think you realise the wrath you may end up unleashing on message boards across the Internet, Nintendo. I think you have no idea. And could you really not share custom stages up until now? I don't know why I'm surprised. :D
 

  • 02:37 - Cat costumes in Smash Bros. Finally.
  • 02:38 - Zelda costumes in Smash Bros. Finally.
  • 02:44 - Oh, these are for Miis. Well, like I keep saying: fuck Miis. :D (I know. The hypocrisy level's off the charts. :D)
 

  • 02:55 - Smash Bros. for Wii U: your exclusive home for Mega Man content in 2015.
 

  • 02:59 - Wait! Fucking what?! These aren't free? DeNAaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! 
  • 03:11 - Okay, more new content: single use items. Maxim tomatoes only ten cents. Bumpers forty-nine cents a pair.
 

  • 03:38 - No, it's Lucas. Wait, was Lucas not in already? As you can can tell, I've played both versions of Smash Bros. extensively. (Yeah, I don't know. Smash Bros. has always been more appealing to me for the fan service than the gameplay. With the story mode gone and the amount of stuff returning from the previous games this time, I think I might be done after this one.)
  • 04:48 - We've heard the request and decided to offer Lucas... for the low, low price of €3.99.
  • 04:58 - Well, that sure wasn't a "for free". :D I wonder if people are going to go for these at four euros a pop. Man, this really isn't the type of DLC offering I was hoping for for Smash Bros.. Not too surprised that the characters are already established ones, but I really expected them to throw in a few old stages at least and offer a nice, value pack of content like the did with MK8. I guess they're still trying things out.
 

  • 05:10 - Fucking Paper Mario!! Put Paper Mario in the game damn it!
  • 05:39 - :D Oh, Iwata, you're loving that *directly* thing more and more as time goes on. Welp, definitely voting for Paper Mario, but I expect it'll do about as much good as me asking for Ash songs in the Rock Band. This ballot's going to be nothing but an endless stream of Ridley and freakin' Geno.
  • 05:59 - If anyone legitimately votes for Cat Mario, know this: I will hunt you down.
  • 06:27 - I'm actually legitimately excited for amiibos now. I know. I have a sickness. (Damn you, scalpers. Still looking for Toad at a reasonable price. Why didn't I pre-order? Gah!)
 

  • 06:34 - Nah, nothing for me either this time. I'd like a Gannondorf one, not the Smash Bros. version though.
 

  • 06:40 - Ooh, Olimar. Yeah! Gimme, gimmee!
  • 06:58 - Touch & Play - this is the amiibo demo thing that surfaced a few weeks ago.
 

  • 08:01 - Please tell me Iwata didn't just reference Forest Gump. :D This is kind of an odd system though tbh. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the amiibo unlock a game from the series it belongs to? Then again, Pinball and stuff don't have amiibos, I guess. Yet.
 

  • 08:34 - That may have been the coolest Nintendo logo treatment ever. So, I guess this is Mario Maker?
  • 09:23 - Yep. That was pretty awesome. No Mario 2 tile set though by the looks of things.
  • 10:45 - "...but why would anyone want to switch to that" Okay, NSMBU had probably the best art direction of that series, but still...
  • 11:30 - "Please look forward to the Super Mario All-stars rom, now on a Wii U disc!"
  • 11:56 - Shibata now. Looks like it's Yoshi Wolly World time. Oh yeah!
 

  • 12:22 - Squeeeeeeeee!
 

  • 13:18 - Oh my god! This wolly Yoshi amiibo may be all I've ever wanted out of life.
  • 14:05 - June 06. Damn it. I need that bundle. I need that bundle now!
  • 14:08 - Welp, on to Splatoon.
 

  • 14:50 - Been sold on this since E3 so I'm kind of zoning out here. interested to try out the single player too though.
 

  • 16:02 - Meh, not feeling these amiibos. I think the Splatoon characters look neat in-game, but these look like licensed figures for some crappy early 00's-ish cartoon.
  • 16:53 - That squid one though...
Okay, I'm checking out here for the night here. Really want to keep going, I'm riding on a Yoshi amiibo high, but I guess I better get at least a few hours sleep. Society demands it!

And I'm back! I'd like to say I was dreaming wollen Yoshis last night, Actually, I was in sort of horror movie where everyone was getting killed off by this 2D red and white guy with a wheezy laugh, which I guess makes me the last girl.  Anyway...

 

  • 17:24 - Affordable Space Adventures. Looks decidedly indie, not sure if it's new or not. The name has a familiar ring to it at least.
  • 17:34 - Stealth? Managing systems? Yeah, I think I'm out. :D
  • 18:21 - Oh, Swords & Soldiers II. I should probably get around to playing the original at some point.
  • 19:02 - Man, Shibata's seems to be having a hard time with the script today. Well, more than usual any way.
 

  • 19:19 - Boom! Finally some N64 and DS Virtual Console games.
  • 19:27 - Okay, I'll probably pony up some cash for Mario Kart DS. Haven't played it, but it's pretty good apparently. Wonder how it's going to look blown up on a big screen though. Can't imagine they're doing any kind of upscaling, *sigh* as usual.
 

  • 19:42 - Wow! :D Yeah, that's not how I'll be playing them any way. Come on, could we at least have a DS Lite border?
  • 19:56 - "The leader of the bunch." - Ugh, Garry Glitter? No, wait. It's Donkey Kong.
 

  • 20:03 - I hate everything that's just happened. :D
  • 20:09 - I wonder if Jetpac is still in there. There's no way, is there? They'll have to sub in Donkey Kong Jr. or 3, I'd imagine.
  • 20:24 - €2 upgrade price for the N64 games. Not bad. (Though even that would be too much for freaking DK 64. :p)
  • 20:36 - Hm, no save states in these N64 games, I guess. At least for me, that'll make the upgrades a bit harder to justify. I guess I'll see, depending on how they look and if they're swapping out the PAL versions for NTSC ones. €10 for the N64 too. I would have preferred €8 at this point, though I can't really see myself buying many of them. I have pretty much everything they're likely to release in some format already.
 

  • 20:50 - Ooh, Buy 3 get 1 free: a good enough offer to take up? Ummmm. I do genuinely hate DK 64, plus I still have that, and Mario 64 on cart. Never played WarioWare touched, but if it's as touch-based as the name implies, I think I'd prefer to get a DS copy. Nah, I think I'll pass here. ♫ Real-time decision-making... with JiliK ♫
  • 20:52 - Paper Mario? Good, good. Still have my boxed copy from back in 2001 though. Yoshi's Island DS - That's probably another "no". I think that relies far too much on using both screens for it to practical in anything but that goofy DS Phat border here, plus it sucks. Am I really trolling Yoshi's Island DS fans now? Damn.
  • 21:21 - Okay, more Wii games too. For those keeping track, my copy of Pandora's Tower: still has not touched the inside of a Wii.
  • 21:30 - €14.99 would have been so much cheaper.
  • 21:43 - Atlus and Nintendo. Is this Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem?
 

  • 22:30 - So anime. Much moe.
  • 23:08 - That looked like a fighting game back there. Is the Wii U getting a port of one of those Persona 4 fighting games. (For those keeping track, my copy of Persona 4: still has not touched the inside of a PS2.)
  • 23:16 - "Thank you for waiting, everyone" No problem, Shibata.
  • 23:33 - Yes, finally... I don't look like a complete idiot guessing at Atlus games.
  • 23:51 - Geez, this sounds like an off-brand Persona game with Fire Emblem characters rather than a full-on SRPG. I mightn't have gotten around to P4 yet, but my interest in this just shot way up.
 

  • 24:13 - Oh, cool; It's the Wii U Fatal Frame game "coming to Europe". As in "not coming to the US", I guess. Reggie must really hate g-g-g-ghosts.
  • 24:56 - 3DS time now. Zzzzzzz... I'm kidding! Still haven't bought that New 3DS though. I can't imagine why, but I was kind of expecting them to be cheaper. Maybe later in the year.
 

  • 26:36 - You know, I don't think I seen Azure Striker Gunvolt in action until now. There are still far too many Mega Man games I haven't gotten to for me to be chomping at the bit for this, but it looks neat.
 

  • 27:09 - Boy Boy. Yeah, I've seen some screenshots of this. looks interesting.
  • 27:33 - Nintendo getting back to some puzzle-platforming. Reminds me a bit of Sutte Hakkun (Available now on the Japanese Wii Virtual Console, for those who want to go down that dark path.)
  • 28:14 - This looks really cool.
  • 28:40 - There's a Pokemon Rumble series? (JiliK: Pokémon master)
 

  • 28:46 - Oh! I've played a bit of one of these before. There was a WiiWare demo. It wasn't great.
  • 29:11 - Even mega evolve. Remarkable.
 

  • 31:10 - Man, this is just an evening of firsts; I don't think I've ever seen a Street Pass game in action either. :D  This zombie one looks... maybe not terrible.
  • 32:10 - Paying for it though? I don't think so.
  • 32:33 - I think my feelings on Miis at this point are well documented.
  • 33:39 - Yep, Puzzle & Dragons Z: that's also a game.
 

  • 35:50 - Well, I'm certainly a bad enough dude to save the president. Can't say that anything I've seen of Codename S.T.E.A.M. has really grabbed me up to this point though.
 

  • 36:53 - Getting shades of that that classic Anikin-Padme picnic scene from the dialogue here.
 

  • 38:41 - Whoah, are they Pokémoning this with two different versions? I wonder if Fire Emblem is popular enough.
 

  • 39:51 - Hold on. They're not just about to drop the news of a Wii U Animal Crossing here, are they? One of my hot E3 predictions, btw. (And we know how well those always go.)
  • 40:08 - No. It's Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer: a new way to interact... with giving money to Nintendo for Animal Crossing stuff.
  • 41:11 - I wonder if this makes a Wii U Animal Crossing more or less likely now. Of course they were planning to do Amiibo stuff with the next AC, but is this a ramp-up to that, or did they just throw this 3DS game together so they could still capitalize on the amiibo market while it's hot, while moving the next real Animal Crossing to the NX? But why do I even care!? I haven't liked Animal Crossing since the GameCube one. :D
  • 41:22 - Amiibo cards, and the fabled amiibo reader for the old school 3DS. Megatons dropping all around. Not sure if I see the appeal of existing amiibos being re-released as cards though. The amiibo functionality has become a distant second to owning a cool little Nintendo figurine for me. I guess most people would disagree though.
  • 41:40 - Back to Iwata for one last piece of news. They're hardly going to bring up the DeNA deal here, are they?
  • 41:51 - No, it's Mario Kart DLC news. I guess that 18 rating was just for Fatal Frame then.
 

  • 41:57 - See, this is what I'm saying: The fact that this DLC pack is kind of Animal Crossing themed points to, at least a plan at one point for Animal Crossing on the Wii U to come out this year. I still think there's a good chance. As for Mario Kart 8: excited to see what exactly we're getting in this pack track-wise.
 

  • 42:56 - I'm such a sucker for anything Autumn or Winter themed. Totally on board with this track now.
  • 43:22 - I do really like this music. If only Nintendo would make their soundtracks easier to get a hold of. *sigh*
  • 43:51 - Okay, an early release date. Sounds like they won't be revealing any more tracks though. Boo!
  • 44:26 - Another announcement for Mario Kart 8? More DLC?
 

  • 44:28 - What's with the film grain. Yeah, remember when Super Mario Kart came out in the 1950's?
  • 44:58 - Are they really going to announce a 200cc mode here? With the amount the AI characters still cheat, even in MK8, this'll make Nightmare mode in Doom look tame. (Okay, that's a bit harsh. MK8's 150cc mode is actually pretty well-balanced, for once. I still suspect a 200cc mode would very much not be though.)
 

  • 45:03 - This isn't even accurate any way. Super Mario Kart totally had a 150cc mode.
 

  • 45:16 - Yep. Fuck that.
  • 47:24 - And we're done. Time to pre-order me some more amiibos. Yoshiiiiiiii!

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