Wii U and 3DS owners had reason to celebrate last week, when Nintendo Direct revealed tons of new information on upcoming Nintendo games for 2014.
The newest "Super Smash Bros.," which will become available on both systems by the end of the year, has confirmed Little Mac as a new addition to the roster. Little Mac is a character from the well-loved "Punch-Out!!" series, which is known for its intense boxing battles. Given the brawling nature of the "Super Smash Bros." series, the addition of Little Mac seems to be a perfect choice for this game.
The new "Mario Kart 8," coming to Wii U on May 30, will also be expanding its roster, as all of Bowsers' Koopalings join the race for the first time. The Koopalings, which were first introduced in "Super Mario Bros. 3," were some of the most beloved Mario bosses from the franchise, and fans are eager to play as them when the game releases.
Additionally, two very anticipated 3DS games, "Mario Golf World Tour" and "Kirby: Triple Deluxe," will finally be making their debut on May 2 this year. Both had new gameplay footage as well, with the former showcasing the ability to use Miis and the latter showing off new attacks that Kirby can now perform.
Nintendo also announced a few new games that will be released exclusively on the eShop, such as Battle Trozei." This new puzzle RPG lets players match the faces of Pokémon in rows in order to issue attacks on screen. You can even capture new Pokémon, like in the traditional games and use them in your battles. The game will feature every single Pokémon and will have a four-player co-op mode.
In a surprise turn of events, Nintendo will also be supporting free to play games on the 3DS eShop as well. One of these games is "Steel Diver: Sub Wars," which is a first-person submarine action game that has a heavy focus on four-on-four multiplayer matches. For those who are interested, it's available to download right now. The other one is called "Rusty's Real Deal Baseball," in which you play through various baseball mini-games. The most interesting part of this game is that you can haggle with the store owner, Rusty, to lower the price of and unlock each full game. Considering that real money is at stake, this is quite an interesting way to price each game.
The Wii U eShop is also getting new content as well, as the Virtual Console will receive GBA games this April. Three titles are already confirmed for its launch: Fusion," "Mario and Luigi: Super Star Saga," and Island: Super Mario Advance 3." The Wii U eShop is also getting Remix 2," a game that features a compilation of NES games with individual, unique challenges for each one. The list of remixed games include "Ice Hockey," Woods," "Zelda II," "Super Mario Bros. 2," "Dr. Mario," "Kirby's Adventure," "Super Mario Bros. 3," "Kid Icarus," "Punch Out!!," ," "Mario Open Golf," and "Super Mario Bros."
Fans of niche titles were also appeased with Nintendo's announcements and reveals. The Eleven" series, which is a JRPG soccer game with an anime art style, has made its North American debut and is now available to download for $20. Also, a rhythm-based game in which you make weapons for heroes, called "Weapon Shop de Omasse," will be released on Feb. 20 as well. The conference was then closed out with footage of the upcoming "X" and 2" for Wii U.
avigna@ramapo.edu
