Nintendo at E3 2019
With E3 2019 concluded there are, like usual, many great games, systems and all-round innovations being announced. Having grown up with companies like Nintendo it is always amazing to see how far they have come and it is always exiting to see which great things we can look forward to.
Subjectively speaking, Nintendo had a great E3 presentation. While only lasting 40 minutes, they managed to fit in quite a lot of great looking things.
Seeing as Nintendo discussed quite a lot of things this list is bound to get large. Therefore, we have provided a simple table of contents so you can jump right to titles that interest you!
- Luigi’s Mansion 3
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
- Cadence of Hyrule ~ Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda ~
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
- Animal Crossing™: New Horizons
- Resident Evil 5 & 6
- The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance – Tactics
- Super Mario Maker 2
- ASTRAL CHAIN
- MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order
- Fire Emblem™: Three Houses
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Complete Edition
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DQ11 and Banjo & Kazooie
- Panzer Dragoon
- Pokémon Sword & Shield
Luigi’s Mansion 3
With the announcement trailer being released on September 13th 2018, during Nintendo Direct, it was good to see some more updates about our favourite green dressed ghost hunter.
This time Luigi will find himself in a hotel together with his friends Mario, Peach and co. What they don’t know is that this hotel features quite some exotic guests already, ghosts.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 will make use of the Switch’s two controllers by letting a friend join in and out as a gooey representation of Luigi, Gooigi. Gooigi will be able to move through bars and over spikes. Keep him away from water however!
In terms of online multiplayer and local co-op, it will feature a game mode called ‘ScareScaper’. In this gamemode you will need to clear all rooms of ghosts and collect coins by completing challenges within a time frame.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is planned to release somewhere in 2019 on the Nintendo Switch.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
You read it right, 26 years after its release on the Game Boy, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening finally makes a comeback on the Nintendo Switch!
For the people that didn’t play the original one, the premise of this game is as follows. Link gets stranded on a mysterious island called Koholint after a wild storm on sea. To find his way back home, Link will have to find his way through challenging dungeons and fight against spectacular monsters.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening will not only feature unique elements from the Game Boy version but will also have its own new additions like chamber dungeons. These are dungeons you can create yourself. You will get pieces for each room you cleared and use them to create your own. Besides clearing rooms you can also get pieces through scanning amiibos (sold separately) or play minigames like fishing.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is planned to release on the 20th of September 2019.
Cadence of Hyrule ~ Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda ~
Not only will we be getting a rework of an old classic Zelda game but we will also be receiving a rhythm game taking place in Hyrule.
Cadence of Hyrule ~ Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda ~ will feature a randomly generated Hyrule and procedurally generated dungeons. We will be allowed to play as either Cadence, Link or Princess Zelda.
Combat will not be like your usual Legend of Zelda game. During combat every beat of each remixed Legend of Zelda tune will be a chance to either move, attack, defend and more.
Cadence of Hyrule ~ Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda ~ is planned to release on the 13th of June 2019
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
Not one, not two but three anouncements for The Legend of Zelda games. This year’s E3 was especially amazing for fans of The Legend of Zelda franchise.
Not much is known about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 besides that it is taking place after the events of Breath of the Wild.
In the trailer we see Link and Zelda exploring what appears to be a cave. The duo stumbles upon the mummified remains of a yet unknown character and a strange glow. Although there are quite some guesses that this character is Ganondorf, nothing has been verified yet.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 has yet to get a planned release date.
Animal Crossing™: New Horizons
It was no surprise to see an update about Animal Crossing™: New Horizons. Originally planned to release in 2019 but intentionally delayed to make the game as great as possible.
Animal Crossing™: New Horizons will, like the previous installments, allow the player to customize their character, home and decorate the landscape. The game is all about creating your very own island paradise.
Players can enjoy activities like fishing, decorating, gardening and interacting with the cast of NPCs.
All in all, a great experience for people looking for a game all about relaxation.
Animal Crossing™: New Horizons is planned to release on the 20th of March 2020.
Resident Evil 5 & 6
Both of these games are ports of the the original Resident Evil 5 & 6 and will be for the Nintendo Switch. They will feature singleplayer, multiplayer and will have all DLCs included with them.
Resident Evil 5 & 6 are both planned to release somewhere during autumn 2019.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance – Tactics
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance – Tactics will be an interesting game to keep an eye out for. Based on a Netflix serie, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance – Tactics will take the player on an exciting journey in the fantasy world called Thra. According to Nintendo, the game will include playable characters, stories and areas that haven’t been seen before.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance – Tactics will also feature more than 5 diverse and modular territories, over 15 character jobs and a reimagined and brand-new battles against the antagonist group of the world, the Skeksis.
The battle system will contain unique ways for the Gelfling, the protagonistic group, to fulfill their prophecies in multi-layered and turn-based tactical combat. You can customize your units for specific fights and use different strategies to defeat your foes.
In terms of replayability, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance – Tactics will have a battle replay mode to earn full marks. Next to that you could also choose to replay the whole game on New Game+. New Game+ will not reset your progress and will offer more difficult versions of the battles.
A big thing to look forward too, but which might also scare off some people, are the rich and dynamic environments. Nintendo advertises the world of Thra as a living and unpredictable environment. This means that there will also be dynamic events on the battlefield which can create both opportunities or put the Gelflings at a disadvantage. People who dislike those type of randomly generated chance elements might want to pass grabbing a copy of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance – Tactics. However, a true tactician should be ready for the unpredictable!
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance – Tactics is planned to be released somewhere in 2019.
Super Mario Maker 2
Fans of the popular game Super Mario Maker were in for a surprise when Takashi Tezuka, game producer, announced that Super Mario Maker 2 will feature multiplayer in which you can try to beat levels with your friends!
The big selling point of Super Mario Maker 2 is that players can create, play and share their own made levels. Next to that the game will include 100+ built-in-courses in the singleplayer story mode.
Coursebot, the robotic tool that helps the player manage courses in the game, will make a return. The courses saved on Coursebot can be played cooperatively by up to four players on a single system. This will however require you to have 4 Joy-Cons™.
A pretty big chance compared to the original Super Mario Maker is the ability to give yourself an item like a mushroom, fire flower or star and to place down a power block and normal blocks on the map. This means that whenever you find yourself in a difficult map, you could open up the part menu and get some help.
What can come over as a let down is that, in order to play levels created by others, you will need a Nintendo Switch Online membership. The subscription price ranges from $3.99 USD per month to $19.99 USD for 12 months. Learn more about Nintendo Switch Online here.
Super Mario Maker 2 is planned to be released the 28th of June 2019.
ASTRAL CHAIN
ASTRAL CHAIN is definitely a game you need to look out for if you are into the hack and slash type of gameplay.
Taking place in an apocalyptic setting, the player will be part of a special police task force together with a twin sibling. It will be your task to uncover the secrets of an alternate dimension called the Astral Plane and put a stop to the monsters invading your world.
Featuring gameplay elements similar to Murdered Soul Suspect and NieR: Automata, ASTRAL CHAIN will have the player investigate cases, solve environmental puzzles and battle monsters known as chimeras.
The player will be accompanied by a special living weapon called a Legion. This Legion can be controlled by the player simultaneously. The player will have the option between multiple Legions, each with different combat styles and abilities, and will be able to change between them during battle.
ASTRAL CHAIN will be playable by 2 players at most and is planned to be release the 30th of August 2019.
MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order
Marvel fans are in for an amazing treat this year. Thanos is back and this time you, the player, will be tasked with stopping him once and for all.
MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order will be featuring a cast from the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the X-Men and more! Assemble your own team of super heroes, each with their own unique superpowers.
Fight your way through Thanos and the Black order in a new original, fun and exciting story. What is even better than fighting off evil? Fighting off evil with your friends! MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order will feature local and online multiplayer and can be played both offline or online with up to 4 players on a single screen or using multiple systems.
Overall MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order looks like it will be an amazing game. There are however two things that might prevent people for buying it. One being the purchasable DLC for, what appears to be, more story elements and characters. The other thing might be the voice actors for our heroes and villains. There’s a big chance that your favourite hero won’t be voiced by the actor that played them in any of the movies.
MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order is planned to be released on the 19th of July 2019
Fire Emblem™: Three Houses
Fire Emblem™: Three Houses will take place in the land of Fódlan where you, the player, will be invited to teach one of its three mighty houses. Make a choice between The Black Eagles, The Blue Lions and The Golden Deer and watch how your choices will change the story.
Freely roam in the game’s hub area called Garreg Mach Monastery where you can interact with your students in order to bond with them. Tutor and foritfy your units to become the strongest warriors ever seen.
Fire Emblem™: Three Houses will, for the first time, feature battalions and a new type of giant enemy called the Demonic Beasts.
You will not have to buy a second copy in order to play the other story portion of the game. Unlike the Fire Emblem™: Fates series.
Fire Emblem™: Three Houses is planned to release on the 26th of July 2019
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Complete Edition
That’s right, Geralt of Rivia is making his way to the Nintendo Switch when The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Complete Edition is ported.
This game could possibly be the biggest open world game on the Nintendo Switch yet in terms of raw landmass. This does however come with a pretty heavy toll. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will run in 540p handheld and in 720p with dynamic resolution enabled on screen. Besides the resolution, stable frame rate might prove to be an issue on its own as well.
Luckily there are a lot of positives aspects too. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt features a gigantic open world to explore with many potential hours of gameplay. Choices matter in this fantasy action rpg. You as the player will have influence on one of many endings.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Complete Edition is planned to release somewhere in 2019.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DQ11 and Banjo & Kazooie
After Joker from Persona two more challengers approach in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Luminary
The first of the two is Luminary, the main protagonist from the upcoming game Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age. Luminary will be available for people that buy the required DLC or own the season pass. Luminary will be using a sword and shield combination. Besides that he will have to select his abilities from a class rpg menu, like the Dragon Quest games.
Alternate costumes for Luminary will be different protagonist from previous Dragon Quest installments known as the echo fighters.
Luminary is planned to be released on the 27 of September 2019.
Banjo & Kazooie
Our second of the two had the audience in for quite a shocker. During the trailer Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong and King K. Rool are met with a silhouette of Banjo & Kazooie. This turned out to be a prank made by our dog & duck duo from duckhunt. In the end all was well when Banjo & Kazooie decided to jump in into the trailer after all and got their official announcement.
Banjo & Kazooie are planned to be released during autumn 2019.
Panzer Dragoon: Remake
Originally released in 1995, Panzer Dragoon will make its return in a remade version for the Nintendo Switch.
In Panzer Dragoon you will take control of Keil Fluge as he rides his dragon. Panzer Dragoon’s combat is in a rail shooter style and has its main selling points in the vibrant world and lore.
Panzer Dragoon is planned to be released later in 2019.
Pokémon Sword & Shield
Grab your Pokéballs and Pokédex, Pokemon is back and there is a new region to explore. In Pokémon Sword & Shield you will find yourself in Galar. Galar is an extensive area with many different environments.
Nintendo had a playable demo ready where players got to battle the water Pokémon Gym leader Nessa. During this battle players got test the new battle element, Dynamax. Dynamax allows Pokémon to grow huge in size in specific locations. While growing to a huge size they will also gain more strength. This effect lasts for three turns.
According to Nintendo, Pokémon Sword & Shield will feature multiple large open biomes for trainers to explore. Besides that we will also be seeing a new type of battle, Max Raid Battles.
Max Raid Battles take place in the Wild Area, the large open biomes. During this battle you can work together either locally or online with up to 3 other trainers. Max Raid Battles feature Dynamax Pokémon. Beat them and you get a chance to catch it.
Sadly the demo did not let the players experience co-op Max Raid Battles or the open-ended Wild Area.
However, for most Pokémon trainers the biggest disappointment is that we will not be seeing the full 800-plus lineup. You will only be able to catch and transfer Pokémon that appear in the Galar region Pokédex.
Regardless, we will still be buying Pokémon Sword & Shield when they release. Growing up with Pokémon it is always great to see how the franchise evolves even when it is not always in a postiive way.
Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield are planned to be released on the 15th of November 2019.
All in all Nintendo had a strong E3 presence this year and we can not wait to see more exiting releases!
