It’s hard to feel dis-satisfied with such a lengthy and extensive Direct, which covered its bases remarkably well. Nintendo has laid out a massive slate of games touching upon seemingly any and all genres throughout the presentation, truly offering something for any kind of gamer to look forward to, be they into action, adventure, platformer, puzzle, sports, RPG’s, minigame collections, shooters, racing games, or even something else entirely! There wasn’t a sense of anything being ‘missing’, making this a strong broadcast to start with in 2014!
It was nice to see surprisingly-neglected games like Mario Golf: World Tour and Mario Kart 8 get some new coverage, and Bayonetta 2 getting some new footage after disappearing for a bit was nice as well! It was also awesome to have games like Steel Diver: Sub Wars and Inazuma Eleven being released to buoy a deceptively light eShop release schedule for this week for that matter.
Best of all however, the one-two punch of Steel Diver: Sub Wars and Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball stood as highlights even amidst the likes of X, Bayonetta 2, Mario Kart 8, Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Yoshi’s New Island. They were outstanding experiments in free-to-play design, and, without having to actively go on the offensive against smart devices, they each single-handedly proved why Nintendo is still the best in the portable gaming business, and truly hasn’t been fazed by the flooding of smartphones and tablets that claim to be imposing on their market.
It was truly awesome to see Nintendo barely have to lift a finger to trounce years of free-to-play abuse, while simultaneously proving that their handhelds are still the best way to enjoy games on the go, as they consistently have been! It just goes to show; Underestimate Nintendo at your own peril!
Naturally, not every Nintendo game on the docket got press, but all the ones that matter over the next few months did. Again, no matter what kind of player you are, there was something to satisfy you. Something to get you excited for the year to come. Sure, almost every surprise announcement was an eShop game, but that only goes to show that Nintendo is still pulling out every stop to develop and strength their digital and independent developer arm.
There’s lots to look forward to for 3DS and Wii U owners throughout 2014, and Eggplante will continue to bring you all of your Nintendo coverage, including roundups of all Nintendo Direct news, as it’s revealed!