13th June 2017, 8:55 PM
Yeah, it's a good show for Nintendo. Outside of the two major Metroid announcements (on that note, Metroid Prime 4... 2018, or 2019? That no footage or a year were shown suggest later than 2018, but who knows.) Nintendo also announced Kirby and Yoshi for Switch, both of them 2.5d platformers similar to the Kirby and Yoshi games of recent years. The last couple of Kirby platformers have been on 3DS, so while Nintendo is still supporting the 3DS this year, this is another sign that next year they are probably planning in going in a Switch-only direction. I wonder, will they have some more portable-friendly version of the Switch then? That large tablet can't be as portable as a 3DS is... but yeah, the Kirby game looks great. The Wii and 3DS Kirby platformers are really good, and this looks just as good. Being able to combine powers returns too, not seen since Kirby 64! That's really cool, that was one of the better things about that game. Otherwise, Nintendo also said that there is a mainline Pokemon game starting development for Switch, to release... sometime. This is another sign of the 3DS not having much of a future past 2017, since Pokemon Super Sun & Super Moon release this year for 3DS. Like Fire Emblem though, which just had a 3DS release but they said the next major FE title will be for Switch, that switchover is happening.
At least the 3DS still has a solid library for this year though, and that's good; it would be quite foolish for Nintendo to do as some people want and completely abandon the 3DS the moment the Switch's release was successful. This slower fadeout is a far better move, though again, I know I've never used a Switch and I'm sure it's a great portable for times when you can bring that thing with you, but is that really the solution as a handheld as it is, with its large-ish size, lack of an easy screen cover (folding systems are great for that), and poor battery life... great for taking around the house and such, like the Wii U Gamepad but without that annoying range limit, but for carrying around?
... Anyway, back to the games. While Nintendo did announce some 2018-or-later games, the main focus was on stuff releasing this year. The games shown were mostly first party, though a few third party games were there, most notably Rocket League, which is getting a Switch port. That's awesome, Rocket League is a great game which well deserves its huge success. It'll have PC/XO/Switch cross-platform multiplayer too, similar to Minecraft. No Sony because Sony refuses to allow that, for stupid reasons. Still though that's great. They also showed a bit of FIFA. First party wise Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 probably got the most time, though others like Splatoon 2 were mentioned. XC2 looks alright, but the character designs and selection are pretty disappointing -- seriously, after having that great character creator in XCX, why in the world did Monolith-soft think that forcing players to play as the generic annoying young anime protagonist guy who you have to be in this game was a good idea? It's not! The character art is also not very good, and I know that's an issue XC and XCX have to some degree as well but this might be worse. The actual gameplay looks like classic XC stuff though, and that's good because they are pretty good games.
As for Mario, well, it looks like an open-world Mario game, very much like Marios 64 or Sunshine but with one major new mechanic, that you can throw your hat and possess many types of monsters with it, or turn into electricity and travel down power lines and the like. You can also turn flat and go into 2d segments of levels. The game looks really good of course, and it's great to see Nintendo return to this 3d Mario style after so long away. I'm sure the gameplay will be very well polished, and the variety of stages is good. That story is TERRIBLE though, there is no excuse for "rescue the princess" AGAIN in this series. No, it is not okay. The whole 'wedding' and 'evil wedding planner villains' ideas are amusing, sure, but they do not take away from that core problem. And only being able to play as Mario is a definite disappointment too; just being able to take over enemies isn't quite the same, though it is a pretty good gameplay concept. On the other hand, though, it's cool that Pauline appears in this game (for the first time in a main-series Mario game?), and as Mayor of New Donk City, no less. That's a step up from her previous appearances.
Apart from the story though there isn't much to criticize about the game. If I wanted to mention a few things though... hmm. Well, the "Mario 64 but new" idea is awesome because I love 3d platformers, and there have been far too few Mario 3d platformers with big open levels like those. It does mean that the game isn't doing new things like Galaxy and 3D Land/World do, though; it's "like Mario 64 or Sunshine, but newer and with enemy takeovers". That's really awesome and the game looks fantastic, but whether or not it's better than those games (and that's a very high bar, but the game could meet it!) it is true. Of course, Nintendo has overused some Mario gameplay ideas, in particular the New Super Mario Bros. series, so this one is very overdue for a return.
As for the graphics, Mario Odyssey looks really good (for its hardware), but it doesn't have that glowing shine of 3D World or Mario Kart 8. I guess some criticize that 'plasticy' look, but I thought those games look amazing. This time that shine isn't there, and what you do have is a mix of styles, with different looks in each of the games' worlds some more realistic and some less. The worlds they showed here at E3, the city and desert, both look very nice though so that's fine. Once they release it will, however, be interesting to compare this game to Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battle, which has that 'shiny' look to it (and looks fantastic).
But for the most part, Mario Odyssey looks like a really, really fun, classic 3d adventure platformer in a way the Mario hasn't seen in 15 years. There have been a lot of Mario games in the past decade-plus, but this is quite different from all of them in a lot of ways and that's great. I mean, I'm playing Mario 3D World and Mario Maker now and both are REALLY amazing games, easily among the better games in the genre, and I hope Nintendo makes another Mario Maker game soon, but I wanted the Mario 64 style to return as well and it finally is! I wonder though, after the (in my opinion wrongly, the game is outstanding) mixed reception Yooka-Laylee got, do people still want open-world 3d platformers? We'll see later this year I guess. I hope it does great.
At least the 3DS still has a solid library for this year though, and that's good; it would be quite foolish for Nintendo to do as some people want and completely abandon the 3DS the moment the Switch's release was successful. This slower fadeout is a far better move, though again, I know I've never used a Switch and I'm sure it's a great portable for times when you can bring that thing with you, but is that really the solution as a handheld as it is, with its large-ish size, lack of an easy screen cover (folding systems are great for that), and poor battery life... great for taking around the house and such, like the Wii U Gamepad but without that annoying range limit, but for carrying around?
... Anyway, back to the games. While Nintendo did announce some 2018-or-later games, the main focus was on stuff releasing this year. The games shown were mostly first party, though a few third party games were there, most notably Rocket League, which is getting a Switch port. That's awesome, Rocket League is a great game which well deserves its huge success. It'll have PC/XO/Switch cross-platform multiplayer too, similar to Minecraft. No Sony because Sony refuses to allow that, for stupid reasons. Still though that's great. They also showed a bit of FIFA. First party wise Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 probably got the most time, though others like Splatoon 2 were mentioned. XC2 looks alright, but the character designs and selection are pretty disappointing -- seriously, after having that great character creator in XCX, why in the world did Monolith-soft think that forcing players to play as the generic annoying young anime protagonist guy who you have to be in this game was a good idea? It's not! The character art is also not very good, and I know that's an issue XC and XCX have to some degree as well but this might be worse. The actual gameplay looks like classic XC stuff though, and that's good because they are pretty good games.
As for Mario, well, it looks like an open-world Mario game, very much like Marios 64 or Sunshine but with one major new mechanic, that you can throw your hat and possess many types of monsters with it, or turn into electricity and travel down power lines and the like. You can also turn flat and go into 2d segments of levels. The game looks really good of course, and it's great to see Nintendo return to this 3d Mario style after so long away. I'm sure the gameplay will be very well polished, and the variety of stages is good. That story is TERRIBLE though, there is no excuse for "rescue the princess" AGAIN in this series. No, it is not okay. The whole 'wedding' and 'evil wedding planner villains' ideas are amusing, sure, but they do not take away from that core problem. And only being able to play as Mario is a definite disappointment too; just being able to take over enemies isn't quite the same, though it is a pretty good gameplay concept. On the other hand, though, it's cool that Pauline appears in this game (for the first time in a main-series Mario game?), and as Mayor of New Donk City, no less. That's a step up from her previous appearances.
Apart from the story though there isn't much to criticize about the game. If I wanted to mention a few things though... hmm. Well, the "Mario 64 but new" idea is awesome because I love 3d platformers, and there have been far too few Mario 3d platformers with big open levels like those. It does mean that the game isn't doing new things like Galaxy and 3D Land/World do, though; it's "like Mario 64 or Sunshine, but newer and with enemy takeovers". That's really awesome and the game looks fantastic, but whether or not it's better than those games (and that's a very high bar, but the game could meet it!) it is true. Of course, Nintendo has overused some Mario gameplay ideas, in particular the New Super Mario Bros. series, so this one is very overdue for a return.
As for the graphics, Mario Odyssey looks really good (for its hardware), but it doesn't have that glowing shine of 3D World or Mario Kart 8. I guess some criticize that 'plasticy' look, but I thought those games look amazing. This time that shine isn't there, and what you do have is a mix of styles, with different looks in each of the games' worlds some more realistic and some less. The worlds they showed here at E3, the city and desert, both look very nice though so that's fine. Once they release it will, however, be interesting to compare this game to Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battle, which has that 'shiny' look to it (and looks fantastic).
But for the most part, Mario Odyssey looks like a really, really fun, classic 3d adventure platformer in a way the Mario hasn't seen in 15 years. There have been a lot of Mario games in the past decade-plus, but this is quite different from all of them in a lot of ways and that's great. I mean, I'm playing Mario 3D World and Mario Maker now and both are REALLY amazing games, easily among the better games in the genre, and I hope Nintendo makes another Mario Maker game soon, but I wanted the Mario 64 style to return as well and it finally is! I wonder though, after the (in my opinion wrongly, the game is outstanding) mixed reception Yooka-Laylee got, do people still want open-world 3d platformers? We'll see later this year I guess. I hope it does great.