With only 24 hours notice, Nintendo once again held a Nintendo Direct broadcast last night at the distinctly later time of 10pm. While stream problems blighted many users, there were plenty of big new announcements you won't want to miss out on, so we've condensed them all into a single article here!
Mario Golf: World Tour adds a Castle Club
While golfing may not be the most exciting of pass times, Mario Golf has always been something of an exception, as the portly plumber and the rest of the Mario crew down tools and up clubs to fight it out over the fairway. With accessibility at its core, this about as much fun as golfing gets - and in the upcoming 3DS instalment, there'll be a new single player mode to sink your time into to boot. Known as the Castle Club, here you'll be able to play as your Mii, decking them out in all manner of dapper golfing attire before practising your shots, taking part in tournaments, or even chilling in the cafe. With a now concrete release date set for 2nd May, we won't have to wait too much longer to dust down our plus fours.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe in video
As if we weren't already pumped enough about the return of the little pink puffball, Kirby, Nintendo felt the need to break out another trailer and give us a cuteness overload all over again. This time round, the focus was on another of our perennial weaknesses - collectibles. Apparently it wasn't enough to make an entirely new game about the bad guy swallowing, power stealing, infinite jumping, world's pinkest super hero - they had to go and cram it full of collectibles, too. From sun stones to key chains, we're going to spend far much of our lives playing our way through this when it launches on 16th May.
Yoshi's New Island powers up
Now so close we can almost touch it (it launches on the 16th March), Nintendo treated us to a new trailer for Yoshi's New Island, a platformer that lets Mario's faithful green sidekick (no, not Luigi) take centre stage. Along with the charming pastel graphics and annoying Baby Mario we already knew the game featured, a few other key details were revealed during the broadcast. Firstly, the level won't feature a time limit, so you're free to spend as long as you want exploring. Secondly, that it'll be launching alongside a special, limited edition 3DS XL. And thirdly, Yoshi comes sporting a range of new power-ups, from the gyro-sensor controlled Jackhammer Yoshi, to the Mega Eggdozers, which sees Yoshi flinging a giant egg through the level, destroying almost everything in its path - scenery and baddies alike.
Pokemon Link: Battle!
While Nintendo didn't announce too many brand new games during this Nintendo Direct, they certainly made sure the ones they did were biggies. First up is a brand new, download only version of one of our favourite DS games, Pokemon Link. Mixing addictive match 3 gameplay with the gotta catch 'em all appeal of Pokemon, Pokemon Link: Battle asks you to make matches of three or more Pokemon to battle, and catch new creatures. With over 700 Pokemon to catch, and, perhaps more significantly, four player wireless co-op play, we'll be keeping a close eye out for a price for this one when it launches on 13th March.
Steel Diver: Sub Wars
Another new game, and another download only title, Steel Diver: Sub Wars is described as a first person shooter, which we guess it is, in as far as you control a submarine from periscope perspective, and fire at other subs with your torpedoes. Offering a selection of single player missions alongside both online and local wireless multiplayer modes, Nintendo surprised everyone by announcing this is available to download right now - and there's even a free demo so you can try it out for yourself.
Weapon Shop de Omasse
Rounding off the awesome selection of 3DS downloadable games was Weapon Shop de Omasse, a game that we've had our eyes on for a while, but which we never thought would hit these shores. A new title from developers Level 5, the studio that brought us Professor Layton and Ni No Kuni, Weapon Shop de Omasse is a bit of a weird one. Set within a role playing game, Weapon Shop puts you in charge of the game's, er, weapon shop, where you have to craft ever more impressive weapons for the travelling adventurers. In traditionally weird fashion, you do this by whacking at a hot piece of metal in time with a music game, with your performance determining the quality of the weapon. And you'll want to get it right - should you not give the adventurers good enough weapons, not only will they fail in their quest, but it means you also won't be paid! Set for release on 20th February, this is another interesting one to add to the 3DS's already impressive downloadable line-up.
And that's the lot! With a wide range of games set to launch over the next few weeks and months, Nintendo's handheld looks set to go from strength to strength. And they said handheld gaming would be killed by smartphones...
