Well with a typical 24 hours' notice a shiny new Nintendo Direct descended upon us last night, bringing with it a host of news, updates and release dates. With some big titles coming this year for the troubled console, it was encouraging to see plenty of Wii U-specific news. So let's dive in and take a look at what was revealed, *gestures* directly.
Super Smash Bros. gets a new character
First up was the announcement of a new fighter joining the roster for the upcoming Nintendo fuelled beat 'em up, Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS. Joining a roster of characters that ranges from Sonic, Kirby, and Mario to the lesser known Animal Crossing Villager and Wii Fit Trainer, is Little Mac, star of the ancient NES boxing title Punch-Out!! (yes, with two exclamation marks) that was revitalised on the SNES and most recently on the Wii. The diminutive scrapper looks to be bringing a whole host of jabs, uppercuts and K.O.'s to the brawl, as well as generally floating like a butterfly and stinging like a, well, you get the picture: he's a boxer. It's nice to see a brand new character join the game, as recent reveals have been of characters who've already featured in previous Smash Bros games. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long to get to grips with Little Mac (and his trainer, Doc Louis, as he seems to be along for the ride), although the eagerly anticipated Super Smash Bros still doesn't have a locked in release date.
Mario Kart 8 sets a date
A game that finally does have a release date is Mario Kart 8. Arriving pretty much as late in "Spring" as it's possible to get, May 30th, the game looks as good as ever. Introduced in the obligatory flashy new trailer are a whopping seven new playable characters (even if they are a little bit similar) - Bowser's Minions from the Super Mario series. While they may have names that seem to have been plucked from a 90s metal band, Larry, Iggy, Morton, Wendy, Ludwig, Roy and Lemmy should be familiar to Nintendo fans, as they've been causing headaches for the Mario Bros. since the NES days. This is the first time they're appearing as playable characters though, and it looks as though they've all aced their driving tests, ready to cause havoc on the Mario Kart raceway. It's a handy way to fill out seven spaces on the character roster for the upcoming racer, but we hope that each minion has their own characteristics otherwise it could be a waste of character slots. Mario Kart 8 is a biggie for the Wii U, and it looks as though it'll be worth the wait when it zips over the finish line in May.
NES Remix 2 approaches
Hot on the heels of the surprise 8-bit mini-game mash up NES Remix comes, not as some had hoped 'SNES Remix', but NES Remix 2. Obviously the first NES Remix, an eShop title that serves up bite-sized pieces of classic retro games and twists them into fiendish WarioWare-like challenges was enough of a hit to warrant a sequel. The biggest changes this time around seem to be a focus on games from later in the NES' lifespan (Super Mario Bros. 3, Kid Icarus, Kirby's Adventure and so on) and the inclusion of a complete bonus game: Super Luigi Bros. Yes, it seems like the green-clad Mario brother won't give up on the Year of Luigi just yet as this twist on the classic Super Mario Bros stars Luigi alone as he races backwards through a flipped version of the Mushroom Kingdom. Aside from the change of direction, Super Luigi Bros. will also feature Luigi's trademark high jump so there'll be a bit of adjustment required even for expert players. NES Remix 2 arrives exclusively in the eShop on April 25th.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze seems to have been the focus of much of Nintendo's marketing recently, which isn't surprising, as the simian platformer is the first high profile in-house Wii U game of the year. The game was shown off once more with brand new footage highlighting the beautiful graphics and new, "dynamic" camera. The weirdly dramatic trailer shows the furry Kongs taking exception to the banana-smashing antics of new villains the Viking-like Snowmads and traversing perilous levels to stop them. It's a title we've been looking forward to for some time, and we just hope that the series' characteristic difficulty doesn't spoil the fun. A brief mention was made of the game's online leaderboards too, so it looks like we'll be able to compare times with other players around the world. DK and the crew get down to (monkey) business on February 21st.
Game Boy Advance Virtual Console moves one step closer
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata may have recently announced that DS games would soon make the digital leap to the Wii U's Virtual Console, but before that, it seems that it's time for Nintendo to finally let Game Boy Advance titles loose on the service. The GBA was the first true successor to the trusty ol' Game Boy and was almost like a handheld SNES in terms of power - and as such, played host to a bunch of great games that we'd love to see again. It looks as though Nintendo's playing it safe to begin with though, as the only titles announced were sci-fi adventure Metroid Fusion, cute pastel platformer Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 and the wise cracking role playing game, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. More titles are promised though including, we hope, games from other developers. There are so many forgotten GBA gems that deserve a second look it would be a shame to waste this opportunity. Game Boy Advance games, presumably starting with the three mentioned above, will start appearing on the Wii U's Virtual Console in April.
The inexplicably still as yet untitled game from Monolith Soft gets a new trailer.
One of the biggest mysteries of the Wii U's upcoming line-up has been 'X'. At least that's what it was called when it was first announced. It now goes by the less enigmatic but more descriptive title of 'New Title Developed by Monolith Soft', and looks to be related at least in part to the open world RPG Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii, with the two games sharing a rather similar (if now upgraded) battle system. The new footage shown didn't have much to offer by way of hard info, but it was refreshing to see a few minutes of actual gameplay rather than a 'blink and you'll miss it' trailer. The sneak peek focused on a team of four characters sneaking up on huge alien creatures and shooting them with big shooty guns and mech suits, but we're willing to bet there's a bit more to it than that. The environment looks stunning and the game (if it ever gets finished) could be a bit of a sleeper hit for the RPG-starved Wii U.
Bayonetta 2 nets a new trailer
Rounding out the Nintendo Direct was some new information on the upcoming all-out actioneer Bayonetta 2. Fresh from comic book superhero action in The Wonderful 101, Bayonetta 2 sees developer Platinum Games return to a series that gained them even more of a cult following. While the original was a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 title, Nintendo managed to secure the sequel as a Wii U exclusive, which is frankly something no one saw coming. The titular character, an 'Umbran witch' who has revolvers built into her leather boots and beats the you-know-what out of angels and demons alike doesn't exactly fit with Mario and co. but nevertheless, the game wouldn't have come about without Nintendo's involvement, and it's good to see some more diverse games headed to the Wii U. From the action shown, the game looks similar to the previous title: frantic 3D action, masses of combat, special moves and a striking art style. There's no news yet as to whether the first game will be ported to the Wii U (after all, it would make sense to let players get involved with the story from the start), but it's still a possibility. Bayonetta 2 is set to arrive sometime this year, and more details will doubtless be revealed in the meantime.
And that's your lot! There were no big surprises this time around, but we're willing to bet (especially in light of Nintendo's recent Investor Briefing) that the big N is holding back the big reveals until this year's E3 convention where they'll have to come out swinging as they continue to prove the worth of the Wii U.
