While Christmas may be just around the corner, it seems Nintendo aren't ready to break up for the festive season just yet, deciding to wrap up 2013 with a bang, and another Nintendo Direct. The latest in their series of online broadcasts, that bundle all the latest Nintendo news into one 30 minute show, kicked things off with a bang and kept on going - so we've broken the big news down for you into two easy to follow stories: this one, about the Wii U news, and another about the 3DS. Enjoy!
Hyrule Warriors
Taking the top spot at the very beginning of the Nintendo Direct was a title nobody saw coming. It's no secret that we're all waiting for the next instalment of the Legend of Zelda series on Wii U, but the new Zelda title revealed today, currently called 'Hyrule Warriors' is most definitely not that game. This collaboration between Nintendo and Dynasty Warriors publisher Tecmo Koei takes the massive scale and frenetic action of that series and blends it with the characters and environments of Nintendo's legendary adventure games to turn Link's adventures into a one vs thousands hack and slash brawl. The footage shown looks impressive, with Link taking on multiple enemies at once and pulling off some athletic moves, but we're not quite sold on how well the marriage will work. If it's more than just a button masher with a few minor puzzle borrowed from Zelda, this could be a pleasant surprise. It's scheduled for release some time next year, so we'll likely have more info before too long.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
One of Nintendo's biggest titles for early 2014 has to be Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Originally set to arrive on Wii U this year before being delayed, the gorgeous-looking platformer is now due for release on February 21st. We now have confirmation that Cranky Kong, (the original ape from the old Donkey Kong arcade game, fact fans) is indeed a playable character, and seems to be channelling Scrooge McDuck by indulging in a bit of cane pogo-ing as he teams up with Donkey, Diddy and Dixie against the invading Vikings, who're somewhat brilliantly dubbed the "Snowmads". In a new feature, collecting 100 bananas (take that, 5 A Day) will initiate a special 'Kong-pow' move, which transforms all enemies on screen into collectable items, and looks like a fun addition. The game looks great, with lots of visual flourishes to help it stand out from the Wii (and subsequently 3DS) original, and we're looking forward to getting our hands on it.
Sonic Lost World DLC
Sonic Lost World didn't exactly blow us away here at Everybody Plays, but there's a treat in store for fans who did pick it up on the Wii U. Two new, Nintendo themed DLC (Downloadable Content) packs are coming for the game, which promise to mix famous Nintendo series with the spiky one himself. The first, based around Nintendo-favourite Yoshi's Island has been designed to look like a stage from the SNES classic, but with modifications tailoring it to the blue blur, including Sonic's trademark loops. It's a nice little extra, made all the more sweet by the fact that it's free of charge, and available now. As for the second DLC, Nintendo President Mr Iwata would only offer a hint, emphasising that Wii U owners will be able to LINK to the eShop to download it in the New Year. Sounds like Sonic's headed to Hyrule in a Zelda-themed stage to us…
Wii Sports Club: Golf
The recently re-released Wii Sports for Wii U, Wii Sports Club, now has a new brand new addition to its line-up in the shape of Golf. One of the best of the original Wii Sports events, Golf has had a bit of an overhaul in line with the other events in the Wii Sports Club compilation, with shinier, HD graphics, accompanied by the ability to use the Wii U GamePad along with your Wii Remote Plus. Placing the GamePad on the floor lets you see a top-down view of your ball, allegedly allowing for a more accurate swing, but we'd imagine our shots will still leave a lot to be desired. Thankfully there's also a new 9 hole course available too in addition to the original Wii course, but the new content still doesn't quite justify the slightly-too-high price of £8.99. Of course, the Day Pass option is available just as with Tennis and Bowling and there's a free 24 hour trial available too, so why not give it a try - it may be already waiting in your Wii U menu thanks to the auto-download feature.
NES Remix
Best described as a mashup of the mini-games of WarioWare with the retro goodness of the Virtual Console, NES Remix takes 16 of Nintendo's best loved 8 bit games from yesteryear (Super Mario Bros., Ice Climber, Donkey Kong etc.) and chops and changes them into bite-sized challenges in this download only release. Designed around score and time attacks, you'll be playing Mario Bros. backwards, taking on giant pixelated Bowsers and scaling Donkey Kong's scaffolding as Link from The Legend of Zelda in an inventive take on old favourites. Miiverse is integral too, as these kind of games lend themselves very well to bragging about high scores and throwing down challenges to other players. The lovely retro-style Miiverse stamps are the icing on the old school cake. With 16 games included and 2 different modes (NES Stages, which keep things pretty much as they were back in the '80's, and Remix Stages which, well, mix things up even more) NES Remix is arguably the kind of game the eShop was made for. Price is an issue once again though, as it sits at a fairly steep £8.99. Still, if you yearn for the good old days of gaming but want a bit of a modern twist NES Remix could well scratch that itch. It's available exclusively on the Wii U eShop now.
Dr. Luigi
As the Year of Luigi draws to a close, Nintendo obviously feels they haven't quite done enough to honour the green-clad Mario brother yet, as Dr. Luigi, a spin on the classic Tetris-inspired Dr. Mario is coming to the Wii U in February. The core idea remains the same: line up the falling pills with germs of the same colour to make them disappear and eradicate the (seemingly extra-terrestrial) disease. Dr. Luigi, having presumably just graduated from Nintendo Medical School, tosses new capsules into play and it's up to you rotate and move them into place for maximum germ-busting effect. There's a new twist on the formula included, with 'Operation L' requiring the use of special 'L' shaped pills (basically two pills combined into one), while online play and the touchscreen controlled 'Germ Buster' modes both make a return. It's a download exclusive, but the whopping price tag of £13.49 still seems steep - especially when compared to the WiiWare release, Dr. Mario, which was around £7...
Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8
As it draws to a close, it's starting to seem like 2013 may as well have been the Year of Rosalina rather than Luigi, as the space-faring princess from the Super Mario Galaxy series appears to be popping up all over the place at the moment. Not content with a role in the excellent Super Mario 3D World, Rosalina (along with her faithful star-shaped companion Luma) is joining the ever-growing roster for upcoming Wii U brawler Super Smash Bros. A bit of Rosalina in action has been shown, and she seems quite capable of laying the smack down against the likes of Link, the Animal Crossing Villager and even her old buddies the Mario Bros when the game is released next year. It looks as though Rosalina and Luma will be able to team up for double the trouble and pull off some moves as a duo, too - and her Mario Galaxy stage looks amazing in HD!
Rosalina also makes an appearance in Mario Kart 8, the latest instalment in Nintendo's incredibly popular racing series, of which we were treated to a new trailer, and a few new details. From returning baby characters, new kart types and some gorgeous looking stages, one set in an airport (complete with planes taking off overhead) and one above the clouds in the middle of an attack by Bowser's airships, it looks as though Nintendo's gone for the 'chuck everything in' approach to a game they're hoping will make the Wii U. There's sure to be plenty of new courses to power-slide around, a selection of classic tracks from previous games, and of course the online multiplayer which made the Wii and 3DS versions so much fun. We're excited for this one, and are dusting off our Wii Wheels in anticipation.
