Of all the three big game company media events, Nintendo had the most to prove, mostly to non-fans and journalists who believe the Wii U is “dead” when the console has yet to show off all it can do. Well, Nintendo’s showing was pretty impressive on a few fronts as you’ll see above, below and later on when I run individual videos. The new (and untitled) installment in the classic Legend of Zelda with its open world and lush visuals was the biggest surprise to me, but Bayonetta 2 packing the full version of the first game enhanced with Nintendo-themed outfits for the character (and coming in September on a single disc). Hyrule Warriors looks spectacular, Yoshi’s Wooly World activated my “D’awwwww” gene (dormant for a while) and will be the first stupidly cute game I’ll pick up in quite some time.
The big JRPG X, now officially known as Xenoblade Chronicles X has slipped into 2015, but this is a good thing at the end of the day because it gives Wii U owners time to get through a few other big releases. I’m not normally a Smash Bros. fan, but the newly announced ability to use custom Miis in the game makes my eyebrow tingle (which means I’ll at least TRY this one out). A few new IPs like Mario Maker, Splatoon and others kept me grinning and overall, it was a successful show, closing with Miyamoto teasing his Star Fox game without actually showing it up close. Anyway, enjoy the show – back in a bit…