This year for E3, Nintendo hosted a special E3 Spotlight, and immediately followed that Spotlight with a Treehouse Live event. In this recap, I'll be covering the announcements from both of these events in the order that they happened.
Spotlight
Nintendo started their pre-recorded Spotlight show with a sizzle real of some games coming to the Nintendo Switch. While we already knew most of these games were coming to the Switch, one pleasant surprise was the reveal that Rocket League will be coming to the console soon. The sizzle reel also showed the games ARMS, Pokken Tournament DX, FIFA 18, and Splatoon 2.The next big announcement was Xenoblade Chronicles 2, from the development studio Monolith Soft. The trailer showed a bit of gameplay and also gave us a look into what the story might entail. We saw the main characters, what we can assume is the main villain, and also that everybody seems to be trying to get to a place called Elysium. The trailer ended saying the game will come out Holiday 2017.
Next up, a brand new 2D Kirby game was announced for the Nintendo Switch. The game was revealed through a trailer that showed that the game will have multiplayer, but it also looks like you'll be able to recruit other characters in the game to help you, even if you don't have a friend to play with. The trailer ended saying that Kirby for Nintendo Switch will come out sometime during 2018.
Nintendo then slyly teased that the studio GameFreak, the developers of most mainline Pokemon games, is currently working on a core RPG Pokemon title for the Switch. However, Nintendo also clarified that this game could still be a ways away. No release date was set and no trailer or gameplay was shown for this untitled game.
Also in the vein of Pokemon, Nintendo showed footage of Pokken Tournament Deluxe that will be coming to the Switch soon. Two people can play on the same Switch using one joycon each, and the game is playable on the Nintendo show floor at E3.
Metroid Prime 4 was confirmed to be in development during the Spotlight event. The teaser trailer didn't show any gameplay, nor did it give a release window for the game. It simply said that it was in development. Still, this is sure to be one of the most anticipated games moving forward. The game is in development for the Nintendo Switch only according to the trailer.
A new Yoshi game, apparently just called Yoshi, was then shown off for the first time. It looks like this game is a 2.5D platformer/puzzle game. It also seems that you'll be able to play this game with at least one other person and do things like flip the perspective of the map. This game is slated for release sometime in 2018.
Fire Emblem Warriors was then showed off for the Switch with a trailer. It will have characters from a bunch of past Fire Emblem games, as well as a couple new characters. It is being developed by Koei Tecmo and will come of during the fall season of this year.
Two new DLC expansion packs were then showed off for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Both of the packs will come out for both the WiiU and Switch versions of the game.
The first DLC pack is Master Pass. The expansion looks like it will feature some arena combat challenges. It's hard to tell what exactly the expansion will consist of other than a new mode and some new armor from just this trailer, however.
The same applies to the second DLC pack, titled The Champions Ballad. The trailer for this expansion showed a couple of the main characters from Breath of the Wild, but didn't provide much detail.
Nintendo will also be launching some new Amiibo figures of some of the main champions from Breath of the Wild.
Next up, Reggie Fils-Aimé, the president of Nintendo of America, talked about a couple of tournaments that Nintendo will be hosting during E3. Today, the Splatoon 2 World Inkling Invitational will take place with teams from many different countries competing against each other. Wednesday will be a Pokken tournament, and there will be an ARMS invitational on Thursday.
Then, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was shown off again. The game was already shown off during Ubisoft's conference, and this new trailer didn't really give us any new information. This game will be exclusive to the Switch and comes out on August 29th, 2017.
Teased at the beginning of the show, Rocket League was formally revealed for the Nintendo Switch next. Two people from Psyonix said that the game will include some exclusive content for the Switch, including new items and cars. Also, the Switch version will support cross network play, as well as local wireless multiplayer. It will come out for the Switch during the holiday season this year.
To close out the Spotlight event, Nintendo showed us a new trailer for Super Mario Odyssey. The trailer revealed that Mario will actually get to take control over certain objects that he throws his hat on, including a Bullet Bill, a frog, and a T-rex. It also showcased a couple new kingdoms, including a black and white kingdom.
The trailer closed by revealing that we can expect Super Mario Odyssey to come out on October 27th, 2017.
Treehouse Live
Super Mario Odyssey closed out the Spotlight event, so it only makes sense that it would lead off the Treehouse Live stream. Two developers of the game were on the panel, allowing us a special insight into the development of this hugely anticipated 3D platformer. A full gameplay demo was also shown for the game.The demo started in New Donk City, a kingdom modeled after New York City. In this setting, we saw that Mario can use his hat to ride rocket ships to play through small side-levels. Upon completing this side-level, Mario picked up a moon, which is apparently the fuel you use to power your ship, which is named the Odyssey. The Odyssey is used to get you to different kingdoms.
We also got to see a bit of how traversal will work in Odyssey. For example, Mario can use his hat to ride along electrical wires to get up skyscrapers. The hat can also break things and help you take control of enemies in Odyssey.
Another thing we saw in this demo was the fact that there are two different types of coins in Super Mario Odyssey. The gold coins can be used in any kingdom, while the purple coins can only be used in the kingdom that you picked them up in. Also, for the first time in a Mario game, the coins can actually be used to buy stuff like new outfits at stores littered around the world.
Next, the demo took us to a dessert kingdom and showed us a more traditional Mario level. There, we saw Mario control Bullet Bills to cross gaps. Also, it was revealed that there will be 2D platforming sections mixed in with the 3D platforming. Mario can simply morph into the wall Link Between Worlds-style and begin platforming like he would in any other 2D Mario game.
The demo ended with a boss fight. The mini-bosses at the end of each big level are part of a group called The Brutals, which was described as an evil wedding planning firm hired by Bowser. The boss battle itself looked like something out of a Super Mario Sunshine level, and once you beat the boss, you get a grand moon, which is worth three normal moons.
Lastly for Super Mario Odyssey, three new Amiibos were revealed for the game showcasing Mario, Peach, and Bowser in wedding attire. These Amiibos will work for the game, as will a select few older Amiibos.
Next, Reggie revealed that a new Metroid game will come out soon for the 3DS, titled Metroid: Samus Returns. This is a complete re-imagining of of Metroid 2: Return of Samus, which came out for the Gameboy in 1991. This new 3DS game is a true, 2D Metroidvania-style Metroid game.
A couple of new features showed off in the gameplay demo include the ability for Samus to aim her gun in any direction, not just at 45 degree angles like in previous Metroid games. Also, this game is adding Aeion abilities, which include abilities like the Scan Pulse, which reveals paths on the map for Samus that she can't see. You can melee counter enemies now, too.
The demo also featured a couple of boss battles against metroids.
Next, two new Amiibos were revealed for the game, including an Amiibo of a Metroid and a Samus Amiibo in her Metroid 2 pose. Also, Nintendo revealed a special edition for the game which includes a soundtrack with 25 tracks from a wide array of Metroid games, as well as a reversible cover.
Next up for the Treehouse Live event, Nintendo showed off some more gameplay from Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. There was also a gameplay demo shown off during Ubisoft's press conference, however, and this new demo didn't really show off any new features.
Lastly, Fire Emblems Warriors gameplay was shown off. This game takes Fire Emblem characters, both old and new, and puts them in Dynasty Warrior-like settings. There's plenty of hacking and slashing, just like in past games in the Warriors franchise. Two new Amiibos were also shown off for the game.
If you want to know more about this and other announcements happening at E3 then be sure to check out our E3 2017 Coverage Hub.
