Nintendo Holiday Media Event

Super Smash Bros. For Wii U

Developer: SoraLtd, Bandai Namco

Publisher: Nintendo

Release: November 21, 2014

Platform: Wii U

The highlight of Nintendo’s holiday lineup is undoubtedly the much anticipated Wii U entry of Super Smash Bros., fittingly titled Super Smash Bros. For Wii U. Recently Nintendo produced a half-hour long video detailing some of the things unique about the Wii U version of Smash Bros. One of those things was the revelation that for the first time in series history Smash Brothers will feature multiplayer matches of up to eight players. Those familiar with the franchise know how frantic and hectic four player matches already are but the scale of eight player brawls is truly something that must be seen to be believed. Not only can there be eight players on screen at once, there are massive stages that accommodate this new dynamic. Stages like the Gaur Plains and Big Battlefield provide ample room for large scale Melees. Speaking of Melees, fan favourites like Hyrule Temple and Onett from the GameCube entry return and work extremely well in big battles, not to mention the fact that they look better than ever. This was the first time I was able to play Smash Bros for Wii U with the GameCube controller and it works exactly like it did in both Melee and Brawl. As for the Wii U Gamepad, during gameplay it can either mirror the television or display character information and stats similar to the bottom screen for Smash Bros. For 3DS.

Along with the game itself Nintendo was showcasing a few examples of their upcoming “amiibo” figures which can most easily be described as Nintendo’s take on NFC figurines akin to those required to play Activision’s Skylanders games. Most of the figures there looked very good in person. With the exception of the Link figure, they all felt and looked like high quality figurines with great sculpted details and fairly intricate paint applications. The link figure was the weakest due to the fact that he’s just a much more complicated character design which is always more difficult to get right and smaller bits and pieces like his sword and shield feel flimsy and frail. Each aiimbo figure can be used in Smash for Wii U and some will be used for other games as well. For example, the Mario and Yoshi figures will be compatible with Mario Kart 8 and Link will be compatible with Hyrule Warriors, though Nintendo has still not gone into detail about how the aiimbo will interface will games outside of Smash Bros. As for how they work in Smash, the aiimbo are essentially training partners that you can train and level up to fight a friend’s amiibo. The aiimbo’s battle style takes on the form of the people it fights with the most. For example, if you perform grab moves a lot, your amiibo will emulate that behaviour. The amiibo level-cap is 50, so those who think a level 9 computer is no problem, a maxed out amiibo may offer you the challenge you’re looking for.

Pokemon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire

Developer: Game Freak Inc.

Publisher: Nintendo

Release: November 21, 2014

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

The biggest game of the holidays for Wii U is obviously Super Smash Bros. But for Nintendo 3DS there’s nothing bigger than Pokemon and November 21^st will play host to not only the acclaimed Nintendo slam-fest but also the release of the Nintendo 3DS remakes of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. Ruby and Sapphire are now Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and they look and play better than they ever did. The third generation of Pokemon was never a personal favourite, mostly because it felt like a step backward from the content rich Gold and Silver version. There were far less Pokemon to capture, the day and night cycle was removed and the region of Hoenn was much smaller than the combination of Kanto and Johto that players were spoiled with previously. These remakes, however, are not only the definitive versions of Pokemon`s third generation, they feel like a genuine step forward. The expansion of the mega evolution concept from X & Y and the introduction of fully analog movement and the abolition the eight-way digital grid bring small yet much needed advancements to the series.

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U) / Shattered Crystal (3DS)

Developer: Big Red Button (Rise of Lyric) / Sanzaru (Shatterd Crystal)

Publisher: SEGA

Release: November 11, 2014 (North America)

Platform: Wii U & Nintendo 3DS

Sega was one of the few third party companies with something to show and it was two new Sonic games, Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the Nintendo 3DS and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U. Both Sonic Boom titles correspond with the launch of a Sonic Boom cartoon series this fall and represent an effort by Sega to introduce the company mascot to a new generation of Sonic fans. The Nintendo 3DS title and its Wii U counterpart are completely different games developed by different studios. The Wii U version runs on Crytek’s Cry Engine 3 and is being developed by Big Red Button Entertainment, a studio comprised veterans from places like Naughty Dog (Jak & Daxter, Uncharted) and High Impact Games (Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters). The Nintendo 3DS title is developed Sanzaru, a studio which primarily has PS2 posts of PSP games as some of its most notable achievements. The differences don’t stop there, the two games play completely differently and tell unique stories. Rise of Lyric (Wii U)  plays a lot like PlayStation platformer favourites like Jak & Daxter or Ratchet & Clank and not much like the modern Sonic titles we’re used to. Both games let you play as four characters, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Amy and they all have special abilities that are utilized in combat and puzzle solving. You can change the character on the fly and there’s drop-in/drop-out co-op for those who’d like to play the game together with a friend. Rise of Lyric maybe running on Cry Engine 3 but it doesn’t show, the game looks brutal in spots and jagged edges and poor textures are common. It’s not that the game is ugly, in fact the in-engine cut scenes and character models are impressive, the problem is that such quality is inconsistent. While Rise of Lyric may be a 3D platformer, Shattered Crystal (3DS) harkens back to classic 2D Sonic titles and especially takes inspiration from Sonic games of the DS era. While the four character puzzle solving dynamic is still there, Shattered Crystal puts a much higher emphasis on speedy sonic-style platforming than its console counterpart and is the much safer bet for established Sonic fans.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo

Publisher: Nintendo

Release: December 05, 2014

Platform: Wii U

Captian Toad is getting his own game and anyone who played last year’s Mario masterpiece, Super Mario 3D World shouldn’t be surprised. Captain Toad Treasure Tracker takes the sporadic puzzle levels from 3D World and expands them into their own full retail title. You’ll Play as Captain Toad, the most adorable fungal life form in the Nintendoverse. The captain is on the hunt for gold coins and stars but unlike Mario and his gang he can’t jump, run or fight his way to victory. What he can do is traverse mazes and solves 3D puzzles that play around with perceptive by moving the camera around and revealing hidden secrets and paths. Nintendo also revealed that Toadette was also playable and would play much like his male counterpart. Nintendo has also said the game will be aiimbo compatible but what that compatibility pertains is unknown for now. Both Captain Toad and Toadette are very endearing characters with a lot of personality. The toads react with glee, fear and anger depending on the context of whats happening around them and details like that are what will make many people fall in love with Treasure Tracker when it releases on December 5^th (North America).