Hype and cynicism galore.
This was some Direct, huh? When the stream wasn't working quite right for me until the last minute, I guessed we were getting a 10-minute Reggie show with an Animal Crossing release date and the reveal of the inevitable surprise summer game. And when Iwata came on with his 2013 Club Nintendo Platinum hat calling this the "Year of Luigi," and following it with 10 minutes of Luigi's Mansion talk, I thought Iwata was just hyping up the 3DS sequel. As we now know, I was wrong. Wonderfully, wonderfully wrong.
After Luigi's Mansion, we were greeted with a Mario & Luigi game, a Mario golf game, and some New Super Mario Bros. U DLC. Let's go down the list.
Thank goodness for the fact that we're finally getting a real Mario RPG after the Miyamoto-based trash that was Sticker Star. While AlphaDream is an incredibly talanted studio that has made great games, I am curious about how this title turns out. The new gimmick looks like as cool a twist as the one in Bowser's Inside Story—if they do it right. Ultimately, I'm hoping this game retains all the great RPG action and writing of the first three titles (even Partners in Time!) while naturally evolving the series to keep it fresh. In other words, I would like the changes to be a healthy balance between the stale New Super Mario Bros. 2 and the let's-change-the-genre of Sticker Star. Not too much, and not too little. One cool idea would be to take the Luigi's psyche thing really seriously, to the point where the final boss is a manifestation of Luigi's inferiority complex. If anyone can give character development to Mario characters, AlphaDream can.
Lastly, I'm especially happy that the art style is staying the same even with the platform shift. Too many 3DS games take the 3D so seriously that the final product ends up having some tasteless, 3D model-ridden, faux-Gamecube type style (think Fire Emblem, Mario Tennis, and the upcoming Mystery Dungeon game).
Mario Golf: World Open Grand Super Tour
We're not getting an RPG mode, are we?
New Super Luigi (Rehash) U DLC
I like the idea of 80 new levels from the better NSMB team, but price is key. 25 would probably be my limit, but they're going to squeeze 30 out of me. And inevitably, I will pay that money for this well-designed professional ROM hack and get disappointed when I remember how tired I am of this series. I would be way more excited for a 2D platformer that stars Luigi and does interesting things not seen in other Nintendo platformers.
Starting the summer of Nintendomination is a new entry in the immortally excellent Animal Crossing series. I can wait until June 9, but it looks like I'll have to get it at a GameStop in California thanks to E3 shenanigans happening at the exact same time. It'll be great.
It's gonna be good because Game Freak is on it. My wallet is going to be hurting when it's inevitably priced at 20 dollars, but oh well.
Dillon's Rolling Western 2 (Or Whatever)
Who cares? Maybe you do, but I sure don't.
Since it's a port of my favorite Wii game ever, I'll buy it on cartridge for 40 dollars on day one. There probably won't be new content, but it will be a good distraction for after I get bored of Mario Golf and for before Mario & Luigi comes out in mid-September.
Sylveon
It's not part of the Nintendo Direct, but the NOA announcement about this new Eeveelution for Pokémon X and Y came moments before the Direct. All I have to say is that it's going to be a new type. That's not official news, and there is a slight chance of it being Normal, but it is probably going to be a new type. Be ready for it.
Despite my cynicism, I liked this Direct even better than the Wii U one. Mario & Luigi is going to be great (I think), DKCR 3D is going to give me the pleasure of not having to plug in my Wii sensor bar, and a New Leaf release date is making me excited for when I have to inevitably pick a Game of the Year between it and Grand Theft Auto V.
