Nintendo always makes a few stops in Toronto every year to give local media a taste of what it showed at the big conferences like E3 or the Tokyo Game Show. On Tuesday afternoon the company set up shop with a mix of upcoming releases (Star Fox Zero, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash and Super Mario Maker to name a few) with a few tried and tested successes like Splatoon and Super Smash Bros.
If there’s one thing Nintendo seems to understand better than anyone, it’s that gaming should first and foremost be about fun. I’d classify myself as a bit more than a casual gamer, but I don’t like to be punished by having to learn a million different button combinations.
That’s why Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash (due out sometime during the holiday season) will probably inspire the same friendship-strengthening/ruining chaos as Mario Kart. In the demo I played I could choose either Mario or Bowser for singles play (Peach and Toad are available when playing doubles). The gameplay is pretty simple, but being a Mario game, there’s plenty of twists. The characters can pull off highly improbable shots and even grow to twice their size — when you’re playing against Bowser, facing his giant form can feel downright intimidating.
The other “sport” I played was a bit less thrilling. Metroid: Blast Ball is a small part of the upcoming Metroid Prime: Federation Force, which in turn is maybe not the Metroid installment fans wanted. Anyway, Blast Ball involves your team of three going against three computers (or three humans) as you — surprise — blast a ball around, attempting to get it into your opponent’s goal. You can also shoot your opponents to stop them in their tracks and even disable them briefly. The computers were punishingly difficult, which made my experience less than thrilling, but it might be more fun if you can find five other people to play with.
I didn’t get to try out Super Mario Maker, but what I saw others do shows this could be an answer to LittleBig Planet thanks to its extensive level-design capabilities. Want to make your level so hard you can only get across it by strategically jumping on winged Koopas? Want a level inhabited by giant Goombas? Want to play (for some reason) as Link? You can do all of those things and more.
Star Fox Zero is perhaps the most hotly anticipated release from Nintendo, and sadly I could not get a hands-on look, but it seems to take greater advantage of the Wii U gamepad. The TV will help make the spaceflights and terrain navigation a lot prettier, while you can target enemies by looking down at the gamepad. There will likely be a bit of a learning curve there. There are also some new forms your Arwing can take — as shown above, it now has a walking mode, which is exactly what it sounds like.
Finally, there’s Yoshi’s Woolly World, due for release October 16, 2015. It feels like this game has been in development forever (or at least a year), but it still looks as impressive as ever with its “knitted” look. The mechanics of previous Yoshi games haven’t changed much, but Woolly World promises some new surprises, like a ghost level that reveals platforms and enemies only so long as a light is shining on them.
With the “NX” console some ways into the future, plenty of iconic characters will be competing for your attention until the time comes.
