Topic: Nintendo E3 2010

[RichterB]

All right, Nintendo's E3 press conference is over...

ZELDA: Despite technical difficulties (and I'm positive they were just that), Zelda's new motion-control system looks like a welcome change. I watched the additional after-show coverage where they talked about making the gameplay more dense than Twilight Princess (which had a lot of space, but little to do within it), and feel it's going in the right direction. I can't tell yet from the videos how the graphics will look. They don't turn me off like Wind Waker, but they're also not what I was expecting. It may be a good middle ground, though. I hope the rumors of a more open world design, without the being solely pushed to traditional dungeon point A to B, are true. I have a feeling this game as a whole is very early in development. I wouldn't be surprised if it takes another half-year or more to get it out.

MARIO SPORTS MIX: This could be a lot of fun, and I like that they beefed it up from one sport to mulitple sports--especially volleyball and basketball.

KIRBY: Looks great visually, but it doesn't appear to be my cup of tea. Not sure Kirby is best served this way...

DONKEY KONG: When I heard rumors of this, I hoped that Retro Studios would be taking it back to the Original Donkey Kong, or maybe a more focused full 3D effort than the fun but frustrating/overwhelming DK64. Instead, it's a solid-looking game, but nothing for me to get too excited for.

METROID: This game is looking better and better. Most impressive of show. Can't wait. Hope it delivers.

3DS: It all sounds good. I'll wait to see a solid lineup of games that are released. It would be interesting to see Metal Gear come to this.

KID ICARUS: Hmm...Fantastic, and yet slightly disappointing. I like everything I saw, but hoped for exploration elements, as well. It looks like this is a Star Fox-type game instead. I listened to the after-show interview with Sakurai, and I'm happy they went ahead and took on the challenge and the risk, though.

All and all...
Solid showing. BUT WHERE WAS PIKMIN 3??? Also, my fears are confirmed that DS/DSi/DSiXL aren't going to get much big-time support now. I had hoped for another, more complete Mario Bros for DS prior to 3DS. Fat chance now.

[Abnormal Freak]

So far I've only watched trailers for Skyward Sword and Kirby's Epic Yarn, as well as the demonstration for the former. That showcase of Zelda's controls sure was bad. I'm hoping it was just signal interference or something... I can't imagine Nintendo wanting to show off something that didn't work. Even so, I really don't care for motion controls, and would prefer just to have a regular controller. The graphics look great, though. I love that it's a more cel-shaded version of Twilight Princess, which was also cel-shaded but less cartoony.

Kirby looks mind blowing, ha ha. I love the whole yarn look and think it's a wonderful extension of the colored pencil look used in Kirby's Dream Land 3. Although this game's visual style is also a functional gameplay element, which is really cool. I'm all over this when it comes out. I love Kirby and am all for more sidescrollers on the Wii.

Gonna go check out Donkey Kong Country Returns now.

Edit: Aaaaand, the new DKC looks great, ha ha. The DKC trilogy are some of my favorite games, so a return to that formula is fine by me.

[shelverton.]

Is there a good place to watch these trailers? I checked gametrailers but couldn't find anything on Zelda or Kid Icarus for example...

[Abnormal Freak]

I've just been looking them up on YouTube.

[shelverton.]

Ah, of course. I completely forgot about youtube, lol.
It's like forgetting the url to Google.

[corneliab]

That Zelda trailer was a piece of shit. Sort of killed my buzz for the whole conference.

[Abnormal Freak]

It's funny how my reaction can be, "That looks really cool," and someone else can say, "What a load of garbage"—ha ha.

[shelverton.]

Zelda looked like Zelda. I'm sure the added motion controls will make the game unique, but overall it looked like Twilight Princess for a younger audience. Dunno. It's probably a great game, they usually are.

[Profbeanburrito]

I was really impressed by everything Nintendo showed, except for Zelda. the Metroid trailer looked great, Kirby and Kid Icarus looked fantastic, and the revival of Donkey Kong Country was very surprising. Plus the 3DS looks like it's going to be very impressive.

I know I'll be getting all of these things.

[RichterB]

After looking more closely at Zelda Skyward Sword...I've decided I don't like the visual style as much as Twilight Princess. Kinda peeved, because the more I look at it, the more it reminds me of Wind Waker. Oh well.

[Abnormal Freak]

I like it 'cos it's cartoony. Nothing wrong with that, really. But it still has the design work of Twilight Princess.

[Kale]

It's a mix of Twilight's detail with Wind Waker's coloring. I like it.... not as much as Twilight's but I like it.

[Abnormal Freak]

What I like about it is just how colorful it is. Most games now consist of gray, blue, and brown steely corridors, and honestly, that was boring to look at five years ago, these days it just makes my brain numb.

I'm sick of shaved-headed protagonists, too.

And God bless Nintendo for sticking with something that's visually appealing and not the so-called "realistic" approach everyone else has been doing all these years—which doesn't make sense because real life consists of so many colors.

Film directors like Mario Bava and Dario Argento understood the use of color and using it to set a mood. Why can't games follow a similar approach? And what's wrong with a game looking like a cartoon? I just don't get some people's complaints. :o

[RichterB]

What I like about it is just how colorful it is. Most games now consist of gray, blue, and brown steely corridors, and honestly, that was boring to look at five years ago, these days it just makes my brain numb.

I'm sick of shaved-headed protagonists, too.

And God bless Nintendo for sticking with something that's visually appealing and not the so-called "realistic" approach everyone else has been doing all these years—which doesn't make sense because real life consists of so many colors.

Film directors like Mario Bava and Dario Argento understood the use of color and using it to set a mood. Why can't games follow a similar approach? And what's wrong with a game looking like a cartoon? I just don't get some people's complaints.

Here's where I stand: Twilight Princess was a tad drab and its art design a tad too goofy/sci-fi (IE: Midna and the Shadow Beasts). Moreover, it's game design with the Wolf and Twili realm were derivative and distracting, hurting from the stronger points of the game, which also suffered from emptiness. However, I liked that it was trying to go with a more serious/darker tone--which I think older Zeldas (particularly #2 and #3, but also the more recent OOT and MM) had. It wasn't really a question of "realism" as Miyamoto and others say, but rather a question of "how much stylization." They showed us this great image of what to expect a year ago, but the game does not match it: http://www.raurusreturn.net/images/zelda-wii.jpg

I don't want macho/macabre fair like God of War...but I want to take Link's quest seriously. Granted, I've enjoyed adventures of his like Minish Cap, but feel it's time to capture the feel of Adult Link as an "everyman knight" like in the old days, when he would square off against the fearsome knights and monsters from The Adventures of Link. By having things too bright and having color blends taking away textures, it hurts that feel of a dangerous quest. They were close to my visual expectation of what Link looked like in TP, they just needed some minor tweaks and more inspired game design...but now, it's back to a big question mark. My only hope is that the game becomes suitably moody and epic in the larger land. If I wanted a colorful, happy-go-lucky world with Disney-esque enemies, I'd go with the DS games. The colors are one thing, but when they inspire the enemies to look inept and comical, that's two strikes. With the Wii's slight power advantage, it shouldn't look less detailed than its Gamecube game predecessor TP). I mean, no one complained when OOT and MM tried to make the series realistic..it kept a balance. So why do we have to shift more toward WW? I just hope it all works out. Thankfully, I think they're getting the combat ideas right...now if only they'd add a JUMP button!

To illustrate my point: As far back as Zelda II, there were these art pieces informing my mind of what Zelda ultimately looked like...
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/Goriya%20Fight1.jpg
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/Link%20Fights%20Boss%20-%20resized.jpg
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/Battle%20-%20resized.jpg
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/Crystal%20Statue%20-%20re.jpg

*OOT did nothing to dissuade that much:
http://yousaysummer.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/zelda4_2.jpg
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/volvagia-fire-dragon-artwork-zelda-ocarina-of-time-big.jpg

[Abnormal Freak]

I'd hate to have the ability to jump in a Zelda game. ;) There's just no need for it.

For me, TP was dark enough. It's a game that I think has a great deal of mood and atmosphere. You make a Zelda game any more visually dark and it just ceases to be Zelda. I'm fine with Nintendo wanting to change things a bit; I wouldn't expect more of the same as TP or further steps in that direction.