Yes, it finally happened – we finally got a Nintendo Direct on Thursday. This is the first of which we have seen since former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata passed away. Everybody knew that this direct would be a big deal for Nintendo. If Nintendo screwed up like they seemed to do at E3, then the company could be in trouble for 2016 and everything leading up to the NX could be a total fluke. However, after having seen this direct, I think it’s safe to say that Nintendo is back on track with pleasing their gamers.
First and foremost, we had Twilight Princess HD officially confirmed and revealed for the first time. Interestingly, the rumors about Twilight Princess HD being uncovered by a data miner were actually found to be true. Thankfully, Nintendo did not keep us waiting any longer with this game and decided to reveal it yesterday. The game does look alarmingly similar with only minor touch-ups. However, I truly believe that this is not just a pretty remake – I believe this game will be a remastered version of Twilight Princess. I expect the little things to be cleaned up – improvements on the boring wolf parts, prevent fighting music from interrupting Midna’s Lament, and glitch fixes to name a few. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more information on this soon.
Also, unlike what Nintendo did at E3, they finally decided to recognize the existence of Zelda Wii U. Even though we saw a mere 10 seconds of the game, it just puts my heart at peace to see that this game exists. Also, those simple 10 seconds were enough to debunk a lot of rumors – “Zelda Wii U is coming to the NX instead,” “Zelda Wii U might undergo a major art-style change,” and “Zelda Wii U won’t come out until 2017,” to name a few. It puts a lot of rumors to rest to hear the confirmation that Zelda Wii U is still coming to the Wii U, the art style has not changed (and it actually looks cleaner from what we saw), and the game will come out in 2016. Nintendo is working really hard to live up to the standards of the 30th anniversary of the Zelda franchise.
In addition, Zelda fans that want a female Link are finally getting what they wanted. For Hyrule Warriors: Legends, “Linkle” was officially announced as a character that resembles a female link who uses a crossbow as a weapon. Personally, I’m not a fan of Linkle. Linkle was something people hoped for, and fans finally got it because the producers gave in. In my opinion, I think that leaves too much room for evolution of gaming if the producers try please all of the fans. However, for a lot of other people, this was a big deal and they love it. I’m not a part of this hype, but good for them.
Zelda seemed to be the real highlight of the night, but we also saw some other great content from Nintendo. For example, Star Fox Zero was shown off once again and the game looks incredible. I’ve never played Star Fox and I’m already sold on this game. Also, Nintendo is actually doing a decent job at trying to keep the Wii U alive. Before I’ve stated that I think Nintendo is beating a dead horse with the Wii U, but I see the logic in trying to sell bundles of games with the Wii U, especially around the time of Black Friday. We also saw some Super Smash Bros content – the real highlight was the fact that Cloud from Final Fantasy was confirmed as an incoming character for the game.
I think Nintendo really cleaned up its act in times of hardship. People have to remember that companies can fall hard very easily with things like the passing of the president. However, Nintendo did not let this set them back – they kept quiet for a while, but they picked themselves back up and I think they’re ready to dive head first into 2016 with a fresh start. So, what do you think about Nintendo’s future? Do you think Nintendo has a bright future? What are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments.
