#1: Inkling (Splatoon)

#2: Porky Minch (EarthBound)

Now for a not so obvious one. Ever since Porky's inclusion as a Subspace Emissary boss in Brawl, it got me thinking on why he wasn't included as a playable character. I get that he would be rather large in that spider mech he rides in Mother 3, but what about the "Heavily Armed" one in EarthBound? It's a fair bit smaller, 'bout the size of Bowser in terms of relative size, and would provide a much needed villain to represent the EarthBound series. Just give him his attacks and devices from EarthBound and Giygas's "Inexplicable Attack" as a final smash and he'd be set.

#3: Takamura (The Mysterious Murasame Castle)

#4: Krystal (Star Fox Adventures)

Probably one of the best characters to be added to the Star Fox series, and it probably helps matters that fans have wanted her in the game since Brawl. We need more varied Star Fox characters in the games. Fox and Falco are far too similar, and Wolf adds to the pile because of him having the same final smash and special moves as the other two. Krystal would bring some much needed originality through her staff skills and the help of her cloudrunner mount. Plus I don't think anyone could handle another Fox clone...

#5: Paper Mario

Think there are too many Mario characters as is? Nonsense! Besides, Paper Mario is different enough that he could be a rather unique character. Compared to regular Mario who is known for jumping, Paper Mario primarily uses a hammer when fighting. Just make Paper Mario's attacks mostly hammer based and make his specials based around the badge attacks and "curses" from The Thousand Year Door and he would be a perfect inclusion to the roster.

#6: Abraham Lincoln (Code Name S.T.E.A.M.)

#7: Captain Syrup (Wario Land)

#8: King K. Rool (Donkey Kong Country)

#9: Vaati (The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap)

#10: Isaac (Golden Sun)

#11: Black Shadow (F-Zero X)

#12: Ridley (Metroid)

This is the last villain, I promise. Now I know the memes that has spawned from Ridley not being in Smash 4, but there IS a way to incorporate him into the roster and still make him big, but not "too big." The way I see it, Ridley wasn't notable because of his size, but because of his ferocity and primal fighting instincts. Give his movement some girth to it and he could feel big while still being around Bowser's size. I've seen hacks and mods of Brawl that have Ridley being playable and they all make him into a beast because of his heavy claw swipes and footsteps. Sakurai could do the same if he had thought of that as well.

#13: Saki (Sin & Punishment)

#14: Zoroark (Pokemon Black/White)

#15: Simon Belmont (Castlevania)

Well I would like to say that that's the end of my list, but I've had some issues with how some pre-existing characters play and I believe that a few of them could benefit from some minor modifications. So here is an additional 5 characters that are already playable in the games, but I think could use a little bit of tweaking.

#1: Lucina

She is a clone of Marth in the purest sense and to me, that is EXTREMELY lazy game design. Either get rid of her in the next game, or turn her into an alternate costume for Marth. Either or, this is unacceptable in her current form.

#2: Dark Pit

Yet another clone character, but of Pit this time. A slightly slower and slightly stronger variant of an existing character does not a good fighter make. He had so much potential to be good as he had his own exclusive arsenal in Kid Icarus: Uprising with even a weapon named after him. This needs to be fixed in the next game.

#3: Ganondorf

Now even though Ganondorf is technically a clone of Captain Falcon, he's a special case as he's actually a pretty good clone. But given this fact, he's still a clone. Now with the newest games, I don't understand why he doesn't have his sword now, or why his special moves aren't more like his dark magic from Ocarina of Time or any of the games where he's Ganon. It would make him so much more interesting.

#4: Jigglypuff

To be completely honest with you, I am not a fan of this character in the slightest. She plays weird, her final smash is garbage, and Smash 4 doesn't take her new Fairy-type in to account for new attacks at all. She needs a new moveset that takes advantage of her new type; her final smash especially.

#5: Wario

There isn't much wrong with Wario as of right now, but I do have a few issues with a couple of his special moves. His upward special doesn't gain enough air to be a viable recovery move, so why not move his down special to his up one and make it so you can manually charge it? And to replace his old down special, make it is quake punch from Wario Land: Shake It! While we're at it, bring back his side smash from Brawl as well. It's starting to feel like Sakurai is trying to make people forget that Wario was in a series other than Wario Ware.

Well, that's my list folks, if you disagree with my choices, tell me why in the comments and what you would have chosen instead. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

(Please keep in mind that my opinions may or may not reflect your own, this list is entirely biased.)

Yoshi Topsy Turvy (Game Boy Advance)

While I like a fair majority of the games in the Yoshi series, I'm not entirely sure what was going through their collective minds when they developed this abysmal game. There are times in the game where it hardly ever feels like an entry in the Yoshi's Island series and those spirits that give you missions to do in order to up the difficulty don't even feel like they were meant for a Yoshi game in the first place. In addition, the gyroscopic controls are stiff and unresponsive; the motion sensors in Warioware Twisted were of much better quality and that game came out before this one. Luckily they haven't made a sequel to this drek so they must have taken notice of its poor design choices.

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival (Wii U)

An unusual board-game spin off of the Animal Crossing series, but I honestly think it should've been left on the drawing board. It is a retail game that downright REQUIRES the use of amiibo to play effectively, you only get one randomly chosen board to play on and you can't get a new one without erasing your progress, the minigames (which require the amiibo cards) are non-existent through normal play and can only be accessed from the plaza, and online play doesn't exist which would've helped a game like this even if it wasn't by much. If you still want to get it I can't stop you, but just to warn you I actually got so bored playing this game that I almost fell asleep.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (3DS)

As you all know, I love The Legend of Zelda series and will often go out of my way to get anything Zelda related, but when I got this entry in the series, I feel like maybe this game might have been nothing more than one expensive experiment. This game seems to focus mostly on co-operative battles and player interaction over puzzle solving which completely misses the point of the series. Plus this game is damn near impossible when playing solo and since its online multiplayer is region locked, finding anyone who will play with me is a challenge in and of itself since I usually only have time to play late at night. That, and the unnecessary inclusion of the "doge" meme, made this a rather unpleasurable experience overall.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)

Compared to its successor, Paper Mario: Color Splash, this game was an absolute snore. The dialog was uninteresting and bland and Bowser didn't have a single speaking role throughout the entire ordeal, the worlds were uninspired and just rehashed ideas that had been used in past entries in the main series Mario games, and everything done when in battle were only through the use of consumable items and fights yielded no experience of any kind. I actually got so tired of this game's shenanigans that I basically just did a speed run of everything after the halfway point. Overall, this game was such a disappointment to experience.

Metroid: Other M (Wii)

Metroid has been one of those series that I enjoyed just about as much as The Legend of Zelda and I was quite excited for Other M when it was originally announced, but after playing it again recently, it left such a sour taste in my mouth. First of all Samus's official height in every other entry in the series is 6'3" where as she's around 5'9" in Other M. While not too much of an issue on its own, when I found out that the devs shrank her so she specifically was shorter than Adam, her old commanding officer, I saw that as a stupid and petty design choice that demeans her as a strong female character. And while the gameplay isn't too bad, I think I can pretty much sum up all the problems this game has in one quote directly from the game...

"Samus, activate the Varia feature on your suit to protect yourself from heat damage."
- Adam Malkovich, roughly 20 minutes after entering the sector that requires the Varia Suit

Pokemon Dash (DS)

This game baffled me. It was a foot racing game where the only playable character was Pikachu, and you played by repeatedly swiping the screen in the direction that you want to go. If this game was released for iOS or Android devices for free, people would thing nothing of it, but since this was a retail game on the DS that got very stale and repetitive VERY quickly due to there being only one playable character, there was no reason to keep playing after you beat the first grand prix. Once you've played one map, you've pretty much played them all. Not even the ability to make new maps from the GBA slot could save this one.

Kirby Squeak Squad (DS)

As far as the Kirby series has gone, I've had pretty much no complaints with any game that has been released in this series so far, barring this particular one. Despite the baffling story to the game where it revolves around Kirby trying to recover a stolen slice of cake, it plays pretty much like what you would expect from a Kirby game, but compared to the other games in the series, this game is far too easy, even by Kirby standards. Plus some of the sound effects sound a bit off with the sword being the biggest offender having this horrendously high-pitched ding happen whenever you perform a combo attack. While this is a decent first game for newcomers to the series, this is in my opinion the weakest in the series due to its unchallenging gameplay (by Kirby standards) which ultimately renders this game forgettable to me.

Alleyway (Game Boy)

An attempt at making a Breakout clone with heavy emphasis on "attempt." Unlike Arkanoid, a much better Breakout clone which had been out on NES earlier, this game had no power-ups or enemies to destroy and extremely limited options for gameplay alterations. The stage progression was also very predictable and the difficulty was unfair for what type of game it was. I suggest if you want a good Breakout clone on the Game Boy, just play Kirby's Blockball. It is so much more unique and a helluva lot more fun.

Wii Fit series (Wii, Wii U)

I feel that a good number of us gamers can probably agree that fun and exercise can mix well when its done right, but one thing I can guarantee is complete and utter bullcrap is Nintendo's attempt at making a fun fitness game. Personal fitness is not a game, nor should it be treated like one. While I agree that if you want to get back into shape that you need to find your own personal workout regimen that works for you with some fitness games sometimes falling under this category, this "game" series is pretty much just torture and insulting to anyone that wants to lose weight or improve their health. The way this game uses your ideal BMI as an "endgame goal" is an absolute joke and it doesn't even take into consideration skeletal build or total muscle mass. You need to have an accurate measurement of all three, otherwise its just a demeaning experience. The fitness games on XBox Kinect look more fun and effective than this.

The Virtual Boy

And the pièce de résistance, the one thing that almost made me completely lose faith in Nintendo's ability to make a fun gaming console: The Virtual Boy. This red and black monstrosity had an astoundingly short lived run and had a library of games that barely exceeded 20 titles in all regions combined. But how could that be? I'll just cut to the chase and tell you that it was the godawful screen colors when you looked into the apertures of the device. On a monochrome screen, you should never EVER use a display color scheme that can induce headaches even after short periods of play. It's just a shame that none of the good games that were released on this thing ever got ported to a later system in Nintendo's repertoire of systems.

Being a hardcore Nintendo fan, these stains and marks on Nintendo's image physically hurt me as I know that they are capable of doing so much better. But I also know that they are only human and they likely learned a lot from making mistakes like these. They took features from Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival and just added them to New Leaf as an update, they built upon Paper Mario: Sticker Star and made a somewhat better entry as Color Splash, and after the failure of the Virtual Boy, they didn't experiment with 3D imagery again until the 3DS. Hopefully Nintendo won't continue make any mistakes this bad in the near future, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

The video is centered almost entirely around the 3DS, but like always here's the short recap for you folks out there that don't have the time to watch the whole thing.

• Two things were revealed in Pokemon Sun & Moon; Alolan Rattata being one and a special Munchlax as an early purchase bonus being the other.
• A slightly watered down version of Super Mario Maker is being ported to the 3DS that lacks the costume mushroom and the ability to upload stages you made to the internet, but you can make collaborative stages with other people and complete special challenges in the pre-installed stages. It is set to be released on December 2.
• Some more info was shown off for Mario Party: Star Rush. It is stated to have 7 game modes, three of which are entirely different board game each with their own unique rules. The game will be released along side the second wave of Mario series amiibo on November 4.
• Animal Crossing New Leaf was stated to be getting a major update after being out for 3 years. This update will add amiibo functionality to the game and 50 new amiibo cards will be released along side it. In addition to this, a special version of the game, called Animal Crossing: New Leaf Welcome amiibo will also be released this holiday season that will include the update on the cart.
• The 3DS's Mii Plaza was given a new update which adds 5 new games (1 free plus $2.99 for each after or $8.99 for the full bundle), a special quick-start plaza, and a new queue for Mii's encountered via streetpass which bumps the total from 10 to a whopping 100. This update is available now.
• A new eShop exclusive title called Tank Troopers was revealed to be in the works which would have up to 6-player versus and customizable tanks where the abilities change depending on who's manning the vehicle. No release date was shown at the time of writing this article.
• Picross 3D: Round 2 was also shown for the eShop and was launched following the Direct.
• The Nindies Summer Jam started on the same day the Direct aired and revealed that 5 anticipated indie titles would be released over the course of 5 weeks with Axiom Verge being the first game on that list followed by Jotun, Noitu Love: Devolution, Severed, and Azure Striker Gunvolt 2.
• To celebrate The Legend of Zelda's 30th anniversary, four new amiibo were announced being 8-bit Link, Ocarina of Time Link, and a 2-pack that has Toon Link and Toon Zelda. They will all be compatible with Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
• Nintendo also teamed up with Darkhorse to make three new Zelda books with the first being an artwork collection with over 2,000 images spanning the 30 year history of the franchise. The first book is also available to pre-order.
• Zelda: Skyward Sword was also released on the Wii U eShop.
• The New 3DS XL now has a new galaxy themed color and the regular New 3DS has a new Mario themed bundle that comes with Super Mario 3D Land and two sets of Mario themed faceplates.
• Hyrule Warriors Legends showed off a new weapon for Toon Link being the Sand Wand and a new playable character being Toon Zelda among other things like a new adventure map based on Phantom Hourglass.
• Phoenix Wright: Spirit of Justice got a release date of September 8 exclusively for the 3DS eShop.
• Dragon Quest VII for the 3DS release date was revealed as well being September 16.
• Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits/Fleshy Souls showed off some new gameplay elements and a special bonus medal for those that buy the game physically. They will both launch September 30.
• Disney Magical World 2 was also shown off with some Nintendo 3DS themes based around it being shown as well.
• Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice for the 3DS finally got an official release date being September 27 with a special launch edition which also includes a DVD containing 3 episodes of the TV that it's based on.
• Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse for the 3DS got a release date being September 20.
• A special version of Yoshi's Woolly World is being ported to the 3DS that will include a bunch of new stages where you play as Poochy and 30 stop-motion shorts featuring the two. Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World will be released February 3, 2017 along side the new Yarn Poochy amiibo.
• The new IP Ever Oasis had some gameplay shown off and will be released for the 3DS some time in 2017.
• Mario Sports Super Stars for the 3DS was revealed and was shown to include 5 different sports being Soccer, Tennis, Golf, Baseball, and of all things Horseback Riding. It will also have the ability to be played online or in local multiplayer. It will release some time in Spring of 2017.
• In a big surprise, it turns out that the Pikmin series is getting a 2D spin-off game on the 3DS. Judging by the gameplay shown, it looks like it might play similar to Kirby: Mass Attack. No official release date was revealed, but it is scheduled for 2017.

Well that's all of it. Out of all these, I'm probably most excited for the Pikmin spin-off, but only time will tell if it is any good. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

#1: Free Online Play

While this is something that Nintendo has already been doing, it is also something that they need to continue to do. I have personally seen a few friends of mine abandon XBox Live and PlayStation Plus/Now because the subscription costs were starting to drain their wallet dry, and guess where they migrated to as a result? PC, in which they were already paying for internet; and/or Nintendo which has free online as standard. Nintendo, don't let this feature die.

#2: Continued Amiibo Support

This is kind of an obvious one that they should continue as well. With all the amiibo figures that Nintendo has invested gobs of money on for their production, it would be counter-productive for Nintendo to make the Switch incompatible with them. Plus it would make the Switch port of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have less content on it as a result. There is no reason for the Switch to not be amiibo enabled, but I wouldn't completely put it past Nintendo to start from scratch with this system. Keep supporting amiibo, Nintendo.

#3: Joy-Con Mods

Now this is where things get interesting. I think the Joy-Con controllers are fairly decent in design; a bit like having 2 SNES controllers locked sideways onto the sides of a screen. But not too long ago, an interesting piece of concept art made by a rather imaginative fan surfaced in which he suggests that some games could come packaged with unique Joy-Con replacements specific to that game. While Nintendo shouldn't make it so the game can't be played without the custom Joy-Con, it would certainly be one helluva way to reinvent the console gaming scene and I really hope that that concept is more than just a piece of fan-art.

#4: Fair Pricing/Bundling

Now, I understand that a console like this would likely be a bit pricey; Nintendo themselves even said that they weren't going to be selling the system at a loss this time. So how can Nintendo make it appealing enough without reducing the price? I propose that the system's standard pack should come not only with the 2 Joy-Cons, cables, and the dock like Nintendo had already confirmed, but also the Joy-Con Grip accessory and possibly some cheap pre-loaded games and software to show off what the Switch can do. Sell this pack for no more than $419.99 and I wouldn't complain.

#5: No Region Lock

This NEEDS to stop, Nintendo. There is absolutely no reason why your systems have to be region locked and the fact that you keep doing this just makes it harder to enjoy games. Just about anyone can buy a plane ticket so they can go on vacation in another country, but they should not have to pay for another system from said country just so they can play their souvenirs. This makes buying games that they want less enticing because they can't afford the "whole package."

#6: Expandable Data Storage

It has been rumored that the Switch will only have 32GB of storage space. While I'm not pleased about this, Nintendo has been pretty good at allowing their systems to have some kind of expandable storage capacity. Now they did say that it wouldn't be compatible with any kind of usb hard-drive, but micro SD cards are always an option. As far as I know, SDXC cards can go up to 256GB, but I think the 128GB cards are probably the more widely available option. Make it happen, Nintendo.

#7: Enhanced Ports/Compilations

While Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Skyrim Remastered is a good start on this, it is nowhere near good enough. If the Switch is to succeed, it also needs ports of games with all of their DLC pre-installed on the cartridge, and compilations of older games that could benefit from portability or an HD remastering. I would suggest enhanced and/or complete ports of Hyrule Warriors, Super Smash Bros 4, Doom (2016), and both of the 3DS Senran Kagura games; and compilations featuring games that were originally on the Game Cube or Wii.

#8: Better Virtual Console Features

Nintendo obviously wants to keep their classic games alive, otherwise they wouldn't have made Virtual Console. But with the reveal of the NES Classic Edition, people have started to notice that the emulator on it is far superior than what is currently available on the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. So what needs to be done is Nintendo needs to make emulators that are of equal quality and have the same features and use them for the Switch. And while they're on that, they need to stop making their consumers repurchase all of the games they have already bought. Microsoft and Sony don't do this, so why does Nintendo? I think that if you already have the virtual console games on both Wii U and 3DS, then you should be able to get it for free on the Switch; and if you only have one, discount it. Also, bring back Master System, Mega Drive, Turbografx-16, Commodore 64, and Neo Geo games. Many of those games are awesome and aren't getting the appreciation that they deserve.

#9: Better Marketing

The Wii U's marketing campaign was awful; we all can agree on that. Although, while Nintendo has smartly showed off that the Switch is VERY different in design and feel from the Wii U, there is still that possibility that it could be a repeat of past mistakes. I think a catchy slogan could help boost sales like "Will you make the Switch?" or something like that. The current slogan of "There's no play like it" is good, but I don't think it'll be good enough to sell the Switch. I understand that this is not my area of expertise, but you get the idea. Nintendo needs to advertise the Switch better than the Wii U or otherwise there is the chance that Nintendo could leave the console market altogether.

#10: Connectivity

Connectivity to Wi-Fi and wireless multiplayer are kind of obvious as one is standard in all current gaming systems and the other was shown off in the reveal trailer, but what about the other two systems in Nintendo's arsenal: the Wii U and 3DS? If the Switch is to successfully intermingle with the other two systems that Nintendo has produced, then it needs to be able to talk to them in some way. If Nintendo neglects to implement this feature, then I can expect to see poor long-term system adoption in the future.

The Switch is definitely promising. It obviously needs a strong start, good third party support and good battery life, but I strongly believe that if Nintendo were to implement these suggestions then there might be a better chance at the device's survival. From my experience, hybrid systems need convenience and accessibility in addition to horsepower if they are going to survive long term. Sometimes gimmicks just aren't enough. So until next time, I'll be seeing you.

The NES Classic Edition is a miniature replica of the Nintendo Entertainment System that was released in the mid 1980's. While it can't play any of the cartridges that were released for the console, it does have 30 games selected and pre-loaded onto it which are listed below:

1. Balloon Fight
2. Bubble Bobble
3. Castlevania
4. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
5. Donkey Kong
6. Donkey Kong Jr.
7. Double Dragon II: The Revenge
8. Dr. Mario
9. Excitebike
10. Final Fantasy
11. Galaga
12. Ghosts 'n Goblins
13. Gradius
14. Ice Climber
15. Kid Icarus
16. Kirby's Adventure
17. The Legend of Zelda

    

18. Mario Bros.
19. Mega Man 2
20. Metroid
21. Ninja Gaiden
22. Pac-Man
23. Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream
24. StarTropics
25. Super Contra
26. Super Mario Bros.
27. Super Mario Bros. 2
28. Super Mario Bros. 3
29. Tecmo Bowl
30. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Not a bad list if I do say so myself. In addition to that, every game has 4 save states that can be saved at any time when you press reset on the system. Very helpful for some of those games that use a password system.

The pricing isn't too bad; at $59.99USD it could be much worse, but when you consider the fact that the second controller is sold separately for an additional $9.99USD, that can make or break a deal in some cases.

The emulation is top notch; the colors are nice and crisp and the audio is just as I remember it, plus I love that it has the option for a scan-line screen filter, but then again what would you expect from an emulator that was made by Nintendo themselves?

As far as originality goes, plug-n-play systems are nothing new, however the execution is what sells it. High quality games though HDMI output, nice and sturdy hardware and fantastic emulation that rivals the original console from which it is based. If you're a parent that wants your kids to experience your childhood with you, or are even just an enthusiast like me who lacks self control, this is a great gift that won't break the bank. Plus if you're a more daring individual the system can be easily modded so you can add more games, but you won't get any of that knowledge from me. Just be careful when shopping for one online; bootlegs of the console do exist and look just like the real thing at first glance. Be sure to do your research and buy from a trusted seller.

AUDIO

CHALLENGE

CONTROL

VISUALS

ORIGINALITY

EXECUTION

PROS:

• Good game variety
• Sturdy construction
• Not too expensive
• Easy to mod
• Controllers are compatible with Wii/Wii U Virtual Console

CONS:

• Second controller sold separately
• Low availability
• Can't play the original NES cartridges

This stage will be released on September 30th and if past pricing is any indication, then it'll cost $1.99 USD for one version and $2.99 USD for a bundle containing both, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

At least six games were teased in the trailer for the system being Skyrim Remastered, an untitled NBA game, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a currently unnamed Mario title, and what appear to be enhanced ports of Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon. Only time will tell if the remastered games are truly remasterings or are just proof of concept for the system's hardware. Additionally, a rather impressive list of developers (written below) have also signed on for supporting the Switch long term.

• 505 Games
• Activision
• Arc System Works
• Atlus
• AudioKinetic
• Autodesk
• Bandai Namco
• Bethesda
• Capcom
• Codemasters
• CRI Middleware
• DeNA
• Electronic Arts
• Epic Games
• Firelight Technologies
• FromSoftware
• FrozenByte
• GameTrust
• Grasshopper Manufacture
• Gungho Online Entertainment
• Hamster Corporation
• Havok
• Inti Creates
• Koei Tecmo
• Konami Digital Entertainment
• Level-5
• Marvelous
• Maximum Games
• Nippon Ichi Software
• Parity Bit
• Platinum Games
• Rad Game Tools
• RecoChoku
• SEGA Games
• Silicon Studio Corporations
• Spike Chunsoft Co
• Square Enix
• Star Breeze Studios
• Take-Two Interactive Software
• Telltale Games
• THQ Nordic
• Tokyo RPG Factory
• TT Games
• UBbisoft
• Ubitus
• Unity Technologies
• Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Web Technology Corp

I personally can't say if Nintendo knows what they're doing this time around, but the concept of the Switch is certainly promising and quite unique. I just hope that it has a decent battery life. The Nintendo Switch will launch in March of 2017 and I assure you I'll definitely be one of its early adopters, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

The first DLC pack came out in November, and it was a welcome treat, as well as a good reason to hit the track once again. Now the second DLC pack is fast approaching, releasing on April 23. Just today, Nintendo of Japan released trailers that show off every track in this upcoming pack. Have a look below. Note that this is not the exact order in which these tracks are listed in-game, and some of the new tracks are not named as of yet.

Returning Tracks

Ribbon Road (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)

"Andy's coming! Finish up the race!" This was one of the more memorable tracks from the otherwise forgettable Mario Kart: Super Circuit on the GameBoy Advance. All it really had to its name was its aesthetic, and Nintendo played that aesthetic up to 11, with some extra features that couldn't have been done in the original.

Baby Park (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!)

If your friendship survived up to this point after a long session of Mario Kart, then Baby Park is the final gauntlet that tests how much you can take before you tear the plug out of the wall socket. This track is 7 short laps of pure mayhem, blood, sweat and tears. But have fun, y'know?

Neo Boswer City (Mario Kart 7)

It's time to have a race IN THE FUTURE! Take those tight future turns, throw your future items, jump off those future ramps, pull off some future tricks, and win future first place! IN THE FUTURE!

Cheese Land (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)

You'd gouda be kidding me. I feta brieng some extra green shells, in queso emergency. There's no whey I'm not playing this edam track on day one, because it's looking grate!

New Tracks

Animal Crossing

"I gotta win this race. I put down 10,000 bells on myself. If I don't win, I won't be able to pay Tom Nook and he's gonna have the Nooklings adorably break my legs!" In all seriousness, though, this track actually has four variations, one for each season. However, there is not a dynamic clock system, which would be impractical anyway. Who would want to wait a year just to see the winter version of this track?

Subway

Where the hell is my five dollar footlong? Oh, right. This track seems to have an aesthetic based on the London Underground. Expect a lot of tight corners, small corridors, and hectic item battles in this cramped course.

Woods

Wood you kindly not burn the forest down while you have your race? Kay thanks. This track seems to have a Shy Guy theme, which would coincide nicely with previous tribal iterations of the character from games like Paper Mario or Yoshi's Island. It's very vertical, with a lot of high-flying jumps involved. In truth, it reminds me of the wooded tracks from the original Sonic Riders. Am I the only one? ...Yeah? I... I liked that game... Oooh, speaking of futuristic racing games!

Big Blue!

Jiminy Cricket, Nintendo! The only way you could show more love for F-Zero would be for you to actually make a new F-Zero game! This appears to be one more addition to the game's few linear tracks, consisting of three segments rather than three laps. Like Mute City before it, this track takes full advantage of the gravity mechanic, providing some of the sickest jumps and viewpoints in Mario Kart history. I think Nintendo is just laughing at us at this point. Or perhaps they're getting us hyped up for something special in coming times. We'll just have to wait and see. Anyway, see you all on the race track in a week!

Now when the Wii came out, I started to notice a trend in some of the games that Nintendo developed. More and more titles that Nintendo released for the console had 8-bit sprites of Mario and company hidden in the environment. An example would be in Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus where both had Mario sprites hidden on the running trails. Alone, this would just seem like a simple Easter egg, but there is more to be found.

With the fact that now even ONE pixel character has been officially named within the games, I propose that one of two scenarios will happen in the future. Either A: Nintendo will retcon the old arcade and NES titles to being set in the Flat Zone and ignoring Mario's past life living in Brooklyn, New York with Pauline and his pet ape Donkey Kong; or B: Nintendo is planning a new game in which the denizens of Flat Zone invade and have taken on the forms of the first people they see being Mario, Luigi and the people of the Mushroom Kingdom. Personally, I think the former theory holds more merit, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Like every other game in the series, Dr. Mario Miracle Cure keeps the series tradition of eliminating viruses by matching them with like-colored pills (called Mega-Vitamins) in rows or columns of four or more. The pills can be rotated to better fit into certain areas, and if the entirety of the pill isn't vaporized, the remaining half will drop down toward the bottom of the bottle if it isn't blocked by an obstacle in its path. As you play, the bottle will fill with more and more viruses in each subsequent stage, with the drop speed of your pills increasing in later stages. Now if this were just a simple game of Dr. Mario, then I'd be done with my review right now, but it's not, and now I'll explain why.

This iteration of the series actually includes quite a few features from previous games in the series and even throws in a few brand new gameplay elements in order to keep things fresh and exciting. Starting by order of additions, we have the game mode called Virus Buster which actually first made its appearance in the DS game Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day as a bonus minigame. Virus Buster still goes by the same gameplay staple of connecting four viruses and pills of the same color to remove them from play, but the major difference is that the game is played with the stylus and two or even three pills can be dropped into play at once, although they fall at a fairly slow pace. Next is the Online mode which was introduced in Dr. Mario Online RX on the Wii. All it does is let you face a random player from somewhere around the world, or play against a friend on your 3DS's friend list. Then we have the game mode Dr. Luigi, which was introduced as the Operation L game mode in Dr. Luigi on the Wii U. This game mode drops two pills at once in the shape of the letter L with the long side of the shape often being comprised of all one color. This forced the player to think of new strategies as the unusual pill configuration and its large size made it difficult to maneuver in the confines of the bottle.

All in all, Dr. Mario Miracle Cure is a great entry to the franchise. It includes enough game modes to keep you busy for a long time to come and its new Miracle Cure power-ups make for a fine addition to the series. Hopefully we'll being seeing more of them in future installments, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score:

\r

Super Mario Maker is not your conventional Mario game. While it still has all of the familiar gameplay elements of past 2D entries, this title is allows you to make, customize, and save up to 120 of your own stages in one of four different styles based around past games in the series's history. These styles all also have their own unique play mechanics that make the game play a little more like the game that the theme originates from. For instance:\r

\r
• Super Mario Bros: Has the most basic control scheme and you can't grab or hold objects.
\r
• Super Mario Bros 3: Gabbing objects is possible and has a power meter to use for flight.
\r
• Super Mario World: Same as Mario 3, but adds a spin jump and the ability to throw grabbed items upward.
\r
• New Super Mario Bros U: Flight and upward throwing are absent, but adds wall jumping and the ability to ground-pound.
\r

Each of these themes adds a subtle level of variety that perfectly encompasses most if not all of the 2D main series games. There are also sixty different objects that you place in each theme and six different theme sets that you can use for each overall style, but you have to unlock them over continued use of the stage maker; this will take around 2.5 to 3 hours. Most of these objects (specifically enemies and platforms) also have alternate forms that you can access by shaking them. This allows for even more variety than what was initially thought, especially since that many enemies can be altered even further by stacking them on top of each other like totem pole, powering them up with a mushroom or wings, placing them in Lakitu's cloud or a Koopa Clown Car, or even by having them launch out of a Bill Blaster. This has sparked a lot of creativity as I was making stages of my own. I even spiced things up further thanks to the sound effects that can be applied to just about everything.\r

Also, each game style has their own unique power-ups. While Mario 3, Mario World, and Mario U all have a flight themed power-up like a Super Leaf, Super Feather, or Propeller Mushroom respectively, the Mario 1 theme has three special power-ups designed specifically for it:\r

\r
• Weird Mushroom: Makes Mario very tall and lanky, but greatly increases his jump height.
\r
• Mystery Mushroom: Gives Mario one of 99+ special costumes based on amiibo and various other Nintendo characters. Pressing Up while wearing one will make Mario pose. Most of these costumes also have unique sound effects, death music, and victory jingles.
\r
• Big Mushroom: Turns Mario into Big Mario which is kind of like a cross between Super Mario and Mega Mario. His increased size and weight can destroy unbreakable blocks and bricks and can even break them from the side or from above, but it can only be accessed with the help of one of the two 30th Anniversary Mario amiibo.
\r

Well, say you don't want to make any stages and just want to play the game. Well Nintendo has that covered too. There are sixty-four pre-made sample courses you can play via the game's Coursebot or from the game's 10 Mario Challenge mode. Replaying through 10 Mario Challenge repeatedly unlocks more and more sample stages that you can play or edit and once you unlock them all, an additional four stages become available as a bonus. These four stages are the same stages that were shown off in the 2015 Nintendo World Championships. How's THAT for a bonus unlockable?\r

Now, if you ever get bored of any of the sample stages, you can also play the courses uploaded to the game's server via the Course World where you can find specific stages by using a 16-character code, follow your favorite creators, or even download your favorite courses to save for later. You can also play the 100 Mario Challenge game mode here. "Now what is the difference between the 10 Mario and 100 Mario Challenges anyway?" you may ask. Well, the 100 Mario version only picks the user created stages that have been uploaded to the servers and are set to specific difficulties depending on the stage's clear rate percentage. Also, each time you complete this game mode, you unlock one additional costume for the Mystery Mushroom.\r

There is just so much that can be done with this game's robust editor. When online, I have seen stages that build themselves as you progress, stages that completely invert when you enter a pipe, stages based on other games, and stages that even play themselves. There is even a hidden mini-game that you can randomly access while fiddling with the objects in the editor. This is by far the best thing Nintendo could've done to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros and I HIGHLY suggest that you get it, but until then, I'll be seeing you.\r

Score\r

• On day one they mostly showed off some indie titles that were going to be released on the Wii U's and 3DS's eShop. Some of these games were Jotun: Valhalla Edition, Runbow Pocket, Axiom Verge, and Severed.
• Also, while not shown by Nintendo themselves, Noitu Love: Devolution was confirmed to be coming to the both the Wii U and 3DS eShop this July.
• On day two they started to get out of first gear and showed their more anticipated stuff. Some new pokemon were shown off in Pokemon Sun & Moon and some new gameplay elements were shown off in the form of Battle Royals in which you and three other trainers face each other in a free-for-all battle.
• In the Zelda department, the new Zelda title that had been in development since 2013 now has an official name, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. More info about the game was shown off in great detail during Nintendo's live Treehouse stream during the second day and they talked about many new features about the game such as rock climbing, hunting, weapon and armor crafting, amiibo support, and a world and story that are VERY non-linear. An official release date hasn't been announced yet, but I would estimate that it wouldn't be released until at least late spring of 2017.
• A bunch of new amiibo were shown off as well, three for Zelda (Archer Link, Rider Link, and a Guardian with posable arms) and seven for Mario (Wario, Waluigi, Daisy, Rosalina, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and a glow-in-the-dark Boo).
• Paper Mario: Color Splash now has an official release date of October 27, 2016.
• On day three they decided to wind down with some smaller info in the form of portable titles. Mario Party: Star Rush was announced for the 3DS and features a rather unusual gameplay style in which all players move at the same time on an open board while you recruit other Mario characters to help you in the game.
• A brand new IP was revealed for the 3DS called Ever Oasis and judging by the gameplay video, it looks like it might be an action RPG hybridizing the gameplay styles of Animal Crossing and Monster Hunter.
• Pokemon Go Plus is shooting for a July release with the wrist add-on costing around $34.99USD.
• Both versions of Yokai Watch 2, Dragon Quest VII for the 3DS, and BoxBoxBoy!! were all confirmed for localization.
• And finally, Rhythm Heaven Megamix was released later the same day as an eShop exclusive title on the Nintendo 3DS.

If you wish to watch the recorded Treehouse stream that Nintendo did for E3 in its entirety, you can watch the above video, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

The story basically goes like this: Princess Peach receives a letter in the mail from someplace called Prism Island, but the letter happens to be a folded up Toad with all of his color drained. On a dark and storming night, she takes the seemingly dead Toad to Mario who then decides to go to Prism Island where with the help of a magical paint can named Huey, he uncovers a dastardly plan by Bowser (and his army of Shy-Guys) where he infused himself with the sinister power of black paint to help him conquer Prism Island by capturing the six Paint Stars to hopefully keep Mario from using their power to stop him. Not the most original plot, but in concept it's at least is better than Sticker Star.

Now first of all, this game looks absolutely gorgeous. The game is in full 1080p 60fps and has a very impressive art style. Everything truly looks like it is made of paper or cardboard, save for the 3D "things" that you occasionally run into here and there. Everything is also very bright and colorful which makes it feel all the more inviting; It all just pulled me right in. My only real gripe about the design though is the fact that the paper aesthetic was just a visual style in the earlier games whereas in this game, just like in Sticker Star, the paper visuals is actually what their world is made of and further reinforces this fact when the characters and NPC's refer to themselves as such. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but with the release of Mario & Luigi; Paper Jam, I don't think this will be changing back any time soon.

The gameplay is just about the same as the previous installment where all of your actions are limited to however much space you have available in your inventory (99 cards max). Where Sticker Star had it where all you had to do was find an attack sticker so you could use it in battle, Color Splash adds a little bit more strategy to the mix, although that's not saying much. In this game, most of the cards that you get are unpainted and must be painted first before you can use them in battle, but using paint in any way depletes your reserves which are needed to recolor the spots that had been sucked dry by the invading Shy-Guys. Luckily, it is possible to find pre-painted cards to circumvent this handicap. In addition, while winning battles in Sticker Star would only reward you with coins, in Color Splash you are rewarded with coins, paint, and special mini-hammers which will permanently increase your maximum paint reserves once enough of them are collected. I guess one would equate these mini-hammers to being battle experience since there is no way to "level up" in this game, but it is certainly better than nothing. Overall this system is decent and a good step up from the last game.

Now the map is certainly something. Unlike the previous game which had a very predictable map and was laid out and numbered like a traditional Mario game, the map of Prism Island was much more open ended in design. But because the story is still linear (as most JRPG's are), the map gives the illusion that the world can be explored in whatever order you so choose. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it would've likely been a much better game had it had that option.

Now one thing about most modern Mario games that has been leaving such a bad taste in my mouth is the overuse of Toads; This game is no exception. I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but some time after Mario & Luigi: Dream Team there was some sort of decision to only have Toads as the "good guy" NPC of choice. Once again, not really a bad thing and the attempt to make them have more varied personalities in this game is a nice touch. But the way I see it, there is still no variety if they all still look the same; Make them look more interesting, and I would be more inclined to talk to them.

Which brings me to the writing. This game's writing was MUCH better than its predecessor. The humor was on point when it needed to be, and there was a natural progression of plot and character development (what little of it there was). Plus I loved all the little references and inside jokes that were thrown in here and there. It made it feel a bit more alive compared to Sticker Star. Plus the music compliments the writing very well. It was upbeat when the dialog was humorous and was intense during scenes of duress. Plus it didn't shy away from the more melancholy writing and music as well.

Overall I found it very difficult to hate this game. It has this problem where is feels disconnected from the first three Paper Mario games in the series, but it certainly tries to recapture their charm. I feel that it definitely could've been better though. It was missing the atmosphere that the first three games had, but it was otherwise quite the enjoyable experience. I would definitely recommend this game for first timers of the series, but even if you are a fan of the older games, you might find some enjoyment with it here and there. So until next time, I'll be seeing you.

Score

The Wonderful 102

I loved The Wonderful 101. It was one of the few modern games that was able to take me back to my childhood. Now when I heard that Hideki Kamiya, the game's director, had ideas on what to do for a sequel, that got me REALLY excited. This game was extremely underrated and the fact that it was a Wii U exclusive kinda killed any hope for the game to sell well. I just hope that Nintendo sees potential in the series since they own the copyright.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Director's Cut

Even though Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE was originally on my "to play" list, the censorship controversy that was surrounding it at the time kinda left a sour taste in my and many others' collective mouths. As such, I decided not to pick it up. BUT given the fact that it was on the Wii U, a console that was geared more toward younger players, it might stand a better chance if it were to be released fully intact and uncensored on the more mature-centric Switch, ESPECIALLY if they packaged it with all the DLC (even the hot-spring side story) on the cart. But that's just my theory.

The Zero Escape Saga

Speaking of Mature games, this series is grossly unheard of. I love me some quantum sci-fi and a good murder mystery as much as the next guy, but if you throw in some brain busting logic puzzles and a plot-heavy narrative not too dissimilar to the SAW franchise, then we got the formula for some interesting plot developments. I think these games would benefit best from being released as one whole package as once you start piecing the story together, it starts to become very difficult to put it down. Having them all together in one pack is just for convenience sake.

Solatorobo HD

Another underappreciated game, but for a different reason; its damn near impossible to get ahold of it for a reasonable price. Being a dieselpunk mech RPG set in a world of anthropomorphic animals, this game has a rather interesting concept but the execution is absolutely stellar. The only problem with it like I said is obtaining a copy. While I managed to get a copy on DS, that is the only system it is available for. Re-releasing it on a modern system like the Switch would be able to remedy this and give the game a second chance at life.

Mario & Sonic at the Dream Olympics

Now while I've greatly enjoyed this series, we all know that it has been less than inventive when it comes to making the Olympics fun for everyone, and even though I'm pretty sure the next game in the series (if there is one) is going to be Mario & Sonic at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games (God, what a mouthful), I really hope that they end the series with one final game and just fuse the Summer and Winter games into one pack and set it in both the Mushroom Kingdom and whatever the hell Sonic's homeworld is called nowadays. Maybe that would be the way to finally make the game fun for more than just a niche audience.

Wario Ware D.I.Y. Deluxe

There was one Wario Ware game that I feel didn't get the full use of the hardware it was produced for, and that was Wario Ware D.I.Y. on the Nintendo DS. Making my own music, comics and microgames was a lot of fun, but I felt that maybe it was a little bit limited with how the games were designed. I think if they were to bring this game back, they would need to include all of the content of the original DS game plus the companion game that was released on WiiWare, and give the player the ability to have make games that use the control pad and face buttons. That should drive the creativity options up a notch.

Ultimate Retro Game Challenge

My favorite reality show is Game Center CX on Fuji TV, so when I found out that the games based on that show were actually any good, I decided to pick them up. Now while I've never played the third game in the series as I've heard that it was quite awful, the first two games were some of the most nostalgic and creative games I've ever played on the DS. So what I think the dev of the first two games should do is compile all of the games and challenges from said games in one pack, and make around 8-10 more new games with 4 new challenges for each to justify excluding the contents of the third game. The real challenge would then be getting the game localized as only the first game was ever released outside of Japan.

amiibo Wars

The amiibo situation is starting to get a bit more under control now wouldn't you all think? That's why I think a new free-to-start amiibo game needs to be made to take advantage of this. When you consider the popularity of collectible object-type games in Japan like Kantai Collection, I think a tactical strategy game or a MOBA would benefit from this market the best. They're simple, easy to program, addictive when executed properly, and have great potential for additional content to be added to in the future. That, and I personally just want to see my massive collection of amiibo to get some use outside of unlocking some costumes or special missions.

Scott Pilgrim VS The World Collector's Edition

It was a real shame when Scott Pilgrim VS The World was removed from the PSN and XBLA online shops. It was a lot of fun and stayed quite true to its source material. But if in the event that the licensing issues are resolved in the future, I would want to see the game re-released in a physical format with extra content added. If it were to have all of the DLC, the complete film (and animated short film) in HD, a full color scan of the entire graphic novel all contained on the cartridge and a poster for good measure, I would be more than happy paying $60 for a game that would normally cost around $15-20.

NES Classic Collection

Okay now I know a lot of people, myself included, who were quite pissed when Nintendo ended production on the NES Classic Edition. That's why I propose that they port the contents of that device to the Switch, include digital scans of the manuals instead of scanning a QR code, and package it with a USB NES controller to hopefully give fans a similar experience and give them an alternative to something that was selling faster than a spare kidney on the black market. Plus it probably would be cheaper to manufacture something like that anyway and get away with selling it for $60. Plus if Nintendo really wanted to apologize, they could add another 10-20 games to it.

I continue to believe that the Switch has potential, but like any system on the market right now the games are what sells the system. Unless the console has games that people want to play, then there really isn't any reason to buy the Switch at all. This is still just wishful thinking on my part, but maybe and hopefully someone important in the gaming industry will see this and make some of these ideas a reality. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Even though the video is much shorter than what Nintendo has done for E3 in the past, there was a LOT of new stuff shown off with only a few teasers that didn't actually have any gameplay. But as always I'll recap what I can, and as a bonus I'll even recap some of the news that Nintendo showed off in their live streams after the Spotlight video ended. So let's get started.

• After the preview for the video had ended, there was a new trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 for the Switch which showed off a small bit of some actual gameplay and more story elements. A definitive release date wasn't yet confirmed but it has a planned release for the holidays at the end of the year.
• Next a brand new Kirby game was shown off for the Switch and it appears to run on the same engine as the past three main series games. It appears that the game is already pretty far in development as gameplay footage of Kirby recruiting enemies as helpers and fusing abilities together in the trailer. It has a projected release of 2018.
• A brand new core series Pokemon game was revealed to be in development for the Switch. No other info about it was announced at this time.
• In an amazing surprise reveal, it was confirmed that Metroid Prime 4 is currently in development for the Nintendo Switch. However it was also confirmed that Retro Studios will not be working on this entry in the series meaning the game that they're currently working on for Nintendo is still unknown at this point in time.
• A brand new Yoshi game is in the works for the Switch and it was confirmed that it is being developed with Unreal Engine 4 of all things. It has a similar look and feel to the previous Yoshi game, Yoshi's Woolly World, but it has this new gameplay feature where you can flip the environment backwards when you ground pound and even throw eggs at enemies in the foreground and background. This game is also set for a 2018 release.
• Gameplay and story footage was shown off for Fire Emblem Warriors. A full voice cast will also accompany the game giving an official English VA for the character Marth. It was also shown that it will not feature characters from the entire series, but rather just the games Shadow Dragon, Awakening, and Fates. It is slated to launch this Autumn.
• Content for first DLC pack for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild called The Master Trials was shown off preceded by the announcement for amiibo support in the Switch port of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The first DLC pack will go live at the end of June. In addition to this, a preview of the second DLC pack for Zelda was teased and the official name for the story that it will tell was revealed to be called The Champions' Ballad. DLC pack 2 will launch some time this holiday season. 4 new Breath of the Wild amiibo based on the 4 champions Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa were also announced for the game. No official release date the amiibo was announced at the time of the conference.
• Ubisoft revealed new info for their brand new crossover game for the Switch, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle which features Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi stopping an invading force of rabbids with the help of 4 "friendly" rabbids that are dressed like them. The gameplay footage shown off is a turn-based strategy game with heavy emphasis on cover-based shooting; much like X-Com. It will launch August 29 of this year.
• Psyonix revealed that their hit game Rocket League is coming to the Nintendo Switch with special Nintendo themed content exclusive to the Switch version. In addition, they confirmed that the game would have cross-platform multiplayer with the XBox One and PC versions of the game when playing online. Its slated for a holiday release.
• And finally, new features were shown off for Super Mario Odyssey. In the new gameplay footage, at least 2 new worlds were shown off (one being monochrome and one being prehistoric); Mario was seen to have the ability to ride certain vehicles and turn 8-bit to move around wall paintings; and through the use of Cappy, the spirit that is occupying his hat for this adventure, Mario can possess a plethora of different objects and enemies to help him on his quest to save Princess Peach. Also, after the Spotlight presentation, it was confirmed that the game would have Co-Op play where player 2 plays as Cappy. It will be released on the 27th of October this year.
• Now after the Spotlight was over, a few more things were announced. One of them being that we're getting not one, but two new Metroid games. The second one they announced was Metroid: Samus Returns for the 3DS and is being developed by MercurySteam. According to Yoshio Sakamoto, the game is said to be a reimagining of Metroid II on the original Game Boy. The remake will be adding many new features such as melee countering and amiibo support, and will use the original game as a base (I guess now we know why AM2R got hit with a cease and desist so soon after it was finished). It will be released on September 15th. New Metroid series amiibo were also confirmed to be in development for the game in the form of Samus in her Metroid II boxart pose, and a metroid with a soft, squishy outer membrane. These new amiibo will launch alongside the game.
• Separate from the E3 streams, Nintendo announced that a remake of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was being made for the 3DS with updated graphics and new content in the form of a strategic battle mode where you take control of Bowser's minions. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions will launch on October 6th of this year.
• A rather unusual new IP called Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido was revealed for the Nintendo 3DS and is being developed by Indieszero of NES Remix and Retro Game Challenge fame. Judging by the gameplay shown, it appears to mix the concept of match-3 puzzle games with real-time combat in a frantic style of game where you need to eat as much sushi as possible, collect the plates that the sushi was sitting on, and then use the plates as ammo to knock out your opponent. No release date was confirmed, but it will be released some time in 2018.
• More amiibo were confirmed to be in development. Mario, Peach and Bowser in wedding garb were shown off as well as a Goomba and Koopa Troopa for the Mario series set. In addition to those, Chrom and Tiki from Fire Emblem Awakening were also shown off in amiibo form. The new Mario, Peach and Bowser amiibo will launch alongside Super Mario Odyssey and the Goomba and Koopa Troopa will be released at the same time as Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions. No date has yet to be confirmed for the Chrom and Tiki amiibo but I would imagine that they would be released around the same time as Fire Emblem Warriors.
• More of Miitopia was shown off in detail. Movement in dungeons appear to be mostly automatic with occasional input from the player and combat is turn-based with the option for auto-battling. Amiibo support was also confirmed and would be used to gain Nintendo themed equipment. As for the miis in the game, all of them come from the system's internal memory or you can import them from Tomodachi Life. Miitopia will launch July 28th of this year.
• A bit more info for the 3DS game Ever Oasis was revealed. It will give the player the ability to customize their own oasis paradise and go dungeon crawling for more loot and experience. The overall combat appears to be similar in design to the Mana series of games which makes sense considering it was conceived by the same creator. The game will launch incredibly soon on June 23rd and a demo of the game is now available to download from the 3DS eShop.
• And last but not least, the first DLC character was shown off for ARMS in the form of the one of the game's previous champions, Max Brass. It was shown that he has skills that mirror the abilities of both Spring Man and Master Mummy. The new character, along with a spectator mode, will be patched into the game later this month.

Well that's all the info I can muster up for now. I can certainly say that if you are a Nintendo fan like me, then their announcements this year probably made you a very happy camper. Metroid Prime 4 and Metroid: Samus Returns were certainly a welcome surprise for those that were disappointed by Metroid Prime: Federation Force, but only time will tell if they are in good hands. So until then, I'll be seeing you.

First of all, once the game is started it just throws you right into it without pomp and circumstance. You are introduced to a cutscene of Mario engaging in fisticuffs with a sharply dressed King Bowser Koopa as he is abducting Princess Peach in order to force her to marry him. Mario loses and lands unconscious in the monochrome town of Bonneton in the Cap Kingdom and is greeted by a ghostly being resembling a white top hat named Cappy who is in a similar predicament in which someone he cares for, his sister Tiara, was kidnapped by Bowser to be used for his sham of wedding to Peach. He and Mario team up, which grants Mario the ability to possess certain objects, animals and enemies with an action known in-game as "capturing," so they can find a working airship that can chase after Bowser, defeat the wedding planners that Bowser hired known as the Broodals, and rescue Peach from his clutches as he commits grand larceny in several kingdoms so he can obtain only the best quality items to be used in the ceremony. Seems like a lot to take in all at once right here, but trust me it is much easier to follow the plot in the game than from reading my explanation here.

Now as to be expected from a 3D Mario game, Mario has a ton of movement options, but with the addition to his normal running and jumping techniques that have been a staple since Super Mario 64, Mario can also roll into a continuous somersault which can be linked into a long jump and back again, and he can throw his hat to be used as a temporary platform that can be jumped on. All of these movement options coupled with such fluid and responsive controls makes it feel REALLY good traversing the massive kingdoms that Mario must explore in order to find Power Moons, the game's chief collectible and fuel source for the Odyssey, Mario's top hat-shaped airship, and he will need a lot of these moons to power his ship so it can get to new kingdoms. Luckily each major kingdom has more then enough moons to find usually having around 30-50 moons each. In addition to the sheer number of moons, each main kingdom also has either 50 or 100 regional purple coins to collect that can be spent in a Crazy Cap store for special costumes or souvenirs for your ship. Not necessary for finishing the game, but needed for 100% completion.

Compared to some of the other 3D Mario games, this one has one major change that completely changes how the game is approached; There are no more 1-up mushrooms. Instead, every time you die you lose 10 coins and considering that coins are much more important in this game than in previous entries, those unnecessary deaths are much more of a problem now. Luckily though you will never see a game over screen no matter how long you've been playing; no 1-ups means no way that you can run out of lives. In addition to this, coins no longer restore health. Instead, if you are low on health then you will need to find and collect a heart to restore one portion of his 3-HP meter. These new mechanics make the game feel more modern and makes collecting coins fun again without devaluing them considering they are no longer a source of health.

Now my biggest fear before I started the game was thinking that a good chunk of the kingdoms would just once again be rehashed ideas that have been used in many Mario games before. Thankfully, Odyssey only follows this trend to a bare minimum instead using those old design tropes as merely guidelines and greatly expanding on those and turning them into their own thing. Instead of a regular water-themed area, you have Lake Lamode of the Lake Kingdom which is heavily inspired by Greek architecture and French fashion designs; instead of plain lava area, you have Mount Volbono of the Luncheon Kingdom which is all bright colors and low polygonal models; and my personal favorite and what could possibly be considered a fresh twist on the jungle-level trope, New Donk City of the Metro Kingdom: a vertically impressive urban jungle modeled after what could possibly be Times Square of New York City and the classic arcade game, Donkey Kong. Needless to say, I never found myself bored from exploring as there is so much detail in even the smallest things and there is a lot of stuff to do, and it is all condensed into an impressively small 6gb package.

There are just too many good things that can be said about this game. The music is fantastic, it feels really good to collect all of those power moons, the 8-bit 2D segments are a great nostalgic change of pace and don't break up the flow of the game too much, the capture mechanic is ingenious, and the worlds are so unique despite them mostly being the same old stage tropes from past entries. I only have one real gripe about the game, but I'll save that for another article; let's call that one part 2, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score

Despite the video being less than 15 minutes long, they managed to show off a lot of new info for games we already knew about, and some brand new Switch games to be released on the horizon. Here's the info below.

• First off, there was a rather surprising reveal that The World Ends With You for the Nintendo DS will be receiving a port with some new content. The World Ends With You: Final Remix will be launching some time this year.
• Pokken Tournament DX will be receiving DLC in the form a 2 wave pass called the Battle Pack which will contain the playable pokemon Aegislash and Blastoise and the support pokemon pairs of Mega Rayquaza & Mimikyu and Mew & Celebi. The Battle Pack can be pre-order for $14.99USD right now, which will also contain some new Avatar equipment, with wave 1 being released on January 31 and wave 2 being released on March 23.
  
• New abilities were shown off in Kirby: Star Allies being the Artist and Spider abilities and team abilities that allow access to new areas. This game will launch on March 16 of this year.
  
• The demo for Dragon Quest Builders was released on the Switch eShop after the direct.
• Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition was confirmed to exist and would have all of the content from both the Wii U and 3DS version of the game and two additional costumes for both Link and Zelda based on their appearances in Breath of the Wild. It will launch some time this Spring.
  
• A new entry in the Mario Tennis series is being developed for the Switch under the title Mario Tennis Aces and would be the first Mario Tennis game to feature a story mode since Mario Tennis Power Tour on the GBA. It will also launch this Spring.
• Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana was revealed to be getting a port on the Switch and will be released this Summer.
  
• A free update for Super Mario Odyssey was revealed and would add a new distraction to the main game called Luigi's Balloon World which is pretty much a glorified game of hide & seek. The update will also add new costumes for Mario and filters for snapshot mode. The update will be available in February.
• Another fighting game by SNK was revealed featuring an all female roster of charactes from past SNK games, all of which can be customized with different outfits. SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy will be available this Summer.
• Neo Geo's Art of Fighting 2 was also released on the Switch eShop as well.
  
• The new character that was said to be coming to Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was officially confirmed to be Donkey Kong and will be available some time this Spring.
• The Switch version of Payday 2 will have some timed exclusive content in the form of a hacker-themed character named Joy. The game will launch on February 27.
• The unusual new platforming game inspired by Nordic mythology called Fe by Zoink was revealed to be coming to Switch on February 16.
• Another game by the name Celeste was also confirmed to be coming to the Switch on January 25 and seems to focus heavily on precision platforming and dashing through the air.
• Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze was revealed that it was being ported to the Switch with the addition of a brand new game mode where you play as Donkey Kong's surfer mechanic brother, Funky Kong who seems to be geared mostly toward speed runners. It will launch on May 4.
  
• And finally, it was revealed that Dark Souls Remastered will be coming to the Switch on May 25 of this year.

Now I would say this was a pretty good direct overall. Not too bad, but had just enough new info to keep me satisfied. No info on the newly revealed Bayonetta 3, a possible Switch port of Smash Bros, or even any new amiibo though. One step at a time I guess, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

This Direct was a mix of both 3DS and Switch news this time around and I don't think anyone was expecting anything like this.

• First off, it was revealed that a compilation of WarioWare games would be coming to the 3DS in the form of WarioWare Gold which will contain over 300 microgames. No information if it will be released as digital only or as physical copy, but it will launch on August 3.
• The third entry in the "Dillon" series was announced and it appears to have a bit of a street racing theme this time around. Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers will be available May 24 with a demo becoming available on May 10.
• Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story was revealed to be getting a remake and will include a new game mode similar to the Bowser's Minions mode in the Super Star Saga remake. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey will launch sometime in 2019.
• Detective Pikachu was reconfirmed to be getting a March 23 release date with a jumbo Detective Pikachu amiibo being released along side it.
  
• The Game Cube classic Luigi's Mansion was revealed to be getting a remake for the 3DS and would include a new Boss Rush mode. It will be available sometime later this year.
• Moving on to Switch news, Kirby Star Allies was revealed that other characters besides the many other partners in the game would be playable such as King DeDeDe and Meta Knight. In addition to this, other Kirby legacy characters like Marx and Gooey would be playable later in a future update.
  
• Okami HD was revealed to be getting a Switch port and would have both touch screen and Joy-Con motion support. It will launch this Summer.
  
• The new IP Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido was revealed to be coming to the Switch and will launch simultaneously with the 3DS version on June 8.
• Project Octopath Travelers had some new gameplay footage shown off in the form of 2 new characters (a merchant and an apothecary), the ability to have characters combine job classes to offer new strategies for battle and an official name. Octopath Traveler will launch on July 13 alongside a collector's edition that will include a pop-up diorama, a map, a sound selection CD, and a coin modeled after the in-game currency.
  
• Gameplay was finally shown off for Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes and it appears that the gameplay is mostly a top-down hack'n'slash that has different gameplay mechanics dependent on the world. It will also have a 2-player co-op mode where player 2 plays as Badman. It will launch later this year.
• Dark Souls Remastered was shown off and was revealed that a network test would be available allowing for players to try the game before it launches. In addition to this, it was revealed that an amiibo of Solaire of Astora would be available as well. They will both launch on May 25.
  
• News about My Nintendo was shown off regarding the gold points that you earn from purchases. Digital purchases on the Switch eShop will now give a number of gold points equal to 5% of the price of the software purchased (rounded). These gold points can also now be used to purchase games on the Switch eShop with each point being worth 1 cent.
• New info and gameplay features for Mario Tennis Aces was shown off. Players now will have a set number of tennis racquets for use in each match and you can perform super moves to that can give you the ability to break the opponent's racquet. Online tournaments and motion controls would also be a part of the experience among other things. It will launch June 22 with a pre-launch online tournament being announced some time later.
• Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker was revealed to be getting a port to both Switch and the 3DS and would include brand new stages based on Super Mario Odyssey and a co-op mode exclusive to the Switch version. Both versions will launch June 13.
• The critically acclaimed indie title Undertale was revealed to be coming to the Nintendo Switch...eventually.
  
• Crash Bandicoot The N.Sane Trilogy was also revealed to be getting a Switch port on July 10.
  
• A definitive version of the game Little Nightmares was revealed to be coming to the Switch and was shown to be compatible with the Pac-Man amiibo in order to unlock the paku mask. Little Nightmares: Complete Edition will be available on May 18.
  
• South Park: The Fractured But Whole is surprisingly enough also coming to the Switch with the DLC packs being available to purchase soon after. The game plus DLC Packs 1 and 2 will launch on April 24 and DLC Pack 3 will launch later this year.
  
• Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition now has a release date of May 18.
  
• Nintendo will be hosting an official ARMS tournament with the qualifier beginning in the game's ranked matches on March 8 at 5pm PT and ending March 18 at 4:59pm PT with the online finals being on March 31. Another ARMS Testpunch will also be available for 3 more days starting on March 31.
  
• Splatoon 2 is getting a 3.0 update which will include over 100 new pieces of gear, a handful of new stages a brand new X rank for online ranked matches. It was also revealed that the game will be getting its first paid premium DLC in the form of the Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion which will introduce a brand new story campaign where you play as an amnesiac octoling assisting Cap'n Cuttlefish in a new subway themed overworld area, and once this game mode is finished you will be able to play as an octoling in the online matches. It will launch this summer with a price of $19.99USD, but you can pre-purchase it now and it will include special octo gear as a thank you.
  
• And as a special surprise announcement, it was revealed that what appears to be a brand new Super Smash Bros game, not a port of the Wii U or 3DS games, will be coming to the Switch sometime this year and will have the Inklings from Splatoon as playable characters.

Well that's it, and I must say it was one helluva Direct. Not only did we get confirmation of paid DLC for Splatoon 2 and ports of both Crash Bandicoot and Undertale, but the fact that we're getting a brand new Smash this year is newsworthy enough in my book. I just hope that the roster is even bigger this time around, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

As always, if you are pressed for time, I will give you all of the juicy details and recap all of the news regarding the presentation to the best of my ability. So let's get started.

• The system will launch globally and simultaneously on March 3, 2017 with a price of 29,980 Yen in Japan, $299.99 in North America, and a varying price in Europe depending on the retailer.
• A new paid online service was revealed with a free trial period lasting until Autumn.
• Switch software WILL be region free.
• The system's battery life will vary by the game that's being played, but the general range is anywhere between 2.5 and 6 hours of continuous play. It will also come with a USB Type-C cable for recharging purposes.
• The screen is a capacitive touch screen.
• Up to 8 Switches can connect wirelessly to each other during local play.
• The Left Joy-Con was shown to have a "Capture" button which is used for taking screenshots (and eventually video footage) of the game you are currently playing.
• Two buttons on the interior of each Joy-Con were shown to be how the controllers lock into the console and also double as the L & R buttons for each player.
• Joy-Cons will also be available in other colors with the first 2 being neon blue and neon red.
• Each Joy-Con also has an IR camera at their bottom half which apparently is sensitive enough to detect the difference between rock, paper, and scissor hand gestures or varying distances from the screen.
• The brand new HD Rumble feature was shown off that somehow has the ability to mimic changes in shifting weight making for a more immersive experience.
• Two new games were shown off for showcasing the Joy-Con's features, one being 1-2-Switch which is a multiplayer party type game, and the other being Arms, a strange boxing game featuring characters with long spring-loaded boxing gloves. 1-2-Switch will launch along side the console and Arms will launch in spring.
• Splatoon 2 was announced which showed off many new features such as duel-wielding, dodging, and a bunch of new special weapons. It is planned to launch this summer.
• Super Mario Odyssey was revealed and showed Mario in a plethora of new areas all based around different parts of the world and showed of a new gameplay mechanic revolving around throwing his hat. It unfortunately won't be released until the holiday season.
• Two new games were then revealed after the reveal of Super Mario Odyssey. These games were Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and Fire Emblem Warriors.
• Dragon Quest X, Dragon Quest XI, and Dragon Quest Heros I & II were announced for the system, but currently only for Japan.
• A new Shin Megami Tensei game and a new Square Enix game tentatively called Project Octopath Traveler were shown off in addition to Skyrim Remastered.
• What possibly might be a brand new No More Heroes game was revealed to be in development by Suda51.
• A brand new Fifa game was revealed to be coming to Switch with a 2017 release window.
• The complete package for the Switch was shown which includes the console and Switch Dock, a Left and a Right Joy-Con (either both gray or one of each neon color) with matching wrist straps, the Joy-Con controller dock, an HDMI cable, and an AC Adapter. The Pro Controller will be sold separately.
• And finally, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was revealed to launch along side the Nintendo Switch on March 3, 2017 with both Special Edition and Master Edition bundles also available at $99.99USD and $129.99USD respectively.
• Now outside of the presentation many other games were shown off such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe which has new items, new racers, and a PROPER battle mode in addition to the possibility of having all DLC pre-installed on the cartridge.
• Super Bomberman R and Puyo Puyo Tetris were shown off in addition to the reveal that Sonic Mania would also be coming to the Switch.

I tell ya, this was one helluva presentation. While they didn't show off what the system's specs were, I still can't wait for the system to launch. March 3rd can't come soon enough. And as for the games, I am truly excited for many of the new games that are coming out for it (especially for Zelda, Mario, and Splatoon 2), and the fact that the system is only $300 is just icing on the cake. Granted the lack of launch games for the system is a bit of a letdown, but I'm sure the Switch is bound to thrive after the unfortunate failure of the Wii U. Only time will tell if it will last long-term, but until then, I'll be seeing you.