Since I took the time to watch both the Japanese and North American ones (I didn't watch the European Nintendo Direct because I was pretty sure it would ape its North American counterpart--which it apparently did), I thought I'd share a few thoughts on them here.
Nintendo of Japan's Nintendo Direct--My only thought about this one, which focused on Wii U software and mostly covered well-worn ground: Damn, Pikmin 3 looks good. Amazing, even. Oh, and: Square Enix (or Nintendo, or both) better bring Dragon Quest X to our shores. Wait, one more: They're not really going to try to sell Wii U Panorama View, are they?
Nintendo of America's Nintendo Direct--Oh, another look at Pikmin 3. Unsurprisingly, it still looks amazing. I especially like the looks of the segment that appears to take place on a beach at night. Also: Wii Fit U to be released in early 2013? Sounds good to me. Hearing that Luigi's Manion: Dark Moon won't make it out until "spring 2013" sounds, er, less good. Is it really that difficult to give this game a specific release date, Nintendo of America? Still, we were told that Fire Emblem: Awakening will hit the streets on Feb. 4 and that Game Freak's fabulous-looking HarmoKnight (above) will hit the eShop sometime during the first quarter, so this Nintendo Direct wasn't completely disappointing.
Nintendo of Europe's Nintendo Direct--You may have noticed that the blurb above didn't include even a passing mention of Animal Crossing: New Leaf (which may just be my most-anticipated game of 2013 at the moment). Well, that's because neither Reggie nor the other Nintendo of America staffers featured in that presentation bothered to bring it up. Thankfully, it sounds as though it was discussed, at least briefly, during Nintendo of Europe's broadcast--although the word is it was given a "Q2 2013" release window, which means April, May or June. Where's that "Debbie Downer" sound clip when you need it?
What did all of you think of the information and footage that came out of these broadcasts? Were you pleased? Disappointed? Or maybe you felt an entirely different emotion after watching them?
Do you know if Harmo Knight will be released in Europe too? And finally they were able to tell us a space of time Animal Crossing will be released in. But it happens way to often that they have to delay the release-date (hope this wont happen to AC).
ReplyDeleteYes, Lizzi, it will be released in Europe, too. In fact, NOE said specifically that it will be released there in March (while NOA just said that it will be released here in early 2013).
ReplyDeleteAs for Nintendo delating New Leaf in Europe or North America: God, I hope not. I need this game! :P
There was still no announcement for The Denpa Men... are you sure it'll be released in Europe this year? :(
ReplyDeleteI'm so super happy that Rhythm Hunter Harmo Knight comes to eu!!!! :D
Oh, I'm sure they didn't mention The Denpa Men because the demo's already out (go check!) and the full game is supposed to be available next week, I believe. Or at least that's what I've read elsewhere!
ReplyDeleteAs for HarmoKnight: Yes, I'm happy about that being localized, too. Looks like such a cute game :)
I sure wish they'd let Game Freak make games that aren't Pokemon more often. Nothing against Pokemon, but Harmoknight looks great (that screen! I love it!) and I'd love more games like Pulseman and Drill Dozer.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Michael -- especially since I'm hardly the world's biggest fan of the Pokemon series. Plus, they've proven with the two games that you just mentioned -- as well as HarmoKnight, I hope -- that they can make awesome platformers. C'mon, Nintendo, let 'em loose once in a while!
ReplyDeleteYou're right!!! I checked the e-shop and it's not only the demo! The full game is now available! I'm downloading it right now.
ReplyDeleteDisappointing...
ReplyDeleteI was already expecting to wait for Animal Crossing, but not hearing even a single word...ugh.
Harmoknight looks AWESOME, though. I can't wait for that.
But...eh...I expected surprises.
I understand being disappointed, Justin. I am, too! That said, I think we should have had our expectations in check. After all, Nintendo *just* launched the Wii U in Europe and NA and will do so in Japan in a few days, so expecting them to announce new games on top of that probably was a bit much. I do hope we get another Nintendo Direct late this month or early next, though, that reveals some new titles.
ReplyDeleteEven if Nintendo *had* announced a few new games, though, I still would have been disappointed by the lack of an AC: New Leaf date. I really though it might be a February or March release. Sigh.
Oh, well, at least there will be Fire Emblem: Awakening and Etrian Odyssey IV to tide me over -- and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, too, should it actually, finally see the light of day. (I'm not holding my breath on that one, by the way.)
Ah! Even better. I knew I'd read that the demo was available, but that was it. Glad to hear the full thing is available, too. Anyway, hope you enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteJust played it and I love it! But the first boss is kinda hard right?
ReplyDeleteActually, the game in general can be pretty tough, Lizzi. So, be sure to pick the right Denpa Men (red and fire ones for volcanos, blue and ice ones for snow areas, etc. -- I think!) and don't be afraid to do some grinding (if you can stand it).
ReplyDelete*sigh* so you guys get Fire Emblem in Feb, we'll get it in April :( hooray for delay!
ReplyDeleteLuigi's Mansion in March!! Can't wait :) Tho I could add positive spin: play Luigi's Mansion to tide me over until Fire Emblem comes out :p
My suspicion that Animal Crossing will be out in June.
HarmoKnight - I'd want to try a demo to see how I go with it.
I was hoping they'd talk about Miiverse on the 3DS!!
But I guess they are waiting for Japan to get the Wii U and once that settles, they'll probably talk about Miiverse expansions (not just 3DS but accessibility on mobiles and PCs thru a browser).
Denpamen - its in the Aus eShop today! I have the demo (demo came last week), but strangely haven't been in the mood to play it haha but I will give it a go.
Yeah, I understand being a bit miffed about the Euro delay for Fire Emblem. That said, I'd personally rather get Luigi first, as Fire Emblem is sure to suck up a LOT of time.
ReplyDeleteAs for Animal Crossing coming in June: You may be right. That said, I hope it's out earlier than that. Sigh.
I'm going with HarmoKnight no matter what. What are you unsure about when it comes to that game, by the way?
Oh, and I'm also looking forward to hearing about Miiverse on 3DS. Hopefully Nintendo will make that happen sooner rather than later.
Finally, don't worry about Denpa Men. Play it when you feel like it! No need to rush things, after all :)
HarmoKnight - it kinda relies on reflex play and I'm finding I'm not that great with reflex play games.
ReplyDeleteIt's what worries me about Paper Mario - when you have to press A at the right time during combat. I gave 1000 year door a go couple weeks back and it reminded me why I probably gave up on it years ago. I just can't seem to time the button presses correctly. I feel uncoordinated -_- lol
I know HarmoKnight relies on music to get you thru, but if there's too much on screen I tend to get lost. It seems I have trouble keep track of stuff when there's too much getting displayed on screen (like Kid Icarus).
Anyways, that's why I want a demo for HarmoKnight to see how it plays and I remember reading, was it @Nintendaan? Who got the japanese version when it came out, saying how super hard it got towards the end. That worries me too. In that, I may find the main part of the game doable, but may find the final boss impossible (I encountered similar situation with Blue Dragon DS which made me rage quit LOL).
Makes sense to me, Igor! Given that, I hope they release a demo of the game in your region. I know they released on in Japan, so I have to imagine they'll do so elsewhere, too.
ReplyDeleteI hope so - Nintendo should stop being so scared of demos! I'm surprised they didn't release one for Kid Icarus.
ReplyDeleteI just don't want to spend all this money, just to find out I don't like the game.
I also hope more demos come to Wii U eshop
Oh, I'm sure Nintendo has its reasons for being stingy about demos. That's not to say they're *good* reasons, mind you, but I'm sure they have them. Thankfully, they seem to be coming around on them at least to a degree.
ReplyDeleteAs for demos on the Wii U eShop: Are the only ones that are up there so far for digital-only games? Or do they have demos for full-fledged retail releases, too?
There's some football game demo. Just 1 demo. I think its a retail game.
ReplyDeleteEw. Well, at least it's a start, right?
ReplyDeleteha I guess - there should be more. Tho apparently there will be a ZombiU demo coming in the next couple of weeks
ReplyDeleteOh, now see ... THAT is the kind of demo I'd want, as I'm interested in ZombiU but I'm not at all sure it's a game I should buy (as I'm terrible at games played from the first-person perspective).
ReplyDeleteAh, a pretty "blah" set of Nintendo Directs for me overall, I have to say. I am happy we'll be getting Fire Emblem in February, though! But I've got Etrian Odyssey IV preordered already, and I don't know if I can swing another big RPG in the same month...
ReplyDeleteReal shame that there wasn't any news about Animal Crossing: NL :/
Oh, I almost forgot about Harmo Knight! Have you played the demo on the Japanese 3DS shop, Bryan? I did, and it's a lot of fun! It's also drop-dead cute, I must say
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah, Anne, they were terrible on the whole. Or at least boring. Hopefully the next one will be more interesting. Thankfully, though, we got confirmation that Fire Emblem will be out early next year. Yay!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I hear you about FE and Etrian Odyssey IV coming out in the same month being tough. I'm buying both, though, since one or both of them is sure to become hard to find and go up in price (EO IV, especially).
As for AC:NL--Yeah, no date sucks. That said, it's pretty much all I'll play for the few months after its release, so in a way I'm glad that FE and even Luigi's Mansion will be released before it.
You know what's sad, Anne? I've downloaded about 10 demos from the Japanese eShop ... and I've yet to play a single one! Gah! Maybe I should try to play this one this weekend. Anyway, I'm glad to hear you liked it! Will you be getting the full game, do you think?
ReplyDeleteAlso, what are your thoughts on Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon? Is that a game you're at all interested in, or are you planning to pass on it?