Don't worry, I won't be buying the Animal Crossing 3DS XL. Or at least I don't think I'll be buying it ...

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm pretty sure I won't be buying the Animal Crossing 3DS XL that will be released in North America (and throughout Europe, too, I believe) alongside Animal Crossing: New Leaf on June 9 (June 14 in Europe).

I still love the system's classy design, of course, but I like my pink-and-white XL nearly as much--and, really, who needs to own two different XLs?

The Animal Crossing 3DS XL's European and North American release was announced during a pair of Nintendo Directs that aired earlier this morning, by the way. You can watch them here and here, respectively, if you'd like. A Japanese Nintendo Direct (deemed the "Luigi Special 2") went live at the same time and can be viewed here.

I took the time to watch both the Japanese and North American Nintendo Directs, so I figured I might as well share my thoughts on some of what was covered during those broadcasts.

Japan's getting a Luigi-branded 3DS LL--Haven't Japanese gamers received enough limited edition LLs? I guess not, as another one--featuring a number of green Luigi silhouettes--will be released there alongside Mario & Luigi RPG 4 (aka Mario & Luigi: Dream Team) on July 18.

Another Mario Party? Yawn--What can I say? I'm not all that interested in this long-running series. In fact, I don't think I've played a Mario Party game since the second one. That said, I know a lot of people still get a kick out of them, so I'm glad another is being prepped for release.

AHHHHHHHH!!!--That was the gist of my reaction to the news that we'll soon be getting a new entry in the Yoshi's Island series, by the way. Although I wasn't sure what to think of the new art style at first, it's since grown on me and now the game is at or near the top of my "most wanted" list for whichever year it winds up being released.

I think I've changed my mind about Sayonara Umihara Kawase's graphics--I've been pretty down on this game in the recent past, despite my love for previous Umihara Kawase titles, but the gameplay snippet shown during the Japanese Nintendo Direct prompted me to do a 180, as they say. Now, I still don't consider it gorgeous, by any means, but I do think it looks better in motion than it does in statis screenshots. Assuming its gameplay holds up to prior iterations, I have a feeling this will be a 3DS game well worth owning. 

You had me at A Link to the Past 2--So, those devious designers and developers at Nintendo are busy working on a follow-up to one of my all-time favorite games, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. I couldn't be happier. Well, OK, maybe I could be happier if the game was sprite-based rather than polygon-based, but that's probably asking a bit much in this day and age. Also, this sequel earns bonus points for employing an art style that somehow reminds me of (a prettier) Super Mario RPG.

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy it is (I think)--You know how I just said I couldn't be happier? I was lying, as this piece of news was responsible for bringing the biggest smile to my face while watching today's Nintendo Directs. Sadly, it won't hit store shelves here until 2014, but I have a feeling it'll be worth the wait. By the way, does this mean the folks at Nintendo and Square Enix--who will be publishing the game in tandem, it seems--have decided to stick with the Japanese name? I sure hope so.

Now that I've had my say, what did all of you think of this morning's reveals? Did they satisfy you, or did they leave you wanting more?