Sorry, but I don't have a one-word reaction to share RE: yesterday's Nintendo Direct

I do have a few words to say about it, though--if anyone's interested in hearing them.

This latest Nintendo Direct broadcast, which focused on third-party 3DS games, began with Satoru Iwata showing some new footage of Tomodachi Collection: New Life, the sequel to a Japan-only DS life sim that's sold more than three million copies to date.

I don't know about you, but Iwata had me hooked at the get-go thanks to his Famicom-themed room.



The question is: will the game, which will be released in Japan on April 18, do what its predecessor did not and make its way westward? I hope so, although I have my doubts.

Iwata then went on to discuss a number of upcoming third-party games, some of which I'm interested in and some of which I'm not, including Level-5's Professor Layton and the Legacy of Super Civilization A (aka Professor Layton and the Azran Legacies) and Youkai Watch, Success' Touch Detective: Funghi's Big Breed (a match-three spin-off of the company's Touch Detective series) and Namco Bandai's Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission and Super Robot Wars UX.

Far more intriguing to me was the news that Level-5's Guild 02 compilation will now be released digitally rather than via retail. That said, only one of the Guild 02 titles really intrigued me, with that title being Spaceship Damray, a "suspense adventure" that's being developed by game designer Asano Kazuya and novelist Takemaru Abiko.

Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei IV and Capcom's Monster Hunter 4 wrapped up this installment of Nintendo Direct, and both looked pretty great to these presser-weary (after Sony's PS4 event of a few days ago) eyes.



I've been on the Shin Megami Tensei IV hype train since it was first announced, of course, but I haven't always had such a favorable impression of Monster Hunter 4 (or any Monster Hunter game, for that matter), so it'll be interesting to see if I follow through and buy the series' latest entry should it be released here in North America.

I have to admit that I was hoping a few new 3DS games--like a Final Fantasy V remake using Bravely Default's engine--would be announced during this broadcast, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

Maybe next time, Nintendo?

I'm really liking the looks of Level-5's Pokémon-esque 3DS game, Youkai Watch, which of course means it ain't coming to North America

I wish I weren't as cynical as I am when it comes to the localization prospects of the Pokémon-esque RPG that is Youkai Watch, but it's hard not to be a bit of a grump when you consider how many great-looking 3DS titles have been Japan-only affairs thus far. (Yes, I'm looking at you Bravely Default, Fantasy Life, Labyrinth no Kanata and Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigina Orb, among others.)

Still, I'm crossing my fingers and toes in the hopes that my negative prediction is proven wrong, as it looks pretty darn awesome to these (horribly nearsighted) eyes.



I'm especially intrigued by Youkai Watch's weirdo "battle wheel," which can be spotted at the 42-second mark in the trailer above (and here).

Ol' Level-5 is really hitting it out of the park these days when it comes to the 3DS, isn't it? Not too long ago the company found a surprising amount of success with its Animal Crossing wannabe, Fantasy Life (which I've heard is pretty stellar, by the way), and now it's looking to capture a smidge of the Pokémon crowd with the still-without-a-release-date Youkai Watch.