E3 2017 - Nintendo

16 June 2017

Last but not least was of course Nintendo. Last year they stole the show with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The big question was could they do the same thing this year with Super Mario Odyssey? Once again there was no stage presence from Nintendo, instead they had some pre-recorded stuff and loads of game trailers, in an event they were calling "Nintendo Spotlight".

Even in the opening sizzle reel there were two reveals. FIFA 18 is coming to the Switch, whereas it was previously just known as "FIFA" - which could have been any old FIFA just with updated players and teams. And Rocket League is coming to the Switch! This is a fantastic move from developer Psyonix, it seems like the perfect fit for the console - whether docked, in handheld mode, or possibly best in tabletop mode with two players.

To kick things off, Nintendo of America CEO, Reggie Fils-Aime introduced two new first-party games. Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and a new Kirby game, planned for late 2017 and 2018 respectively. Next was a brief but important announcement for Pokémon fans. A new "core Pokémon game" is in development for the Nintendo Switch. No title or logo was revealed so expect to see this at E3 next year.

Then it was time for a huge reveal for old-school Nintendo fans - particularly Metroid fans. Metroid Prime 4 is in development for Nintendo Switch. This was purely a splash screen - no other details at all, but it was certainly one of the biggest announcements at E3 this year.

Next up was a new, super colourful Yoshi game, and Fire Emblem Warriors, planned for 2018 and late 2017 respectively. At this point I couldn't believe how many games Nintendo were showing. Absolutely trouncing last year's show of just Zelda and Pokémon Sun & Moon. Speaking of Zelda, the second of two DLC expansion packs for Breath of the Wild was also revealed.

Then it was time for a little more info on Rocket League for Switch. Nintendo exclusive items and battle-cars are heading to this version, along with cross-play for other platforms. Another fantastic move by Psyonix. They didn't announce exactly which platforms during the Spotlight, but it turns out to be between Xbox One, Switch and Steam. It does seem odd why Sony aren't playing ball here...

So after all this there could only be one game left. The main attraction Super Mario Odyssey. It wasn't even obvious that this was the last trailer with it opening with a huge T-Rex. But then Mario's hat was revealed and the plumber himself burst out. This was a brilliant trailer with so many little hints at gameplay and fun things you can do in this game. I also love the soundtrack already.

Before E3 we did get the first trailer for Super Mario Odyssey back in January, and this did reveal the hat mechanic where Mario can frisbee it out to be used as a jump platform. Little did we know how much more his hat can do! Now known to be called Cappy. The most powerful technique is to 'Capture' enemies and other NPCs to fully control them. This enables Mario to explore the worlds he'll visit and uncover all the secrets this game has to offer.

After this trailer, and the Spotlight ended, Nintendo showed a live gameplay demo from Super Mario Odyssey, and this is where I was open-jawed. There are wall murals in the game decorated as original 2D Mario levels with a classic green pipe entrance. Mario can crawl into the pipe to be transformed into 2D to play the old-school style levels. I was so impressed by this, it was one of my highlights of E3.

I didn't realise at the time but there is a glimpse of this feature in the trailer above, showing how much is packed into it. You can also see the full 2D transformation in the live demo from Nintendo below by skipping to 18:30.

We thought this was the end of Nintendo's show, but no. Reggie had time for one more announcement, another Metroid game! And this time an exclusive for the 3DS! Most gaming media predictions did not include one Metroid game, let alone two. Metroid: Samus Returns is a remake of Metroid 2 - originally released on the GameBoy. After a short trailer, they showed a lengthy live gameplay demo, similar to Mario. It's quite amazing that this game had no leaks whatsover and is due for release in only a few months, on 15th September.