Wrapping Up Nintendo #1: Mini does not mean minuscule, and Oh My Giygas

Nintendo today executed a sneak attack on our wallets.  A Nintendo Direct Mini was produced for both Europe and North America, and these Wrapping Up Nintendo columns will primarily focus on the North American versions, so apologies to any European readers.

Today's Nintendo Direct Mini started with Bill Trinen, from the Nintendo Treehouse, shaking a fruit tree, Animal Crossing-style, and eating a fruit before detailing some stuff about upcoming new releases for both 3DS and Wii U.

First up, a roundup of Animal Crossing: New Leaf and the Nintendo 3DS Image Share.

Next, Bill confirmed that the StreetPass Relay feature is coming in a few weeks to the 29,000+ Nintendo Zone locations across North America.  YAY!

And then they talked up the 4 new StreetPass Mii Plaza games as of last week in North America: Mii Force, Flower Town, Warrior's Way, and Monster Manor.  All 4 games are available for $4.99 each, or you can get all of them at once for $14.99.

Then the upcoming Mario & Luigi: Dream Team was detailed. Lotsa humor, this game looks very funny, cannot wait till August 11th!

Then the new Shin Megami Tensei IV was talked about with regard to the amazing new special deal for $30 eShop credit if you already have Fire Emblem Awakening (hot dog!).  Now if only I can find the game...

Then he recapped what has come forth for 3DS in the past year, and talked about what's ahead.  First, Mario & Luigi Dream Team hits August 11th, then Pokemon X and Pokemon Y on October 12th, and The Legend of Zelfa A Link Between Worlds and Mario Party 3DS have both been confirmed for release this November.

And then the discussion turned to Wii U, and their focus will be there till the end of this mini Nintendo Direct.

First, Pikmin 3 is coming to Wii U on August 4th.  To say this is a much-anticipated game by Wii U owners (of which I am not one... yet) is the understatement of the century.  Bingo Battle was detailed, and this weekend's GameStop Pikmin 3 event was also detailed later in the broadcast.

Then, the next big Wii U exclusive, The Wonderful 101, had a new trailer for the highly anticipated collaboration between Nintendo and Platinum Games.  This looks gooooooooood.  Unfortunately it comes out the same week as GTA V, so there's that.

The next games coming after Wonderful 101 are: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, Wii Party U, Sonic: Lost World, Disney's Planes, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, and Super Mario 3D World, all before the end of the year.

Then he detailed the multiplatform games coming to Wii U that have Wii U-exclusive features, like Rayman Legends, Just Dance 2014,  Watch_Dogs, and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag from Ubisoft, Batman: Arkham Origins from WB Interactive Entertainment, Skylanders SWAP Force from Activision, and Disney Infinity from Disney Interactive Studios.  All of them have exclusive features to the Wii U version, and along with the games Scribblenauts Unmasked, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut are ALL coming to the Wii U this year.

Additionally there are great new eShop games for Wii U: First, Cloudberry Kingdom from Ubisoft launches August 1st.  Second, DuckTales: Remastered from Capcom is coming August 13th to the Wii U, PC, and PSN.  And finally, Spin The Bottle: Bumpee's Party, which looks unbelievably weird, launches in August.

Finally, a surprise announcement: Earthbound, the SNES classic RPG, finally, finally, FINALLY is rereleased starting... today.  Yes, today.  You didn't think I put Oh My Giygas in the title for show, did you?

Anyways, it's finally out, for $9.99, AND if you remember when the original Earthbound rereleased Nintendo included a truly extensive strategy guide with the game.  Well, they have actually done the impossible and digitized the strategy guide, AND it is optimized for the Wii U GamePad so you can get help while you're playing, if you are so inclined.  Too bad they can't put the old scratch-&-sniff cards up on Club Nintendo as a reward you can buy with coins.

This is the sole reason that I wanted to buy a Wii U.  Now that it is finally out... maybe I can get one for the purposes of being able to review Wii U games on the blog.  You never know.

So, until the next Nintendo Direct, please stay safe out there, especially during this current heat wave we're experiencing on the East Coast of the US, and play all the games!