Wrapping Up Nintendo #4: Sonic, Zelda, and Kirby, oh my!

Yes indeed, today was worth being miserable from recent sickness to watch the Nintendo Direct presentation.  So, let's go ahead and give you a full rundown along with my thoughts, shall we?

First, Satoru Iwata delivered some Wii U information, starting with Super Mario 3D World.  I have to say, the way they presented SM3DW looks INCREDIBLE and I can't wait to see what other people think.  New powerups like turning your character of choice into various blocks (nice one) and multiple versions of your character of choice and what is most likely the first "false exit" in the first Ghost House of the game seem almost inevitable that people will enjoy it.

Next, Wii Party U's House Party Mode was demonstrated.  The minigames looked bizarre to say the least but seem interesting enough for gaming weekends with friends and Thanksgiving w/ family I guess.

Then they confirmed a delay for Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze till February 2014.  That's okay, the release schedule in October and November was getting pretty crowded anyways on both Wii U and the Nintendo handhelds.

Then he talked about Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games.  The game actually has an online mode for the very first time, which is absolutely AMAZING.  Also they announced a Wii Remote Plus bundle for the game (which seems to be the theme of the day) and it's coming November 15th.

Then a BOMBSHELL dropped.  Sonic is returning to the next Super Smash Bros. game!  I was expecting it, but simultaneously not expecting it.

Then Iwata discussed the Mission Mode from Pikmin 3.  There's a software update for the game available now and it is required for paid Mission Mode DLC.  Luckily one of them is free, so...

After that, he tossed it over to Nintendo of America and Damon Baker from the licensing department talked about third parties on Nintendo platforms with release dates in parentheses:

• Etrian Odyssey Untold The Milennium Girl (today)
• Just Dance 2014 (October 8)
• Skylanders Swap Force (October 13)
• Lego Marvel Super Heroes (October 22)
• Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate (October 25 )
• Sonic Lost World (October 29)
• Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (October 29)
• Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Dual Destinies (October 24) - free demo available NOW on Nintendo eShop
• Nintendo is attending Indiecade!  This is BIG news!

Then after all that, he tossed it over to the Treehouse's Eric Peterson with first-party updates:

• Zelda Wind Waker HD Outset Island shirt QR code for Animal Crossing New Leaf for those of you who haven't burned out on the game yet
• 2DS retail hardware shown, looks good.  I might even get the red one for once, who knows.
• 6 StreetPass hits per Nintendo Zone StreetPass Relay point now
• New Bravely Default trailer (looks interesting, almost like the graphical style of Final Fantasy 3 on the DS)

Afer that we went back to Iwata and got an update on the new 3DS Zelda, A Link Between Worlds.  This game bucks Zelda convention in that you can get the dungeon items early on and tackle the dungeons in any order you choose.  That is quite cool!

The final announcement?  A BRAND SPANKING NEW KIRBY GAME coming out in 2014!!!  YAY!  Can't wait!  Loved the old-school Kirby music too, can't wait to play that one.