Hey, it showed a little late, but I figured one last little E3 post wouldn't hurt. This guest-post comes courtesy of Thomas Wilde, who attended the behind-closed-doors Q&A session along with several other members of the press. The subject is, of course, the details of how Miyamoto surprised everyone by confirmed that he had a team at work on a new Pikmin, presumably for Wii.
So we've run through virtually everything I saw that I could post about, and now it's time for the wrap-up post that spotlights the best games on display this year. Well, "best" relative to "things Kou and I played or saw that we really liked." Highly subjective? Sure, but so are all the E3 wrap-ups trying to make you believe that there were no great Wii or DS games at the show this year.
Note that this Best Of list isn't in any particular order. These games are all so different that ranking them against each other would be fairly pointless. Generally I consider anything for Wii or DS a "Nintendo game", even if it's third-party, since to a Nintendo fan it's just all stuff to go in your favorite system. Finally, I'll be up front and say that the list is pretty biased in favor of action games or games with action elements to the gameplay. Traditional RPGs and other turn-based games tend to leave less of an impression on the show floor, due to the limited length of most demo sessions.
Anyway, boring stuff out of the way, let's get on to talking about some great games worth looking forward to in the rest of 2008 and early 2009.
- It sucked. For my format I wanted to cover the good and bad of each game presented to us. If I couldn't think of anything good... well, better not to waste your time or mine with it, right?
- Assets were incomplete or missing. Anything third-party where I couldn't get at least a logo, fact sheet, and fresh screens got passed on. This was a big problem with multiplatform games, as assets packs usually didn't make it very clear what was Wii-specific.
- The game wasn't really there. A bunch of companies announced E3 games that were only present as trailers, while other companies that didn't attend the show did release new asset batches. My policy was that if I didn't see it running on an actual system somewhere in L.A., it didn't count.
Retro Game Challenge: Retro Game Challenge is based on a Japanese game show where comedian Shinya Arino is forced to play really old, really hard, really hateful video games. Now you get chosen by the "Demon Arino" to suffer the torment of playing lousy old video games. Retro Game Challenge lets you play original-but-terribly-authentic NES-style shooters, racing titles, platformers, and even RPGs. Use "game magazines" and other helpful items in-games to try and meet all of Demon Arino's challenges, but be warned... eventually, he's going to expect you to beat these things.
The Hype: Game Center CX, the show Retro Game Challenge is based on, is tremendous fun to watch. A lot of the show's attitude shows up in the game, and the "recreations" of NES games at their most generic and inexplicable are hilariously dead-on.
The Snark: The joke behind this game is great, and it held up well for ten minutes or so I got to play it, but I'm left wondering if the gag will still be funny after, say, five hours or so.
Anyway, some retro-tastic screens behind the cut. The kids on the bottom screen represent "you".
The Lowdown: A version of the original "god sim" game reimagined for the DS with new touchscreen controls and additional features. Play as one of five elemental gods with their own miracles to bestow on worshipers and a unique demonic counterpart. Actions you take on the simple wire-frame bottom screen play out in beautiful 2D animations on the upper screen. Populous DS supports multiplayer for up to four players and features both popular classic Populous maps and all-new maps.The single-player campaign offers 50 missions and a Free Play mode.
The Hype: Populous is one of those classic games that seems like a really good fit for the DS, and the odd Japanese sensibilities of the remake's graphics give the game some much-needed visual flair.
The Snark: I'm really wondering why XSEED is publishing this and not Electronic Arts...
Anyway, some great screens and art after the cut.
The Lowdown: The Korg DS-10 software is the single most powerful music creation tool available for the Nintendo DS. The software emulates all of the functions of the famous Korg MS-10 syntehsizer, and uses high-quality sound sources provided Korg. Use the touchscreen, keyboard screen, or matrix screen to enter notes, and network up to four DS units together to create more complex pieces. Features delay, chorus, and flanger sound effects from the mixing board, and two patchable dual-oscillator analog synth simulators along with a four-part drum machine.
The Hype: The Korg DS-10 is an amazing feat of engineering and looks like an incredible tool for music creation. There's literally nothing else like it available to the DS, or virtually any competing handheld.
The Snark: As fun as it is to read and write about, the Korg DS-10 is probably going to be useless to you if you aren't already a fairly skilled musician. It's definitely not a game in any way, shape, or form.
Anyway, some nifty interface screens behind the cut.
The Lowdown: Our House is a party mini-game collection for up to four players where each player has a chance to upgrade their tools, then begin work on building a house by playing various mini-games. Projects like Bathroom Remodel let you complete your goal by playing an entire course of mini-games through. When your house is complete, you can show it off to your friends using WiiConnect 24. All the games use motion control input from the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. You can choose to build one of a variety of different style houses.
The Hype: Few mini-games offer final goals and accomplishments to make gameplay feel a bit more significant. Our House's house-building theme is a good idea.
The Snark: I found some of the mini-games in this one seriously incomprehensible when I tried to play it on the show floor. Granted, the build was so early that proper menus, and probably tutorials, weren't implemented yet.
Some screens behind the cut, where I also have no idea what's going on.
The Lowdown: As Major Minor, you must use the band leader's baton to gather up your marching band and keep them all playing in time. Do well and you'll get a massive band behind you, but do poorly and players will drop out. March in seven locations full of hazards to guide your band around, while you try to layer up to 15 different instruments into over 30 classic marching band songs in the game. You can collect different band members every time you play to change the sound of the songs.
The Hype: NanaOn-Sha and Rodney Alan Greenblat pretty much created the rhythm game genre as we know it with the bleeding-edge PlayStation title Parappa the Rapper. There's no reason to believe their Wii collaboration won't be a smashing success.
The Snark: This is the only game I played at E3 where the hands-on time left me disappointed. The baton-based gameplay mechanic feels really weird and tires out your arm faster than Wii Sports Boxing. It was one of the last games I saw, so maybe I didn't get to spend enough time with it, but what I did play wasn't much fun.
Anyway, some wonderful screens wait behind the cut.
Major Minor's Majestic March
The Lowdown: As the hero Sword, you must rescue all the people kidnapped from your village and solve the mystery of Away, the evil force responsible for the disappearances. Repopulate your town by finding new dungeons and rescuing the people trapped inside, which unlocks new shops and town locations. But you've got to move quickly, as the dungeon "shuffles" to put you and survivors in danger the longer you linger inside. Collect Fupongs inside the dungeon to unleash elemental magic. Team up with a friend in the co-op Raid Battle Mode to unlock special equipment you can then use in your single-player game.
The Hype: Created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, with character designs by Naoto Oshima and music by Nobuo Uematsu, Away represents an all-star team of video game design with great new mechanics to explore.
The Snark: You could say the same about Blue Dragon, too, but it didn't stop that game from being really boring.
Enjoy some great screens and a bit of character art behind the cut.
The Lowdown: Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff resurrects the long-dormant Tecmo Bowl franchise in a big way for the Nintendo DS. This game is all about fast-paced arcade-style gameplay with no official team licenses, flashy cutscenes and deep customization options. Customize your team and battle friends over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, or play using one of the 32 Tecmo teams scattered nationwide. Use your players' Super Moves to devastate the competition, and control everything with the DS stylus. You can even customize your own playbook!
The Hype: The NES Tecmo Bowl was one of the best games of its day, and an object of serious nostalgia even to gamers who usually won't touch a sports title. If Kickoff manages to be even half as fun as its predecessor, it's going to be one of the best DS sports titles.
The Snark: Wait, a game about playing football instead of ogling the official licenses that are probably out of date by the time the game ships? Hah, nobody'll buy it.
Anyway, screens that feature very little gameplay behind the cut. But dig those menus!
Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff
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