Nintendo, as we all know, marches to the beat of their own drum. They don’t follow the path set by competitors Sony and Microsoft; they blaze their own trail. Sometimes, their penchant for independence and innovation results in unprecedented success, as with the Wii. Other times, it blows up in their face, like with initial reactions to the 3DS and Wii U.
The knee-jerk reaction for many gamers across the industry was to pan Nintendo following their decidedly underwhelming Digital Event at E3. While it may not have garnered the same excitement that Sony and Microsoft received (and let’s be honest – those were both incredibly tough acts to follow), it still showed off a plethora of new and exciting content coming within the next year or so.
Plus while E3 may be the prime chance to show off your new games to the public, the Nintendo Direct presentations are essentially mini-E3 digital showcases that happen about every other month. These Directs have helped to keep Nintendo in constant communication with fans, updating them on a slew of upcoming content year-round. They have announced Hyrule Warriors, Chibi-Robo Zip Lash, the localization of Fatal Frame V, and much more through their various Directs, and on occasion even dedicate full, 30 to 45-minute segments to specific hot-ticket games like Bayonetta 2, Super Smash Bros., and Splatoon. So if something you were hoping to see at E3 was a no-show, it could always make a surprise appearance in an upcoming Nintendo Direct.
Of course potential future announcements can’t make up for a mediocre E3 showing, but was there really so much to be upset about at Nintendo’s Digital Event this year? Let’s take one more look at what they had to offer.
Let’s start by talking about a couple of series’ that have made a triumphant return to the spotlight. Many franchises that Nintendo appears to hold near and dear – F-Zero, Metroid, Earthbound, and Star Fox, just to name a few – have been overlooked for far too long in fans’ eyes. While we still haven’t seen Captain Falcon’s return to the race track, Earthbound made an official debut on Western shores two years ago via the Wii U’s eShop. As a result of its success, a few days before the digital event Nintendo kicked off E3 with the announcement that Earthbound Beginnings (the first game in the Mother series) was not only coming to the US at long last, but that it would be available to download that very day. This started Nintendo off right at E3, but they somehow failed to keep that momentum going during the Digital Event a couple days later.
That event began with a proper look at Star Fox Zero; Nintendo’s first Star Fox game to hit a home console in nearly a decade, since Star Fox: Assault came to the GameCube in 2006. Many fans had been looking forward to seeing gameplay footage for Zero since it was revealed at E3 2014 that Nintendo was developing a new Star Fox title for the Wii U. Zero took center stage during their presentation this year, and for all intents and purposes it looks like an excellent addition to the franchise. It’s got classic interplanetary Arwing battles complete with barrel rolls, as well as improved Landmaster gameplay while you’re on the ground.
Though it may initially feel a bit clunky, Nintendo has also made clever use of the Wii U Game Pad in Star Fox Zero to provide a first-person angle on the action while the standard third-person view continues on your television. All things considered, this is a next-gen Star Fox that fans should be excited for. It’s a beautiful new action-packed entry into the long-dormant series that fans so wanted a revival of. So why aren’t people satisfied? Maybe they were hoping for a more story-centric title in the vein of Star Fox Adventures? Or perhaps they didn’t know exactly what they were hoping for, but this wasn’t it? Odds are that any excitement built up by Star Fox Zero was overshadowed and squashed at the abysmal reveal of Metroid Prime: Federation Force.
When viewers watching the Nintendo World Championship before E3 this year saw the new game Blast Ball in the competition, interest was piqued and people wanted to play it. Then when it was officially revealed to be part of a new “Metroid Prime” game the ire from fans was immediate and severe. Federation Force is not the Metroid game anyone seemed to want, as evidenced by the Change.org petition to straight-up cancel the game that is currently just under 3,300 signatures away from its goal of 25,000. Fans who saw the initial announcement feel betrayed by Nintendo’s alleged “slap in the face” with Federation Force, and want nothing to do with a new Metroid game that doesn’t feature the long-standing protagonist, Samus Aran.
The last game in the series, Metroid: Other M, starred the bounty hunter everyone missed so much this year, and has since become the black sheep of the franchise, with many outright ignoring its existence. It is definitely fair for fans of the series to be upset that Federation Force doesn’t look like the complete 180 from Other M and return to form they were hoping for, but looks can be deceiving. Nintendo of America’s Reggie Fils-Aime has acknowledged the backlash, stating, “This is an example where fans who aren’t able to get their hands on the game may be at a bit of a competitive disadvantage. Everyone who has played what we are showing regarding Metroid Prime, they’ve come across really pleased. My ask is that fans trust us.”
“Well why should we trust Nintendo?” may some people’s reaction to that. After all, the Wii U is still struggling, and everyone and their mothers are hating on Federation Force; Nintendo looks like it’s ready to unravel. Let’s take a deep breath, and revisit some recent history.
Nintendo has seen similar uproars in the past, and also have a strong record of providing their fans with exactly what they want, even if those fans don’t immediately realize it. Case in point: The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker was absolutely torn to pieces when it was announced, but is now remembered fondly and held with great regard.
The 3DS handheld, as well, started off rocky, with many claiming it to be a gimmick not worthy of the upgrade from a Nintendo DS, and it suffered in its infancy. With constant unwavering support in the form of price cuts and quality content being consistently pushed out, the 3DS now thrives on the market.
Some of Nintendo’s best products are initially met with raised eyebrows and high skepticism, and Federation Force may be no different. As Reggie said, fans just need to try trusting them.
Another example of Nintendo pursuing a venture that everyone’s uncertain about at first is Super Mario Maker. When unveiled at E3 2014 the gaming world let out a collective “ehhhh” as the old-school Mario world builder seemed like mild fun, but ultimately nothing that would keep your average player entertained for long.
Fast forward to E3 2015 when Super Mario Maker took center stage at the Nintendo World Championships, showing off insane, ridiculous, seemingly impossible (but totally doable!) custom worlds made from Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, and more, and the fans couldn’t get enough. Now Nintendo has revealed that not only will the game feature customization from a slew Mario games throughout the last 30 years, but it will also come with over 100 pre-designed levels and challenges for you to tackle. That means you can still have plenty of fun with the game without being a world-class architect or level designer.
Just like that, Super Mario Maker became one of 2015’s must-have titles. Nintendo, despite an initial tepid response, stuck to their guns, knowing that players would enjoy what they had to offer and now they have a quality product that plenty of people are keeping their eyes on.
Another point of contention are Nintendo’s amiibo figures. With all the time taken up by new amiibo during the Digital Event, they could have fit in a couple more trailers for other gamers. It’s no secret, however, that Nintendo is no fan of showing off games that aren’t ready to be shown off, hence the absence of new Wii U Legend of Zelda game. In the wise words of Shigeru Miyamoto, “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.” You can bet they’ve got more in the works than what we saw, and they’ll show us when they are confident in the material.
And so, Nintendo continues to press forward with their toys-to-life venture, even with the shortage issues. There has been no lack of frustration from collectors looking to grab each new figure on the market, and Nintendo has been doing their best to deal with that backlash. It may not be perfect yet, but an effort is being made to appease everyone, slowly but surely.
Reprints have been produced for nearly every amiibo released so far, from every wave released since the toys-to-life figures debuted last November. New figures are coming out all the time, and more reprints will be made for them as well if need be, so long as there is want for them. It’s unfortunate that some retailers are still having trouble keeping stock – especially when it comes to store exclusives and your favorite character was sold-out months before it arrived at your local shop. However, Nintendo is aware of the issue and if nothing else, they have a fierce loyalty to their brand and their fans. Nintendo is dedicated to the amiibo platform and amiibo fans, and based on how well they have always treated their own property in the past, we should expect and believe that eventually when it’s all said and done, the amiibo problems will be figured out satisfactorily.
The point here is that Nintendo knows what they’re doing. Zelda for Wii U was pushed to a 2016 release, but we all know that it is probably for the best. There is a severe amiibo shortage, and they are actively remedying that. The Star Fox series hasn’t seen a new entry since 2006, and now we’ve got Star Fox Zero coming to the Wii U this holiday season. We also saw some exciting new titles in Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam, The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes, and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, the latter two of which will be arriving later this year. Finally, Metroid Prime: Federation Force may not look like much right now, but let’s wait for the final product. Rest assured, we’ll see more of it in upcoming Nintendo Directs and if Nintendo’s past history taught us anything, we’ll more than likely have a blast(ball) with it when it releases next year.
Nintendo has earned enough good will over the years to deserve your faith. Give them some time, and they’ll only prove themselves again.
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