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Latest Nintendo Direct showcases new Wii U titles

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Flying in a giant robot looks like fun, in Monolith Soft's new Wii U role-playing game
Nintendo will release an HD remastering of 2003's Zelda Wind Waker
The new graphical effects of the Wii U add a distinct atmosphere to Zelda's island town
The HD version of Wind Waker is intended to tide players over until the new Zelda game is completed
The new HD Wind Waker features stunning lighting effects made possible by the Wii U
Return to the high seas in Wind Waker, which features a waterlogged Hyrule
Nintendo says it's also refining certain aspects of the game play
A bright and colorful world awaits you in this HD remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
The cel-shaded style that Wind Waker was known for appears to be subdued in the HD remaster
Pikmin 3 is a real-time strategy game where you recruit color-coded plant people to explore an alien world
Giant monsters will snap up your Pikmin by the mouthful if you're not careful
The Wii U's HD visuals make for a spooky atmosphere in Pikmin 3
Strange and wonderful creatures await you in Pikmin 3
Different Pikmin have different abilities and purposes – you can bring up to 100 with you at a time
Explore the exotic flora and fauna of an alien planet in Pikmin 3
Beautiful graphics are one of the highlights of the Wii U's new Pikmin game
This creature is actually a flame-thrower waiting to burn your army to ash
A nice depth-of-field camera effect adds to the realism
Carrying resources back to base is one of the Pikmin's regular duties
A sleeping monster is easily dispatched with a surprise sneak attack
Flowered Pikmin are twice as strong as leaf types
Butterflies can be attacked and harvested like everything else
Blue Pikmin are water types – others will drown and perish in seconds
Monolith Soft's project "X", exclusive to the Wii U, already has RPG fans salivating
In project "X" you travel the world in a giant robot that transforms into a motorcycle
In this role-playing game you can jump into a giant robot and take off to explore the epic landscape
Inside a giant robot about to take off from the cliff
Flying in a giant robot looks like fun, in Monolith Soft's new Wii U role-playing game
Three party members are shown fighting multiple monsters simultaneously
Monolith Soft's project "X" looks to be a sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles featuring a similar battle system
Massive monsters might have to be taken down by jumping into a giant robot
Yoshi will appear in his own adventure on the Wii U from the same team that brought us Kirby's Epic Yarn
Yoshi and the world is made out of yarn and other arts and crafts materials in the new Wii U title
Yoshi travels into a 2.5D world in his Wii U game
Nintendo says it wants to show off how wonderful its Wii U graphics are with Yoshi's new game
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Nintendo isn't waiting until the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) to tease gamers with upcoming titles for its fledgling Wii U console. In the latest Nintendo Direct video, the company showcased titles that it hopes will appeal to gamers of every stripe. It also spilled the beans on its plans for the Virtual Console service, its online store that offers downloadable retro game titles.

The Legend of Zelda on Wii U

A bright and colorful world awaits you in this HD remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Eiji Aonuma, the director of several Zelda titles, admits that it may take longer than expected to complete the next game in the franchise. He says that Nintendo is rethinking the series' conventions, such as limiting players to complete dungeons in a specific order, and playing alone. This seems to suggest the new Zelda game will feature an open world with non-linear progression, and perhaps some online or asynchronous play features made possible by the Wii U's new controller.

To tide fans over, Nintendo will release an HD version of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, which was originally released a decade ago on the Gamecube. This HD remastering was shown only in stills, but is already dividing fans on its new look. It almost seems as though Nintendo's developers are a bit too enamored with the new graphic filters and other effects made possible by their new HD console, sacrificing some of the flavor that led to the Wind Waker being nick-named "Celda" – for its cel-shaded aesthetic.

X – Monolith Soft's new RPG

Last year finally saw the release of Monolith Soft's epic role-playing game, Xenoblade Chronicles, in North America. Apparently the company has been busy, because Nintendo is now ready to show off a Wii U project code-named "X" that looks like a direct sequel. The exciting HD visuals and new features – being able to walk up and get into a giant robot and fly around the massive landscapes – is generating a lot of buzz on gaming forums. Hopefully Nintendo of America won't be so hesitant in publishing this one, and it will get a timely worldwide release. Check out the trailer below.

Yoshi

Yoshi and the world is made out of yarn and other arts and crafts materials in the new Wii U title

Mario's dinosaur sidekick is returning to a home console for the first time in 15 years (the last game was 1998's Yoshi's Story on the Nintendo 64). Developed by the same team responsible for the delightful Kirby's Epic Yarn, this one features an arts-and-crafts aesthetic and child-friendly game play. The game's direction seems a bit unclear, as there are also still screen shots showing a 2.5D perspective.

Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101

Flowered Pikmin are twice as strong as leaf types

While it wasn't shown on video, Nintendo has published some new images of Pikmin 3, which can be viewed in the image gallery. For those who haven't played the earlier titles, Pikmin are little plant-like creatures that make up your army in a real-time strategy/exploration game. In previous games, the object was to recover the parts of your crashed spaceship or collect rare treasures while fighting off hordes of indigenous creatures. The game is slated for release later this year.

Platinum Games isn't ready to show Bayonetta 2, but it did release a new trailer for the upcoming Wonderful 101. This game appears to combine elements of Capcom's Viewtiful Joe (developed by Platinum Games' higher-ups before they formed their own studio) and Nintendo's Pikmin series. You'll combine the strengths of 100 superheroes (who look like they came from Disney Pixar's The Incredibles) to take down humongous evil villains.

Wii U Virtual Console woes

Nintendo's download service hasn't made a smooth transition from the Wii to the Wii U, and that's putting things mildly. Gamers can only access their previously downloaded games by first going into the Wii mode, and (for reasons as yet unexplained) they can't be played on the tablet controller's screen.Nintendo has announced that players will have to cough up more money to play their Virtual Console library that way – US$1 for original Nintendo games and $1.50 for Super Nintendo games (with other platforms still unannounced). This ridiculous scheme is being implemented because Nintendo has yet to administer a proper account system that would allow players to register ownership across all devices.

Currently, any games you download to the Wii, Wii U, or 3DS systems are tied to that specific device. You can move your games via SD card from the Wii to Wii U, but if your console is stolen, damaged, or lost you have to wrestle with Nintendo customer service to regain them. One gamer has complained that Nintendo forced him to provide a police report before they would reinstate his downloads. This smacks of poor planning, and does little to instill confidence for future downloads, which will include GameBoy Advance software.

Future collaborations

Nintendo seems intent on working with third party developers on new titles, teasing a new crossover between Atlus' Shin-Megami Tensei (Devil Summoner) series and its own Fire Emblem series. The two games share some superficial similarities, but Devil Summoner places an emphasis on raising and mixing an army of monsters while Fire Emblem is a much more traditional strategy role-playing game.Nintendo is also working with Namco Bandai on the new Super Smash Bros. title. That game, along with new installments in the Mario Kart and Mario Party franchises will be shown at E3 later this year.

You can watch the whole presentation at the link below.

Source: Nintendo Direct

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1 comment
citizenchan
Taking into consideration the success of the Wii U, the title of this article should be: "Latest Nintendo Direct showcases new Wii U titles. No one cares"