The last of the big three to go this year to present. As in past years Nintendo opted to save some cash and just do their show via the internet. Here are Chris and EJ’s impressions of this one…
EJ: Ok here we go. Let’s hope this was better than the last 2 pressers. Wait, did Reggie just drop “Odyssey” into his speech there?
Chris: Reggie is the man. That’s why they call him the Reggi-nator.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
EJ: I’m super pumped for this. Seeing as Xenogears is one of my all time favs, you could literally drop “Xeno-” in front of any title and I’m prolly on it. Overall this looks really great graphically, and it seems to be pushing the hardware well. Style looks similar to something like recent Tales games. I’m blown away and super happy it’s still on course for 2017.
Chris: The easier button layout will be nice for sure. Had some really nice colors, along with that familiar world look and overtone of the previous games, especially Xenoblade Chronicles. The feature where the girl is the blade really made me remember Thousand Arms for the PS1. Anyone else remember that game? No? Just me? Moving on.
Kirby (Working title)
Chris: Nice to see Kirby returning to form here, instead of yarn or paint. Give me some old school Kirby play style and I’m good! Curious about multiplayer though.
EJ: Couldn’t agree more Chris. They’ve been really experimental with this and Yoshi the last few years, so this looks like it hopefully won’t….won’t…
Chris: Don’t EJ…just don’t…
EJ: It won’t SUCK! Get it? Because it’s Kirby?
Chris: [sigh]
Pokemon
Chris: Pokken Tournament? Cool. A new Pokemon RPG?!?!? Nintendo must not want the Switch on store shelves at all, they will fly off at this point!
EJ: I really enjoyed Pokken Tournament. It was a surprisingly deep fighting game for what it was. As for the new Pokemon RPG game, they sounded a bit vague. My impression is that this is a core game similar to the handheld counterparts. If that’s true, they just sold A LOT of systems with this.
Metroid
Chris: Not Retro making it? I must see more than a title screen now. That being said, Nintendo showed a new 3ds Metroid which I am excited about!
EJ: My mind is literally blown. I felt like the Prime 2 and 3 weren’t all that great, but hopefully this will be good. The Metroid 2 remake looks amazing as well and the release date for it is just around the corner!
Yoshi’s Adventure
EJ: I’m a sucker for Yoshi, what can I say? I liked the art direction they’ve taken with these games. The use of focus looks really sharp in this title.
Chris: While very much in the same vein as the previous Yoshi games, this will hit home for fans.
Fire Emblem Warriors
Chris: If you like the Musou/Warrior games and Fire Emblem, how can you go wrong? Plus another game for 2017 is awesome!
EJ: Chris said it perfectly. The only sad part about it in the presentation is that this was just a story trailer, and I didn’t really see gameplay. Hopefully we’ll see more of it this week.
Skyrim
EJ: I have to say it’s nice the Switch is getting 3rd party support so soon, but I can’t imagine there are too many people still out there that haven’t played this game. I guess if you really dig it, then it’ll be nice to have a portable version.
Chris: Will Link’s clothing and the Master Sword warrant me to buy Skyrim a third time? Doubtful. But for those wanting it on the go, pick it up!
Zelda Breath of the Wild DLC
EJ: I don’t have much to say other than I hope it gets better reception than the first DLC. New armor includes Tingle/Dark Armor Knight/Korok Mask/Majora’s Mask, Master Mode I’m guessing a harder mode. Also with Champions Ballad II, I couldn’t discern what this was, story DLC? Daruk, Mifa, Revali, Rabosa will all be amiibo and they look pretty detailed.
Chris: Story dlc has to be better than what was offered at first, right? I hope so.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
EJ: This didn’t appeal to me at first after just seeing and hearing a few tidbits from Ubisoft’s show, but after looking into it more, I gotta say it’s got a hold on me. I’m a huge fan of turn based strategy games like this. It looks right up my alley with that dash of wacky Rabbids and Mario fun. The Rabbid version of Peach is downright disturbing though.
Chris: This is totally my thing, as this game is a turn based strategy game! Showing off movement similar to Valkyria Chronicles or X-com, destructible environments all set in the Mario universe is enough for me to overlook the Rabbids. I hope.
Rocket League
EJ: This was another semi-big surprise. Rocket League is still popular among some of my friends, and it’s really surprising we get cross-play. This game feels right at home for portable use, assuming your friends have a Switch too. Don’t forget about the exclusive cosmetics too!
Chris: Rocket League on the go could make for some fun times! The cross platform play is nice too.
Mario Odyssey
Chris: My excitement for this game could hardly be contained already, then it shows an October release! I lose it! I think this could be the successor to Mario 64 that we all have wanted for a long time. Keep in mind that the Switch is portable, and you can take this on the go! Mine will be on me at all times in October.
EJ: Well, it’s Mario! If you’ve been playing games for as long as Chris and I have, it’s hard not to be excited about this. There seem to be a variety of worlds like one would expect of a Mario game. The whole possession thing with the hat seems interesting to say the least. I’m definitely on the same page with you Chris, as far as perhaps being the second coming of Mario 64. Looks super fun, and once again I’m surprised Nintendo held up their end of the bargain and is getting it out as soon as October. Which technically is before what they originally promised, because I don’t consider that as “Holiday 2017”.
Overall Impressions
Chris: I think Nintendo knocked it out the park this year. Everyone still on that “Nintendo has no games” bandwagon just fell off hard. Not to mention that we have a nice amount of games releasing in 2017! If you were on the fence about buying a Switch, look no further than this Nintendo Direct and Treehouse showing afterwards. You are getting First party games, third party support, and the 3DS dev love coming soon. Not to mention the great amount of RPGs heading to the Switch.
EJ: At the risk of sounding like biased Nintendo fan…I think they won E3 when comparing to Son’y and Microsoft’s showings this year. They brought games people wanted to the table, showed their hand for the coming year, and are giving us some good titles this year. The only downside I think is that there wasn’t any talk of Virtual Console surprisingly enough. However, TGS 2017 is just around the corner in September so they could very well be saving it for that! After this I feel literally no buyer’s remorse for my day one purchase of the Switch.
