Round Table: Nintendo Direct 11.12.2015 Reactions

Expectations were high for last week’s Nintendo Direct, which was the first such presentation since the untimely passing of former president Satoru Iwata. Even with an astronomical amount of hype to live up to, the broadcast was a rousing success, reaffirming just why fans have been clamoring for the series to continue. From a high-definition remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess to new Splatoon maps and costumes to perhaps the greatest surprise in all of gaming– Cloud Strife’s appearance in Super Smash Bros.— last week’s Direct delivered a plethora of exciting news and gave fans a tantalizing look at what’s around the corner for Wii U and 3DS owners. Now that the dust has settled, what did the staff think of the broadcast? Read on to find out!

Jon Stevens

I really wasn’t sure what to expect ahead of this Nintendo Direct, but it certainly surpassed any expectations I had!

I was hoping for some sort of news about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, so it was nice to see that shown off straight away. The Zelda news that actually caught my attention though was the new Linkle character. Nintendo innocently introduced her as an original character, and I could be expecting too much, but I have my suspicions that this won’t be the last we see of her. The brief initial cutscene that we saw of her was in a style that looked very similar to the new Zelda on Wii U and the limited edition version of Hyrule Warriors Legends even comes with her pocket watch. Intriguing, to say the least!

Outside of Zelda, I was generally just impressed with the number of exciting titles that Nintendo showed off and how much information it packed into 45 minutes– it didn’t feel padded out at all. It is also great to see Nintendo’s support for its games post-launch.

Finally, I loved the fact that so many upcoming games have special editions with physical items. Until My Nintendo is released, these will be my only source of Nintendo collectables!

Can anyone say CLOUD?!? I’ve only dabbled into Final Fantasy, but this hands down the most shocking third-party Smash newcomer announcement since Snake. My mind’s still reeling from the announcement…and there’s an upcoming Smash presentation, on top of that! I need it now, you hear me?!?

Anyway, Twilight Princess HD doesn’t look as transformative as it should be, but I suspect the gameplay/pacing improvements should override that. If only we had more to go on besides a less cluttered HUD!

Oh, and NOA…could we pretty please have those special retail boxes Japan’s getting for the Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow re-release? Who cares if the kids of today won’t get it? It’s for those who helped turn Pokémon into the overnight success it still is today!

Andy Hoover

Well, I guess I’m going to be buying Pokémon Blue again… and Pokémon Yellow.

Beyond that, I’m actually quite surprised by how much Nintendo chose to show off, I really expected the biggest focus to be on the titles coming up before the holidays and a bit more on Star Fox Zero. Instead, we get a plethora of pleasant surprises, from Cloud in Smash to a slightly more feminine version of Link! That makes me wonder if we’ll maybe see Pinkle, Tingle’s female counterpart make a reappearance. And yes, that’s an actual character.

And speaking of Zelda, I simply must talk about how excited I am for Twilight Princess HD, which I’ve long felt has been an under-appreciated entry in the series. I know plenty of people who love the game, but it seems to get less attention now that more and more fans are coming to appreciate the some of the riskier directions taken with Majora’s Mask and Wind Waker. Twilight Princess might not have strayed too far from the Zelda mold, but it nailed all the things we know and love about the franchise while also delivering a darker version of Hyrule with some of the most deep and interesting characters the series has ever seen. Getting to relive that experience will be fantastic, especially if the streamline the rather slow, tutorial heavy beginning.

Finally, I really want to commend Nintendo for their continued dedication to supporting their games. Cloud coming to Smash might have been the biggest news, but the fact that Nintendo is still adding stages, weapons, and gear to Splatoon is fantastic and the fact that Nintendo is obviously dedicated to improving the Super Mario Maker experience is even cooler. Oh, and as someone who also thinks Tri Force Heroes has been horribly underrated, you get bet I’m looking forward to diving into the new dungeon dressed in my Fierce Deity garb.

Oh, I totally second Anthony’s desire for North America to get those boxed editions of Pokémon R/B/Y. I would buy one of those in a heartbeat! Before Thursday, I would have probably said the odds of that happening are slim, but after this Nintendo Direct, it might be a lot more likely! After years of hearing fans in North America pine for the types of special editions we normally see hit Japan (and even Europe), Nintendo of America seems to finally be on the bandwagon. It was pretty cool to see games like Fire Emblem Fates and Final Fantasy Explorers get some of the cool extras we normally wouldn’t see in this territory. I really hope NOA keeps that in mind in the future!

Count me totally in on Twilight Princess HD. I really loved that game when the Wii first launched, and I’ve been itching for an excuse to play it again since I read Hyrule Historia. And that wolf Link Amiibo is a must own!

Of course, everything paled in comparison to the Cloud reveal. I’m still quite in shock over that! Everything about that reveal was just fantastic, particularly the music. I haven’t played Final Fantasy VII in at least 15 years, but the second that music started playing I was in nostalgia overload. I know that Cloud has technically appeared in games on Nintendo consoles before, but I really hope this announcement means that Final Fantasy VII will finally land on a Nintendo system. You can buy that game on your iPhone. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to buy it on the eShop. I don’t even need that fancy new version Square Enix is working on! Just give us a port of the PS1/PC version and you’ll have my money! It’s long past time, Nintendo and Square!

Robert Marrujo

I’m loving the Pokémon positive waves everyone is giving off; keep it up, and maybe we will get something similar! All kidding aside, other than Cloud (more on that guy in a second!), this was more or less what I was anticipating, which is a good thing. I knew Nintendo couldn’t play it super safe with a bland broadcast after such a long hiatus. This Nintendo Direct had to remind everyone why they’re special, and to that end I think the company largely succeeded. It was especially nice to see that quirky Nintendo humor on full display, too. I was also pleased that Nintendo acknowledged Iwata’s passing. It would’ve been a terrible thing to glaze over it.

The Wolf Link Amiibo was a pleasant addition that gave some extra oomph to the Twilight Princess HD announcement that everyone knew was coming. I thought it was smart to lead off with it, as it was a semi-wink at the audience, like Nintendo was saying, “Yeah, we know you already knew about this… but you didn’t see this Amiibo coming, did you?!” Sometimes Nintendo appears to forget that we’re aware there’s someone behind the curtain, so to have the company sort of acknowledge the leak, even subtly, was refreshing.

Cloud, though. CLOUD. DAMN. Straight up, I laughed out loud with glee when I saw the Final Fantasy VII logo, because I knew what was coming next. Good for Nintendo. This is the sort of fan service other companies can only dream of. Smash Bros. on Wii U was already my favorite installment in the franchise, but the DLC keeps everything fresh and, more importantly, relevant. I was thrilled by this Nintendo Direct, and I’m looking forward to the news about Smash coming in December.

What did you think of last week’s Nintendo Direct? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!