The Wii U has several known and unknown quantities at this E3. Here's the lowdown.
Pikmin 3 - Preview by Tom Malina
At long last, eight years on from the release of Pikmin 2 and five years after we first heard there would be another, Pikmin 3 is finally coming to Wii U in just a couple more months. This time, instead of series stalwart Olimar, there is a new trio of miniature explorers - Alph, Brittany and Charlie - who have landed on the Pikmin planet in search of food to return to their famished homeworld, Koppai. They must take advantage of the unique abilities of each Pikmin species to succeed in their mission; in addition to the classic Red, Yellow, Blue, Purple and White variants, there are two new types, in the form of the extremely tough Rock Pikmin and the flying Winged Pikmin.
This game will be the first time that players can explore the unnamed Pikmin planet in high definition, and without a doubt, it is by far the closest Nintendo has ever come towards creating photorealistic environments. With the game world imagined in such rich detail, we can only wonder what kinds of flora and fauna, hostile or not, that our intrepid adventurers will come across.
As one of Nintendo’s marquee titles of the summer, we can definitely expect to see one more appearance of Pikmin 3 at this year’s E3. We are still in the dark on some ancillary features, particularly the details of the co-operative local multiplayer. Will people be able to play through the main story together, or will the co-op play be an extension of the already-revealed Challenge mode? It won’t be long until we found out. Pikmin 3 is out on July 13 in Japan, July 26 in Europe, and August 4 in North America.
Super Smash Bros. 4 - Preview by Justin Berube
The next entries in the Super Smash Bros. series were announced alongside the Wii U at E3 2011. At that time Nintendo’s President, Satoru Iwata, mentioned the new games would be released on both the Wii U and 3DS and that there would be some sort of connectivity feature between both versions.
Nearly a year after the initial announcement fans were told Masahiro Sakurai, the director of the Smash Bros. series, and his company Sora Ltd., would be working alongside Namco Bandai to develop the new games. Around this time Sakurai reiterated the two versions would connect and stated this feature would help the series change directions as well as be the “central axis” behind the new games.
During a Nintendo Direct in January 2013, Satoru Iwata stated that screens of the new Smash Bros. game would be seen at E3 2013. At another Nintendo Direct in May it was more vaguely stated that the next Smash Bros. will be shown at E3 2013.
Rumors and speculation have been running rampant across the Internet since both games have been announced. The only thing that can be assured is that on June 11th fans will finally get the first glimpse at two of the most highly anticipated games currently announced for Nintendo platforms.
Unannounced Retro Studios project - Preview by Neal Ronaghan
It is known that Retro Studios, the famed Metroid Prime/Donkey Kong Country Returns developer, is working on a game. What that game is, though, is a mystery. Following last year's E3, where rumors persisted that the reveal was held back at the eleventh hour, the word is that we will finally learn of Retro's next project at this E3.
At this point, Retro Studios has been rumored to be making everything from the next Mario Kart to a starting a brand new franchise. They could be returning to Metroid Prime, for a fourth iteration in their series. They could be making another Donkey Kong Country game. They could be making a more realistic adventure title. They could be making Mario Kart. Maybe Star Fox. Seriously, after I was damn near convinced they were making the next Zelda game for a while, my confidence in predicting what Retro is working on is in the pits. Although, that StarTropics dream/rumor would be super rad.
The Wonderful 101 - Preview by Tom Malina
Absolutely the most out-of-the-blue announcement for Wii U at E3 2012 was the revelation that Nintendo and Platinum Games were collaborating on a “mass action” brawler, then known only by the codename of Project P-100. Of course, we now know it as The Wonderful 101, named after the game’s 100-strong team of rag-tag civilians-turned-superheroes, who have banded together to stop an alien invasion before it decimates the Earth. The 101st member? That’s you, the player.
The game retains many sensibilities of the traditional beat ‘em up, including the closed-off arena combat and the flashing “Go!” icon telling you when to move on to the next area. However, its primary distinct characteristic is the list of Unite Commands, which require the player to draw various shapes on the Wii U GamePad touch screen to impart different effects to your group of heroes. This might be transforming them into a giant fist, sword, gun, damage-absorbing blob, ladder, chain, glider and perhaps more. Naturally, being a Platinum Games title, there is no shortage of ridiculous, over-the-top action set pieces. If you ever wanted to fight an enormous mech while standing on debris as it falls from the sky, now, in The Wonderful 101, you can.
One could argue that this will be one of the lower-key Wii U titles at E3, given what heavy hitters might be shown. That said, we should still expect to see demos of the game to raise awareness ahead of its release on August 23 in Europe, August 24 in Japan and September 15 in North America.
Bayonetta 2 - Preview by Neal Ronaghan
All we have seen of Bayonetta 2 so far leaves more questions than answers. The September 2012 reveal trailer was a teaser that mirrored Bayonetta's original unveiling, doing little more than to declare that a new Bayonetta game is in the works. The January development trailer was more big picture, talking about how Bayonetta 2 will be more expansive than the original, with a greater variety of enemies and locations.
At E3 this year, it is possible Bayonetta 2 will be playable, but given how little we've seen of the game so far, I'd expect that potential demo to be nothing more than a succinct vertical slice introducing new elements and something like a 2014 release window.
Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem - Preview by Josh Max
In January, it was announced that Atlus and Nintendo would be working together on a brand new project involving Shin Megumi Tensei and Fire Emblem. Very few details have emerged about the project. What is known is that it is a role-playing game for Wii U. The game is being developed by Atlus and Intelligent Systems. This will be the first collaboration between the two developers.
No other information has been confirmed about the title at this time.
