Nintendo Direct 4/1/2015

[mrz84]

To get it out of the way, this released in Japan where it was April 2nd already so this Direct is NOT one big April Fool's joke. Also there is some ranting from me later.

The direct itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMedqo8mLaQ

I will say that while I like some of what I saw, I'm hesitant on some things. For the most part, I'm confused about the new Fire Emblem for 3DS. Most people are saying its gonna be 2 versions (like Pokemon) because of the branching paths. I watched the Direct last night at midnight after getting back from work, and I was still able to make out everything being said. I do NOT recall at any point in it being said to be 2 versions of the same game so with everyone on other sites saying DLC ruined the game in some way when its not even released yet and no mention of DLC (unless I went deaf for about 5 minutes during the direct) then you can probably see why I'm confused.

Also, people are saying that the SMT x FE game is now dead because of how it looks. It looks fine to me and its not even the finished game. It just looks more like a Persona game than say Devil Survivor Overclocked (which is the style of gameplay I initially was expecting. Shame on me huh?) and I don't see a problem with that.

Another thing, the Smash Bros reveal trailers didn't seem as impressive to me, mostly because they didn't have the cutscene part before the gameplay part. Meh, its a minor problem to me and is actually easily overlooked because MEWTWO AND LUCAS! And with that poll for another new character, I voted Simon Belmont (I felt Konami should have a rep still and Castlevania has always been the first thing I think of when Konami is mentioned.

Lastly, I ask you fellow members of this board: what did you thing of the direct? Your thoughts, opinions, etc? Is there anything you feel that should have been in the direct but wasn't?

[vegeta1215]

From what I understand, for the new Fire Emblem there will be two versions of the game, and then a collector's edition 2 in 1. Supposedly you can by the other "half" that you didn't get through DLC if you get the stand alone. Then there's talk of a 3rd branch that may be DLC only? Too confusing. I hope we get a combo game here.

Lots of neat surprises in the direct overall. Lots of Smash Bros stuff of course, but I actually passed on Smash Bros for Wii U and don't have any plans to get it, so that stuff didn't interest me as much. For me the biggest news was the announcement that Fatal Frame V was going to be localized! After not getting Fatal Frame IV and the Crimson Butterfly remake on Wii in the US I was doubtful we'd get this new one (though to be fair I've imported and played both on my Wii using Riivolution) But I'd been thinking about it, and with the fall lineup being pretty drab right now, Fatal Frame V would be a cheaper title to bring over to fill the void since it's already made and they'd just have to translate it and possibly do voice work.

[Brasel]

I'm really excited for some of those indie games they featured. The Adventures of Pip is particularly exciting to me. Also, I'm glad I get MewTwo for free since I purchased and registered both Smash games early on. I'm not really into Fire Emblem yet, so I'm not sure what I think of that stuff.

Also, I'm still REALLY FREAKING EXCITED about Mario Maker.

[Goriya]

Loved this direct. Although, if FE14 is 2 versions here in America, I'm going to be pissed.

To be clear, in Japan, FE14 WILL be 2 versions.

The huge problem with this that ruins this entirely: You're picking a side before you get invested in the characters, which is already bad game design.

[mrz84]

Well lots of people are getting in an uproar over the 2 versions thing (mostly in the US, I haven't checked on any European or Japanese sites) and are hoping/predicting a combined version for international release (which I hope for as well). While the 2 version thing works for Pokemon (to encourage trading/battling with friends more or whatever reason I can't remember at the moment), I can see that this should just be 1 game from the get go with multiple campaigns depending on what side you choose after a certain point without having to buy the game more than once. Still, the game isn't coming out until 2016 so we'll probably find out more at this year's E3 and/or other Directs down the line before then.

[Ibis, God of Magicks]

Is no one else excited for 200 CC Mario Karts?!? AKA 'Who can actually stay on the god damned road the longest' ?
Also, Finally getting N64 titles to virtual console, that was half the reason I got a Wii U as my N64 controllers are all busted and they are expensive to replace nowadays.
Overall it was a good announcement but I am tired of waiting on any official word about the new Yoshi, Star Fox, and Open World Zelda. Feel like I have been lead along for a year now with vague release windows constantly being pushed back. 5 More months for Mario Maker and hopefully we get some committed release dates this summer.

[CJC]

I wasn't sold on Mario Maker before, but the preview in the video really makes it tempting.

...But I'm hesitant to buy another game console for one game. I did that for LittleBigPlanet and the PS3 library is still woefully diminished compared to other consoles in my collection.

EDIT: Got to the end of the video. ZOMGs 200 cc is fast! That's pretty awesome.