Nintendo turns the 3DS to focus on classic franchises

CB Droege 26 Apr, 2013 at 6:14pm ET Article published in Gaming

Nintendo announced recently that several of their fan-favorite franchises are getting new installments on the 3DS this year.

Most exciting is a new Legend of Zelda game. Taking place during the events of A Link to the Past, the new game will utilize the 3DS’s capabilities to give link a new set of tools and a new story to follow. If you want a closer look, there is a free preview in the 3DS eShop. The full game will be out for the holidays.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past sequel

Additionally, two games from the franchise are being re-released on the 3DS with new graphics and enhanced gameplay.The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, titles which were previously only available on the Gameboy Color. Both will be out next month in the eShop.

It’s not just Link headed to the 3DS— we’re also getting six new games from the Mario spin-off franchises. Mario & Luigi Dream Team is the follow up to the DS hit Bowser’s Inside Story. This time, the gameplay takes place inside of Luigi. Yoshi’s Island is finally getting another sequel, and there will also be 3DS versions of Mario Party, Mario Golf, Donkey Kong Country, and Mario and Donkey Kong.

Since they’re already pretty well summarized, here’s the descriptions of those titles (and as much release date info as we have) from the press release:

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team … takes place on a mysterious island, and challenges Mario to go between the real world and Luigi’s dreams to rescue Princess Peach. The game will be available in stores and in the Nintendo eShop on Aug. 11.

The third installment in the beloved [Yoshi’s Island] franchise is making its way to Nintendo 3DS. Yoshi and Baby Mario are back with flutter jumps, ground pounds and egg throws, plus a host of new actions that use the unique features of Nintendo 3DS. More details about the game, as well as launch timing, will be announced in the future.

A new game in the Mario Party series is scheduled to launch for Nintendo 3DS this winter. The game features seven different game boards, each with its own set of rules. The game offers 81 new mini-games that test speed, concentration and luck. In addition to the board game elements, players will be able to play mini-games exclusively or try their hands at a 30-floor tower climb, AR Card games and StreetPass battles.

[In] Mario Golf: World Tour, Players who connect their Nintendo 3DS systems to the Internet can play competitive real-time multiplayer matches against others across the globe. They can also use the community feature to find others to golf with. The game is scheduled to launch this summer.

[The] hand-held update of [Donkey Kong Country Returns] … adds eight new stages that players can enjoy after they have completed the main game, as well as a New Mode optimized for hand-held play with new items and mechanics. The game launches in stores and in the Nintendo eShop on May 24.

[The] Nintendo eShop exclusive, [Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move], challenges players to place tiles on the bottom screen to guide the Mini Marios to their goal on the top screen. The game offers more than 180 stages in four different modes. Players can also create and share their own stages, and play those created by other players around the world. The game will launch on May 9.

In other Nintendo news, Virtual Console came to the WiiU in today’s update. Players will be able to pick up any of the games which are already on the Wii Virtual console, as well as some new titles revamped specifically for the WiiU. Though it won’t be available right away, one of these will be the 1995 RPG classic Earthbound. That should get a few fans I know pretty excited (Unless they’ve already played it to death on their emulators by now).

Comments

26 Apr 2013 ~ 8:55pm NiGHTS I am absolutely shocked at this move by Nintendo.
- No One Ever.
27 Apr 2013 ~ 2:02pm d3k0y Personally I could live with it if all Nintendo did for the next three years was port all their old games up to the 3DS. I hate having to swap my Nintendo and Super Nintendo out to play some of my favorite games.
28 Apr 2013 ~ 11:11pm drasnor Nintendo used 'Nostalgia' Attack! It's super effective!
29 Apr 2013 ~ 10:17am Cliff_Forster I'm disappointed with the virtual console support and pricing on the Wii U so far.

Eight games. WOW! Is it that difficult to port 8 and 16 bit titles that worked fine on the Wii? Apparently?

The ability to play some F Zero on the tablet screen while someone else watches TV is pretty sweet. I don't knock it, but Super Nintendo ports are still $8 a pop? In a competitive environment where you can play some pretty decent tablet and phone games for free, or $1.99 on the high end, I'm not sure Nintendo is priced competitively. What I'd love to see is an all you can eat buffet of Nintendo Virtual console goodies. I'd pay $10 or so a month for a service like that.
29 Apr 2013 ~ 10:45am mertesn The cost could easily be justified if the purchase was "buy once, play anywhere". I'm glad they're "letting" people import their VC purchases from the Wii to the Wii U, but for the prices they're commanding, a single purchase should work across all currently supported consoles.

I'm not so sure a subscription service would work out in my favor...I just don't play enough to justify a continual cost like that. Not saying it isn't a valid route though.
29 Apr 2013 ~ 1:10pm Cliff_Forster There is a cost of $1.00 to import a title you own from the Wii for play on the Wii U pad.
29 Apr 2013 ~ 2:23pm mertesn Without paying that fee those games can still be transferred, just without the ability to play on the pad, right?
29 Apr 2013 ~ 4:02pm Cliff_Forster Yes Sir, you can play them with the old Wii controls on the Wii menu free of charge. To move it to the Wii U menu and play with the new pad, it's a $1.00 fee for any NES game and $1.50 for any SNES game you owned previously.