Nintendo Direct @ E3 2013

So, let's take a look at what goodies Nintendo revealed from today's Nintendo Direct, and my thoughts on them.

First up, more information on Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. They are introducing a new type, Fairy. Fairy type attacks will be super effective against Dragon Pokémon. Sylveon, the newest Eeveelution, will be one of the Fairy type Pokémon. Older Pokémon such as Jigglypuff, Gardevoir and Marill are all gaining this new type as well.
Another new feature in the games is called Pokémon-amie, which allows a trainer to bond with their Pokémon by feeding, petting and playing with them. I can't say for certain whether this will have an effect on the Pokémon's stats in game, but I imagine it will be a pretty good way to evolve the Pokémon who evolve based on happiness.
During the video, two new Pokémon were also revealed. A dragon- and flying-type Pokémon called Noivern, also known as the Sound Wave Pokémon. Apparently the sound waves it emits can destroy boulders with ease. The next Pokémon was Vivillon, a Bug- and Flying-type Pokémon (cos we don't have enough of those...) Vivillon will be able to learn the move Struggle Bug, but will it be worth using?
Finally, more information will gradually be revealed about the games up until their worldwide release, October 12th.

Next up was Super Mario 3D World. Think of Super Mario 3D Land, but make it HD and that is pretty much that game. As long as it is more challenging than Super Mario 3D Land, I'm looking forward to this one.
Anyway, Super Mario 3D World features a new power up: Cat Mario. This powerup allows Mario to attack enemies with his claws and climb up walls.
The game will feature 4 player co-op/competitive play. The characters available are Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach (Holy crap she's not been captured for once!). Each character has unique abilities; Mario does the all around thing, Luigi has the higher jump and lower traction (probably...), Toad can run faster than the others, and Peach is able to float.
Super Mario 3D World will be released in December 2013.

Sticking with Mario, the next game unveiled was Mario Kart 8.
The bikes from Mario Kart Wii return, as do the glider and underwater sections from Mario Kart 7 (man, they're getting creative with these titles...)
In addition to the gliding and underwater areas, the game will also have anti-gravity racing. The gameplay showed Mario and friends driving on sideways roads and upside down.
The game will feature Miiverse integration, and a wide array of online options (or words to that effect)
Finally, the release date for this game will be Spring 2014

Next up, Wii Party U. The sequel to Wii Party on the Wii (duh...), it features board games and mini games.
There will be 80 mini games, and tabletop games played using only the GamePad. And in quite a common occurrence for Nintendo games, the game's release has been delayed until the end of this year. Still, it'll probably turn out to be the best party game on the Wii U, so...
Keeping on the subject of sequels to Wii based games, Wii Fit U has also been pushed back to a winter release. Since I'm not in any need of burning of weight, that really doesn't concern me.

Nintendo have announced a new Art Academy game for the Wii U, although it seems to be a little way away at the moment. However, they are going to borrow features from the game and make them available on the eShop so people will be able to colour in their frankly amazing MiiVerse drawings. If I was better at drawing, this would intrigue me, but...

Next up came a list of 3rd party titles being released on both Wii U and the 3DS. I barely managed to take note of the names before they moved on to the next game, so don't ask me for release dates. Anyway, the list was as follows:
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - Wii U
Batman: Arkham Origins - Wii U
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate - 3DS
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut - Wii U
Disney Infinity - Wii U
Just Dance 2014 - Wii U
Rayman Legends - Wii U
Scribblenauts Unmasked - Wii U & 3DS
Disney's Planes - Wii & DS, Wii U, 3DS
Shin Megami Tensei IV - 3DS
Skylanders SWAP Force - Wii, Wii U & 3DS
Splinter Cell: Blacklist - Wii U
Sonic Lost World - Wii U & 3DS
Watch_Dogs - Wii U
Quite a diverse list, although some interest me more than others. Shin Megami Tensei IV would probably be my personal pick of the bunch, but Rayman Legends, Watch_Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV have also captured my interest.

Next, Nintendo showed off upcoming eShop releases. These are them:
Ballpoint Universe
Cloudberry Kingdom
Coaster Crazy Deluxe
Ducktales Remastered
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara
Mutant Mudds Deluxe
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD
Scram Kitty and His Buddy On Rails
Shovel Knight
Spin the Bottle
A World of Keflings
So I don't know a lot about most of these games. However, I do know Cloudberry Kingdom will be one of those ridiculously difficult platformers, and that appeals to me. I knew of Ducktales and Dungeons & Dragons, and I'll probably buy them if they get favourable reviews. Oh, I also know of Mutant Mudds, but I didn't get the 3DS version, so I'm not too bothered about this. The Oddworld games are a nice surprise, Shovel Knight looks like it could be fun, and A World of Keflings looked weird.

Going back to first party games, further information about the Wii U version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was revealed. It will run at 1080p, uses shaders and has refined textures. Basically, it looks pretty damn nice.
Adjustments have been made to the game. One, for example, is that the Tingle Tuner has been replaced with the Tingle Bottle. The Tingle Bottle integrates Miiverse with the game, allowing players to send messages in bottles to others. Also, players will be able to attach pictographs to the letters.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD will be released in October... great, October's shaping up to be an expensive month for me... on the plus side, I have my birthday at the beginning of the month.

Bringing things a bit closer to now, more information on The Wonderful 101 came next. Controlling a group of heroes, they will use a power called Unite Morph to fight evil. More skills can be bought from the in-game shop, opening up a diverse array of methods to dispatch foes. The different attacks are activated by drawing on the GamePad, and bigger drawings bring in more heroes for more powerful attacks.
The game will also feature five player co-op, which is nice.
The Wonderful 101 will be released on August 23rd, with more information being revealed in a Nintendo Direct dedicated to the game before then.

Going from groups of heroes to hairy apes, next up on the list was Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Vikings from the north sea take over Donkey Kong's island, which means more platforming action across five islands to reclaim his home.
Diddy Kong returns, and Dixie Kong does so as well. The game will include 2 player co-op, just as Donkey Kong Country Returns did. Also, the dynamic camera shows off the environments. Also, the HD graphics allow you to see Donkey Kong's fur.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze will be released towards the end of the year.

From a big hairy ape to a woman who fights with her hair... Bayonetta 2. A trailer showed off Bayonetta fighting someone dressed in white, whilst everything seemed to be crumbling. I've never played the first game, but we've been told that Bayonetta has had a haircut, and gained new abilities.
The release date for Bayonetta 2 has been scheduled for 2014.

The next game they showed off would have been my highlight for the Direct, except the last one... well, we'll get there. Now, though, another trailer was shown off for Monolith Soft's "X". Ye gods, that game looks amazing. Using the experience from creating Xenoblade Chronicles, Monolith Soft are creating a large scale open world that one can explore seamlessly. The game will feature "human-shaped robots" that players can travel around in, some with the power of flight. Huge environments, huge monsters, and the song playing for that trailer seems to indicate nothing but good things about this game.
Actually, there is one bad thing; the release date has been given as a vague 2014. Still, this is one game I plan to acquire no matter what.

Wrapping things up was probably the most anticipated part of this particular Nintendo Direct. The video started off showing a village from Animal Crossing, where a villager received a letter and dashed off. It didn't take long before cutting to the familiar-yet-so-damn-awesome scene of Nintendo's finest kicking the crap out of each other. Of course, this game is Super Smash Bros.
It will be available on both 3DS and Wii U - the 3DS version seems to be using cel shading, whilst the Wii U version will be making use of the HD capabilities of the consoles.
So, Mario, Link, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Samus Aran and Pit all appeared in the trailer (and probably others who I can't remember...), which also seemed to reveal that the Final Smashes were still present. Then we got the reveal of our first new character: Villager! The villager from Animal Crossing, who uses the tools from the games to fight - Bug Next, Spade and maybe others.
After showing off a bit more, we got to my favourite part of the trailer; New Challenger Approaching!
So, we have a silhouette of a boy, who then dons a familiar helmet... BANG, it's MEGA MAN!
So we get to see Mega Man fight against Nintendo's finest, and... get his arse kicked. Then, he starts using the weapons acquired from Mega Man 2 to fight, and that was amazing.
In the last part of the clip, the Yellow Devil from Mega Man put in an appearance...

So, that was Nintendo Direct @ E3 2013. There will be more videos and developer interviews on the official website as E3 goes on, and Super Smash Bros. will be getting a Miiverse community and official website.
Overall, I enjoyed this Nintendo Direct. Admittedly, a new Metroid, Star Fox or F-Zero would have been nice, but, hey, you can't get everything you want. Also, seeing Animal Crossing in Smash Bros. has really tempted me to get Animal Crossing: New Leaf for the 3DS...