Nintendo’s E3 2019 showcase ended with a slam dunk for the conference. Every reveal carried a weight that seemingly couldn’t be topped. Nintendo Decimated the Competition at E3. The company ramped up announcement after announcement and they were all fantastic. From in-depth looks at Luigi’s Mansion 3, surprising third-party support, and jaw-dropping reveals, Nintendo was unstoppable. Compared to the showings from Microsoft, Square Enix, and Ubisoft, Nintendo was by far the best of the rest.
Great First-Party Showings
Regarding first-party support, Nintendo is the clear winner. Seeing new trailers for Luigi’s Mansion 3, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening Remake made it almost impossible for anyone to match it. The company didn’t just showcase simple CGI trailers like the rest of E3 had been doing but rather it had gameplay. Seeing Luigi run around the haunted mansion with Gooigi was filled with fun and really displayed the nature of the game. Nintendo didn’t rely solely on graphics and story, instead, it was why the game was fun which is what E3 should be all about.
On top of these trailers, they were filled with information. Link’s Awakening is set to have a Dungeon Maker mode, Luigi’s Mansion 3 has local and online co-op, while Animal Crossing: New Horizons showed the first bit of gameplay and contains crafting. Other exclusive titles like Mario and Sonic at the Olympics, Ultimate Alliance 3, Astral Chain, Daemon X Machina, and Fire Emblem: Three Houses had also been shown off with new tidbits. Nintendo’s 2019 is easily shaping up to be one of the bests and doesn’t seem like it can be topped.
Surprising Ports and Third-Parties
If you own a Switch and don’t care much for the exclusive Nintendo titles, then the company had announcements just for you. The Witcher 3: Complete Edition is hands down the most surprising of the bunch due to its inclusion of every piece of DLC and expansions. Not only this, the port is entirely included on the cartridge and comes with stickers, a compendium, map, and slipcover. CD Projekt Red’s widely acclaimed game is the latest to be played on the go and already looks like an impressive feat for the seemingly underpowered machine.
There were also other great announcements from the event like a new Panzer Dragoon, Contra: Rogue Corps, Trials of Mana, Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, and Resident Evil 5/6. The most overlooked though is Microsoft’s Super Lucky’s Tale. This is the latest to be ported over to the Switch from the two companies’ partnership and is a second chance for the title. New Super Lucky’s Tale plans to work out many of the kinks that were found in the original and includes some new content. It was overlooked and panned at launch but now it seems like it can achieve the looks it originally deserved.
Jaw-Dropping End Announcements
Finally, Nintendo gave the fans what they have been clamoring for. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is receiving two upcoming characters, the first of which is Erdrick from the Dragon Quest series. His move-set is very reminiscent of what’s found in the popular RPG series including the iconic blue menus. Second, and most impressive, is the inclusion of Banjo and Kazooie from their self-titled franchise. This was a shocking announcement and displays just how close the Xbox-Nintendo companies are with one another. Bringing back the classic Rareware duo popping up on a Nintendo system for the first time since the Nintendo 64 is massive and worth the hype.
The absolute kicker of it all was what happened after the Banjo reveal. Nintendo could have ended things there and made fans happy but instead, they opted to throw their mic on the floor rather than dropping it. A trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s sequel was shown. The game seemingly takes place after the fall of Calamity Ganon and he wakes up to attack Link and Princess Zelda. No official name or release date was given but it said that it is in development. A move that nobody saw coming and was joked about online actually happened, which is truly special.
Nintendo Decimated the Competition at E3
Overall, Nintendo went above and beyond when they really could have ended their showing on either Animal Crossing: New Horizons or Banjo-Kazooie. Instead, they decided to blow fans’ excitement out of proportion and decimate the competition. No other company has the lineup that Nintendo has for the next year, although Sony has a decent chance with their remaining titles. The Nintendo Switch continuously proves itself of being a worthy purchase and this E3 2019 showing makes it that much better.