The latest Nintendo Direct has come to us, and has Reggie Fils-Aime hosting for the first time in a while. Although they mainly focused on Nintendo 3DS, some Wii U news was squeezed in at the end. First off, we have a new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, which launches 11/22/13 only on Nintendo 3DS.
Bill Trinen of the Nintendo Treehouse then proceeds to show off the game's StreetPass feature, which entails talking to a character named "Gramps" and speaking to him. You will then find yourself in battle with the Shadow Link of the person you StreetPassed with. Bill also introduces some new characters such as Irene, who's broom transports you to different areas of the map. Then there's Seres, who is the one you saw merged into a painting in the first trailer. Finally, there's the Milk Bar Owner, who runs the Milk Bar in Hyrule. Bill also announced that short, 15-second mini-trailers will be appearing on Nintendo's Instagram page from now until 11/22/13.
We now move on to Mario Party: Island Tour, which releases on the same day as The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. He reveals more of the single-player mode. It takes place in an area called "Bowser's Tower", which is 30 stories tall and involves you engaging in minigames and encountering boss battles every five floors. He also shows the game's StreetPass functionality, which has you tagging up to 10 people and battling against their top records.
Now it's time for some Nintendo Zone action. Bill reveals that you can now tag up to 6 people through any Nintendo Zone. Some new SpotPass items were announced, including an Animal Crossing: New Leaf raccoon wall clock, (Available 11/13-11/14) cat tower, (11/15-11/28), rolling suitcase (11/29-12/12), and a special Super Mario 3D Land mystery box on 11/22.
Just as some DLC was released a few days ago, MORE DLC has been announced. On Dec. 2, a third round of new Mission Mode stages is on the way that challenges players to lead their Pikmin efficiently to complete as many tasks as possible within the time limit. The eight new stages that will be available for purchase include four "Collect Treasure" stages and four "Battle Enemies" stages with locations as varied as beaches, the inside of someone's house during a party, a construction site and a mysterious factory. In one stage players can control Captain Olimar, the main character from Pikmin and Pikmin 2. Louie even makes an appearance. The third round of Pikmin 3 Mission Mode downloadable stages will be available in the Nintendo eShop for $4.99. A software update is required to play the new stages. People who update their software will receive one "Collect Treasures" stage and one "Battle Enemies" stage for free.
Perhaps the most exciting news of this Nintendo Direct is the announcement of a new system update for Nintendo 3DS in December. It will allow users to combine their Nintendo eShop account balance for both Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. This system update will also mark the beginning of Miiverse support on Nintendo 3DS. For more information, click here. There's no word about cloud services for Virtual Console services, however.
YouTube has received an update on Wii U and a brand new application on Nintendo 3DS. After users perform a software update on Wii U, they will be able to use the YouTube application to watch videos on the GamePad controller or search for YouTube content while another video is playing on the TV. The YouTube application on Nintendo 3DS will release on the Nintendo 3DS eShop, and is largely similar to the one on mobile devices.
YouTube isn't the only application receiving an update. Animal Crossing Plaza for Wii U has a new update that released today. After users perform a software update, they can customize their Miiverse posts using 50 different Animal Crossing stamps. Users can combine multiple stamps or add hand-drawn messages to decorate posts they have already stamped. They can even partially erase a stamp and redraw it any way they like. Nintendo is also adding a ranking feature to display the results of monthly polls. November's question is "Who would make the best secretary?" and December's theme will be "Who is the neighbor of the year? Additional features, including the ability to register and interact with your town residents, are also being added.
Finally, Super Mario 3D World has received a new trailer. It explains everything we've seen in previous trailers.
We now move on to Mario Party: Island Tour, which releases on the same day as The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. He reveals more of the single-player mode. It takes place in an area called "Bowser's Tower", which is 30 stories tall and involves you engaging in minigames and encountering boss battles every five floors. He also shows the game's StreetPass functionality, which has you tagging up to 10 people and battling against their top records.
Now it's time for some Nintendo Zone action. Bill reveals that you can now tag up to 6 people through any Nintendo Zone. Some new SpotPass items were announced, including an Animal Crossing: New Leaf raccoon wall clock, (Available 11/13-11/14) cat tower, (11/15-11/28), rolling suitcase (11/29-12/12), and a special Super Mario 3D Land mystery box on 11/22.
Just as some DLC was released a few days ago, MORE DLC has been announced. On Dec. 2, a third round of new Mission Mode stages is on the way that challenges players to lead their Pikmin efficiently to complete as many tasks as possible within the time limit. The eight new stages that will be available for purchase include four "Collect Treasure" stages and four "Battle Enemies" stages with locations as varied as beaches, the inside of someone's house during a party, a construction site and a mysterious factory. In one stage players can control Captain Olimar, the main character from Pikmin and Pikmin 2. Louie even makes an appearance. The third round of Pikmin 3 Mission Mode downloadable stages will be available in the Nintendo eShop for $4.99. A software update is required to play the new stages. People who update their software will receive one "Collect Treasures" stage and one "Battle Enemies" stage for free.
Perhaps the most exciting news of this Nintendo Direct is the announcement of a new system update for Nintendo 3DS in December. It will allow users to combine their Nintendo eShop account balance for both Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. This system update will also mark the beginning of Miiverse support on Nintendo 3DS. For more information, click here. There's no word about cloud services for Virtual Console services, however.
YouTube has received an update on Wii U and a brand new application on Nintendo 3DS. After users perform a software update on Wii U, they will be able to use the YouTube application to watch videos on the GamePad controller or search for YouTube content while another video is playing on the TV. The YouTube application on Nintendo 3DS will release on the Nintendo 3DS eShop, and is largely similar to the one on mobile devices.
YouTube isn't the only application receiving an update. Animal Crossing Plaza for Wii U has a new update that released today. After users perform a software update, they can customize their Miiverse posts using 50 different Animal Crossing stamps. Users can combine multiple stamps or add hand-drawn messages to decorate posts they have already stamped. They can even partially erase a stamp and redraw it any way they like. Nintendo is also adding a ranking feature to display the results of monthly polls. November's question is "Who would make the best secretary?" and December's theme will be "Who is the neighbor of the year? Additional features, including the ability to register and interact with your town residents, are also being added.
Finally, Super Mario 3D World has received a new trailer. It explains everything we've seen in previous trailers.
As you can see, the trailer shows off the ability to play as Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxy, a Luigi Bros. bonus game that is more easily accessed for players who have New Super Luigi U save data on their systems and Captain Toad levels, which challenge players to collect five stars without jumping.
Watch the full Nintendo Direct below.
Watch the full Nintendo Direct below.