Our last minute Nintendo E3 2017 hopes, dreams and expectations

Today is the today or tomorrow morning is the day really for most Aussies, but whatever the day is we won’t have to wait long until we see the fruits of Nintendo’s Spotlight and Treehouse Live.

We put the team together to write about some of their hopes, dreams and expectations from Nintendo’s E3 showing.

What do you hope we see, or more realistically – expect to see? Let us know in the comments.

Expectations

Super Mario Odyssey – Obviously Super Mario Odyssey is going to make an appearance at during Nintendo’s E3 Spotlight. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it as the focal point of the presentation. I’m expecting to see a bit of background for the game, a few story details, and almost definitely a release date.

Fire Emblem Warriors – FE: Warriors is expected to launch in Spring for us, which isn’t as far away as it looks, so I’m expecting to see a firmer release date and some more gameplay during the Spotlight. This is actually one of the games I’m expecting to see a demo for, and another game I’m extremely excited about. I’ve always been big on Dynasty Warriors-style games, and if Hyrule Warriors is anything to go by, FE: Warriors should be fantastic.

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon – I’m just going to call this Pokémon USM from here on out, because that name is ridiculous. I don’t expect to see this in the Switch-focused Spotlight, but I would genuinely be surprised if we don’t see a little more about it during the Treehouse streams.

Wishes 

2D Metroid for Switch – I know, I know, please stop laughing. This is never going to happen. But a nice, new 2D Metroid with 3D graphics in the vein of Donkey Country Returns would be everything I could ever hope for out of this E3, and the Switch in general. As long as nobody who worked on Other M goes anywhere near it.

Virtual Console – I’m not expecting to see this quite yet, but it would be nice to get some sort of release date or even a window for Virtual Console on the Switch. I desperately want to play Donkey Kong Country 3 again and I just can’t bring myself to go back to my 3DS. I don’t even care if I have to pay for all my games again, I just want them on my shiny new system.

Style Boutique on Switch – Okay hear me out here. The Style Boutique series (known as Style Savvy in the US) is one of the best series to come out of Nintendo. It’s like a character creator but all the goddamn time. I have spent hundreds and hundreds of hours making hundreds of people happy with cute as heck outfits and I would buy a Style Boutique game on the Switch in an instant. This is probably the most outlandish of my hopes, but please, Nintendo, if you’re listening, I need more Style Boutique in my life.

I’m a simple man. I see Donkey Kong, I buy day one. When Donkey Kong Country Returns on Wii was first unveiled some years back at E3, my brother and I re-watched the trailer countless times until it was finally in our desperate mitts. Returns and its Wii U follow-up, Tropical Freeze, were fantastic 2D platformers worthy of the originals’ revered status. I would love for a new DKC for the Switch, with a port of Tropical Freeze to tide me over in the meantime.

On a related note, I would love to see Retro Studios announce something. Anything. It could be Ham Sandwich Simulator 2017 as a Switch exclusive. I don’t care. I just want to know the developers are alive and well. Their Twitter account is a strange place in a world of development teams who show cool stuff on social media. I know many would people would love for another Metroid Prime game from the Texas-based studio, but I would be excited if Retro announced a brand-new Switch-exclusive title like nothing else we’ve seen.

I am cautiously optimistic about the Mario/Rabbids crossover RPG; I want to see something at E3 that justifies the bizarre colliding of worlds. The game could become a sleeper-hit if it shows some unique gameplay and fun mechanics beyond its obvious novelty. Of course, there is the real possibility that Rabbids could overtake social media much like the minions from Despicable Me did, shared incessantly by middle-aged women alongside completely unrelated text. If THAT happens because of the game’s potential popularity, I will rescind my remarks.

Above all, I just want Nintendo to surprise me. The most memorable games and E3 moments are the ones no one expected – a showcase of developers and publishers taking genuine risks to create experiences everyone can enjoy. Splatoon is a fantastic example of Nintendo subverting the shooter genre, and ARMS will be doing the same for fighting games. Let’s see something totally new in addition to what we already know.

Nintendo, make those 30 25 minutes count.

Hopes and dreams a two very different thing. Well, to me they are. So I’m gonna do this a little differently and give you a hope, followed by a dream based on what I would like to see from Nintendo at E3.

HOPE: I hope we get to see the, more or less, the finished product of Super Mario Odyssey. I hope that it is still slated for a 2017 release date.

Dream: I dream that Super Mario Odyssey is one of the greatest, most enjoyable Mario games ever. I also dream that I will be able to spell Odyssey correct first try from now on.

HOPE: The Virtual Console for Switch will be revealed and it will pretty much have the existing catalogue of games available from day one, which we have had access to on the Wii U.

DREAM: Previously purchased titles on the Wii U Virtual Console will carry over to the Switch.

HOPE: Being that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild wasn’t exactly what I wanted in a Zelda game, a new Zelda title will be announced, in this case for the 3DS. Not only will it be akin to Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker in terms of dungeon gameplay, it will also rekindle my desire to use the handheld.

DREAM: This game will actually be on Switch.

HOPE: The Mario and Rabbids crossover game (be it all but officially confirmed) doesn’t take up too much time during the Digital Presentation.

DREAM: The game doesn’t suck.

HOPE: Some new games are thrown at us that we haven’t heard of before. Be it new IPs or old IPs being revisited.

DREAM: They don’t announce them four hours into day two of Treehouse Live.

HOPE: As the Pokemon Nintendo Direct was just last week, we won’t have any time during the Digital Event wasted on the series…

DREAM: …Unless it’s a game for Switch that actually makes me like Pokemon for more than the cartoon.

HOPE: The Digital Event is as funny and charming as we know Nintendo can be.

DREAM: And that it doesn’t make me feel sad because these things aren’t the same without Iwata.

Holy heck, it’s already E3! How exciting! There’s a lot I’m really hoping to see during Nintendo’s Spotlight this year, and I know that it’s better to keep expectations low to avoid disappointment – but you know what? Screw it, It’s E3!

Earthbound revealed itself during Nintendo’s E3 showing back in 2013. That was a really huge moment. Earthbound has been such a meaningful series to me ever since I was young, and I was actually part of that notoriously vocal fanbase who wouldn’t stop pestering Nintendo about Mother 3.

Two years later, it’s 2015. In a move that nobody suspected in the slightest, Mother was shown during the Nintendo World Championships – rebranded as Earthbound Beginnings. Both times this happened, I couldn’t believe it. I was so emotional, ecstatic and incredibly teary. At last, it felt like Nintendo was showing the long-neglected series some well-deserved love, and finally acknowledging all the people who had been begging for years and years. (Now, if only they could do that with Metroid!)

That brings us to 2017. That’s this year! I’m really holding on to the chance that Mother 3 will be announced. I think that would just about make my year. Especially on Switch? Man, that would be so cool. It’s such a lovely game, and I would just love for everybody to have a chance to experience the wonderfully charming, quirky tale that it is.

My next hope is for a little, portable RPG series that I don’t hear many people talk about anymore. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn released back on the DS nearly 7 years ago, and it did something really awful that games should never ever do. It ended on a cliff hanger. At the time I didn’t know better, so I just assumed that another game was definitely going to come out soon since the developers had the confidence to pull that move. Another game did not come out. Nintendo has been dead silent about the series and I am dying, Nintendo. Please. Camelot has so much potential beyond weird, lacklustre Mario sports games. Golden Sun 4 on the Switch. Let’s go.

Last, but not least is the Virtual Console. It needs to happen. Especially with Gamecube games! So many people missed out on the Gamecube, and there’s still hasn’t been any official way to revisit those titles. Keeping the history of video games accessible is so important, so I’ve really got my fingers crossed that we hear something soon.

My contribution to this article is going to be the same as it is almost every year, it’s shorter than everyone else’s as well but I think I’ve said it enough times that you already know where I’m going.

Nintendo, please I want to be surprised this year. I want you to do that and do more than you really have to as well. You’re on a roll with the Switch, the momentum is hot. Show us what you’re working on and surprise us, but also take it the next step and do something really awesome.

We know Mario is coming, we know there are ports. Knock something new out of the park for us.