PAX Australia: Wind Waker HD, Pikmin 3 and Super Mario 3D World impressions

Nintendo had a great selection of games at PAX Australia to check out and play for both the Wii U and the 3DS. The team went hands on with Wind Waker HD, Pikmin 3 and Super Mario 3D World and we have our thoughts below.

Did you get to play the games at PAX Australia? If so let us know what you think of them.

Steven’s thoughts on Wind Waker HD

Wind Waker HD was a demo that both surprised me, and was completely familiar at the same time. The game itself is visually spectacular, a true testament to the GameCube original from all the way back in 2003. Some graphical effects have been added to make the game just a bit more than the same graphics at a higher resolution, but the game still looks familiar enough that veteran players will not be put off.

The game plays almost exactly the same as the GameCube version did, at least in the demo I played which featured the boss battle against the Helmaroc King. I have heard that the sailing mechanics have been slightly changed up, but this wasn’t playable in any of the demos available. The one major change I did notice however, is that items like the Grapple Hook can be aimed by moving the GamePad. Some may balk at this ‘unnecessary waggle’, but I found it quite responsive and easy to use. Combat and general movement felt exactly as it did on the GameCube version, and the camera behaved in much the same way too.

There were a few moments where the camera awkwardly showed me a closeup of Link’s grimacing face rather than the giant bird about to swoop at him,  but this was certainly not common. It may take some adjustment for gamers raised on the dual stick shooter style controls of modern games, but I feel that this learning period should be short.

There’s really very little else to say about The Wind Waker HD. It feels like an upgrade from the GameCube version in pretty much every aspect, enough that it will probably become the definitive way to experience The Wind Waker, we’ll just have to wait until the game comes out proper to see what else has been changed under the hood.

Josh’s thoughts on Pikmin 3

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to playing Pikmin 3 at all, due to the fact it’s been shown over and over again at so many events and Nintendo Directs that I just didn’t care anymore. I enjoyed it more than I was anticipating, but it’s really exactly what you’d expect- it sure is a Pikmin game.

There’s some new mechanics, sure, and I’d be lying if I said the game isn’t fun, but there’s nothing to set your mind to buying this game Day 1 if there wasn’t already. The first thing you notice when starting the game is that it looks gorgeous. HD has done wonders for Nintendo, the game’s nature setting looks so lifelike and beautiful. The demo we played was for 1 or 2 players (I played co-op with a stranger because it’d be more fun), and tasked you with getting as many coins in a set amount of time. You earnt coins from growing Pikmin, defeating enemies, destroying obstacles etc.

We played using Wii Remotes, which meant we could easily aim and throw Pikmin, while the GamePad was set up on its stand in front of us, showing a map of the whole game world. It sounds like a waste of the tablet, but it meant that we didn’t need two maps taking up space on the screen, and we could easily see where we were in relation to the world, and each other. The mechanics work like they did in previous games, with the addition of Rock Pikmin (we didn’t get to try out the Flying ones unfortunately) which deal more damage to enemies and break down strong obstacles, and you could task your Pikmin with building bridges out of rubble, which may have been in previous games but it’s been a while since I’ve played them.

Both players could run off on their lonesome to spread out, or work together and focus on doing things quicker. It was a fun game, but as I said, if you’re not sold by now then I don’t think you will be now. It just feels like more of the same, with not enough new things to make it feel fresh and exciting.

Josh’s thoughts on Super Mario 3D World

This was definitely my favourite playable game at Nintendo’s booth. I didn’t play 3D Land, so the 2D/3D Mario hybrid style was new to me. Each level is structured similarly to the missions from the Mario Galaxy games and toybox levels in Super Mario Sunshine, in that instead of having multiple different missions taking place in the one world, each level is a mission in of itself, with the goal being to get to the end (or beat the boss at the end of a world).

There’s no open free roaming of sorts like in Super Mario 64, yet the levels feel open enough so as to not feel linear. In the first level we played, I was off running around getting coins, while another player was in another part of this section of the level breaking blocks, while the other two players were off terrorising some Goombas. If you stray too far from the group they’ll get sucked into a bubble and float towards you like in the multiplayer New Super Mario Bros games, but this only happens if one player is rushing ahead into the level.

Within each level there’s a few hidden stars to collect which gives you a reason to take your time with them, or to come back and play through them again, which was nice. There’s a good variety in the levels from what I saw too, with new mechanics like pipe mazes, and different level types like the boss fights. One level we played involved everyone hopping onto a plesiosaur who sailed through a rapids level, and we had to steer him and make him jump to different areas and avoid enemies.

The funny bit was that each player controls him at the same time, so if some people are trying to steer left, while the others steer right, the dinosaur is going to get all muddled up and not move where you want him to. You need to all work together to get him going where you want, and jumping at the same time so you can get a boost. This made trying to get the stars in the level a lot harder, but much more fun, as we laughed at ourselves messing up the steering and not getting the star.

The one complaint I do have is that the levels felt really short. It is a pseudo-2D Mario, so it’s meant to be played in short bursts like that, but the levels did feel a bit shorter than usual. We’ll have to wait and see if this continues for all the game’s levels. It was a heck of a lot of fun though, especially with 4 players. As with past multiplayer Mario games it’s both co-operative and competitive at the same time, allowing you to either assist your buddies or cause their doom.

I foresee playing with 3 other people being the way to play the game, and it’ll no doubt bring joy to many families at Christmas time this year.

Troy’s thoughts on Super Mario 3D World

Me and my girlfriend tried this one with 2 other strangers, but the game still was easy enough to just jump straight in. I really love the player portraits, just as a small detail. I played with a Wii-remote on it’s side for both levels.

We started on the easy level, World 1-1, which really felt like standard fare. Grassy fields, colourful backdrops, a standard Mario game. But the 4 player in the 3D world was as chaotic as the 2D games, so I actually enjoyed just running around with 3 other people, jumping and such. Nothing special, however. Not yet.

The next level was where I saw an interesting idea. We all jumped on this Yoshi-shaped sea-creature, making our way down a river and waterfalls. We all had some limited controls, but if we all steered left, for instance, we took a sharper left. If it was split, it was a tug-of-war that often led to a pitfall! Even with jumping, all 4 of us can press the button at the same time to jump higher.

I’ve got high hopes for this one, it seems like it’s trying to break the mold enough for me to try out more.