Walking into the Nintendo trailer parked in front of the Radisson, I first saw four amiibos on display. Kirby, Link, Peach, and Yoshi. They all looked well-made with care to detail seriously taken into consideration. Thinking about it now, we should have asked to test them out.
Of the games they had on display, the first one I tried out was the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Boom. Being a 2D side-scroller like the classic unfortunately doesn’t help the game. I only noticed one problem, that being you can’t seem to gain speed. I didn’t see any long stretches that would allow you to run. It seems the focus of this game is to switch between characters to make use of each of their unique abilities. From what I played, I can see long time fans of the series being disappointed by this title.
I was able to play a second upcoming 3DS game called Fantasy Life. Sadly, what I played of the demo were only the tutorial moments. The dialogue boxes would keep coming up one after the other. The game has you choose a class or career, and become the best you can. The world is in a cute child friendly art style, similar to Animal Crossing. I believe fans of that game will enjoy Fantasy Life, I just didn’t have enough time to get to the real meat of it.
Of the upcoming WiiU titles, the first I got to play was Bayonetta 2. Having never played the first one, this game is easy to get into. I picked it up and knew how to play it instantly. Fans won’t be let down by the visuals; the game looks wonderful. You can move around the area quickly, able to switch from kicking to shooting in an instant. The only possible negative to the game that I saw was the introduction of a preteen boy whose pants were just a bit too baggy. He seems to be the kind of character that could run the risk of annoying the audience. Still, this is a game to look forward to.
The next demo was the WiiU version of Sonic Boom, and unlike it’s 3DS counterpart, this game had elements of fun in it. The speed issue of the 3DS game is not a problem here, you can speed up and run fast whenever you want. The introduction of the laser lasso each character now has is not only used to get to new areas, but also required to fight certain enemies. The characters will talk to each other every time you do something. Sometimes it’s annoying, but it’s a nice touch that I like. Like Sonic Boom‘s other version, I didn’t see any open places to run around. Instead, it looked like the game was set in an underwater lab of some kind. The only running section was a brief moment when a giant robot chased me down an empty hallway. I’m not sure how fans will react to this game based of what I played, but I do believe it has potential to be a good game overall.
The last game that was showed was Super Smash Bros for the WiiU. This entry in the franchise is just like the previous ones, but with a lot of new everything. Of the new characters I got to try out Megaman; sadly he wasn’t as good a fighter as I’d hoped he’d be. He’s not fast enough and doesn’t hit hard enough – but I did only use him for one round. I’m sure he’s not terrible, though he was hard to use. Another new character I tried was Rosalina, a character I didn’t expect much from, but turned out to be the opposite of Megaman. She was both fast and strong; I was very surprised by it. The game is still just as fun as it’s always been, I don’t need to say anymore about it.
