When Nintendo have a new Mario game to show off, the industry always takes notice, so it was all eyes on the legendary Japanese company’s E3 conference in the hope we might see the unreasonably talented plumber’s next console adventure, Super Mario Odyssey, in action.
At just over 25 minutes it was a short but very sweet showcase from the big N, with game trailers and one announcement in particular that sent the internet into a frenzy.
Here’s the biggest news to come out of the stream.
Rocket League is coming to the Switch
The best party game in several years is coming to Nintendo Switch, which has felt like an absolute no-brainer since the innovative hybrid console was first unveiled to the world.
Reader, you cannot overestimate the magnitude of this announcement. Rocket League in the pub. Rocket League in the park. Rocket League on the train. Rocket League on the toilet. Rocket League on the toilet in the train. Rocket League literally anywhere you’re bold enough to take out your portable machine and say, “anyone for Rocket League?”
Still not sold? We saw a car wearing a Mario hat. Mic drop.
A Proper Pokemon game is in development for Switch
Again, it’s no great surprise that this is happening, but there are two big takeaways from the announcement: it won’t just be a port of last year’s Pokémon Sun and Moon, and it’s being developed by Game Freak, who make the main games in Nintendo’s Pokémon series. We weren’t told much else, but the knowledge that the game exists will be enough for most people.
Metroid Prime 4 is officially a thing
Take away Mario and Zelda, and Metroid Prime might just be Nintendo’s most beloved series. But we haven’t had a new one for ages.
Until now.
All Ninty had to do was stick a title up for a few seconds to send the internet wild. Behold:
But for all the caps lock buttons that have remained jammed since Nintendo dropped the news, we know literally nothing about the game. You can reasonably predict that the sci-fi series’ veteran protagonist Samus Aran will be back, and it will be almost certainly be an adventure game with a huge emphasis on exploration. Count us in.
There’s a new Kirby game on the way
He’s pink, he’s round, he eats his enemies and he likes wearing hats. What’s not to like?
Super Mario Odyssey looks absolutely incredible and we want to play it right now (but will have to wait until October)
It’s the game everyone was waiting for. Super Mario Odyssey arrives on Nintendo Switch October 27.
In the absurd new trailer Nintendo debut’d at E3 – soundtracked by a band singing about how great Mario is – we see the world’s most most famous Italian plumber leaping around a host of vibrant, varied levels and possessing everything in his path with his magical cap. Frogs, fish and an enormous T-Rex all succumb to the devious hat’s command. Is this morally questionable? Of course. Does it look extremely fun? Yes, yes it does.
There’s also a clip of Mario zipping through the human-populated New Donk City on a moped, which is just as jarring as it was when we saw it in the reveal trailer earlier this year. The New Donk inhabitants are realistically proportioned, whereas Mario – small, rotund and distinctly cartoonish by comparison – looks totally out of place. This raises the question: is Mario human at all? And if he isn’t, what the hell is he?
These are questions we’ll just have to deal with in the lead-up to the game’s launch, but make no mistake: it looks absolutely phenomenal.
We’ll be covering every major press conference throughout the week. For a lot more E3 content, head over to http://e3.game.co.uk/.
