Nintendo E3 2019 Roundup

Nintendo dominated E3 this year, with a Direct video full of fantastic announcements. There was more footage of Pokémon Sword and Shield, the reveal of No More Heroes III and new Contra games, as well as Square Enix’s Trials of Mana coming to the Switch (alongside The Witcher 3 and Resident Evil 5 and 6).

With so many exciting games on the horizon, it’s hard to choose a few highlights. But here are the absolute crème de la crème of Nintendo’s 2019 E3.

Luigi’s back in action

The iconic plumber’s cowardly brother is back for yet another ghost-hunting adventure. This time, he and his friends are heading off to a hotel but, when everyone is transformed into paintings, it’s up to Luigi to save them once again. The gameplay remains the same but with a number of new additions – a grabbable plunger called the Suction Shot, the ability to slam ghosts and control of Luigi’s gooey counterpart Gooigi. There’s also the return of Dark Moon’s ScareScraper, allowing eight players to compete to clear floors as quickly as possible. This is definitely one to watch when it reaches the Switch later this year.

The Legend of Zelda continues

If you’re a Zelda fan, this E3 was full of good news for you, with the franchise appearing in three new instalments. The first offering was Cadence of Hyrule, a musical action game that sees you moving around the map to the beat of the game’s soundtrack. It is already picking up positive reviews hailing it as “the best Zelda spinoff ever made”. Then, we were treated to footage from a reimagining of the 1993 Game Boy adventure Link’s Awakening, which looks absolutely stunning.

Finally, there was a teaser of a more realistic looking Link, riding with Zelda, as something happens to Hyrule Castle in the distance. Nintendo, ever the master of understatement, then added a simple declaration to the teaser’s end, the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is now in development. No more details were announced, but that was more than enough to get the hype pumping.

Entering New Horizons

Every time you think you’re free, Tom Nook finds a way to rake more money from you. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you wind up on a desert island full of adorable characters and, naturally, the raccoon charges exorbitant prices for your flights and setup costs. You’ll be able to build your village from scratch, and have a great degree of freedom with customisation and creativity. The game will also feature couch co-op, supporting four players locally and up to eight online, meaning that Animal Crossing will connect more people than ever before, in a new slice of paradise.

New challengers approach…

This E3 revealed two more of the DLC fighters coming to Super Smash Bros Ultimate. It was good to see the Hero from the Dragon Quest series, but it was the second reveal that really got fans excited. The sleeping Donkey Kong characters were awakened by a bouncy Jiggy piece and, after a Duck Hunt Duo fake-out, we got the news we were all waiting for, Banjo-Kazooie have joined the fight, in the undisputed best surprise of the conference. This announcement came alongside rumours that we’ll soon see a Banjo-Kazooie title released for the Switch – fans have been clamoured for a new game on a Nintendo device for years, and it seems entirely possible that it may now happen.