November 2015 Nintendo Direct: The What’s A Geek Roundup

In the company’s first Nintendo Direct event since the passing of Satoru Iwata, we were treated to a slew of news for the Wii U and the 3DS. Reggie Fils-Aimé and Bill Trinen take over hosting duties, and it was filled with announcements for upcoming content, along with what the company has planned for 2016.

We knew not to expect any new information on the Nintendo NX console, Pokemon Go, or the Nintendo smartphone IP Miitomo. You can watch the presentation on the Nintendo YouTube channel, but here’s the roundup of the November 2015 Nintendo Direct presentation.

Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD had originally been listed with a TBD on its announcement, as of this presentation, we’ve got an official release date. The game was a beauty on the Wii, and the HD remaster for the Wii U looks even better.

Coming with this game is a Wolf Link Amiibo, along with compatibility for the other Zelda-related Amiibo already available. According to the presentation, a bundle of the game and the Wolf Link Amiibo will be available on March 4, 2016. Pre-orders are already live and include the game’s soundtrack as a bonus.

Given that it’s the franchise’s 30^th anniversary next year, it’s unsurprising that Nintendo is bringing a lot of new content related to The Legend of Zelda. Their latest 3DS entry TriForce Heroes is getting new content in the form of the Den of Trials. This free DLC will be available on December 2, and unlike normal dungeons, the Den of Trials will have 30 stages, with checkpoints spread out. Two new uniforms also make their debut with the DLC: the Fierce Diety (lets you shoot attack waves in four directions) and Linebeck’s (treasure chest x-ray vision) Uniforms.

Rounding up the Legend of Zelda announcements is the addition of Linkle to the cast of Hyrule Warriors Legends on the 3DS. She is a reimagined female version of Link, and was part of the original concept of the game. To further distinguish Linkle from Link, her main weapons are a pair of crossbows, and in place of a spinning sword attack, she has a spinning kick attack.

No word yet on whether or not Linkle will be added to the Wii U roster of the game. She joins the rest of the cast of Hyrule Warriors Legends on the 3DS in March 25, 2016.

No new news on the new Legend of Zelda game for the Wii U, other than a 2016 planned release.

Pokemon

Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon is first up on the slate. The roguelike/RPG style game puts you in the shoes of intrepid Pokemon explorers, and this time around, you’ll get to meet all 720 of them. Even better, it’s heading to the Nintendo eShop on November 20^th.

If you’ve been playing Pokemon Shuffle on your 3DS, you’re either still having fun or really frustrated. If the puzzle-solving genre is your jam, then get ready for Pokemon Picross – a free-to-start, downloadable game available in December. Here, you’ll be solving squares that reveal a pixel-art portrait of a Pokemon in order to capture it.

Let’s talk about Pokken Tournament for a second. It’s gorgeous, and a Wii U exclusive. By now you’ve probably seen Shadow Mewtwo, who can only be unlocked in the game after fulfilling certain conditions. That won’t be the case, as an Amiibo card that lets you unlock the shadowy mythical immediately will be a bonus item bundled with the first production run copies of the game.

Perhaps the biggest announcement for this franchise is the arrival of the original Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow for the 3DS. The titles will be released via the eShop, but replaces the link cable trade with trading via the wireless function. All three titles will be released on February 27, 2016, to coincide with the game’s anniversary.

Super Mario

You’ve probably seen videos of some of the most insane levels from Super Mario Maker (if not played through them), given the fact that there are over 3 million courses to play now, a browser-based portal filter will be added to the game in December. It will allow you to filter what courses fit your playstyle, and let you put favorites in a list.

Up next is an all new iteration for the Mario Tennis series called Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash. New to the game is the jump shot, which turns into the Ultra Smash shot when you knock your opponent off balance. The game will have local 4-player, online, and Amiibo connectivity. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash arrives on the Wii U on November 20^th.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam brings Paper Mario to the latest iteration of the RPG, along with Amiibo connectivity and an all-new battle card effect. The latter lets you use cards during battles to alter yours or the enemies’ statuses, while the former lets you create new cards using the Amiibo figures of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Bowser. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam comes to the Nintendo 3DS on January 22, 2016.