Nintendo Direct: recap of the JP presentation (2016.3.04)

5 March 20165 March 2016 Lite_Agent 505 Games, Atlus, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, Bandai-Namco, Capcom, Codeglue, Culdcept Revolt, Disney, Disney Art Academy, Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3, Dragon Quest X, Etrian Odyssey V, Fire Emblem 0, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright & Conquest, GungHo, HAL Laboratory, Headstrong Games, Intelligent Systems, Inti Creates, Karaoke Joysound for Wii U, Kenji Itou, Kinu Nishimura, Kirby: Planet Robobot, Koei-Tecmo, Level-5, Lost Reavers, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympics, Marvelous, Metroid Prime: Balst Ball, Metroid Prime: Federation Force, Monster Hunter Generations, Next Level Games, NicoNico Choukaigi, NicoNico Choukaigi 2016, OmiyaSoft, Paper Mario: Color Splash, PlatinumGames, Puzzle & Dragons X, Re-Logic, SEGA, Shigeru Miyamoto, Shovel Knight, Spike-Chunsoft, Splatoon, Splatoon (2.6.0), Square-Enix, Star Fox Guard, Star Fox Zero, Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns, Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Maker (1.40), Terraria, Yacht Club Games, Yo-kai Sangokushi

On March 4th, Nintendo streamed a brand new Nintendo Direct presentation. In this post, you will find a recap of all the announcements made during the Japanese presentation!

First, here’s the recording of the presentation itself:

Star Fox Zero, Star Fox Guard

That segment was pretty much the same as in the European and North American Nintendo Direct, but in Japanese.

Star Fox Zero will cost 5 700 Yen at retail and on the Nintendo eShop.
Star Fox Guard will cost 1 500 Yen on the Nintendo eShop (stand-alone).
Star Fox Zero + Star Fox Guard will cost 6 500 Yen at retail. Amazon will have an exclusive mousepad as a bonus.

Star Fox Zero and Star Fox Guard (Wii U) come out on April 21st in Japan.

Head after the break for the rest of this (very long!) post!

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympics (Wii U)

That segment was pretty much the same as in the European and North American Nintendo Direct, but in Japanese.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympics (Wii U) comes out on June 23rd in Japan, and will cost 5 700 Yen.

Super Mario Maker

That segment was pretty much the same as in the European and North American Nintendo Direct, but in Japanese. For more details about Super Mario Maker Ver. 1.40, click here!

Splatoon

The first part of that segment was pretty much the same as in the European and North American Nintendo Direct, but in Japanese. For more details about Splatoon Ver. 2.6.0, click here!

Also, Nintendo announced the “Splatoon Gachibon Matsuri” (a special festival to be held on April 29th and April 30th during NicoNico Choukaigi), and the 12th Splatfest for Japan (click here for more details).

Finally, there’s a special promotional campaign for Dragon Quest X, which can be downloaded for free from March 14th to March 31st. There’s also a special Splatoon t-shirt to get in-game (thanks, Japanese Nintendo):

Lost Reavers

During the Japanese Nintendo Direct, it was announced that Lost Reavers would soon get a major update in Japan. It will bring:

a new stage: Demon Castle, with demon ninjas and samurai
new costumes
new weapons

Unfortunately, we don’t know if the western version will launch with that new content, on April 28th (with the beta on April 14th).

Wii Karaoke U

Until March 12th, a special campaign is running in Wii Karaoke U in Japan: the various Splatoon songs, added a couple of weeks ago, are free until the end of the campaign.

Paper Mario: Color Splash

That segment was pretty much the same as in the European and North American Nintendo Direct, but in Japanese. However, the footage shown was very slightly different: click here (15:32) to check it out if you’re interested!

Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U) will be released this year in Japan.

Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3

During this segment, we finally got to see some proper gameplay footage for Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3, even though nothing really new was revealed. For more details about the game, click here! You can check out the segment dedicated to Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3 by clicking here (15:21).

Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3 (3DS) comes out on March 24th in Japan, and will cost 5 250 Yen.

Yo-kai Sangokushi

Yo-kai Sangokushi is a collaboration title between the Yo-kai Watch series and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series by Koei-Tecmo (celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year). Some footage was shown during the Nintendo Direct, with some cutscenes (Jibanyan, Whisper, and Komasan falling into a mysterious world), some battles, some combination attacks, some soultimate moves, some bosses, and more.

To learn more about the game, click here! You can check out the segment dedicated to Yo-kai Sangokushi by clicking here (16:33).

Yo-kai Sangokushi (3DS) comes out on April 2nd, and will cost 4 600 Yen.

Terraria

Some footage for Terraria on Nintendo 3DS (already available in Europe and North America) was shown: click here to check it out (17:44).

Terraria (3DS) comes out on April 21st in Japan, and will cost 3 800 Yen (retail) / 2 778 Yen (Nintendo eShop).

Bokujou Monogatari 3tsu no Sato no Taisetsuna Tomodachi

Bokujou Monogatari 3tsu no Sato no Taisetsuna Tomodachi was showcased during the Japanese Nintendo Direct, with some gameplay footage (even though nothing really new was shown). Click here to check it out (19:28)! They also showed the cow strap (which can also be used as a smartphone stand) you can get with the launch edition. Also, you can find a special wallpaper on the official website!

To learn more about the game, click here!

Source: 4Gamer.net

Puzzle & Dragons X

Puzzle & Dragons X was showcased during the Nintendo Direct presentation, in Japan. Unfortunately, nothing really new was shown, but if you’re interested in some additional gameplay footage, click here (20:35)! Also, for more details about the game, click here!

Puzzle & Dragons X (3DS) comes out on July 28th in Japan, and will cost 4 800 Yen (retail) / 4 074 Yen (Nintendo eShop).

Etrian Odyssey V

During the Japanese Nintendo Direct, a short trailer for Etrian Odyssey V was shown. However, the full trailer was uploaded later today by Atlus (after being shown during a livestream): you can check it out in this post!

Etrian Odyssey V (3DS) comes out on August 4th in Japan, and will cost 6 480 Yen.

Azure Striker Gunvolt 2

That segment was pretty much the same as in the European and North American Nintendo Direct, but in Japanese.

Source: 4Gamer.net

Virtual Console

Yesterday, 5 SNES games were added to the New Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in Japan: you can click here to check out some screens and videos for them.

They also revealed the line-up of upcoming games:

Ganbare Goemon: Yukihime Kyūshutsu Emaki / The Legend of the Mystical Ninja
Final Fight
Choumakaimura / Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
Akumajou Dracula / Castlevania
Contra Spirits / Contra III: The Alien Wars
Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
Super Mario Kart
Final Fight 2
Super Street Fighter II Turbo Hyper Fighting
Rockman X / Mega Man X
Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo / Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
Super Metroid
Kirby Bowl / Kirby’s Dream Course
Rockman X 2 / Mega Man X 2
Rockman 7: Shukumei no Taiketsu! / Mega Man 7
Super Donkey Kong 2: Dixie and Diddy / Donkey Kong Country 2: Dixie’s Kong Quest
Rockman X 3 / Mega Man X 3
Final Fight Tough / Final Fight 3
Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu / Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Super Donkey Kong 3: Nazo no Kuremisu Shima / Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble!
Street Fighter Zero 2

Nintendo also announced a sale on various Famicom and Super Famicom games on Virtual Console: click here for more details.

But that’s not all: Nintendo also announced the launch of the New Nintendo 3DS XL – Super Famicom Edition, sometime in April. It will cost 21 600 Yen, and include the following:

New Nintendo 3DS XL – Super Famicom Edition
1 touchpen
1 microSD card (4GB)
6 AR cards
Quick Start guide
Manual
1 download code for a Nintendo 3DS Theme

Here’s some pictures:

Fire Emblem Fates

During this segment, Nintendo introduced the third waves of DLC maps for Fire Emblem Fates. We will have a separate post for it!

They also showed a new Nintendo eShop pre-paid card (2000 Yen), featuring Sakura and Estelle:

And along with the New Nintendo 3DS XL – Super Famicom Edition, Nintendo will also release the New Nintendo 3DS Xl – Fire Emblem if in April in Japan. It will cost 30 304 Yen, and includes:

New Nintendo 3DS XL – Fire Emblem if
2 Fire Emblem 0 cards
1 touchpen
1 microSD card (4GB)
6 AR cards
Quick Start guide
Manual

Here’s some pictures:

Fire Emblem 0

A quick reminder for Fire Emblem 0 fans:

the 4th series of cards will launch on March 17th
the 5th series will launch on June 23rd

Monster Hunter X

You thought Nintendo was done with special New Nintendo 3DS XL models? Wrong! Nintendo announced a third one, part of the Monster Hunter X: Hunting Life Start Pack. It will be released on April 28th, will cost 23 760, and includes:

New Nintendo 3DS XL
Monster Hunter X (pre-loaded on the microSD Card)
1 AC Adapter
1 touchpen
1 microSD card (4GB)
6 AR cards
Quick Start guide
Manual
some screen protectors (at Amazon.co.jp)

Here’s some pictures:

Shovel Knight

Good news for Japanese players who have been looking forward to Shovel Knight for a long time: Nintendo announced during the Nintendo Direct that it would publish the game in Japan. It will be released on June 30th, with:

Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions on the Nintendo eShop (2 000 Yen)
Shovel Knight amiibo (1 500 Yen)
Nintendo 3DS + Shovel Knight amiibo at retail (3 500 Yen)

amiibo

On April 28th, two more amiibo figures will be lanched in Japan:

They will cost 1 500 Yen each.

Culdcept Revolt

Announced back in November, Culdcept Revolt (the first new entry in over 12 years) was showcased during the Japanese Nintendo Direct. The game will feature over 400 cards, including 200 which are brand new. The chara-designer for the game is none other than Kinu Nishimura, that fans of the Street Fighter or Zero Escape series should know pretty well.

Talking of characters, four of them can be seen in the footage below:

Aren (protagonist)
Alicia
Cyke
unnamed female character

You can check out some footage for the game by clicking here (28:48).

Culdcept: Revolt will be released in July in Japan. It’s currently in development at Omiya Soft, and will ahve music by Kenji Itou.

Disney Art Academy

The first part of that segment was pretty much the same as in the European and North American Nintendo Direct, but in Japanese. Disney Art Academy will be released on April 7th in Japan.

Also, on the same day, three new sets of cover plates will be released (they will cost 2 000 Yen):

N° 073
N° 074
N° 075

Finally, also on April 7th, four Disney Nintendo 3DS Themes will be released:

Little ・ Mermaid (Nintendo): 250 Yen

https://youtu.be/fZ0zPYpYRoY

Mickey & Friends (Nintendo): 250 Yen

https://youtu.be/TXWm6lqm4sU

Stitch (Nintendo): 250 Yen

https://youtu.be/nkWpY22cvmI

Ana to Yuki no Jou (Nintendo): 250 Yen

https://youtu.be/Y6t4otiNKJ8

Metroid Prime: Federation Force / Metroid Prime: Blast Ball

The segment dedicated to Metroid Prime: Federation Force and Metroid Prime: Blast Ball was quite different from the European and North American presentations. For starters, Kensuke Tanabe’s message was uploaded separately, and wasn’t shown during the Nintendo Direct itself. Instead, Nintendo chose to showcase the game, and explain some of the elements. We highly recommend you watch the footage from 31:51!

First, Nintendo talked a bit about the controls, and more precisely aiming. There will be two ways to aim:

lock-on (using the L button), just like in the original Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2;
gyroscope, when you want to hit a specific target with precision;

Of course, players playing on a New Nintendo 3DS (XL) will be able to use the C-Stick. And if you happen to own a Circle Pad Pro, you should know that Metroid Prime: Federation Force will be compatible with it (it’s not clear if Metroid Prime: Blast Ball is also compatible, but we see no reason for it not to be).

When it comes to missions, Metroid Prime: Federation Force will have some variety. You won’t just have to kill or capture various creatures, there will also be more “subtle” missions. For example, in the Nintendo Direct footage, we get to see the player “guiding” a ball by shooting at it, hacking a computer and downloading data from it, and more. There’s even a stealth mission, with the player trying to get by some enemies without getting noticed, and without wearing the Golem armour.

Just like in The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, the missions will be playable in solo, but you will also be able to play with friends via local wireless or online. In fact, Nintendo recommends you play with friends if you have some trouble with a particular mission.

Metroid Prime: Blast Ball was also showcased, but nothing really new was shown.

Metroid Prime: Federation Force and Metroid Prime: Blast Ball (3DS) will be released in June in Japan.

Kirby: Planet Robobot

That segment was pretty much the same as in the European and North American Nintendo Direct, but in Japanese. Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS) will be released on April 28th in Japan, and will cost 4 700 Yen.