GamesCom 2017 Impressions: Nintendo

This year, Source Gaming has joined Gamescom in Cologne Germany for the first time ever…well, at least one person, and that was me. But this didn’t stop me from playing as much as possible and even doing some interviews to get you as much information as possible, straight from the source. And what better way to kick off my Gamescom coverage than talking (maybe writing?) about Nintendo? So, sit back and relax while reading some of my impressions on many Nintendo-titles.

Super Mario Odyssey

Gonna start with the big one, and I can already tell you this with confidence: Super Mario Odyssey is amazing. Sure, you saw that coming from a mile away, but after my 20 min session, I wanted more. At first, I was actually a bit overwhelmed by Mario’s move set in this game. He suddenly had so many abilities and it took some time until I got the hang of it. And while I can’t 100% confirm it, every move from Super Mario 64 seemed to be executable in Super Mario Odyssey, and it felt even better than before. You’ll need all the moves you can get because Super Mario Odyssey wants you to explore everything. In levels like New Donk City you can find all kinds of secrets and if you are not sure where to go first or what to do, you can follow a light pillar that gives you an idea of what to do and where to go next. But as soon as you enter a “real” level, it feels like you’re back in Super Mario Galaxy and you have to prove your 3D Platforming capabilities. And thanks to the “Cap”ture ability, the level-design is even more diverse and interesting, giving you a whole new perspective of Mario’s world and its characters.

Believe the hype, Super Mario Odyssey is going to be a game you’ve waited for forever, and it actually feels really nostalgic playing a Mario game with a sandbox to explore. I can’t wait to get my hands on Super Mario Odyssey again later this fall!

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

I think some of you might already have this “weird” crossover of Mario and the Rabbids in your collection, but this won’t stop me from quickly telling you how excited I am for this title. First, even though I actually liked the concept of this crossover, I’m not that experienced with strategy games. This made me worried that I was going to have to skip this game because my preferences in genre are totally different. Forget that doubt, the gameplay is fun even for someone like me, a total stranger to strategy games. It was actually very easy for me to understand the concept and I was able to successfully finish the Demo without any of my party members dying. I can’t do many XCOM comparisons since I have never played it, but the concept of hiding behind walls and using the environment to your advantage was really engaging. The graphics were outstanding, and I want to congratulate Ubisoft for being able to merge the Mario series and the Rabbids together so well. Mario + Rabbids is proof that nothing is impossible and that even two very different franchises can lead to an amazing crossover.

Pokkén Tournament DX

Even though it’s just an enhanced port, I still wanted to try out some of the new Pokémon characters introduced in this game, but something unfortunate happened: I had completely forgotten the controls. Thanks to that and NintenDaan, who played against me in a few rounds, always managing to win, my outlook on the game was very limited. But it was still all in good fun. I tried out some of the new characters, like Decidueye, with whom I, unfortunately, had some problems. As his arrow gimmick might imply, his attacks are more inclined towards ranged movement and positioning, in spite of this he felt very technical, so I don’t think he will be a favored choice amongst beginners. I also tried out Croagunk and he felt much easier to control (or maybe I’m just good with joke characters?). Overall, it’s pretty much the Pokkén we love and hate. The two player mode, however, was kinda strange, since it was not presented in a split screen view, rather with a shared camera fixed behind one player, the kind you’d see in single player matches. This resulted in me feeling a bit confused, especially with both players using the same character, and I wish we had gotten the chance to try out the split screen mode.

Metroid: Samus Returns

I won’t delve too much into the Metroid II remake since NantenJex has already given a very detailed look into Samus’ reinvented adventure in his preview. All I want to add is that Mercury Steam did a really good job of breathing new life into Metroid II, I was really surprised by how extremely well done the 3D effect was, especially with the 3DS’ low-quality screen. That said, this might, unfortunately, be one of the last games to incorporate 3D, and even with that, it ran smoothly at a perfectly locked 30 FPS.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions

And lastly, we’ll look into another remake for the 3DS. This time, it’s a title I was actually really looking forward to. I’m a huge fan of Superstar Saga and I’m actually one of the few people to enjoy the new art style of the game. The game looks very impressive on the 3DS’ screen. Everything is gorgeously animated, especially the water effects on one of the waterfalls. I was even given the ability to choose a save file with much more progress done on it, which gave me a glimpse of Beanbean Castle, which got a whole new revamped design. With that said, you can see that AlphaDream put a lot of effort in modernizing the looks of many areas and I think it leads to fantastic results. However, I’m not entirely content with the modernizing process. AlphaDream revamped the execution of brother attacks in the overworld a bit, you can’t “directly” switch Mario and Luigi’s positions anymore, it will only happen if you perform one of the many moves. It’s been simplified heavily this way, but as a result, you won’t have many opportunities in which Luigi leads the party. It’s not a huge flaw by any means since the brother attacks still work as intended in the overworld, but as a Luigi fan, I will strongly miss the option to have Luigi as the party leader. I will also miss the stretchy and smeary animations of the first game, nowhere to be found in this remake. It’s still extremely well animated, but AlphaDream chose a more static approach to some of the older attacks and animations. However, all these complaints are minimal and nitpicky, this game will definitely be a strong remake and a good introduction to the series. Oh, you might also be expecting a preview of the Bowser’s Minions mode. Well… I goofed up and totally forgot to try it out. I was really more focused on the main RPG so I’m very sorry for not being able to offer more insight into the new Bowser’s Minions mode.

And that’s it for all the Nintendo games that I got to play. Of course, it’s not everything and I played more stuff such as Sykrim and Fire Emblem Warriors. But I felt that since I wasn’t too invested in both of those games, I’m not in a position to deliver any satisfying impressions. Overall I had a great time in Nintendo’s Gamescom booth, and I want to thank Nintendo Germany for their great reception and service.

Big thank you to Toni for the very helpful edits on this articles