Skip to main content

Nintendo announces new games in most of its franchises for Wii U, including Zelda, Yoshi, Xenoblade, Fire Emblem, and more

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Nintendo is nothing if not unpredictable. Everyone from its most diehard fans to financial analysts know that when a new Nintendo console comes out, Nintendo is going to release new entries in its core series even if it hasn’t announced them. There will be a new Legend of Zelda, a new 3D Mario, a Super Smash Bros., a Mario Kart. When the company will announce those games and when they’ll actually come out in the life cycle of a console is always up in the air. Will Nintendo put out all the new major franchise entries within a year of each other as it did on GameCube? Will it space them out over five years as on Wii?

With Nintendo Wii U, the company seems to want it all up front. Nintendo announced a veritable torrent of first-party games for the Wii U on Wednesday morning during a new Nintendo Direct event, with brand new games, remakes, and teases for more on the horizon.

First, the wholly new: Developer Good-Feel is making a brand new Yoshi platformer for Nintendo Wii U, scheduled for release this year. Unlike the painterly Yoshi’s Island, this new untitled game borrows the crafts-store presentation of Good-Feel’s Wii hit Kirby’s Epic Yarn. The soothing pastel look of Kirby’s Epic Yarn is maintained here, but the HD model of Nintendo’s little green dinosaur looks surprisingly physical, like it was just sewn up.

Yoshi wasn’t the only untitled game on display. Nintendo also teased a new sequel to 2012’s surprise RPG hit Xenoblade Chronicles. A brief trailer for the game of a character running though a field, flying with a jetpack, and fighting scads of giant monsters was shown followed by a large painted “X” on the screen that looks similar to the one used in Xenoblade. Tetsuya Takahashi, creator of Xenoblade, Xenosaga and Xenogears, will be the executive director while Kunihiko Tanaka, his long time collaborator, will direct alongside him.

Nintendo also announced a new entry in its long-running strategy RPG series Fire Emblem, which isn’t too shocking as studio Intelligent Systems typically makes home console entries in the series. This one will be very different, though. Intelligent Systems is collaborating with Atlus on a Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem crossover game. A brief teaser trailer showing characters from Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne and the upcoming Shin Megami Tensei IV alongside characters from February’s Fire Emblem: Awakening was shown. Hardcore Atlus fans will be disappointed to hear that characters from SMT spinoff Persona weren’t featured.

That’s just for starters. Nintendo also showed a new trailer for Platinum Games’ The Wonderful 101 and a brief video where the studio discussed making Wii U exclusive Bayonetta 2.

Nintendo teased even more for E3 2013, promising previews of a brand new Mario Kart and a new 3D Mario title to follow up 2010’s Super Mario Galaxy 2 as well as the reveal of Super Smash Bros. 4. Series director Eiji Aonuma also briefly discussed plans for a new The Legend of Zelda that will feature some kind of co-operative play.

The whole Nintendo Direct presentation can be viewed here.

Editors' Recommendations

Anthony John Agnello
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…
These are the 10 best gaming PCs I’d recommend to anyone
Graphics card in the CLX Hathor PC.

We review dozens of gaming PCs each year. In 2024, there are a ton of great options, but we've narrowed down a list of the 10 best gaming desktops that deserve your hard-earned money.

In 2024, we still recommend the Alienware Aurora R16 due to its fantastic design, solid performance, and decent value. However, there are several other options depending on your needs and budget. If you want a deeper look into how we evaluate gaming PCs, make sure to read our post on how we review desktops.

Read more
Mecha Break’s robot customization shakes up the battle royale formula
Mecha Break robot head with glowing blue eyes

Mecha Break isn't the kind of multiplayer game you can master right away.

You might equip a lance that you barely know how to use because it seemed like a good idea, and spend the rest of a round attempting to bash yourself into enemies to help your teammates. It incorporates action that's more similar to that of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon than it is to the shooter-focused gameplay in Gundam Evolution, Bandai Namco's multiplayer mecha shooter that shut down last year. Overwatch does come to mind, but in a way where mechs are still the focus rather than the pilots within them.

Read more
Visions of Mana paints a promising picture of the RPG series’ return
Red-haired girl with horns and dragon wing in Visions of Mana

The vibrant settings and character designs in Visions of Mana instantly alerted me that I'd be knee-deep into fantasy, riding on the back of a giant black wolf into the grassy plains of Fallow Steppe. A lush landscape welcomed me as I chatted with my teammates on top of my mount and tussled with little woodland monsters.

I had this experience at this year's PAX East, where I went hands-on with a demo of the upcoming RPG. I never played previous Mana games, but I have enough experience with RPGs and real-time combat to name it one of the most gorgeous, action-packed games I played at the show. The shiny open-world and slick combat I experienced point to a strong comeback for the Mana series coming later this summer.

Read more