Although Nintendo’s presentation was brief, one of the few games they showed off, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild easily stole the show. Although details on the plot itself were scarce, it’s clear that there are a number of changes to the game, not the least of which is that the game takes place in an open world similar to western RPGS like Skyrim, Gothic, and Kingdoms of Amalur. According to Nintendo, the game’s world is at least 10 times bigger than that of Twilight Princess. Link can use a horse to get around, and will have to rely on food and clothing, so it appears there is a survival mechanic built into the game. Also for the first time in the series (not counting the CD-I entries), there is actual voice acting and dialogue! Sadly, the game won’t be out until next year on both the Wii U and the upcoming NX. In the meantime, check out Gamespot’s 25 reasons why Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild may be the coolest, craziest Zelda yet.

In what is no doubt good news for RPG fans who have yet to play Monolith Soft’s masterpiece, the Wii version of Xenoblade Chronicles is now available as a Wii U virtual console title for only $19.99. If you had trouble locating a physical copy of the game, and weren’t sold on the New 3DS version, now you can buy a digital version and play it with the Wii U gamepad. Xenoblade Chronicles was designed by Tetsuya Takahashi, and is a spiritual successor to Square’s Xenogears and Namco Bandai Xenosaga while being a spiritual predecessor to Xenoblade Chronicles X, which was released in the U.S this past December. The game tells the story of a world created on the remains of two warring giants, and a mysterious blade known as the Monado. Xenoblade earned praises for it’s unique storyline and battle system, and its main character, Shulk, became a playable character in the latest Smash Bros game while female character Fiora is a playable character in the recently released Project X-Zone 2. The original Wii release had a limited printing run, so newer copies of the game are increasingly rare and have costs consumers as much as $100. Fortunately, now that a digital version is available, everyone should be able to experience this classic.Mountains Photo

Today Nintendo announced that The Legend of Zelda Wii U would be delayed until March 2017, and will launch alongside a version of the game for its upcoming NX system. Although we’ll know more about the upcoming Zelda game at this year’s E3, we won’t hear any details about the forthcoming NX system. This is no doubt a dissappointment for Wii U owners, as besides Pokken Tournament, the lackluster Star Fox Zero, and the forthcoming Persona/Fire Emblem crossover Tokyo Mirage Sessions ?FE, there isn’t a whole lot to look forward to for the system this year. This is reminicent of the GameCube/Wii transition, then the hyped up Gamecube Zelda title (which would eventually become known as the Twilight Princess) would up being a Wii launch title. Nevertheless, we’ll be looking forward to learning about the new Zelda game.

Click here to see project releases for upcoming Wii U and 3DS titles.

Tuesday morning, Nintendo held its E3 digital presentation. Things were a bit underwhelming on the Wii U side (as they were likely preparing for the NX), but they went deeper into some of the newer things they were planning to release throughout the next several months. Square-Enix also had their press conference later that afternoon. While they showed more of what we had seen during the Sony and Microsoft conferences, they went deeper into what they have panned for gamers, and they also showed off a few new titles.
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Yesterday, we reported on a leak of possible new DLC for Smash Bros. This leak included everything from new costumes, to new characters, to new levels. We’re happy to report that not only is the DLC official, but it’s now available. The new content was revealed as part of Nintendo’s live Smash Bros stream this morning. Basically Smash Bros players can now get 7 new Mii Fighter Costumes (including Jacky and Akira from Virtua Fighter), a classic Smash Bros stage, and 3 new characters, including Ryu from Street Fighter. There is even a free Miiverse Plaza stage available. Click below to see the prices. The stream also revealed that several new amiibo will be released this fall, including R.O.B, Mr. Game and Watch, and Falco.
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While it doesn’t have half as many entries as Mario, Pokemon, or Legend of Zelda, Metroid is one of Nintendo’s most prolific franchises, at least in North America. Along with introducing one of gaming’s strongest female characters, it helped pioneer a new style of gameplay that developers frequently revisit in everything from open world titles to indie retro throwbacks. Even today, Super Metroid is regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time and it’s Virtual Console appearance is a top seller. However, the franchise’s success isn’t as widespread in Japan, Nintendo’s home base. This probably explains why we haven’t received a new title in the series since 2010’s lukewarmly received “The Other M”. It also possibly explains why Nintendo decided to make the series then-next gen debut (it was on GameCube, and it was the first game in the series since Super Metroid 8 years prior) as a FPS. While many players were unsure of the new direction, Metroid Prime, developed by Retro Studios, managed to hit it out of the park. Two sequels followed, both managing to be good in their own right. Despite the first person gameplay, Metroid Prime retains everything that fans loved about the Metroid series. It’s still exploration heavy, and there were loads of gadgets to collect. Metroid Prime Trilogy was previously a Wii-only disc title. It received a limited print run, and copies of the disc would be sold for as much as $50 used. Thankfully, Nintendo announced plans to include Wii games on Wii U’s virtual Console, Metroid Prime Trilogy being one of them. It’s only $20 now, so if you have yet to expereince these games, now is the time. Since this is the Wii version, you’ll need a Wiimote and nunchuck for it.

There are problems with announcing new hardware that’s not available everywhere, such as the New 3DS coming out in Japan but not the US, including features that the regular 3DS does not have, yet Nintendo claims that because the North American market hasn’t peaked yet with the old hardware that it will hold off releasing it. Instead, we’re getting a line of special 3DS designs (never minding that a feature of the New 3DS is removable faceplates). Vinnk and Sean (well, mostly just Sean) head off to the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells for this first-ever live recording of the Famicom Dojo podcast, wondering why anyone would even get a 3DS for the holidays when a new one will probably be out in 2015. This is only the sort of thing you can get away with because of region locking. Vinnk explains his person Osborne Effect with Smash Bros. for 3DS, and Sean gushes about P.T., which he played on his new PS4. Plus, questions from our live audience!

Leave your own voicemail at 608-492-1923, or just share your thoughts in the show notes at FamicomDojo.TV:
http://famicomdojo.tv/podcast/112

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No, you’re not going crazy. This is still the Famicom Dojo Podcast feed, but we wanted to share this one-off Powetcast reunion. (Although, warning: this episode is explicit.) Sean gathers (most of) the old Powet.TV crew to discuss the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the next-gen video game systems we’re playing, 30 years of Transformers, 50 years of Doctor Who, and which comics are still worth reading.

Listen to more great podcasts:

• No Topic Required
  with Zac and Adam.
• Famicom Dojo Video Game Podcast
  with Sean and Vinnk.
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy POWETcast
  with Sean.