Not all of the Nintendo Land “worlds” are on show here at E3 2012, but the ones that are here are a lot of fun. After spending some time with them, I feel like this morning’s presentation did not do them justice. Here’s my quick rundown of the playable ones from my time with them after this morning’s reveal. Stick with us for full rundowns of these and more from Nintendo’s booth.
Takamaru’s Ninja Castle – This is that ninja star flicking game we saw as a concept last year. It’s quite fun, and super cute. Tilting the Wii U lets you aim a cursor, and flicks on the screen send stars flying, with the speed of your flicks controlling determining the distance of your throws. Little origami ninjas start out as easy targets, but they soon start jumping around, and later begin packing weapons against you.
Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest – My least favorite, but still a fun game. It’s a 4p co-op dungeon crawl, playable with either a Wiimote or the Wii U controller. Shields, bows and Zelda hats in a cooperative explorer — how could you go wrong?
Donkey Kong’s Crash Course – This is an addictive 2D tilt-to-move course where you’ll ride on a rolling platform from the top of the screen down, trying to control your speed and angle and not smack into a wall or obstacle. It’s harder than it looks, but watching a good player makes you want to try.
Luigi’s Ghost Mansion – The Wii U controller player is the ghost and the Wiimote players are Miis that try to track it down. I died twice in 2 minutes trying to escape the ghost! My teammates tried to revive me by shining their flashlights on me to charge up my health, but the ghost picked them off too. It’s chase and flashlight tag done by Nintendo. Brilliant.
Animal Crossing: Sweet Day – Animals will run around town looking for trees to shake (by standing on a pad that has to be charged up, with some trees requiring more than one person to stand and charge) to release candy. The four Wiimote players have to gather 50 pieces before being tackled by the attacker using the Wii U controller. There’s a ton of strategy to this chase game, and it’s sure to be a huge party game. So fun.
