7 Big Nintendo Games That Will Mark A Return To Form In 2016

Nintendo fans will no doubt be most anticipating The Legend of Zelda in 2016. It is the last remaining hope for the Wii U and is set to be it’s swan-song game when it releases in late 2016. The game still doesn’t have a final title which sums up the game’s current status. Not a whole lot is known about The Legend of Zelda yet. We know that it will be more open-world with gamers given the choice of what dungeons they’d like to finish in the order that they choose. The world is set to be the biggest in Zelda’s history and the biggest that the Wii U can handle. This is a real chance for Nintendo to take Zelda in a new and exciting direction. The game will also see the return of Epona who will feature more in fast-paced combat.

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Pokken Tournament is an arcade fighting game which is being developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It contains elements from the Tekken fighting series. Released in Japanese arcades in 2015, the game will be exclusive to the Wii U and will see two fights battle against each other using Pokemon. It is different to Tekken in the sense that it is much more action-based rather than being a highly technical fighter. The game will feature Mega Evolutions and also boss fights. I’m excited to see how Pokken Tournament turns out. I was a massive fan of Pokemon Stadium as a kid and it’s evident that Pokemon is still one of the most popular gaming franchises.

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Metroid Prime: Federation Force is a cooperative first-person shooter which is being developed by Next Level Games for the 3DS. Whilst Nintendo fans have been waiting for a true follow-up to Metroid for many years, Federation Force is a spin-off of a Metroid series. It focuses primarily on the shooting mechanics as opposed to exploration. It incorporates cooperative elements into the core gameplay. Metroid Prime: Federation Force is a game that really nobody asked for. It’ll be interesting to see how it shapes up. The final gameplay will indicate whether Nintendo really believed in the concept or if it was simply announced just to fill in some time between the 3DS and the Nintendo NX.

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After being rumoured for the Wii U since a tech demo was first shown off after the initial Wii U reveal, Star Fox Zero was originally leaked on a press sheet two days before E3 2014. Star Fox Zero is another game that has hardcore retro Nintendo fans extremely excited. Nintendo promises that Star Fox Zero will be the game that Star Fox fans have been waiting for with a return to the series better days on Nintendo 64. It’s a game that promises to use the Wii U’s gamepad in exciting new ways. It releases exclusively on Wii U in April 2016.

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Fire Emblem Fates is being developed by Intelligent Systems. It is the 14th game in the series and second to be developed on 3DS after the critically acclaimed Fire Emblem Awakening. The game will be released as three different versions with each telling a slightly differently storyline around the same characters. Once again in Fire Emblem Fates, you will start by customising your main character based on gender, appearance and name. Players can choose between Classic Mode which results in permanent death Casual Mode which enables players to be able to revive certain characters at the end of the battle. It’s exciting to see what comes of Fire Emblem Fates. It was met with initially negative feedback but it’s an interested concept that could prove to be extremely successful for Nintendo.

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Flash back to 1996 when the juggernaut that is Pokemon was unleashed upon the gaming world. Still rated as one of the best RPGs of all time, Nintendo have decided to release the original versions on the 3DS Virtual Console 20 years later. Pokemon Yellow is also being released which is largely the same game, apart from the fact that the game more closely mimicked the Anime in the sense that Pikachu was your starter Pokemon who followed you from the beginning. Whilst most people will be annoyed that Nintendo haven’t remastered the game, I think it’s the perfect time to re-release the game in it’s original format. Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow will be available on February 27th.

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A HD port of Wii launch title, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD was announced late last year. The most exciting thing about the announcement is that Australian developer Tantalus Media will be developing this exclusively for the Wii U. It will featured enhanced graphics and Amiibo functionality. Announced alongside the game was the Wolf Link Amiibo. It’s use in the game has not yet fully been revealed. Whilst most people are excited to have two Zelda games coming in 2016, Twilight Princess isn’t one of the best-rated Zelda games and it wasn’t released that long ago. The game will release on March 5th.