Nintendo Direct

This morning we got a Nintendo Direct to update us on games that have previously been announced for this year. This means no real surprises but there were some good little tid bits in there. Here are the highlights of the 30 minute Direct!

Blue Hedgehog

Sonic Lost World is looking great! Those words may never be said again... but on the bright side we got a lot  more gameplay footage of this Wii U exclusive. It looks like a mixture of Sonic and Mario Galaxy as you are speeding through levels that twist and turn and you run up walls, not just from one end to the other.

There was also news that the 3DS version of the game would be able to connect to the Wii U version. You will be able to create remote controlled toys that the person can control on the Wii U. Unfortunately you will need both versions to enjoy this so this is probably not something too many will be interested in.

Both games will be at retailers on October 22 in North America.

More Art

You know that crazy art on Miiverse that you know you can never make, well get ready to feel even worse about your artistic abilities! On August 9th (yes a couple days from today!) you will be able to find Art Academy Sketchpad on the Wii U E-shop. This sketchpad will give you more tools so that you can be a real artist on Miiverse. If you are anything like me, this means cooler stick people!

Nintendo is also creating its own Miiverse community where they will find a way to highlight some of the best pictures on there. This community should be very entertaining to follow on Miiverse.

At the end of that announcement Iwata announced that they are working on an Art Academy game with art lessons. No release window was announced.

Cash Money!

Nintendo’s biggest money making franchise is making its debut on the Wii U with Pokemon Rumble U. This is not your typical turn based Pokemon game. Instead, it is a frantic cartoony battle game. If you have a Wii U chances are you have noticed that the game-pad
 has a Near Field Communicator (NFC) on it. You will be able to buy 18 different Pokemon figurines exclusive to GameStop. When the figurine is placed on the gamepad,jm the Pokemon you chose will appear in the game. This can literally become the biggest thing since…well since the first time Pokemon came out.

You can buy this game on August 29th.

Objection!

The final chapter of the Professor Layton trilogy, the Azran Legacy, will be released in 2014. We got to see some gameplay of the game and it looks like a good ol puzzling time…I think?

Then there is the Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright mash up that will also be available in 2014. This is great news for puzzle game fans and should make for an interesting adventure.

STAAAHP

Animal Crossing has taken over my life, I know I am not the only one either. Now be prepared to lose more of your time on Animal Crossing with the community on Miiverse. Starting today you can also download the Animal Crossing Plaza on the Wii U. This app takes you into Wata Wata plaza with all your Animal Crossing friends. You can post pictures and share everything you have done. Well there goes all my spare time. 

There was more announced and shown but these were the ones that stuck out to me. If you want to hear about Nintendo Zones, Zelda, and Mario and Luigi: Dream Team you can check out the video on Nintendo.com. We will also be covering the Wonderful 101 Nintendo Direct on Friday so look forward to that.