Nintendo’s Nostalgia Crutch
Last week’s Nintendo Direct presentation — the company’s first since the death of president and CEO Satoru Iwata — did not disappoint until suddenly I realized that it had.
The big announcements were The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD for Wii U, Dragon Quest VII and VIII 3DS remakes getting international releases, Pokemon Red and Blue on Virtual Console, some new Amiibo and, oh yeah, Cloud Strife in Super Smash Bros.
(There’s also Linkle, aka the long-requested female Link, a crossbow-wielding add-on for the Nintendo 3DS version of a non-canon Dynasty Warriors clone for the Wii U. So niche it’s a non-event.)
Now, I love Twilight Princess (it is my favorite of the Zelda games), and I love getting some Final Fantasy in my Smash Bros. (a surprise announcement, honestly, given that Squeenix also is promoting its own 3D crossover fighter Dissidia in Japanese arcades right now), but there’s just surprisingly little of substance here.
Like, great! Lots of old things are going to come back soon. Where’s the information on some new stuff?
Sure, we got a release date for StarFox Zero but … that’s kind of all?
I wasn’t expecting E3-caliber announcements from a Nintendo Direct, but I was expecting something a little more inspiring. Nintendo is the master of appealing to my sense of nostalgia, reminding me of the simple happiness of my childhood, when my N64 was my most prized possession.
I love revisiting old games, but I want to see new stuff even more. Remind me how awesome the past was — not by retreading it, but by continuing to push into the future. Sony and Microsoft always have a plethora of new titles to accompany their remakes and remasters. Nintendo needs to show off the next Zelda, not the one we’ve already finished.
Persuade me that buying a Wii U wasn’t just a fluke or a glorified way of replaying old games — tell me it was worth it, Nintendo.
