There are certainly a few very exciting Nintendo 3DS releases to look forward to – Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate are just a few names that really stand out.
Unfortunately, beyond winter 2014 and early 2015, the list starts to get pretty slim – aside from the New Nintendo 3DS, there isn’t much to look forward to. This seems highly unusual – while the 3DS has indeed seen installments from many of Nintendo’s top franchises, there are plenty that are still missing in action.
Keep reading after the jump for the popular first-party games that we hope to see announced sometime soon for the 3DS.
More Mario Sports Games
We have already seen several different 3DS installments of Mario & Sonic at the Olympics – even Winter Olympics versions -of those games – not to mention Mario Tennis Open and Mario Golf: World Tour. Sure, there are already plenty of Mario Sports games on the Nintendo 3DS – I still want to see another one.
The NDS game Mario Hoops 3-On-3 was not Mario’s greatest team sports effort, but it was a very interesting and unique collaboration between Nintendo and Square-Enix; there were even hidden players based on Final Fantasy’s Fighter, Thief, Black Mage and White Mage. I think another shot at a Mario basketball title would be a lot of fun, though I’d hope the controls would be a bit less wonky – in other words, not entirely touch screen-based.
Other ideas include a 3DS version of Super Mario Strikers (soccer) and Mario Super Sluggers (baseball); Nintendo could even try a new sport. Hockey? American Football? Rugby? Billiards? The more I imagine Mario & Co. with pool cues, the more I like the idea.
Pokemon Pinball
It has been quite some time since the last Pokemon Pinball game (Pokemon Pinball Ruby & Sapphire, GBA); personally I always felt like the Pokemon Pinball games were the best spin-offs the series had to offer.
Why not bring Pokemon Pinball to the 3DS, featuring new monsters from the fourth, fifth and sixth generations of the series? Perhaps there could be tables based on each of the six different regions in the Pokemon series – Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos – with region-exclusive Pokemon found on each table.
The game design really doesn’t need to change – score points, catch and evolve Pokemon, and fill up your Pokedex. Some kind of “story mode” could be interesting, with ‘battles’ against Gym Leaders on special tables. Online leaderboards would be a nice touch. Perhaps there could be some kind of StreetPass feature that sends your high scores or Pokemon data to the players you pass as you walk around.
Wario Land
Let me start by saying that any new Wario-based game for the 3DS would be a treat. I personally prefer a new Wario Land game, but I still think the lack of WarioWare on 3DS is a sorely-missed opportunity on Nintendo’s part. Just imagine all the crazy ‘microgames’ that could be designed based on all the different gimmicks and features built into the 3DS, like the gyroscope sensor, the AR capabilities, and definitely the 3D effects.
Going back to Wario Land, the last handheld installment I played was the GBA’s Wario Land 4, and it was utterly fantastic: the level design was brilliant, the controls were smooth, the visuals were beautiful. Even today, the game still looks wonderful, thanks to the jumbo-sized sprites and detailed animations. I play WL4 very frequently on my 3DS thanks to the downloaded version that I received through the 3DS “Ambassador” program a few years ago.
Ultimately I just want Wario Land 5 – I don’t care if it is the same basic design with new levels and slick 3D effects, simply re-packaged and shipped for the 3DS. I just want to shoulder-barge through giant boulders, charge through walls and toss enemies around as Wario, damn it. WAAA!!
Advance Wars
As much as I thoroughly enjoyed playing Fire Emblem: Awakening, Intelligent Systems’ latest strategy-RPG really just made me want Advance Wars for the 3DS.
Many of the new features and mechanics in Fire Emblem: Awakening would also be pretty interesting to see in Advance Wars. The series has always been somewhat straightforward with its strategic design; why not make some kind of ‘comrade’ system similar to Fire Emblem’s character elationships and team-up concepts? Perhaps your CO character and any supporting units could build affinity levels, opening up stronger attacks or support moves throughout the battle.
Obviously, any 3DS version of Advance Wars should look at least as stunning as Fire Emblem: Awakening; I’d love to see the battle scenes shift away from the sideways perspective to something a bit more exciting. I would also really like the first-person camera mode from Awakening to come back. It would be asking a lot for the same kind of consistent DLC support that Fire Emblem enjoyed, but the additional content would obviously benefit Advance Wars 3DS, and extend the value of the game.
Golden Sun
There seems to be a relatively long wait between any new installment of Golden Sun, so maybe I am jumping the gun – Dark Dawn came out somewhat recently, after all. As much as I enjoyed the DS installment of Camelot’s RPG franchise, I thought that the developer should have held off and waited for the launch of the 3DS; the enhanced visuals would have really been nice to see.
That being said, I want to see Golden Sun on the 3DS. Perhaps not in 2015, but maybe 2016 – hopefully before the next major Nintendo handheld is revealed. There have been a lot of great role-playing games on the 3DS; it would be nice to see Nintendo get in on some of the action, aside from Fire Emblem and Pokemon.
Golden Sun has historically been very traditional and plot-based; a 3DS version could really turn up the cinematic effects with the use of stereoscopic 3D. Few of the series’ mechanics really need to change – I have always enjoyed the Djinn system and the variety of classes that could be discovered with different combinations of the elemental creatures. Maybe Camelot could put some kind of spin on this feature, though it would not be necessary. I just want to see it happen, and I definitely wouldn’t complain if the original Golden Sun games for the GBA eventually made their way to the 3DS Virtual Console.
F-Zero
I have already gone into great detail about all the different ways that an F-Zero game on the 3DS would be absolutely great. Almost all of the different features and functions of the 3DS seem to be a perfect fit for a new portable installment of this speedy racing series.
Specifically the 3D effects seem like they would really complement the sense of speed in F-Zero; I also believe there could be some kind of campaign mode and even a track editor.
Who knows if the F-Zero series will return to handhelds or the Wii U – my bet is actually on a console iteration, since the franchise has only seen one other handheld game (Maximum Velocity, GBA). Regardless I am still holding out for an announcement of F-Zero 3DS.
Metroid
The level of desire that I have for a Nintendo 3DS installment of Metroid is almost impossible to describe.
I am anything but picky – Nintendo could really go any direction with it and I would be thrilled, whether it’s a sequel to Metroid Prime: Hunters or Metroid Fusion, a follow-up to Super Metroid similar to how Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds picked up after Link to the Past, or something new entirely. Hell, I would even enjoy another Metroid Prime Pinball game – that was an amusing surprise for the original DS.
Admittedly my biggest hope is that any 3DS installment of Metroid is based on the series’ classic 2D gameplay, utilizing 3D-enhanced graphics to liven things up. Basically, I want to see 3D models and highly-detailed, depth-enhanced backgrounds, similar to games like Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D…based on the alien themes and worlds from Metroid, of course. The other aspects of the game don’t really need to change – keep all the focus on exploring and finding hidden areas, powering up Samus with new items and weapons found along the way.
The formula is basically perfect as it is – there is no need to mess with it. Just bring Metroid to the Nintendo 3DS.
