Majora’s Mask 3D, Amiibo, and more highlight today’s Nintendo Direct

Earlier today Nintendo unleashed a new Nintendo Direct, showcasing upcoming titles on both Wii U and 3DS throughout Winter 2014 and Spring 2015.

Kicking off the Nintendo Direct in style, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, is finally getting the 3D remake treatment, and will be arriving on the 3DS in Spring of next year. Focus then shifted over to Project S.T.E.A.M. from the Fire Emblem devs, a new NES Remix for the 3DS (with online leaderboards!), and a pretty great preview of the upcoming Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.

The first significant bit of paid DLC for Mario Kart 8 came next, with a release date of November 13th, featuring a Legend of Zelda, F-Zero, and Excitebike themed track, among others. We also got another look at the upcoming Kirby title for Wii U, now officially named Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. Throughout the Nintendo Direct we also learned how Amiibo figures would interact with existing titles like Mario Kart 8 (costume unlocks) and Hyrule Warriors (weapon unlocks).

A new Super Smash Bros. trailer debuted, focusing entirely on Duck Hunt for the upcoming Wii U release. Another special surprise was the reveal that the original Duck Hunt would be coming to Virtual Console, using the Wii Remote as a Zapper.

The tail-end of the direct focused on Nintendo’s efforts regarding indie titles, Miyamoto’s release of animated Pikmin short films available now on Wii U and 3DS via the eShop, another glimpse of Xenoblade Chronicles X with a projected 2015 release, and an extended look at Splatoon for Wii U. Splatoon actually looked really great here, focusing this time on a single-player campaign that looks quite inventive.

All in all, not a bad Nintendo Direct! Check out the whole thing in the embed below, along with the full press release that followed.

[youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/KkXmABkDlNE”]

During a Nintendo Direct presentation this afternoon, Nintendo dropped a moon-sized announcement: The Legend of Zelda: Majora?s Mask 3D, a remake of the beloved Nintendo 64 game, is coming exclusively to Nintendo 3DS in spring 2015. The Nintendo Direct video also revealed new details about amiibo functionality and upcoming games like Splatoon, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Code Name S.T.E.A.M. and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.

To view the Nintendo Direct video in its entirety, visithttp://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct.

?Now is the best time to be a Wii U and Nintendo 3DS owner,? said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America?s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. ?There?s something for everyone with a variety of quality, exclusive games already available and launching soon. From new IP inCaptain Toad: Treasure Tracker to unforgettable greats like The Legend of Zelda on the horizon, we have both classic and new franchises covered.?

Some of the details revealed in the video include:

Wii U

• Mario Kart 8 DLC: The first pack of DLC for Mario Kart 8 launches on Nov. 13 and includes new courses, vehicles and characters from other Nintendo games like The Legend of Zelda, F-Zeroand Excitebike. Players can buy and download from the in-game menu or in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U.
• amiibo: In addition to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, multiple games will be compatible with amiibo, including Mario Kart 8 and Hyrule Warriors in 2014, plus Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Yoshi?s Woolly World and Mario Party 10 in 2015. This amiibo functionality will be available to players in the following games when the first wave of figures launches on Nov. 21.
  • Mario Kart 8: When players tap Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Link, Captain Falcon, Fox, Samus or Kirby amiibo figures on the Wii U GamePad controller, they will receive a Mii racing suit themed to that particular amiibo character. Players? Mii characters can wear these detailed suits when racing in the game.
  • Hyrule Warriors: A Link amiibo figure gives players a special ?Spinner? weapon in the action-packed Wii U game. Additionally, every Super Smash Bros. series amiibo figure will grant randomly selected materials, weapons or rupees in the game.

  The first wave of amiibo starring characters like Mario, Link and Samus launches on Nov. 21, the same day as theSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U game, and the second wave of six characters hits store shelves in December.

• Splatoon: The four-on-four online multiplayer shooter also features a single-player mode, which pits a player?s squid-like Inkling character against an army of octopi equipped with an arsenal of ink weaponry. Splatoon will launch exclusively for Wii U in the second quarter of 2015.
• Xenoblade Chronicles X: In this new RPG from Monolith Soft, players embark on an epic quest in a new world. Using the city of New Los Angeles as a home base, players will embark on missions, collect items and take on requests from residents. Xenoblade Chronicles X ? which features a bigger world than Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii ? is scheduled to launch exclusively for Wii U in 2015.
• Kirby and the Rainbow Curse: The newest game in the charming Kirby series finds the lovable pink puffball journeying through a world made of clay. Players guide Kirby along a rainbow line drawn on the Wii U GamePad controller?s touch screen. A new four-player multiplayer mode lets one player play as Kirby and focus on drawing rainbow lines on the GamePad, while the others control a trio of Waddle Dee characters that can collect items or carry Kirby around. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse launches for Wii U in February 2015.
• Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker: A new trailer for the game debuted during the Nintendo Direct and showed snippets of some of the 70+ levels players will encounter. The game also features different challenges that, once completed, will reveal additional content in the game. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker launches for Wii U on Dec. 5.

Nintendo 3DS

• The Legend of Zelda: Majora?s Mask 3D: One of the most talked-about games in the history of The Legend of Zelda series is coming to Nintendo 3DS. Launching in spring 2015, The Legend of Zelda: Majora?s Mask 3D brings Link?s suspenseful, intricate quest through the mysterious world of Termina to a hand-held system for the first time with enhanced 3D graphics and added features for a smoother game experience.
• Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.: From Intelligent Systems, the creators of the Fire Emblem and Advance Wars series, comes Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., a turn-based tactical action RPG that features characters like ? Abraham Lincoln? That?s right: Abraham Lincoln leads a team of newly revealed playable characters like Tiger Lily and Tom Sawyer. Each character in the game possesses special abilities, like Tiger Lily?s healing and Tom Sawyer?s gadgets, that help players complete missions across well-designed battlefields. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. will launch exclusively for Nintendo 3DS in spring 2015.
• Ultimate NES Remix: The NES Remix series comes to Nintendo 3DS, combining 16 of the top NES games from the NES Remix and NES Remix 2 games on Wii U. Famicom Remix Mode offers challenges from the Japanese version of NES Remix, featuring slightly different sound effects and backgrounds, and in Speed Mario Bros., players can play through the original Super Mario Bros. ramped up to super speed. Ultimate NES Remix also features online leaderboards, allowing players to compare scores in challenges with others in their region. The nostalgic game launches for Nintendo 3DS on Dec. 5.
• Persona Q Edition Nintendo 3DS XL: In honor of the Nov. 25 launch of the ATLUS role-playing game Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, GameStop will be the exclusive retailer for the Persona Q Edition of the Nintendo 3DS hardware. The design evokes the essence of Persona Q with styling on the front of the iconic Grimoire ? the tome used by the attendants of the Velvet Room and containing information on the many Personas ? and the new style of character art represented on the back. It will be available at a suggested retail price of $199.99. (The Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth game will be sold separately. Both the Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: Wild Cards Premium Edition and Limited Standard Edition versions of the game will be available for a limited time only.)

Wii U & Nintendo 3DS

• PIKMIN Short Movies: Last month, Shigeru Miyamoto premiered PIKMIN Short Movies, a series of animated short films he directed that takes place in the Pikmin universe. These short films are now available as one paid download in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. As a supplement to the movies (in addition to popcorn, of course), a free demo version for Pikmin 3 is also now in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U.
• Sonic Boom: A free demo for Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, the new Sonic the Hedgehog game launching exclusively for Nintendo 3DS on Nov. 11, is now available in the Nintendo eShop. The free demo for exclusive Wii U game Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (also launching on Nov. 11) will be available on Dec. 4. In addition, a new Nintendo 3DS Home Menu theme and Puzzle Swap panel inspired by Sonic Boom are both coming to Nintendo 3DS on Nov. 11.
• Indie games!: Nintendo?s support for indie developers continues with a host of indie games coming to both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. In addition, fans will be able to discover a CommanderVideo trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U based on the classic character from the Bit.Trip series, as well as download a new Nintendo 3DS Home Menu theme based on hit indie game Shovel Knight. Many of the creative indie games coming to Wii U and Nintendo 3DS include the following:
  • Runbow from 13AM Games (Wii U) ? 2015
  • Chromophore: The Two Brothers Director?s Cut from Ackk Studios LLC (Wii U) ? Winter
  • Citizens of Earth from ATLUS (Wii U, Nintendo 3DS) ? Winter
  • Nihilumbra from BeautiFun Games (Wii U) ? Winter
  • The Swapper from Curve Digital (Wii U) ? Nov. 6
  • Thomas Was Alone from Curve Digital (Wii U) ? Nov. 25
  • Proun+ from Engine Software (Wii U) ? Winter
  • Trine Enchanted Edition from Frozenbyte (Wii U) ? Winter
  • Chariot from Frima Studio Inc. (Wii U) ? Winter
  • A.N.N.E. from Gamesbymo (Wii U) ? Winter
  • Gunman Clive 2 from H?rberg Productions (Wii U) ? Winter
  • SteamWorld Heist from Image & Form (Wii U) ? Spring 2015
  • Affordable Space Adventures from KnapNok Games (Wii U) ? Q1 2015
  • Gone Home from Midnight City (Wii U) ? Winter
  • High Strangeness from Midnight City (Wii U) ? Winter
  • forma.8 from MixedBag (Wii U) ? Winter
  • A World of Keflings from NinjaBee (Wii U) ? Nov. 13
  • Tengami from Nyamyam Ltd. (Wii U) ? Nov. 13
  • Treasurenauts from Renegade Kid (Nintendo 3DS) ? Q1 2015
  • Xeodrifter from Renegade Kid (Nintendo 3DS) ? Q4
  • Swords & Soldiers II from Ronimo Games BV (Wii U) ? Winter
  • Beatbuddy from THREAKS (Wii U) ? Q1 2015
  • Sportsball from TOO DX (Wii U) ? Nov. 6
  • 6180 the moon from Turtle Cream (Wii U) ? Winter
  • Rive from Two Tribes (Wii U) ? 2015

For more information about Nintendo, visit http://www.nintendo.com. You can also now pre-order or purchase a number of games directly from a PC or smart device by visiting http://nintendo.com/buydigital.