Nintendo Fans, Get Ready.

Credit to: Nintendo

This E3 Is Going To Be A Good One.

Y’all. The wait is finally almost over. Us gamers have been hungry for the scoop on our favorite franchises since last year. If you all remember right, last year, E3 didn’t happen due to the global situation being much more severe than it currently is. Thankfully, things have been slowly been getting back to normal, though this year’s E3 is gonna be a lot more different than we’re used to, as this time, we’ll all be able to be a part of it. For E3 2021, everyone has the chance to tune in to the event online, making this year the very first time the event has been all-digital. This is major news, as this will most likely make this year’s gaming event have the highest overall viewership than it’s ever had, though we’ll have to wait and see if this claim comes true.

While they may not be Microsoft or Sony, Nintendo is still a big league player in the world of gaming, having some of the best heavy-hitter franchises of all time, including Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Mario Kart, Mario Party, and so much more. While nothing has been revealed yet, we can still speculate the next upcoming games to be announced.

What Do We Know So Far?

Credit to: Nintendo

This year alone, we’ll all have the chance to play some new exciting Nintendo games VERY soon, like Mario Golf: Super Rush which is releasing June 25th, 2021, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, releasing July 9th, 2021, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, releasing July 16th, 2021, Pokémon Shining Pearl and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond releasing late this year, and so much more. There’s likely even more to be revealed at E3 before this year is over, so we’ll all be busy on our Nintendo Switch devices for quite some time! I find it important to note that currently, we are at the beginning of The Legend of Zelda’s 35th Anniversary, which officially happened on February 35th, 2021, though no special event or announcements happened. We did get the reveal for Skyward Sword HD, an armor set and weapon as Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity DLC if you pre-ordered the expansion pass, and the development update for Breath of the Wild 2. While fans have expressed disappointment at the lack of news, I have to make sure you all realize one thing that’s very important, which is that Mario’s 35th Anniversary and the event held for it happened much later than intended, due to the global situation, and Pokémon’s 25th Anniversary had a very special event for the franchise, leaving no room for any proper Zelda celebration. Now that both events are officially over, there’s a good chance that Zelda will be getting some love very soon, potentially even this month of May. We can also expect Zelda to have a very big presence at E3, as Zelda producer, Eiji Aonuma did say during a recent Nintendo Direct livestream, that we can all expect some news on Breath of the Wild 2 later this year. With this year’s E3 only about 2 weeks away, I’ll make the bold claim that we’ll 100% see Breath of the Wild 2 at the event.

Credit to: Nintendo

With all of that Zelda goodness out of the way, let’s talk Mario. It’s no secret that Mario is a beloved franchise that also rakes in huge profits with each game, especially after the release of Super Mario Odyssey back in 2017. To the surprise of no-one, Nintendo does likely have a plan to show off the rumored sequel for this year’s E3, though that isn’t confirmed. At least not yet. Though, we do have other Mario-related games to look forward to, such as a potential reveal of a heavily rumored Mario Kart 9. Mario Kart as a series is absolutely fantastic, whether you’re alone trying to perfect your drifting skills or beat your best ghost time trial, or you’re with friends or family trying to establish dominance on the track. While many tend to disagree with the potential existence of a Mario Kart 9 due to the high sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch, I find that hard to be a good enough reason for the sequel not to exist, and here’s why. We all have to remember that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is simply a re-release of Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, just with a revamped battle mode, a few more characters, and obviously the more polished graphics. The sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a re-released game that came out all the way back in 2017, will not hinder the sales of its successor. People have been hungry for a new Mario Kart for quite a few years, and the best time to show off a brand new one, is when everyone is watching. Even beyond Mario Kart 9, there’s potential for the fan favorite Mario & Luigi games to make a return, there’s Mario Party (unlikely, as Super Mario Party received an online support update very recently), and maybe even a return of the beloved Mario Tennis, Mario Sluggers, and Mario Strikers games. One can only dream…

Zelda and Mario aren’t the only ones that have a great opportunity to shine at E3. There’s been rumors floating around the Nintendo community for a 3D Kirby game and a Mario Odyssey-style Donkey Kong game, a chance for Metroid Prime 4 to finally be shown, the likely possibility that a new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC fighter will be revealed, and so much more. We can’t forget about Animal Crossing either, as it’s been highly speculated that a major 2.0 update for New Horizons will be showcased either this month, or for E3, and with a Zelda 35th Anniversary potentially ready to kick off, it’s likely that all you island residents will have Zelda-related content to purchase in game. I’m personally hoping we’ll see the Master Sword as an item, costumes to dress up your villager so they look like the hero of Hyrule, Link, Princess Zelda, Ganondorf, and maybe even… Tingle! In all seriousness (even though I’m very serious about wanting a Tingle costume), it would be great to see Zelda content in Animal Crossing. I’d love to have villagers inspired by Zelda live on my island while I run around as Link on my Hyrule themed island.

Final Thoughts

No matter what winds up happening, you can be sure this year’s gonna end on a high note. That’s all I’ve got for you all today, but let me know what you think! Make sure you follow me on Instagram and Twitter, and make sure you stay safe, stay healthy, and stay happy! I’ll see you all at E3 2021 when it kicks off on June 12th! This has been The Wolf Den.