Click here to read our first Purely Opinions on Nintendo at E3 2017, where Kaelyn and I talk about the first day.

In this second part, Jemma tackles the spotlight, Alex shares his thoughts on the tournaments, and I briefly look at some upcoming 3DS games.

E3 is the biggest week in gaming, and Nintendo had a lot to prove coming in. Riding the success of the Switch’s launch mere months ago, this week had to showcase some pretty impressive software to keep fans happy and make those on the fence topple over and join in the hybrid fun. The spotlight video was the perfect way to do just that.

The stream was short and sweet at 25 minutes, featuring a mix of interviews, trailers, and teasers. It was straight into the action, with the likes of ARMS, Rocket League, FIFA, Pokken Tournament DX and Splatoon 2 highlighted. A fast-paced segment with pounding music, plenty of energy and a mix of Nintendo and 3rd party titles – Nintendo needs the likes of FIFA to knock those fence-sitters over.

Reggie made several appearances, and I liked the subtle Mario reference when he said that games are a passport into another world – or even an “Odyssey’. It wasn’t until the end of the spotlight that Mario was shown – which I expected of course; save the best for last.

There were a lot of new games shown off in this short time though. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 looks absolutely massive – a big world, with big machines; even the name “Monolith” implies hugeness. There are some stunning scenes featured in the trailer, and the game looks impressive.

New entries in both the Yoshi and Kirby franchises were a nice surprise for me, and both look as adorable as expected. I love that each has its own new tricks to offer to their respective series, with Yoshi’s world literally flipping, and Kirby making friends of enemies. Did I mention how adorable they look?!

Metroid 4 was another surprise, though this was the very definition of a teaser since no further information was provided. It seems that every year this is on our wish list, and though I’m not the biggest Metroid fan, I’m pretty excited to see Samus return finally!

There was so much more covered: the Zelda DLC looks fantastic, Fire Emblem Warriors sounds intriguing, but I’d like to see some gameplay before making up my mind on that one. Mario + Rabbids was another interesting title that we’d heard rumors of recently, and I like the idea of a tactical exploration game set in the Mario/Rabbids universe. Color me interested for this one.

For me, the highlight was the Mario Odyssey trailer, which showed a lot of what we can expect from this new open-world adventure. It looks amazing, to say the least, with Mario’s cap granting him the ability to morph into other creatures – even enemies! I can’t wait to try it out. But more than that, the trailer showed just how diverse this game will be, with Mario donning a white tuxedo to attend a wedding. Is it his – or Bowsers?? And I love Princess Peach holding a bouquet of Piranha plants; great touch. Then there’s Mario riding a scooter, or wearing a sombrero, or interacting – even becoming – a dinosaur. This will be one epic adventure.

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This year at E3, Nintendo had a big focus on multiplayer with their lineup. Titles like Splatoon 2, ARMS, and Pokkén Tournament DX coming out relatively close together show that Nintendo really wants the Switch to be a system people play together. Rather than have the good folks at the Nintendo Treehouse demonstrate these games, the Big N invited a variety of professional and popular content streamer personalities to compete in tournaments. With E-Sports starting to make a bigger impact on the gaming scene, this was a great way to show off the Switch’s multiplayer offerings to the public.

It’s hard to deny, when you see a competitive multiplayer game being played by people with high skill levels, the results are often captivating. What better way to advertise your product than by having advanced players command their character’s to skillfully dodge and weave through the stages as they launch attack after attack? This was especially apparent in the Splatoon 2 and ARMS tournaments, where the combination of announcers and professional gamers got the energy and excitement up. Not only that, but having popular content creators from Twitch and YouTube helped draw in the crowds for Pokkén Tournament DX.

For a three-day event filled with live game demonstrations, having some tournaments thrown into the mix was a great way for Nintendo to hype up their products with some high-level gaming on display. Not only that, but hosting the competitions also helped break up the monotony and bring the energy back up for those who were watching the live stream all day. Moving forward, hopefully Nintendo can make tournaments like these a part of their E3 tradition moving forward. It’s certainly more exciting than just watching an executive on a stage talk about their games, but that’s just purely opinion.

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I only discussed the Spotlight presentation in part 1, but now it’s time to briefly turn my attention to the 3DS. There weren’t a huge number of games shown off for the handheld , but the quality of those that were is quite high. How can I say that when the games aren’t even out yet?

Well, two of the titles are remakes of prior handheld hits. Metroid II on the Gameboy is getting a makeover in Samus Returns. Of any Metroid game to remake, I can see why this was the best choice. I have a hard time playing the old black and white GB version nowadays, but I can’t wait to see all the enhancements on 3DS. I’ll probably shell out for the special edition, with a reversible cover and soundtrack cd. Don’t forget the new amiibo.

The Gameboy Advance classic Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga is back, and its added “Bowser’s Minions”. This had been speculated on earlier, so it wasn’t a huge surprise. But was is a welcome one though.  The game is great on its own (see my review of the VC original), and the new content should only make it that much better. It’s releasing approximately three weeks after Samus Returns, so the fall season is looking pretty darn good for 3DS.

One of the later announcements included Sushi Striker: The way of Sushido. This quirky title hasn’t wowed me yet, but it’s not due until 2018. So there’s plenty of time for my mind to be changed. For those looking for something new to play right now, demos of Miitopia and Ever Oasis are available on the 3DS eShop. Plug alert – Wanna win a copy of Ever Oasis? Get in the E3 spirit and become a Pure Nintendo patron. The next issue of our magazine will have more E3 coverage than I could ever squeeze into a Purely Opinion