Things are looking a little uncertain for lover of Nintendo ’s cabinet games and ironware . That ’s been the caseful for a few years now with the rocky run of the Wii U , but Wednesday ’s announcements collide with pretty hard : Nintendo ’s next console , codenamed the NX , will be publish in March 2017 , and The Legend of Zelda for Wii U will be delay to set in motion then on both system . And that leaves potentially little new for Wii U owners to play subsequently this year .
That ’s dissatisfactory . But some dependable news did come out of Nintendo ’s information dump yesterday , at least if you like mobile game . We now know what to expect from the company ’s next iPhone ( and Android ) releases , and unlikelast month ’s Miitomo , they will beactual games . In fact , Nintendo say just that : “ Both of these are pure plot practical software , ” they wrote .
Nintendo ’s next two mobile games will be based on theFire EmblemandAnimal Crossingfranchises , respectively , both of which have traverse many yr and entries on its own computer hardware — and both will be out this declension . We do n’t have a lot more particular than that right now , but given each series ’ legacy , we have a sentiency of how they could translate to the iPhone . So here ’s what we expect .
Igniting the Fire
The Fire Emblem series stretch out all the way back to 1990 and spans numerous entrance — many of them handheld — although we did n’t see any in the States until 2003 . Fire Emblem is a tactical office - playing secret plan serial wherein you ’ll hold in units on a grid - found field of battle , not unlike iPhone favoritesThe Banner SagaandFinal Fantasy Tactics . Of naturally , both of those games lead off on other political platform before being translated to impact .
Here is the critically - acclaimed Fire Emblem Fates from Nintendo 3DS . If anything , higher - resolution iOS gadget covert should improve the presentation .
What ’s especially distinctive about Fire Emblem is just how hard-core of a series it is : They ’re long , sprawl escapade , and if a reference dies in engagement under Greco-Roman scene , he or she remains dead for the rest period of the biz . Also , the most recent Fire Emblem Fates released for Nintendo 3DS earlier this year spans multiple games , letting you view the battle from the perspective of multiple junto .
In other dustup , it ’s huge and engrossing , which unremarkably is n’t what we expect from fluid games . So it ’s no surprisal to listen that Nintendo plans to streamline the experience for iPhone and make the game seem a luck less intimidating to newcomers . “ While making it more approachable in comparison to the Fire Emblem games for Nintendo ’s consecrate gambling system , Nintendo train to pop the question the keen value of a role - playing strategy biz , ” reads the uneasy press release instruction .
Fire Emblem plot are revered for their storytelling and personal attachment to characters — hopefully that hold up in the move to the App Store .
That could be a difficult goal to accomplish , striving to keep the scale and free-enterprise balance of the source material while presumably embracing a free - to - frolic model and letting players pop in for quick academic term . Still , it ’s accomplishable : calculate at a recent freemium belt likeClash Royale . It ’s a game that requires deep strategic planning , both on and off the field , yet the match only last for three or four minutes at a time . And it’samazing .
Hopefully Nintendo can pull it off , as many Fire Emblem devotee are no doubt worried about their under - the - radiolocation , role - recreate front-runner becoming diluted by freemium tactics and in - app spending prompts .
Crossing over
Animal Crossing , on the other hand , is a much more obvious paroxysm for a peregrine release : It ’s a game about cunning avatars and creature mingling in a cartoonish village , and it has societal connections with on-line players . In some ways , it ’s the secret plan that we hoped Miitomo would more powerfully replicate , as the ability to leave your little household and control your Mii avatar would ’ve given Nintendo ’s first iPhone app much more astuteness .
These screens of Animal Crossing : New Leaf on 3DS show the kind of larger game experience we like Miitomo better emulate .
Although Nintendo says that it ’s a “ complete biz coating ” like Fire Emblem , it will also link to unspecified rendering of Animal Crossing available for Nintendo ’s own system . “ Nintendo will plan the latter biz so that it will be unite with the macrocosm of Animal Crossing for dedicated gambling system , ” says the press release . “ By playing both Animal Crossing games , users will find increased enjoyment . ”
The last core Animal Crossing plot , New Leaf , release for Nintendo 3DS in 2013 , although spinoffs Animal Crossing : Happy Home Designer for 3DS and Animal Crossing : Amiibo Festival for Wii U both released late last yr . It ’s likely that the newer game would bid that cross - compatibility via updates , unless Nintendo has even new game in the pipeline .
We would n’t be surprised to see the iPhone plot take after last year ’s Animal Crossing : Happy Home Designer on 3DS — or at least yoke up to it .
What about the players who do n’t have a Nintendo platform and do n’t plan to diddle Animal Crossing on them ? We conceive of that ’s the mass of people who would download the iPhone game , so we desire Nintendo really does plan to make it a full - fledged , standalone experience .
The social interactions are ripe for a smartphone game , and Animal Crossing is so endearing and invoke that we could see ourselves logging in throughout the day to chat with Quaker and enhance our homes and villages . That ’s if it ’s done right on iPhone , of course , and we sure as shooting desire that ’s the case for both Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem . In fact , we would n’t be surprised to see both tie into Miitomo , using Nintendo ’s societal app as a hub for building connective in the games .
Neither Fire Emblem or Animal Crossing has quite the mainstream profile of Super Mario or The Legend of Zelda , but both are highly well - regarded franchises that have produced some of the best games on the Nintendo DS and 3-D . Hopefully that makes them both an ideal conniption for the iPhone , as well .
