E3 2010. In case the name didn’t give it away, that particular big-time video games conference was a whopping 15 years ago. It was also the summer before Nintendo 3DS‘ early 2011 launch, which prompted Nintendo to seize the chance and bring prototype units to the showroom floor.
Select members of the press were permitted a brief chance to sample the wares, including a few full-fledged demos, a surprisingly interactive preview movie for Mario Kart 7, and a fair number of more straightforward sizzle reels. Alas, this intriguing fare had long been thought lost to the cruelty that is the passage of time. None among the gaming public would ever experience this promotional package firsthand. Thankfully, the hard-working folks at the 3DS Challenge Team have changed the rules.
We Really Should Have Gotten More Nintendo 3D Classics
Behold the above video, where YouTuber James-Money goes into great detail on the monumental victory that 3DS Challenge Team has achieved. 19 titles can now be viewed and/or played via some specially-crafted prototype software, which I’ll not link to in this article, but you can find easily enough.
Among the package is a preview for Animal Crossing: New Leaf, a Kid Icarus Uprising movie trailer, the unreleased Face Ace game, and a bevy of Nintendo 3D Classics which didn’t make the cut. As James-Money rightfully points out, nnot getting these was a real bummer. “Classic pixel art Nintendo games making a return on a low-resolution 3D display sounds like a fantastic idea,” he enthuses. “Sadly, only a handful of games were remade as 3D Classics.”
Nintendo World Report released a video in the aftermath of E3 2010’s rad reveals which showcased more titles that we, alas, never got in the end. 3DS CHallenge Team has given us a terrific look, which we can view firsthand with that prototype, including 18 games in the demo. Only five of them were released.
The original Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World, Yoshi’s Island, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and more. What did gamers actually get? Well, six, rather than five: Excitebike, Kid Icarus, Kirby’s Adventure, TwinBee, Urban Champion, and Xevious. A nifty assortment, to be sure, but it’s missing games that could have blown us all away by tapping into the 3DS’ groundbreaking stereoscopic 3D.
The real-time preview for Mario Kart 7, like the previews for those Nintendo 3D Classics, isn’t really playable. It’s a demo for the work-in-progress racer. Except there’s a bit of a twist: You can adjust the camera. That’s nifty! I can’t think of anything quite like that offhand in preview demo history, but maybe I’m forgetting something.
On the other hand, demos are playable for games like Star Fox 64’s port and Nintendogs+Cats. Very cool. All told, this is a tremendous win for games preservation diehards everywhere, myself included.
