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Explore the whole wide range of Nintendo worlds in Nintendo Land, a Wii U launch game!

It’s true that Super Smash Bros. featured elements from all Nintendo games, but they’ve never been combined into a single world… granted, Nintendo Land divides them up into different sections that are accessible via hubs that lead to the various minigames. Which is surely to be disappointing to some who envisioned some type of Nintendo-ized MMO made up of the all the various awesome lands Nintendo has developed over the years, from Hyrule to the Mushroom Kingdom to Mute City… but noo… Instead we get a freakin’ “theme park”. Grumble. But I digress!

Each theme park will be based on a different Nintendo series, with its own name and its own associated gameplay, where your Mii will be dressed as the character from that game (so for example, dressed in Link’s tunic garb of different colors) and will feature associated and related gameplay to the world and series that minigame (or Nintendo Land theme park attraction) is based on. Gamers who remember the Wii U’s debut at last year’s 2011 E3, will recall a few of the technical demos shown off to give players an idea of the Wii U, its tablet controller, and the new capabilities of the system. One of said demos featured the player using the Wii GamePad’s tablet touchscreen to flick ninja stars/shurikens at trees in the background displayed on the TV. As you flicked, the shuriken would fly from the tablet and to the TV screen… this demo’s ninja star flicking gameplay has been incorporated into Nintendo Land via the Zelda theme park attraction! Huzzah!

In the hub world of Nintendo Land, your Mii’s will apparently be able to walk around a large theme park environment, and presumably mill about with other players and text chat with them using the Nintendo Network and the Miiverse social features of the Wii U… Although this was only shown on video and was not fully explained. Either way you slice it, this is an interesting project from Nintendo and is unlike anything they’ve done before on this scale. It will be interesting to see how it turns out and whether or not it ends up being a big hit.

Nintendo Land will be a launch game for the Wii U and may be bundled with the system like Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort was for the Wii

Here is the official Nintendo Land E3 2012 debut gameplay trailer.

Synopsis
Wii U Features All-New Attractions in Nintendo Land

Nintendo Land is a fun and lively theme park filled with 12 different attractions, each with its own take on a Nintendo franchise. Each attraction features unique and innovative game-play experiences made possible by the Wii U GamePad controller. Depending on the attraction, players can compete solo or against other players, or even team up to play cooperatively. Up to five players can participate in dynamic multiplayer modes in select attractions. The experiences change every time, depending on whether players are using the GamePad, holding a Wii Remote or just watching others play on the TV screen.

Key Features of Nintendo Land include:

Donkey Kong’s Crash Course
Using the GamePad’s motion control, players tilt the controller to guide a fragile rolling cart through an obstacle course that resembles the original Donkey Kong arcade game. This single-player game lets other spectators watch the action on the TV and offer advice about how to pass the next obstacle.

Luigi’s Ghost Mansion
The player with the GamePad is a ghost (invisible to others) who is trying to capture up to four humans armed with flashlights. The ghost must sneak around the environment by staying in the shadows and try to catch them one by one. The humans can work together to revive fallen comrades before the ghost catches everyone. If all four humans are caught before they are revived, the ghost wins. But if they are successful at shining their flashlights on the ghost long enough to reduce its hit points to zero, the humans win.

Animal Crossing: Sweet Day
The player holding the Wii U GamePad controls two guards who are in charge of safeguarding a candy orchard from a group of candy-loving animals. Up to four other players, using the Wii Remote controllers to control these animals, must work together to outwit – and outrun – the guards. The game ends when a combined total of 50 pieces of candy are collected, or when the guards catch any one of the animals three times.

The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest
The player with the GamePad is an archer who can aim and shoot arrows using the screen as a view finder. That player is joined by up to three others who wield Wii Remote Plus controllers like swords. Players work together to take on a variety of enemies in a world that looks like a cloth version of a game from The Legend of Zelda series.

Takamaru’s Ninja Castle
Based on an early Famicom game available only in Japan, this single-player game turns the GamePad into a launcher for ninja stars. Players swipe the controller’s touch screen to take out an ever-growing army of ninja attackers, earning more points for consecutive hits. Moving the GamePad around at different angles enables the player to take aim in an intuitive fashion.

Seven other attractions will be announced at a later date.

Here is the Nintendo Land E3 2012 Stage Demo video showing off the Luigi’s Mansion: Ghost Mansion – Haunted Hijinks.

Additionally, here is some quick footage of Zelda: Battle Quest from the E3 2012 stage floor, with a girl demoing how the minigame is played.

Last but not least, here is a Nintendo demonstration trailer (beware: corny fake family imminent) of the Animal Crossing: Sweet Day attraction in Nintendo Land.