E3 2017: Nintendo steals the show with a lineup that includes Metroid, Zelda, Mario, Xenoblade and more

Nintendo’s E3 keynote was one of the shortest we’ve seen, and it was a 20-minute video, but Nintendo sure did cram quite a number of exciting announcements into that time. If that wasn’t enough, a number of other games were also announced after the keynote.The Switch, was, of course, the focus of the keynote, but the 3DS series of consoles were not left out. Here’s everything that Nintendo announced at E3 2017.Xenoblade Chronicles 2A game that could very well be a console-seller for Nintendo, if it didn’t already have Zelda and Mario and Metroid and Fire Emblem and Pokémon and… OK, so Nintendo doesn’t need another console-seller, but they seem to have yet another one, and that can’t be a bad thing.Anyway, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has you playing as Rex who has this new friend called Pyra who also happens to be a Blade (A sword?) that grants him “tremendous power.”The publisher says that the game is set in a world where the “last remnants of civilisation” survive on the backs of Titans.The game will arrive “Holiday 2017”, which translates to a late November release.Kirby“Sometimes you need a hero, a sword-swinging, fire-wielding, stone cold hero with…an insatiable appetite?” A game that’s described like this simply has to be Kirby and the whole gang is coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2018.The game will have you take Kirby and friends on a side-scrolling adventure where they will take on killer trees, sentient helmets, polar bears, fire monsters, traverse waterfalls and more.PokémonThe Pokémon craze is just one among the many things that Nintendo can bank on, and they’re going to take full advantage of it by bringing a fleshed out Pokémon RPG to the Switch. The Pokémon Company, the game’s developer, has only revealed that the game is still in development and that it might arrive this year.There’s also a Pokkén Tournament DX in the works and it’s coming this summer. The game will feature Pokémon battles (in 3D) on the Switch as well as introduce new Pokémon.Metroid Prime 4It’s coming to the Switch. When? No idea. Trailer? Nope. Anything? Nothing.YoshiAs with Kirby, the lovable little Yoshi is also getting a game to himself, and it’s called Yoshi, another 2.5D side scroller, and it’s coming to the Switch. Obviously, some of the puzzles make use of Yoshi’s extensible tongue, and by the looks of it, will involve the Joy-Con’s motion-sensing abilities.Fire Emblem WarriorsIf you’re familiar with the franchise, you’ll be excited. If not, you won’t be. Nintendo released a cinematic trailer for the game that hinted at the gameplay and showed off a few of the series’ famous characters.The Legend of ZeldaAs with most Nintendo titles, The Legend of Zelda is legendary. Breath of the Wild, the latest iteration of Zelda that’s currently available on the Switch has a metacritic rating of 97 percent, making it one of the most highly anticipated games of all time.Eiji Aonuma, series producer has announced that the game on the Switch will now get two expansion packs as part of a $19.99 ‘Expansion Pass’. The expansions are titled the The Master Trials Expansion – DLC Pack 1, and The Champions Ballad – DLC Pack 2.New in the DLC packs are new armour, a Master Mode, new areas to explore, new monsters and a lot more.As mentioned earlier, Skyrim is also coming to the Switch and will include Zelda-specific items, including the Master Sword.The four champions from Breath of the Wild will also be available as Amiibo. These can be used in the DLC pack for in-game items.Mario + Rabbids Kingdom BattleArriving on 29 August as a Switch-exclusive, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle will have Mario and, you guessed it, rabbids, as well as other characters from the Mario universe, slugging it out in a battle arena of sorts.Rocket LeagueYes, Psionix’ iconic vehicular soccer game is headed to the Switch. The Switch version will include the full game and expansion packs as well as Switch-exclusive cars, caps, local multiplayer modes and more. More details here.Super Mario OdysseyNintendo first hinted at the game at E3 2016 last year, and this year we get a whole pile of gameplay footage, a new trailer and a promised release date of 27 October.You get to play as the cheeky little plumber and explore a vast, open world that even includes a T-Rex wearing a cowboy hat. Oh, and Peach seems to be getting married to Bowser.We also got a better look at some of the new mechanics, particularly those surrounding Mario’s now sentient hat. By the looks of it, you can toss the cap onto any character’s head and take over that character. Mario gains the powers that the character possesses and uses them to solve environmental puzzles. Speaking of puzzles, the game involves a number of 2.5D puzzles that you encounter while exploring.The 30-minute gameplay footage also revealed Mario’s animations, which seem to have captured Mario’s trademark hyper-energy and restless feet.Sonic, Metroid for 3DS, Just Dance and moreNot to  be left out, the 3DS is also  getting some new games, the highlight being Metroid: Samus Returns, a 2D platformer.Also announced were a new Sonic game, Just Dance 2018, an Arms and Splatoon 2 invitational and a few other titles.As you can see, we certainly weren’t exaggerating when we said that Nintendo packed quite a large number of launches into a 20-minute show.Head here for our complete coverage of E3 2017.