E3 2003: Nintendo's Line-Up

Although Nintendo haven't officially revealed their complete line-up for E3, we've put together this list based on what we know will be there.

Whilst it's fair to say that Nintendo's booth will be ridiculously crowded as usual - mainly by hundreds of fans with no press credentials whatsoever - it will also be understandable. This year, although there's no indication that Mario 128 will be on the showfloor, Nintendo are offering a line-up of games to keep fans happy and critics appeased, at least temporarily. Mario 128 will most likely make an appearance at the firm's pre-E3 conference on Tuesday - but show-goers will have to make do with Mario Kart, which judging by the video we posted earlier, is shaping up quite nicely actually.

Mario Kart Double Dash!! (GCN) - Unless the true Mario game everyone wants shows up, this will be the flagship game at Nintendo's stand. If it succeeds, Double Dash will offer the core gameplay beauty of the original Mario Kart on SNES, whilst improving the problems with the N64 rendition and upgrading to GameCube visuals. The ability for two characters to share a kart is new, with one character driving and the other launching projectiles - such as shells and slippery banana skins. Lovely. Click here for screens.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GCN) Shigeru Miyamoto has teamed up with Konami's Hideo Kojima to produce a special GameCube edition of Metal Gear Solid, and it is inevitably going to be very good. Click here for our original story.

F-Zero GC (GCN) The highly exciting project nearing completion by Sega's Amusement Vision is going to see its playable debut this year at Nintendo's stand. Check out our preview with screens and videos here.

Pikmin 2 (GCN) The update to Miyamoto's Pikmin, which surprised audiences at E3's 2001 outing. Pikmin 2 promises a split screen multiplayer mode and more innovative gameplay. See the screens here.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) - Mario's next sports sim is a Golf outing with toadstools in it.

Mario Tennis (GCN) - In development by Camelot Software Planning, the creator of previous Mario Tennis titles. One to watch for, er, Mario sports fans. (Of which there are quite a few, actually).

Kirby's Air Ride (GCN) Completely bland visually, this Kirby title may be able to pull back in the gameplay stakes. It was first revealed at Miyamoto's recent European roundtable to uninspired attendees (before they then witnessed F-Zero and Pikmin 2).

Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (GBA) Close to finished now at Intelligent Systems, the sequel to the awesome Advance Wars is set to be fully ubveiled and playable at E3 before it hits stores on June 23.

Donkey Kong Country (GBA) - the GBA conversion of the classic SNES platformer, Donkey Kong Country. We loved DCK and this conversion, despite a lower colour palette, looks immaculate.

Pilotwings (GCN) Factor 5's update to Pilotwings 64 has a lot to live up to, but is likely to debut at E3 in one form or another. If it does, this will strengthen Nintendo's line-up considerably.

Star Fox Armada (GCN) - Developed by Namco, this new Star Fox title will either be playable on the showfloor, or shown as video only. Whilst the elements of gameplays will be familiar to players of Star Fox Adventures, the emphasis this time is on multiplayer.

Adam Doree
Staff writer, Kikizo Games