Iwata and Miyamoto.jpg

With Nintendo Direct rapidly approaching we can't help but look back - this will be the first Nintendo Direct in quite some time and since Satoru Iwata passed away. There was an undeniably sad moment, for this writer at least, when this week's presentation was announced and it dawned upon me how integral Iwata-san was to these videos. The concept itself can be credited to the former President, of course, and it's evolved to encompass game specials and more members of Nintendo's regional teams.

Nintendo Direct has evolved a great deal and quite possibly will continue to do so this week and into 2016. It seems like a good time, then, to look back at a handful of our favourite moments.

We've picked just five, so naturally encourage you to join in below within the comments section. We honour Iwata-san with some of his moments, of course, and are avoiding 'Nintendo Digital Event' segments as they're technically separate. That doesn't mean E3 is completely out of the picture though, as the Digital Event only began in 2014, with special Directs preceding them in 2012 and 2013. Though we've chosen Iwata-san as the focus in most cases, we've also picked some great sequences from the local Nintendo of America and Europe teams.

Our focus is on humour and charm, it's also worth noting, and not specific game announcements - so this isn't a list of "wasn't it amazing when they revealed this game", then.

So, let's get to it.


Non-Specific Action Figure

This was from the pre-E3 Nintendo Direct in 2012 - it was a presentation focused solely on the Wii U hardware. It introduced us to the GamePad in detail, Nintendo Network and, of course, Miiverse. In the skit below we see a player tackling a zombie game - announced the following day as ZombiU - and asking for help on Miiverse. Non-Specific Action Figure became all the rage, but amazingly is yet to get its own amiibo...


Super Luigi Bros. - Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto

From a 'Luigi Special' in February 2013, this segment promoted Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, with Miyamoto-san showing off his very own Poltergust. The exchange between both men, and their playful natures, is an absolute delight here.


Satoru Shibata as Ace Attorney

Back in August 2013 Nintendo of Europe brought the news many 3DS owners were waiting for - Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was confirmed for an early 2014 release in the West. NoE President Satoru Shibata has had a few memorable moments such as his mystery Goomba appearing in many consecutive directs and showing off his karaoke skills. We've opted for his enthusiastic efforts announcing this game, though, in which he allowed a vat full of hair gel to be applied to his head.


Reggie Fils-Aime faces down his own Mii

Many of Reggie's greatest moments have actually come during E3, but we've picked out a very brief segment that provided us with a favourite article image of ours. The giant-headed Mii characters used by Nintendo of America have always been a bit creepy, but Reggie puts his bizarre doppelganger in its place with an emphatic arm-wrestle victory followed by an impeccably timed look to the camera.


April 2015

This is a purely sentimental - and personal for this writer - choice, as this was the last Nintendo Direct hosted by Satoru Iwata, with the former President only lending his voice to the 2015 E3 Digital Event. There's a moment at around 5:45 that sticks in the mind, in which Iwata-san does the famous 'Directly' gesture and clearly has fun doing so.


Finally, as an extra, we wanted to include this wonderfully iconic moment from E3 2012. It became a famous meme and was regularly shown in commemorations to Satoru Iwata - he will never be forgotten.


There are many, many more moments that have been terrific. There was the moon from Majora's Mask descending towards Satoru Iwata, mini Bill Trinen in a similarly mini Direct, while game-specific Directs - such as The Wonderful 101, Splatoon, Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. - have featured fantastic humour and cameos alike. Also, if you fancy going a bit retro we wrote about some of our favourite E3 moments back in late 2012.

In any case, share some of your favourite memories below - we're not short of choices.