Nintendo announces new Wii U and 3DS Zelda, Star Fox and Mario games at E3

Nintendo announced plans Tuesday during the Electronic Entertainment Expo for a multiplayer-focused instalment of The Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo 3DS set to debut this fall. However, the Japanese gaming giant didn’t provide any more details about a previously teased open-world Zelda edition coming to the Wii U console next year.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes for Nintendo’s handheld Nintendo 3DS system was shown off during a prerecorded video presentation Tuesday, with sword-wielding hero Link teaming up with a pair of allies. The trio could climb atop each other to take down taller enemies and reach higher locations.

“This time, I wanted players to cooperatively enjoy more serious Zelda gameplay elements, like solving puzzles and going through dungeons,” said Tri Force Heroes director Hiromasa Shikata during Nintendo’s E3 presentation.

The previous Zelda adventure, A Link Between Worlds, was released in 2013 for Nintendo 3Ds and sold more than 2.5 million copies. While previous Zelda games have been released for the Wii U, Nintendo has yet to premiere an original Zelda entry for the console, which has lagged behind Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One.

For the Wii U, Nintendo showcased Super Mario Maker, which invites gamers’ to create Super Mario levels with the Wii U GamePad, as well as Star Fox Zero, a space combat game that utilizes the GamePad to project a view of vulpine fighter pilot Star Fox’s cockpit, while more cinematic scenes are shown on TV. Both titles are set for release later this year.

“You can have that first-person and third-person view at the same time, managing those two different views as you play the game,” said Nintendo executive and designer Shigeru Miyamoto during a preview event Sunday morning.