Nintendo at E3 2017: Super Mario Odyssey, Rocket League, and The Legend of Zelda DLC

Nintendo's E3 2017 event was the shortest of the lot, in part because it was a pre-recorded stream. That doesn't mean there wasn't enough to be excited about, including a popular third-party title, updates for Nintendo games on the way, and announcements for new games in development. If you don't have time to watch the half-hour video, here's a round-up of the biggest news.

Super Mario Odyssey is coming October 27
Though its existence has been known since the start of the year, a new trailer for the exploration-based Super Mario Odyssey shed light on what players can expect from the game: set outside the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario travels to a whole bunch of locations, including lush green tropical forests, deserts with palm trees, mountains, and of course its New York-inspired New Donk City.

While Mario will sport his immediately recognisable red-and-blue jumper for the most part, he'll don new costumes – such as an all-white three-piece suit among others – during his time in Odyssey. One of the big surprises was the presence of a dinosaur, so there's no limit to what you can expect from the game.

Super Mario Odyssey will release October 27 for the Nintendo Switch.

Rocket League will have Mario hats and local multiplayer
Since its launch, sport-driving hybrid Rocket League has exploded with the gaming community, being one of the most popular multiplayer titles across Steam and PlayStation at any given time. Now, it's coming to the Nintendo Switch, where the game will release with exclusive Nintendo-themed items, such as Mario and Luigi hats.

It'll also support cross-platform play, with players on PC and Xbox One. Much more importantly, Rocket League will have local multiplayer on the Nintendo Switch, which will be unique to that console. It's great to see Nintendo pushing developers to create LAN multiplayer in their titles, something that has mostly vanished in lieu of online multiplayer.

Rocket League will release during the holiday period for the Switch, so expect it November-December.

Link's adventures continue with first DLC for The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a launch title for the Switch, and the initial lack of games for the new Nintendo console meant most owners have more or less finished the game. If you're one of those, you'll be happy to know that Nintendo has its first DLC on the way. It's called The Master Trials, and it will send Link on lots of new adventures.

Aside from new quests, The Master Trials will include The Trial of the Sword, Hero's Path Mode, and Master Mode, as well as new armour and items. There are four new amiibos on the way too, featuring different in-game champions.

You can get the first DLC for The Legend of Zelda by getting the expansion pass for the game, which costs $19.99 (about Rs. 1,300). Master Trails will be available June 30 on Nintendo Switch.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will release later this year
An open-world Japanese role-playing game sequel first announced earlier this year, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 kicked off the Nintendo E3 2017 event with a new trailer. The two protagonists are teenagers – a boy and a girl – who will encounter different enemies during their long journey. As expected, the trailer had multiple references to a “blade” – it's called Xenoblade – but didn't provide an exact release date.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is sticking to the holiday 2017 release date for the Switch.

Fire Emblem Warriors is out in autumn 2017
Nintendo provided another look at its hack-and-slash addition to the Fire Emblem canon, which will put you in control of multiple characters, including original duo Lian and Zion. Characters will show up from other Fire Emblem games too – Awakening's Chrom, Shadow Dragon's prince of Altea Marth, and three from Fates: Ryoma, Xander, and Corrin.

Fire Emblem Warriors will release sometime in the autumn, for the Switch and the New 3DS.

A new Pokemon game, and Metroid Prime 4 are in development
Extremely short on details, but important to players and shareholders, Nintendo announced that a new "Pokemon RPG", and Metroid Prime 4 are now in development. The first is being made by developer Game Freak, which have crafted every Pokemon game since Pokemon Red and Blue in 1996. Pokemon Company's Tsunekazu Ishihara said it's in the early stages, and not to expect release for another year.

The sci-fi exploration-based Metroid Prime 4 got an announcement trailer, on the other hand, which disappointedly featured only the game's logo. That means the game is early in development, so don't hold out a release before the end of 2018.

Two working titles called Kirby, and Yoshi
Nintendo showed off a new side-scrolling game called Kirby at its E3 2017 presser, which finds the little pink ball going on adventures with melee weapons, changing its shape, and even being joined by his friends, with up to three other characters. Knowing the Switch, it's very likely the game will have on-device and/or local multiplayer.

The other working is called Yoshi, which seems to be inspired by Yoshi's Woolly World. Carrying eggs and collecting coins, it seems to perfectly fit Nintendo's family-friendly aesthetic and style. The Yoshi game too seems to allow for local multiplayer, with the trailer showing two different-coloured Yoshi characters helping each other complete the courses.

There are no release dates for both titles, except to say they will release sometime in 2018.