VR vs. Video Games Nintendo Should Adapt To Virtual Reality – Part 3

Has it really been over two months since we last visited this topic? Apparently so. In which case we’d best get on with this next one if I’m going to keep on target with getting all ten video games sorted by the end of the year. It’s additionally good timing when you consider that last week the subject of the Nintendo Switch’s code mentioning virtual reality (VR) was once again in the news. I say “once again” because, of course, we have been down this road once before. Although this time there’s more pictures. It’s interesting that the code is in fact still there, as Nintendo are normally speedy in patching out anything that is defunct to avoid it being a potential exploit for the system in some way. Whatever the case though, here we are again.

Unlike last time around there isn’t much in the way of connection between these two characters or series, only the colour green. But hey, it’s not easy being green. The titles are both unexpected spin-offs, though.

5 – Link’s Crossbow Training

When the Nintendo Wii brought some new life into the light gun genre thanks to all the various pieces of plastic you could slip the Wii remote and nunchuk into (by far the best being House of the Dead OVERKILL‘s big chunky hand cannon, incidentally) fans of the days of the NES zapper and even the Super Scope finally had something to look forward to once again.

Made to utilise the official Wii Zapper, Link’s Crossbow Training was a bolt from the blue. No one expected it, as to do a shooting-based title within the Legend of Zelda universe was completely out of leftfield. Made reusing assets from Twilight Princess, Link’s Crossbow Training – which very specifically did not have the Legend of Zelda series prefix – saw a lone Link shooting arrows into things in what could be construed as the typical format in a video game focused on shooting things.

• Shoot traditional targets.
• Then shoot moving targets.
• Then shoot real enemies.

That a VR version of this titles would work is obvious. After all, how many VR titles do you know that use a bow and arrow? Though the mechanics are usually utilised well the number of them is bordering on ‘too many’, to be honest. It could, theoretically, once again reuse assets from the most recent Zelda title, in this case the all too gorgeous Breath of the Wild.It could combine the traditional shooting gallery approach with The Brookhaven Experiment-style survival gameplay.

You could even for the different levels switch between places on the timeline(s), which would be interesting to long-time fans of the franchise. It’d also be a good excuse to show off HD versions of classic locations from the likes Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask and others which otherwise wouldn’t get produced. From a purely marketing point of view this would be a big talking point and who knows, maybe kick-off some more serious HD remake discussion.

I for one would be very excited about the possibility.

6 – Luigi’s Mansion

Well before Luigi was brutally murdered in last week’s Smash Bros. Ultimate-themed Nintendo Direct (rest in peace King of Second Banana) and even before the Year of Luigi in 2013 Mario’s taller and more easily scared he finally got placed front and centre in what would be the Nintendo GameCube’s fourth bestselling title, Luigi’s Mansion.

The title sees Luigi winning said mansion in a mysterious contest – one he hadn’t entered. It turns out that the mansion is rather full to the brim with ghosts and to make things worse, Mario is missing! (Where have I heard that before?) Armed with a tricked out vacuum cleaner, Luigi needs to exorcise some spooks pronto in order to not only save his brother but just maybe claim his mansion.

There’s a lot of scope here for a VR version of the title as things would translate well to a first-person viewpoint. A number of the cutscenes are in first person (or close enough to it) and the exploration angle, with Luigi moving from room to room searching, would translate very well. Combat could also be adapted and more done with evolving the original controls to make them more immersive. Everything from Luigi calling for his brother, to shaking pieces of furniture could be done through just adapting existing VR mechanics.

Moreover, it would be a prime platform for Nintendo to really get their creative juices flowing in terms of puzzles. Given the Luigi’s Mansion framework and the immersion and controls that VR brings we’d be bound to see something quite brilliant.

Alas…

This article was originally written by the author for VRFocus.