Nintendo Direct E3 2014 recap: Amiibo, squid-girls, Smash Bros.

Nintendo skipped the traditional stage-based press conference this year at E3, but considering that allowed for a Robot Chicken-animated introduction and a Super Smash Bros.-inspired fistfight between Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime and Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, we're okay with that. Hopefully you were with us when our jaws dropped in a mixture of surprise and confusion, but if you weren't, we have a consolation prize for you:

Recaaaaaaaaaap! Shall we?

• A new challenger approaches! It's ... you! Super Smash Bros. for Wii U will allow your Mii avatar to enter the game. This might be the closest you'll ever get to actually touching Mario's face. With your fist.

• It will also be the first game to support NFC technology by way of miniature figures that players will be able to scan into the game, a la Skylanders and Disney Infinity. And just what are these statuettes called? "Amiibo." No, we don't really see the connection either.

• Ain't no party like Smash Bros. party cuz a Smash Bros. party don't stop! More Smash news: the 3DS version of Nintendo's brawler will reach shelves on October 3.

• Now that the Smash Bros. party has stopped, time to talk about another Nintendo franchise: Yoshi. Yoshi's Wooly World is coming to Wii U in 2015.

• Are ye ready to solve 3D puzzles and collect stars, kids? Aye aye, Captain Toad! Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker is a newly-announced Wii U game coming this holiday season.

• A new game in the Zelda series for Wii U may not feel like much of a surprise, but the fact that it's being designed with a world structure that hearkens back to the open, explorable forests of the NES original Legend of Zelda might be. The yet-unnamed Zelda game is expected in 2015.

• Fortunately, a certain green tunic-wearing hero will still get his chance to shine on Wii U this year - Hyrule Warriors, Nintendo's collaborative effort with Tecmo Koei, is eyeing a stateside release date of September 26.

• Pokemon Alpha Sapphire / Omega Ruby will be making a splash (or mountain, depending on which version you choose) on 3DS systems on November 21.

• Bayonetta's boots were made for shootin', and that's just what they'll do in October. Worried about jumping into the acrobatic witch's story halfway through? More good news: Bayonetta 2 for Wii U will include the original Bayonetta, with a few surprises. Seriously, check out the trailer.

• Nintendo no doubt ground up nothing but farm-fresh rainbows to flavor its upcoming Kirby's Rainbow Curse, which looks like one tasty gameburger. (Sorry, we were a little hungry when we wrote this.) The end of this rainbow lands somewhere in 2015.

• The newly-announced Splatoon features schoolgirls and a lot of tentacles, but don't worry, this game isn't going where you think it is. In development by a team working under the supervision of Shigeru Miyamoto, the game has players using squirt guns to shoot ink as their ammunition in 4-on-4 battles.

• So you think you can level design? Prove it in Mario Maker, a 2015 Wii U title that will let you create your own Super Mario Bros.-style levels.

• Xenoblade Chronicles sequel Xenoblade Chronicles X will bring giant anime robots to Nintendo's console sometime in 2015. Repeat: we are go for giant robots.

• Do we still keep using "bros." in Super Smash Bros. when the roster receives a new female fighter? Goddess Palutena from Kid Icarus will teach other Nintendo characters to fight like a goddess when she enters the fray at the game's launch.

Nintendo went out the way they game in (fighting), but continued to reveal more news after the Nintendo Direct stream ended. Be sure to check out our Nintendo E3 2014 tag for additional announcements and reveals.