8 Adorable Moments From Nintendo at E3

If there’s one thing Nintendo will continually get right is designing things to be absolutely adorable. With announcements and closer looks at Super Mario Odyssey, Kirby and Yoshi games, Nintendo is still killing it in the cuteness department.

1: Mario as a Cheep Cheep

Holy Crap! Mario as a Cheep Cheep is perhaps one of the cutest things overall that I’ve ever seen. The fact that Cheep Cheeps look so stupid and mindless and the fact that we, the player, get to swim around as dumb little fish with Mario hats and mustaches literally fills me with childlike joy. Look at how stupid it is! It’s so cute! 

2: Link’s Tingle Armour

I personally have always loved Tingle, finding him strange and alluring, floating up there… with his balloon… I can’t wait to get the DLC for this game that I, and everybody else, has already played to death. I’m so excited to trounce and prance around Hyrule dressed as Tingle, and I fully intent on tying octoballoons on pretty much everything and floating around in full Tingle style.

3: This Dragon Train from the new Yoshi

Enemies in Yoshi games are a bit of an oxymoron, being terrifyingly adorable. Although the small look at the new Yoshi game seems a bit unfinished, it still earns incredibly high cuteness points for the game’s papercraft style. So far Yoshi does not seem to be as cute as Yoshi’s Wooly World, but the simple style and preview still land itself as an adorable moment. 

4: Peach’s Piranha Plant Bouquet

I know peach is being forced against her will to presumably marry Bowser, but dang, that Piranha Plant bouquet is pretty cute.

5: All This Kirby Multiplayer Love Stuffs

Like Yoshi, there’s still no a lot of info on the new Kirby, but the heart animations are wholly charming and well, lovable. Pretty much everything about Kirby has always made me delightfully happy, and all the heart motifs are undeniably adorable and simple. Kirby now has the ability to turn enemies into allies, which is adorable in itself, but the animations of Kirby bestowing love on those around him is just so freakin’ cute; I want to pinch Kirby by the cheeks like an ol’ grandma cute. 

6: The Face of this Frog

This frog appears as though it has no idea what’s happening to it. Is Mario possessing the frog? Does the frog still have some sort of consciousness or sentience? We don’t know. This frog and Mario could be having some existential crisis regarding this psychological transformation – it could be horrifying. But I think more importantly is this frog’s face: it’s bewitching, alluring, and cute.

7: Mario as a Stack of Goombas

All I’ve ever wanted to be is a stack of Goombas, and now in Super Mario Odyssey, my dream is coming true. Mario as one Goomba is fine, it’s cute, but it’s NOTHING compared to a stack of Goombas. The fact that players might get to play as a stack of Goombas also makes me ask a few questions. How tall can this stack of Goombas be? How many Goombas are too many Goombas? Is there even such a thing as too many Goombas? I don’t think so, but there’s no telling until Odyssey is released in October. 

8: All The Goombas in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions

The Goombas love Bowser in the additional game Minion Quest and that is completely darling. The Goombas and other baddies have adorable dialogue, saying things like “Goomba Squad.” I think it’s the Goombas and other baddies’ complete determination in this game that makes them so lovable. They really truly care about Bowser. 

Nintendo made dreams come true at E3, and also maintained their quirky design choices that ultimately render their games wholly adorable. Without a doubt, Nintendo is going to take all my money, since I want to envelope myself in all of these fetching games and content.