would be joining the Super Smash Bros. franchise, which is due to debut on Wii U and 3DS in

2014.

Debuting during a lengthy CG and gameplay trailer, Mega Man appeared in his classic

"Blue Bomber" iteration, complete with Mega Buster, numerous Robot Master abilities and

his trusty dog, Rush.

Mega Man wasn't the only new character revealed during the Direct. An opening trailer highlighted

"The Villager" from Animal Crossing, who not only can dig pits to trap his enemies, but

chop down trees to damage them. Both Mega Man and The Villager will be accompanied by

stages from their respective franchises.

Nintendo also confirmed, by debuting gameplay footage, the return of several classic characters,

including Mario, Samus Aran, Fox McCloud, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Pit, Bowser and Princess

Peach. Stages revealed included the classic Battlefield location, a level set on the train

from The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Mega Man's Dr. Wily Stage, an Animal Crossing location,

Skyloft from Skyward Sword, a stage that appeared to be set in Kakariko Village from Twilight

Princess, a Nintendogs level, and more.

Based on the Nintendo Direct, it currently doesn't appear that Masahiro Sakurai is making

significant changes to the Smash Bros. formula. Gameplay appears to retain its core 2D mechanics,

with the 3DS visuals resembling a ligGaly cel-shaded version of meCube's MeSmash Bros

lee and the Wii U version being considerably better. No official titles were given to either

project.

We will keep bringing you all the news, gameplay, and impressions with full live coverage of

E3 all week long, so keep it locked...this is IGN.