With memories of last year’s car crash conference still in people’s minds, Nintendo needed something special from their E3 conference for 2009 and for the most part they delivered.

Over the next few days I’ll be commenting on the big reveals from Nintendo’s LA conference, Shigeru Miyamoto’s roundtable discussion and the E3 show floor.

At the heart of Tuesday’s revelations was Mario, who was the star of four new games on both Wii and DS. The sort-of leaked New Super Mario Bros Wii opened the show as the first Mario game to focus on four-player action. Taking the design and gameplay of NSMB on DS, it’s your choice whether you play co-operatively or competitively with friends and family.

The game introduces a number of new power-ups for Mario and his chums, including the Propellor and Penguin suits. These come in addition to a power not seen since Super Mario Bros 2, where players can pick up and fling each other – for better or for worse.

A new 2-D Mario adventure is one of the big asks of the hardcore fans, and the co-operative gameplay mode is an ideal opportunity to bridge the gap between core and casual players. Despite an initially sceptical reaction, I’m very tempted to get this come Christmas as I further attempt to bring Miss Amy into proper Nintendo gaming.

Next on Mario’s roster a title we already new about – though not the subtitle. The third entry in the highly entertaining Mario & Luigi RPG series got its Western subtitle at the conference as Bowser’s Inside Story.

After the somewhat disappointing use of the DS’s features in Partners In Time, Bowser’s Inside Story looks set to blow us away with more love for the dual screens, touch screens and microphone than you may know what to do with. With the return of Fawful also on the cards, an American and European release date of Autumn 2009 cannot come soon enough.

As Cammie Dunaway – much maligned last year but doing her best to redeem herself this year – discussed the potential for customisation with the DSi and the growing trend for players to create their own games, Mario stepped up once again with his first DSiWare specific title.

I loved the first Mario vs Donkey Kong and have been meaning to pick up the second title for months. This coming Monday, DSi owners will be able to download Minis March Again a package which will let them create their own MvDK levels from the ground up and upload them locally or by Nintendo Wi Fi Connection.

Of course, the best was saved for last. Or almost last, as Nintendo still had a trick up their sleeve for a true grand finale (more on that tomorrow).

With Super Mario Galaxy providing one of the best Wii gaming experiences available, Nintendo would be fools not to make a follow-up. Fortunately, Miyamoto and his team had plenty of ideas left over and the end result is Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Wild cheers came from the crowd and part of me felt the strange urge to kiss Cammie “Queen of Disc Dog” Dunaway as Mario soared through the stars once more. But he was not alone. Everyone’s favourite dino buddy Yoshi is making a return, complete with enemy shlurping and spitting abilities and a few new tricks that turn him into as versatile a character as Mario himself.

Looking just as stunning as its predecessor – which I am going all out to complete when I get home – Galaxy 2 is set to be 90-95 per cent new content according to Miyamoto. Any claims the man doesn’t have classic gaming ideas in his body are instantly dismissed.

Though a 2010 release date is sketchy, Miyamoto has assured us that the project is far into development so here are some fingers tightly crossed for Q1 or Q2 2010.

2010 is set to be a big and bright year with more sensational games on the way, which I’ll dive into a little more detail with tomorrow.

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