Nintendo Directs are always big deals for the video gaming world. Typically where we first hear about big upcoming games and the most direct, pun intended, Nintendo news.
Here’s the whole direct, feel free to check it out and we’ll break down the video piece by piece!
There’s a ton to cover from today’s Direct, so let’s dive right into it!
New Games, Familiar Faces
In the long tradition of bringing existing properties into new avenues, the Musou series, famous for games like Dynasty Warriors, Hyrule Warriors, and One Piece: Pirate Warriors is now returning to the Fire Emblem series. Fire Emblem: Three Hopes brings the world of the wildly popular Fire Emblem Three Houses to the active battlefield. The trailer features massive battles, some of the plot, and some gigantic beasts to destroy.
Following Three Hopes, we have a return to the squidverse. Splatoon 3: Salmon Run looks to bring the frenzied gameplay of the previous games to a PvE environment. Salmon Run feels like it’s taking notes from some horde survival games, introducing cool enemy mechanics, and some awesome new battlefields.
Finally, Kirby returns! In the upcoming Kirby and in the Forgotten Land, it looks like the pink powerhouse has his hands and mouth full. In the gorgeous post-apocalyptic world Kirby’s adventuring in. With the new Mouthful mode, Kirby looks to be taking on cars, vending machines, and other tools!
Long-Awaited Returns
Since digital marketplaces started becoming bigger, remasters of a ton of older games have been gaining in popularity! The remasters and remakes here are just a drop in the bucket of what’s out there.
As a long and varied franchise, the Assassin’s Creed games have their fans and detractors. While it’s not immune to criticism, the highest point of this franchise has to be the trio of games around Assassin’s Creed 2. Coming next week to the Switch is the Ezio Collection. With updates to the graphics and new features to take advantage of the Switch’s abilities, the Ezio Collection looks to be an exciting update.
Originally on the Playstation 1, Chrono Cross is a cult classic Squaresoft game. Featuring gorgeous locales, dozens of characters, and an epic tale that travels both time and dimensions. In addition to the mechanical updates to the game, we’re getting Radical Dreamers, the prequel text-based game, never before released officially in the west. Chrono Cross is returning to consoles this April.
The Force Unleashed was a Star Wars action classic. Take on the power of Vader’s Secret Apprentice, rip starships out of the sky, and put a dent in the power hold of the empire. The game will feature numerous gameplay enhancements as well as updated graphics.
Cool Robots and Warfare, The Venn Diagram
Let’s get the biggest of these big battle game announcements out of the way. We were treated to the full announcement of the next Xenoblade game. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 looks to focus on a massive war between two nations, that the two groups of people have been fighting for generations. It’s a common anime giant robot theme that the futility of war is a focal point, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 looks to lean hard on that.
From alien worlds to our own future, the Front Mission series has been Square’s attempt to lean hard on mecha warfare. While the series hasn’t been the most popular in the west, it has its dedicated fans, myself among those included. Now we’re getting complete graphical overhaul remakes of the first two Front Mission games, originally released on the Super Famicom. They also saw direct ports to the Nintendo DS, but these Switch remakes look to fully rework the visuals from the ground up. Luckily they seem to keep the original if cleaned up, character art from famed Square artist, Yoshitaka Amano. Front Mission 1st is due out this summer, with Front Mission 2 not far behind. Here’s to hoping more Front Mission is in my future!
From mechas to mechanized infantry, we have Advanced Wars 1+2 Rebootcamp. This remaster of the GBA classic warfare series brings the beloved games into modern gaming. Featuring cleaned-up graphics, multiplayer modes, map creation, and voice acting, this 2-game pack looks inviting to both new players and veterans of the series alike. You can preorder it now, and warfare comes to the switch on April 8th.
Rhythm, Racing, and Red Cards
The only survivor from the great rhythm game boom of the early 2000s is still going strong, as Taiko Drumming is coming to switch with Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival. Featuring tons of contemporary music, including Megalovania, Racing Into the Night, and The Legend of Zelda theme. Additionally, a subscription service will be available at launch, which will add over 500 songs to the already impressive collection.
Disney and Pixar are colliding on the crash course with Disney Speedstorm. A massive action/racer in the vein of Mario Kart, Speedstorm features characters from the above-mentioned franchises like Captain Jack Sparrow, Mulan, Sully, and even Mickey himself. Most impressively is it will be free-to-play, cross-platform, and will have a season system. It’s shaping up to be a pretty impressive game for everyone to play!
Finally, Nintendo hit a GOAL with Mario Strikers Battle League. An action soccer game with heavy vibes of Soccer meets Mario Kart. Customizable gear, cool moves, and an overall style that screams awesome. Mario Strikers Battle League is the natural evolution of how these Mario sports games go, and looks to be a fun addition to the family!
So Much More
This is just a smattering of what was announced. There are so many more amazing things, too many for me to go into deep detail with. At the very least here’s a bulleted list of some of the hits.
- No Man’s Sky Switch release.
- Gundam SD Battle Alliance.
- MLB The Show 22 Switch release.
- Klonoa!
- Kingdom Hearts collections played through the cloud!
- The Portal Collection.
- Live A Live (First time in the West!)
- Nintendo Switch Sports, a remake of the beloved Wii Sports.
- Triangle Strategy (tactical RPG from Octopath Traveler studio), Demo is now available!
- A new Cuphead DLC!
- Some incoming new Metroid Dread DLCs. Currently, there are new difficulties, and a Boss Rush mode coming soon!
- Earthbound is now in the SNES Subscription service!
- Earthbound Beginnings, originally called Mother, coming soon to the SNES Platform!
- Demon Slayer
- A new Zombie Survival Action game
- Lego Brawls, which looks like if Lego made a Smash Brothers game!
- Two Point Campus, a college building simulator.
- New Mario Kart DLC, which includes tracks from Mario kart history!
It’ll be a few months before we get our next direct, however, we were given quite a bit with this one! What was your favorite announcement? Was there a game you are looking forward to the most? What are you expecting from the next Nintendo Direct?
