Some days Nintendo can be frustrating. They can take things away from us, or subvert our expectations in a bad way. But this most recent Nintendo Direct was not one of those days. This was one of the most exciting Nintendo Directs I have ever seen in my life. It pleased so many people, including myself, in so many crazy and amazing ways. I’ll give you the highlights now. Be warned, this will be a wild ride.
Pikmin 4: Last Direct Nintendo revealed the now highly anticipated Pikmin 4. I played the third Pikmin game, and I can say for sure that this game will not disappoint. The trailer showed us a much more versatile camera, and brand-new features such as the Ice Pikmin, and the new dog companion. I don’t want to say anything is confirmed yet, but it seems to be an open-world game. And then we got the most exciting thing for any Nintendo fan ever. A release date. Now the hype train can pick up. And that was just the cold open. Wait till the rest of the Direct gets kicking.
Splatoon 3 Expansion Pass: I am not a Splatoon fan myself, but a lot of people are, and I can respect the game. The Inkopolis Expansion for Splatoon 3 looks pretty neat and is a nice throwback to the first game. The second wave looks very intriguing and will have some story development. Hopefully, it lives up to the Octo Expansion.
Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe: Ah yes. Kirby. My favorite Nintendo franchise of all time delivers yet again. Not only are they porting a beloved Kirby game to Nintendo Switch. Not only are they adding a Mario Party-esque mini-game mode to it. But they are delivering a lore dump. Yes, Magalor, one of my favorite Kirby characters, is getting his own side story. And it looks amazing! Getting to regain lost skills to once again become the insane powerhouse that he truly is. This truly adds even more value to this already must-buy game.
Gameboy+Gameboy Advance: For me, this is the big one. For those of you who don’t know, my most wanted-to-play game of all-time used to be Mario+Luigi Superstar Saga. And now with my expansion pack, I can finally play this game. Being able to play Gameboy and Gameboy Advance games gives value to the NSO+Expansion that I was longing for. I will be spending hours playing Superstar Saga, Minish Cap, Wario Land 3, Mario Land 2, Kirby’s Dream Land, you name it! I still can’t believe this is happening! Even crazier was after the direct, the new games that were revealed could be played immediately. But that’s not all for shadow drops this time.
Metroid Prime Remastered: This one looks super cool. Metroid Prime is said to be one of the greatest games of all time, and I do not doubt that fact. I want to play this game, as it looks incredible. They didn’t just upscale it, they gave it an impressive and incredible looking remaster. They updated the controls to be more modern. And the best part? It also shadow-dropped! That’s right, you can play this exciting new remaster right now. I, for one, am eager to hop on that train when I have free time.
Tears of the Kingdom: And to round things off, we got a juicy and in-depth trailer for Tears of the Kingdom. This looks outstanding. A lot of things to please modern-day gamers with its amazing visuals and retro gamers with lots of returning concepts and enemies. With seemingly one of the biggest maps in any video game ever, intuitive new mechanics and concepts, and massive proportions this is already shaping up to be one of the best games on Nintendo Switch. If you are still concerned about the $69.99 price tag, shame on you. This game will more than deliver for sure.
Calmed down yet? This direct rivals even that of E3 2017, which was legendary. I strongly think Nintendo delivered on every single level. My throat still hurts. But what did you think? I’d love to talk about it!