Nintendo Direct

I've been trying to decide for awhile now if there is need for a thread dedicated to Nintendo Directs, or if I should just post this stuff in the yearly release thread when I see it. If you aren't aware, a few years back Nintendo changed how it got its information to its fans by making semi-regular Youtube presentations dedicated to showing off their upcoming games, as well as sometimes announcing new ones.

If you have an opinion on this let me know, but for now I'm going to talk about the latest Direct in this thread and see where it takes me.

09/13/2017

https://youtu.be/ztMGTTAjsAQ

Spoiler for everything shown or talked about:

Ripped straight from their own video summary.

0:16 - Yoshiaki Koizumi introduces Nintendo Direct
0:40 - Pokémon Ultra Sun & Pokémon Ultra Moon
3:42 - Poké Ball Edition New Nintendo 2DS XL
3:58 - Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
4:52 - Kirby: Battle Royale
5:38 - Kirby 25th Anniversary Copy Ability Poll
5:52 - Yo-Kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters and Oni Evolution
6:37 - Layton's Mystery Journey
7:11 - Minecraft for Nintendo 3DS Family of Systems
7:49 - Mario Party: The Top 100
8:35 - Metroid: Samus Returns
9:12 - ATLUS RPGs Journey to the West
10:02 - Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
10:09 - Fire Emblem Warriors for Nintendo 3DS Family of Systems
10:19 - New Nintendo 2DS XL Orange & White Edition
10:46 - Xenoblade Chronicles 2
18:48 - Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Special Edition Version & Pro Controller
19:12 - Splatoon 2 Updates
20:10 - Fire Emblem Warriors
21:08 - Snipperclips Plus: Cut it Out, Together!
22:04 - Morphies Law
23:01 - Rocket League
23:49 - Arena of Valor - Nintendo Switch MOBA
24:39 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
25:46 - DOOM & Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
26:22 - Flip Wars
27:08 - Arcade Archives Mario Bros.
27:59 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Champions amiibo
28:24 - NBA 2K18 | WWE 2K18 | FIFA 18 | Pokkén Tournament DX
29:28 - Project Octopath Traveler (Working Title)
34:11 - ARMS Ver. 3 Update
34:56 - Dragon Quest Builders
35:49 - Kirby Star Allies
36:44 - Downloadable Fun in Nintendo eShop
37:29 - Lost Sphere | Sonic Forces | Resident Evil | LA Noire
38:29 - Super Mario Odyssey
45:18 - Super Mario Odyssey Edition Nintendo Switch, Joy-Con, and Carrying Case

The overall highlights were Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Super Mario Odyssey, and Project Octopath Traveler. Surprise announcements include a collection of Mario Party games, as well as Doom and Wolfenstein coming to Switch. This is notable because Nintendo always has trouble courting third parties for multiplatform games. I also find it somewhat amusing that Tencent is making a MOBA for Switch.

The new Mario looks amazing. I'm still not sold on Xenoblade but the info dump is appreciated. They still swear it's coming out this year and gave a release date for December 1st. I'll probably make a thread for Octopath Traveler.

Stand alone videos.

https://youtu.be/EKWBv-djiKk

https://youtu.be/hXGTJgXPhm0

https://youtu.be/E-lnvBXy68Q

People have been eagerly anticipating a new Direct from Nintendo this month to give clarity on what we can expect later this year, and they finally released one. After Bayonetta 2 got announced at The Game Awards I was expecting a lot of ports to help fill out their catalog, but these weren't the games I was expecting to see ported. :D

The whole thing was only 15 minutes long, but I'll post what I think are the highlights. Keep in mind this was a direct almost exclusively for Switch games.

New Games:

Mario Tennis Aces - New tennis game with a single player mode this time.
Kirby Star Allies - I think this was previously announced. Release date in March.

Wii U Ports:

Hyrule Warriors Definitive Version: Includes all the content from both previous versions of the game.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: Includes a new surfer Kong character to play as.

Other Games:

Dark Souls Remastered: This is also coming out on every other platform, but this was the first I had heard of it.
The World Ends with You -Final Remix-: Includes a bonus chapter as well as what looks like updated HD graphics.
SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy - Shared release with PS4. A fighting game with only SNK lady characters. Doesn't look great, I think SNK is getting desperate.



No mention of their new Yoshi game, which leads me to believe they are setting it up to be their "big" game this year and will show it more at E3. The two ports above also had 3DS versions. I fully expect Switch versions of Smash Brothers and Mario Maker to also be announced this (or next I guess) year. I hope for a port of 3D world but am less sure they will do it.


https://youtu.be/a_u7g5BlfiY

New Direct today talking about both 3DS and Switch games. Sticking to the pattern and just going to mention highlights, rather than every game announcement.

The big thing they did was finally announce Smash Bros for Switch. It was just a teaser though; we don't even know if it's a new game or the more probable port of the previous version. The fact that they did not outright tell us that it was the Wii U version makes me believe they are withholding information in order to make this their big E3 game this year. At the very least we can expect them to hold a tournament for it.

This was another direct mostly about ports and remakes.

Luigi's Mansion remake for 3DS
Captain Toad ported to both Switch and 3DS
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story ported to 3DS, with an additional story mode included

To my surprise, Captain Toad (and possibly Smash) are the only Wii U ports. I expected more. They did announce Switch versions of games that came out on other platforms last year though, including South Park and Crash Bandicoot of all things. Crash Bandicoot used to be a Sony mascot, but I guess is technically owned by Activision. I still remember those commercials with a guy dressed up like Crash Bandicoot standing outside a Nintendo office building and shouting at how much Mario sucks.

Only a few new games, with the most notable being Warioware on the 3DS. Splatoon is also getting a single player campaign expansion. They also gave more details (including a few release dates) on previously announced games: Mario Tennis, Travis Strikes Again, Kirby Star Allies, Octopath Traveler, Hyrule Warriors, etc.



03/08/2018 - Full Video

https://youtu.be/NsFna-Z1MjU

A good Smash Bros and Mario Kart for the Switch MIGHT get me to buy one.
I'm more pumped about the "Mario Kart coming to iPhone" announcement, really. Going to play the CRAP out of that on my train commute.

Did you ever get a Wii U? The Switch already has a Mario Kart game ported from the Wii U with additional content. There is a fair chance that Smash is getting the same treatment. If you do end up getting one you should probably look into Splatoon as well as the various Mario sports titles. They seem to have crossover fanbases, leading me to believe they scratch similar itches.


Cross your fingers on the iPhone version. Nintendo games on phones have been hit or miss so far. Pretty competent overall but each one has ultimately disappointed its series biggest fans. While not overtly stated they sort of feel like "yeah this is alright, but if you want the real good stuff come over here".

I think I mentioned in the Upcoming Games yearly thread that the expected January Direct never came, and that part of the probable reason why was because Metroid Prime 4 has been delayed. This made me wonder if they had anything else big this year to fall back on, and it turns out they do!

The two biggest news items are:

Mario Maker 2
Link's Awakening Remake

Mario Maker comes out this year, no word on Link's Awakening yet. One thing I found very interesting about the latter is the unexpected art style. They didn't remake it in the style of any other Zelda game, but instead gave it a toy-like quality. It's very cute. Oh I should point out if you aren't aware that Link's Awakening is the Game Boy/Color Zelda game. It's a beloved if less famous entry in the series. It's also kind of weird.

Other New Game Announcements:

Astral Chain - A new game from Platinum. This one is pretty interesting. The animations scream Platinum games, but the art style doesn't look like anything else they've done (that I am aware of). It's this kind of grimy anime cyberpunk thing. You seem to play some kind of future police officer with a digital monster companion. Switch exclusive I think.

Oninaki - A new game from the team at Square responsible for I am Setsuna. While their other games were meant to evoke nostalgia from past styles of jrpg, this looks like an action rpg. The setup is that it is a game about grief, and in this world you are forbidden from grieving the dead, as it prevents reincarnation. The gameplay hook is that you gather the souls of spirits and transform them into different weapons. Note that the trailer below is not the same one they showed in the Direct. (Japanese vs English) Also, not exclusive I don't think.

Tetris 99 - A free title for anyone who subscribes to their online service. It's basically a multiplayer match of Tetris with 99 other people. It's like, Battle Royale Tetris.

Other Nintendo Stuff:

Fire Emblem Three Houses - Information blowout. It looks better than it did last time they showed it.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 - A trailer showing more gameplay from a previously announced title.
Yoshi's Crafted World - A cute trailer for a previously announced title.
Toad's Treasure Tracker - Free update adding co-op + paid DLC adding more levels.
Starlink Battle for Atlas - A (free?) update adding more Star Fox missions and characters to the game.
Daemon X Machina - They announced a limited time demo of the game. It sort of sounds like a beta, as they want feedback. I will say that I thought this game looked gross when they announced it, but that it looks better now. Might actually try the demo.
They teased an upcoming update for Smash but didn't actually say anything substantial.


Other Stuff:

Dragon Quest Builders 2
Dragon Quest 11
Disney Tsum Tsum (don't ask me, no idea what tsum tsum is)
Rune Factory 4 port + Rune Factory 5 announcement (but no details)
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Dead by Daylight
Deltarune
Grid Autosport
Mortal Kombat 11
Unraveled 2
Assassin's Creed 3 Remastered (why give Switch the least popular one?)
Release Dates for FF7, FF9, and Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon




It's also worth pointing out that aside from Link's Awakening, this largely seems to be focused on first half of the year stuff. Rumored titles like Animal Crossing and Pokemon won't be shown until later.


The Direct itself:

https://youtu.be/SCME2yPJKWk


Highlights:

https://youtu.be/_U-_XfDGgDw

https://youtu.be/AjJWzJC8Kfk

https://youtu.be/brmmV3g4qqo

https://youtu.be/Eiw5zQ4hX10

https://youtu.be/8OwUB8gf5Ac

There have been consistent rumors that a new Pokemon and a new Animal Crossing would be coming out this year, but with the above Direct not mentioning them and mostly concentrating on titles in the first half of the year, I thought we wouldn't hear from either of those two hypothetical titles until E3. I was wrong.

Nintendo released a special 7 minute Direct today announcing the new Pokemon, Pokemon Sword and Shield, as well as the new starter pokemon. The location seems to feature a lot of rural areas and industrial style towns.

https://youtu.be/oOPVBm0sA7Q

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wool

Pokemon Sword and Shield, as well as the new starter pokemon.

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There needs to be a guy with dark glasses and a business suit, and a bald guy with an eyepatch and a leather trench coat, somewhere in these games.

Yesterday they aired a 15 minute Nintendo Direct dedicated to Mario Maker 2. There are so many new things that they breeze past them without taking a breath. This looks like a pretty substantial sequel.

Do note that in the first few minutes of this video they explain Mario Maker as if no one has ever heard of it before, but it doesn't take long to start showing new stuff.

https://youtu.be/jPi-u0D8sQ4

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wool

Do note that in the first few minutes of this video they explain Mario Maker as if no one has ever heard of it before, but it doesn't take long to start showing new stuff.

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Many people skipped the Wii U and aren't aware it existed. Even newer Switch users who never really had a Nintendo platform before or cared to follow the games would need a little background story.

Watching the Nintendo E3 presentation and it occurred to me that I forgot to post the Direct for Pokemon Sword and Shield that they aired the week before E3.

They showed:

-About five new pokemon, including a sheep that the internet fell in love with.
-Open environment zones that you can explore and have full camera control in.
-A few of the major characters in this new game.
-A short CG teaser of the two new legendaries.
-4 player "raids" against powered up versions of regular Pokemon.
-A special evolution that turns pokemon into Godzilla sized monsters for a few turns.

https://youtu.be/PpjVUOJkX-s

Nintendo had their latest big video demonstration of what they have for the rest of the year the other day; it's pretty meaty. A couple highlights include:

Overwatch on the Switch.
New Smash Brothers DLC character reveal (these are always good).
Tokyo Mirage Sessions (Wii U jrpg) is coming to Switch.
Deadly Premonition 2 gets announced out of nowhere!
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii) is getting a remaster/remake.
Doom 64 on the Switch.
Lots of Pokemon and Animal Crossing stuff.

https://youtu.be/8TVE44feo_I

Nintendo has a special direct today featuring their plans on celebrating Super Mario's 35th Anniversary featuring a few expected announcements as well as a few neat surprises. This also takes care of the mystery of what the heck Nintendo is planning on doing this holiday season, as most of the titles are available soon. Though strangely enough it sounds like a few are only available for a limited time.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars - A collection of Super Mario 64 (N64), Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube), and Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) for the Nintendo Switch. Launches later this month.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - A port of the Wii U Mario game with added content. Early 2021.

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit - It's a Mario Kart game that uses special track markers and remote controlled cars that pair with your Switch system. Looks great for kids. Less great for parents that have to pay for all of it. Launches in October.

Super Mario Bros 35 - Follows Tetris 100's lead as a multiplayer/battle royale version of a classic game that you get for free with your Switch Online subscription. 35 players play a level at the same time, and enemies you defeat get sent to other players in order to increase their difficulty. Launches in October.

Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros - A replica of their pre-Gameboy handheld that plays Super Mario Bros and Japanese version of Super Mario Bros 2. Available in November.

Super Mario All-Stars - An updated version of the SNES collection, Super Mario Bros 1-3 as well as The Lost Levels (The Japanese version of Mario 2) available digitally as part of Switch Online. They've also enhanced the graphics somewhat.


https://youtu.be/f2mCqUSDCJE

https://youtu.be/a8DJpeCy8CQ

Quote:

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Super Mario All-Stars - An updated version of the SNES collection, Super Mario Bros 1-3 as well as The Lost Levels (The Japanese version of Mario 2) available digitally as part of Switch Online. They've also enhanced the graphics somewhat.

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Compared to the original games, yes, however the SNES and Wii release of Super Mario All-Stars had these exact same 16-bit(plus) graphics.

Which is why...

Quote:

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Super Mario 3D All-Stars - A collection of Super Mario 64 (N64), Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube), and Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) for the Nintendo Switch. Launches later this month.

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I'm SO disappointed to see these come out as originally released - I was fully hoping/expecting a similar graphics upgrade.
Yes, Mario 64 has its blocky charm, but could you imagine it redone Mario Galaxy or Odyssey style?

You aren't the only one. The existence of this collection was leaked a few months ago, and a lot of people seem to be similarly disappointed. I was pretty surprised personally, just not that surprised.

First full Nintendo Direct in over a year was shown yesterday.


Splatoon 3 - I don't think the trailer really communicated much, beyond the world sort of being cataclysmic this time, but this is a popular franchise and a new game in it is a big deal.

Mario Golf: Super Rush - Golf is probably the most popular of their sports titles, and this one looks really good. A couple of their new features include a story mode utilizing Miis and a hilarious looking speed mode that is essentially a multiplayer golf race.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD - An updated version of the Wii game. Still supports motion controls but also has a new control scheme that involves using the right stick to determine the direction of your sword swings. It's also worth pointing out that they said the follow up to Breath of the Wild isn't ready to be shown yet but that they will tell us more later this year.

Project Triangle Strategy - This might have been the highlight for me. As you can guess from the dumb name, this is from Square Enix and (probably) the same team that did Octopath Traveler. It uses the same 2D HD graphics engine, but this time is a tactics game/strategy rpg. The hook is that as you play you will make choices that generally coincide with three different philosophical stances and the consequences of those choices will tip literal scales that change the direction of the story. Rather than good or bad you will choose between Morality, Freedom, and Utility.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Characters in Smash - Whether you play Smash Brothers or not, the trailers for new fighters are always good. This one plays like a sappy sequel to the game to such a degree that you might be tempted to think it was real and not what it actually obviously was, a Smash fighter announcement. Good stuff.


They also spent a lot of time announcing ports and remasters of older games. I think the two most prominent of these were an HD remaster of Legend of Mana and another of Famicom Detective Club, a series of mystery adventure games that came out on the Japanese equivalent to the NES (Famicom).

Spoiler for The Rest:

New Games:

No More Heroes 3 - They showed more gameplay and have a release date.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - They announced an expansion pass but no specific details on what will be in it.
Samurai Warriors 5 - Focuses on Nobunaga Oda and Mitsuhide Akechi.
Neon White - A new game from the guy who made Donut County. It's a speed runner style shooter with some kind of card game mechanic.
World's End Club - New game from the people who made Danganronpa and Zero Escape. A bunch of people get kidnapped and forced into a "game", only to escape and find Japan in ruins.
DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power - Looks like a game based on the cartoon.
Knockout City - It's a multiplayer arena dodgeball game.
Star Wars Hunters - They show almost nothing. All we know is that it's a Free to Play game being made by people who primarily make mobile games.


Ports:

Tales from the Borderlands
Stubbs the Zombie
Apex Legends
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection
Saga Frontier Remastered
Miitopia
Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
Outer Wilds (warning: spoilers)
Fall Guys Ultimate Knockout


Finally, they also had some time spent on upcoming and recently released games.

Monster Hunter Rise
Bravely Default 2
Hades
Capcom Arcade Stadium
Ghost 'n Goblins Ressurection

Trailers:

https://youtu.be/sdgdxaIkU5g

https://youtu.be/aucAzFWpvMc

https://youtu.be/tNRzx4Ap_Fo

https://youtu.be/X27t1VEU4d0

New Nintendo Direct last week (September 23). It had some decent stuff in it, although nothing too mind blowing. Mix of stuff coming out now and stuff coming out next year. Not going to summarize everything but here is most of it:


Bayonetta 3 - It still exists. Pretty decent gameplay trailer for it.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Their biggest new reveal. It's a 3D Kirby game taking place in a post-apocalyptic human city. Nature has reclaimed the city and there are no humans. It's kind of strange.

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak - Expansion. Comes out Summer 2022. Trailer shows off a single new dragon and has a Castlevania vibe.

Age of Calamity Expansion Pass - They showed some of the new content coming this month.

Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars - Square Enix is making a card game rpg. Comes out this month.

Chocobo GP - Square Enix is also making a kart racer, for some reason. Features jobs and monsters from Final Fantasy. Chocobo, Black Mage, etc.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human - They talked about the cloud version. I presume because it's the only way they can get it to run on their hardware.


They also had fairly long looks at both Splatoon 3 and Metroid Dread.

They announced Castlevania Advance Collection, Actraiser Renaissance (HD remake), and Deltarune Chapter 2 (Undertale) as available now.

They announced upcoming Directs for Animal Crossing and Smash Brothers. The latter will reveal the last new DLC character for Smash Brothers Ultimate. They also announced a new tier for their Online Service subscription that includes N64 and Genesis games, but no pricing.


And last but not least, they announced the casting (but no trailer) for the upcoming Mario movie being made with Illumination (Sing, Despicable Me). If you were able to make up a list as a joke, that's the list that ended up being real. It's nutty.

Chris Pratt - Mario

Anya-Taylor Joy - Peach

Charlie Day - Luigi

Jack Black - Bowser

Keegan-Michael Key - Toad

Seth Rogen - Donkey Kong


I lost my shit at Keegan Michael Key. Seth Rogen was the final nail in the coffin. I now know nothing is real.


Trailers:

https://youtu.be/H3LAkr0ANgw

https://youtu.be/bUAtX8Ox7eI

https://youtu.be/T975SPBIL6s

https://youtu.be/AdY8c0XQCcM

Crows are now extinct. I ate them all. Sora from Kingdom Hearts is the last DLC character for Smash Brothers. I didn't think it would ever happen.

https://youtu.be/L-q6Gz_4Yqc

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wool

Crows are now extinct. I ate them all. Sora from Kingdom Hearts is the last DLC character for Smash Brothers. I didn't think it would ever happen.

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And the games themselves are coming to the Switch, even if they're "streamed from the cloud".

Nintendo Direct - 2.9.2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhDFA_O7zNg