Nintendo has shadow-dropped a Direct on us and it was chock-full of surprises, including DLCs, new games, and many ports for the Nintendo Switch. If like many, you missed the Direct, we got you covered with a quick recap of everything you’ll need to know about what was shown. Maybe something will catch your eye!
- Monster hunter Rise: Sunbreak DLC
A new paid DLC is coming for monster hunters everywhere, including new stories, locales, monsters, and not to mention new hunter actions. In the trailer, a very interesting monster was shown front and center and hopefully, it’ll be a fun one. If you’re looking for an excuse to come back to the game, this DLC will be released in the summer of 2022.
- Mario Party Superstars
The awaited continuation of the Mario Party series is near! And here are some of the features that will be included with the title. Five new boards from the Nintendo 64 games are making a return, as well as boards based on other Nintendo titles (those being a board for Kirby, Yoshi’s Island, and Luigi’s Mansion). The game also has an online mode, something the last entry was lacking until late in its lifetime. Releasing on October 29th!
- Voice of Cards: The Isle of Dragon Roars
A unique take on RPGs, card games, and tabletop gaming, Voice of Cards: The Isle of Dragon Roars is coming to the Switch. In this game published by Square Enix, everything from the protagonists, to the cities and shops, is determined by the cards. And you’re going to have to trust the heart of the cards quite a lot to defeat the dragon assailing the land. Cards also seem to play a huge role in combat, although not much was explained in the trailer. The animations look fantastic both in and out of combat, so the game will be visually pleasing at least. It launches on October 28th and has a demo out today, so make sure you have enough lands to play it!
- Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
Winner of many game awards in 2019, Disco Elysium is considered by many as one of the best role-playing games ever made and the developers at ZA/UM have seen fit to bless us with a port to the Nintendo Switch. The digital version will release on October 12, while the physical version releases in early 2022, although no specific date was given.
- Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Expansion Pass – Wave 2: Guardian of Remembrance
New stories are coming to this amazing Zelda spinoff, alongside new characters and scenarios. If you liked the original story and its expansions, don’t forget to pick up this new adventure on October 29th!
- Chocobo GP
A brand-new racing game coming from Square Enix with plenty of mascots and charm to enjoy! Play as a Chocobo or as a monster, and even characters like the Black mage, while trying to be faster than everyone else. Picking up item containers gives you spells, which can be upgraded by picking up spells of the same color, and these will give you an edge in the race. This game will be released in 2022.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Final Fighter
While nothing was said about who the last fighter is going to be, it was revealed that whoever it is will make an appearance at the FINAL Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct on October 5th.
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
A new adventure awaits our favorite pink blob! Join Kirby as he travels through an abandoned island, in what seems to be a classic Kirby adventure translated into 3-dimensional space! While it seems like it won’t be straying away from the formula we already know, from what was visible in the trailer there is much fun to be had! Kirby and the Forgotten Land releases in Spring 2022.
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons update
After a long wait, it seems like a major update is shipping itself to our islands! Not much was shown except that there’s a new addition to the museum, something players have been asking for since the start, and The Roost is coming back! There will be an Animal Crossing Direct sometime in October, and the update itself will be released in November.
- Mario Golf: Super Rush update
Just like Animal Crossing, Mario Golf is also receiving an update soon. As in, today! Play as Ninji or a Koopa Troopa, in new courses that you are sure to enjoy!
- Disney Magical World 2: Enchanted Edition
Do you enjoy Disney? Would you like to play with the characters in those stories? Couldn’t get your hands on this game while it was on the 3DS? Yes, to all? Perfect! You’ll enjoy this game and its DLC to the fullest, even if it is a port and looks a bit odd because of the 3DS graphics. This game releases this holiday!
- Triangle Strategy
A game originally revealed earlier this year, Triangle Strategy showed a lot of promise. The day its original reveal demo was released, people were asked to fill in a survey with their recommendations for the game and many of these have been implemented, meaning that some parts of the game were shaped not only by the developers, but also by the community! This was not the only thing revealed though, we also received a release date! March 4th of 2022. A little far off, but hopefully worth the wait!
- Metroid Dread
During the Direct we received some lore information about the upcoming title, as well as a few snippets of gameplay to spice it up, although this may be better saved for a trailer analysis. Remember, this game comes out on October 8th!
- Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack
Long has everyone been waiting for a significant update to the lackluster Nintendo Switch Online, and finally, we are getting one! Although these upgrades come at an extra cost through a new membership plan, the Nintendo Switch Online service will be adding N64 and, most unexpectedly, Sega Genesis games! Nintendo will also be selling wireless versions of the N64 and Genesis controllers to go along with these. More information comes out this October. A list of the games included for each console (and the confirmed upcoming ones) are as follows:
N64
- Super Mario 64
- Mario Kart 64
- Star Fox 64
- Yoshi’s Story
- The Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time
- Winback
- Mario Tennis
- Dr. Mario 64
- Sin and Punishment
Sega Genesis
- Castlevania Bloodlines
- Contra Hard Corps
- Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
- Ecco the Dolphin
- Golden Axe
- Gunstar Heroes
- Musha
- Phantasy Star 4
- Ristar
- Shining Force
- Shinobi 3
- Sonic The Hedgehog 2
- Streets of Rage
- Strider
Upcoming
- The Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask
- F-Zero X
- Mario Golf 64
- Pokémon Snap 64
- Kirby The Crystal Shards
- Paper Mario 64
- Banjo Kazooie
- Shadowrun Trilogy
Explore a fantasy + cyberpunk world with strategic combat and an immersive story in these three games published by Paradox Interactive and brought together to the Switch for your enjoyment. This set of games is coming next year.
- Castlevania Advanced Collection
Relive the adventures of the Belmont family in this collection, where you will go back to your childhood days of vampire hunting and mansion platforming. This collection includes Castlevania: Curse of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow, and Dracula X, as well as a gallery with never-before-seen art for the games. Get ready for Dracula’s re-return today!
- Actraiser Renaissance
Enjoy the adventures of a classic SNES game, now in HD, as Actraiser makes a return on the Switch! Platform your way through this adventure, raise and protect a town, and defeat new bosses to the tune of remastered versions of the soundtrack or use the classic tunes from the original game instead! This game released today.
- Deltarune Chapter 2
The long-awaited and recently released chapter two of Deltarune is making its way to Switch! For free! Enjoy the continuation of this wacky and heartwarming adventure through this unique world wherever you go, today!
- Surviving The Aftermath
Can you survive in a post-apocalyptic world while managing resources and your camp? In this game by Paradox Interactive, you’ll have to do just that. Releases this Holiday season.
- Shin Megami Tensei 5
Enjoy the newest entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series as you cleave through demons or befriend them. Coming on November 11th, 2021.
- Wreckfest
Originally released in 2018, Wreckfest is a racing game with extremely destructive game physics. Some may even remember its original tech demo titled Next Car Game, which made its rounds through YouTube when it first came out, due to its interesting and satisfying physics. This classic will be releasing on Fall 2021!
- Arcade Archives PAC-MAN/XEVIOUS
Enjoy these classics on the go, as PAC-MAN and XEVIOUS are finding another way into the Nintendo Switch, today!
- Rune Factory 5
Farm, interact with villagers, relax, and fight a dragon or two while you are at it, in the latest entry in the Rune Factory franchise! Releasing March 22 of 2022!
- The upcoming Super Mario Movie
Nintendo has been working for a while in collaboration with Illumination Studios (makers of movies such as Despicable Me), and while not much was revealed about the plot itself, we now know that the release is somewhere around Holiday 2022. We were also shown the cast of many characters in the movie!
- Mario: Chris Pratt
- Princess Peach: Anya Taylor-Joy
- Luigi: Charlie Day
- Bowser: Jack Black
- Toad: Keegan-Michael Key
- Donkey Kong: Seth Rogen
- Charles Martinet will appear as a surprise Cameo
- Kamek: Kevin Michael Richardson
- Cranky Kong: Fred Armisen
- Spike: Sebastian Maniscalco
- Splatoon 3
Every day we’ve been waiting for more news about this game and today Nintendo did not disappoint. The game takes place in Splatsville, the City of Chaos (it’s possibly related to the winner of the last Splatfest in Splatoon 2), and we were also shown some of the new abilities available in the game, which includes a sort of hamster ball and a grapple arm. The name and theme of the story mode was also revealed to be “Return of the Mammalians”, which will certainly bring more than its fair share of theories about the world of Splatoon. The turf wars will begin next year!
- Bayonetta 3
The last trailer of the Direct was about our favorite witch and her new game. Introducing a new hairstyle and the same over-the-top action as its predecessors, Bayonetta 3 is sure to bring joy to old and new fans of the series, as it’s been in development for four years; meaning that it’ll be fine-tuned for everyone’s enjoyment in 2022!
In previous Directs many have said that not enough substance was shown, in this one, however, we were given many things to be excited about, enough so that we’ll be thinking of this presentation for the next couple of months! From small games to big titles, we can’t wait to play them all!
Credits
| Program | Founding Writers |
| Author | Diego Gonzalez Sanchez |
| Publisher | MGN |
| Game | Nintendo Direct |