Nintendo Direct (2021): What Was There?

Nintendo held their new Direct and there was plenty to write about. If you would rather watch the stream before reading what was there you can scroll down to the bottom of the text, otherwise keep reading.

Things kicked off with the latest character coming to Smash Bros. Ultimate, and it’s Pyra and Myhtra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The pair look to have an interesting transformation mechanic that allows them to swap in and out mid-match. You can expect to see the arrival of Mythra and Pyra in March of 2021.

What followed was a short selection of games that we can see coming later in the year, including Fall Guys and the visual-novel mystery games Famicom Detective Club. For ‘Warriors’ fans there was also the announcement of Samurai Warriors 5, coming in the Summer. Old-school action-RPG the Legend of Mana will be coming to Switch on June 24^th.

Next up was the newest instalment of Mario Golf, showcasing gameplay mechanics that included motion controls and the fast-paced ‘Speed Golf’ mode. Perhaps the most interesting thing though was the Story mode that looked to moving closer to the classic Camelot developed Mario Golf of old. Mario Golf is releasing on the June 25^th.

A second selection of quick-fire games came after, notable of which was No More Heroes 3 with a release date of August 27^th, 2021. Neon White was another one, an all-new title, which looked like some sort of first-person shooter crossed with card-battle mechanics. Neon White is set for release sometime in Winter this year. For the many Animal Crossing fans there was the announcement of Mario themed items coming to the life-sim as an update on the 25^th of February.

The next focused title will have Octopath Traveller fans and those looking for more tactical-strategy RPGs excited. The game, Project Triangle Strategy (working title), is a tactical-strategy that looked aesthetically like Octopath, with recruit-able characters and a decision system that will have an impact on the story of the game. Even better, a demo of Project Triangle Strategy is available to download and try now.

The third selection of games had the surprise of an original EA title called Knockout City, which looks like some sort of arena dodge-ball MMO. Also worth mentioning is the physical release of last year’s surprise hit Hades, coming on March 19^th. Then there was the rumoured Ninja Gaiden collection, that will include all previous DLC, and will be release in the 10^th of June. Saga Frontier Remastered is also coming soon, releasing in April.

There was no news on Breath of the Wild 2, but Link and Zelda still made an appearance with a re-release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, now with an added HD to the title. The motion controls from the original release are present again, this time with Joycons, but also with the option to replace the motion controls with button inputs instead. Skyward Sword HD is coming on the 16^th of July.

The last announcement was an all-new game in the Splatoon franchise, that’s right, Splatoon 3 is on it’s way. The announcement certainly came as a surprise to Stage-Select, but there will be plenty of time for the dust to settle, since Splatoon 3 is not coming until sometime in 2022.

So there it is, another Direct and another batch of games, and another good showing. Certainly it will disappoint some that there was no news on Breath of the Wild 2, and there will be others that were hoping for something on Metroid and Bayonetta 3, but there was still a lot here and a surprise or two as well.

So if you’ve read this but haven’t watched the Direct yet scroll on down and get started.