Nintendo avoided a massive egg on its face as the long-dormant Metroid Prime 4 was confirmed as being released next year.
The game was first announced at E3 2017 and there were concerns that the title was in danger of meeting the same fate as the showcase it was first revealed at.
But no, Nintendo read the room, a promising snippet of gameplay was shown, a full title of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was revealed and the showcase was closed in the perfect way.
The best was saved until the last 10 minutes, up to which the presentation had looked good but not promising enough to escape the shadow of it’s successor, which Nintendo announced they would not be speaking about today.
The Legend Of Zelda had the most intriguing surprise, as the Link’s Awakening graphical style got another run out in the form of a new title, Echoes Of Wisdom. This game flips the script, with Zelda getting the lead role in a new top-down title.
Nintendo gets creative and surprises everyone…
This looks Nintendo at its creative best. Zelda’s prime weapon is a rod that allows you to reproduce casual items in different settings, like repeatedly conjuring a table to climb up a cliff. At this stage, it was easily the most interesting new title and it’s not close. This is the kind of game that was second on the list to what Nintendo needed the most for this presentation. Whether the creativity will work or not will not be a debate that is had for long as it’s out in three months, on September 26.
The Direct kicked off with the big announcement we’ve all been waiting for, that’s right, Mario & Luigi Brothership. Scepticism aside, it looked good with a quirky artstyle and seemingly solid RPG mechanics. It’s likely not what people may have been expecting but a welcome addition nonetheless.
It then showcased the already announced Nintendo World Championships, it’s an idea that they did on the Wii U with NES Remix but these titles tend to be quiet successes, ending up a lot better than they look.
After that, it was the turn of Fairy Tale 2, which immediately looked like a great action RPG, yet these kinds of games always have a big flaw: they’re already part of an intimidatingly large story. Despite being a huge fan of the genre I’ll likely pass on this.
Fantasian Neo Dimension, from Square Enix and composed by Nobuo Uematsu is normally a winning mix. It looked very Bravely Default-esque with some interesting twists on the battle system and scratches the JRPG mix but in an accessible way. Uematsu and Square Enix don’t tend to make bad games, and from a JRPG perspective this was the most exciting of the bunch. Well, in terms of new announcements anyway…
Well, I got at least one prediction right, with admittedly a far funnier example later on, as Dragon Quest III HD-2D remake came out of its seemingly dormant state. This looked great when it was first announced, HD-2D is such a brilliant style and finally, a release date is here, as it drops on November 14 of this year. This was a lesser but similar case to Metroid Prime 4, this was getting awkward, with three years having passed with very little news. The wait was justified though with a promise of the first two games also being remade in the new style, with those two having a more vague release date of 2025.
Then Nintendo Switch Sports announced the addition of basketball, allowing players to simulate being their heroes like Caitlin Clark and get completely unwarranted harassment for being a promising player.
Quiet brilliance which won’t grab the headlines…
Now the turn of MIO: Memories In Orbit, the first game since the start with no prior introductory headline. This is a smart idea given how mysterious it looked and if it is a Metroidvania as it appeared, will be popular and scratch the itch for the 2D side of the genre.
Although there was a more literal example of a game that’ll scratch that itch, as Metroid Zero Mission and The Legend Of Zelda Four Swords arrive today via Nintendo Switch Online. This is a low-key brilliant announcement, the former is a brilliant game and there is online play for the latter will be brilliant. Perfect Dark also comes with online functionality and all of them are out today in addition to Turok.
Looney Tunes then announced a four-game sports title. This looks like a promising version of Mario Sports, which could be better than Nintendo’s heavy hitter if they lean into the ridiculousness of it, which the former sometimes struggles with.
And the rest…
Farmalgia feels like a farming take on Pokemon which didn’t do enough to look more interesting than the latter or Palworld as the Direct started to lose steam. So Nintendo threw out Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, which is an obvious crowd-pleaser and releases next year.
We knew about Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, while the Denpa Men is a gloriously weird game which I need more time to digest. Metal Slug Reloaded launches today as a tower defence title but given the action-heavy state of the series I’d question how well that’ll even work.
A classic of the Switch, compilations of old-school games, gets yet another treatment with the Marvel Arcade Collection. This will be amazing, but not for a terribly large audience.
Super Mario Party Jamboree is on the way, in case you weren’t already aware the Switch is getting a successor within the next year or two. Cynicism aside, it’s out on October 17 and to its credit it does look to have an impressive range of content in it. That could be a very solid entry in the franchise.
Just Dance gets a title in October with questionably-intense graphics, while confusingly, the noted PlayStation exclusive Horizon Zero Dawn gets a Lego game on Switch. I like the idea, confused by the fact it’s being shown on a Nintendo Direct. Speaking of games I don’t associate with the Switch, Stray is also arriving. The game allows an internet meme board to experience their dream of being a literal cat. I started this article feeling so happy, this piece is now becoming a microcosm of how I aged.
The Hobbit gets a title, with Tales Of The Shire. When I predicted a ‘Tales Of’ remaster I meant the JPRG series, I’ve never felt more annoyed to be technically correct.
Ace Attorney returns to the Switch, after a brief stint in a certain American courtroom, in a collection, which comes on September 6, by which point I’ll have long been murdered for that joke.
A game that starts off looking like Persona is revealed as The Hundred Line, it’s by the makers of Dangonronpa so expect this to be fun with an extremely twisted story. Romancing Saga 2 gets a big remake, but let’s be honest if you’re looking at Square Enix you’re more wondering about the Nvidia leak rumoured Final Fantasy IX. One to approach with caution, the series isn’t exactly great but I hope it can prove me wrong.
The final scores are in…
This presentation was good, Nintendo needed a heavy-hitting line-up today to compensate for the comparative lack of news and games. The presentation does enough to escape the shadow of the Switch 2, it doesn’t fly away from it and it’s in the rearview mirror, but owners of the console can relax. A lot of good content is coming, and this buys Nintendo the time they seemingly need.
Now I’m off to replay Metroid Zero Mission, because it absolutely deserves another run-through.
