Here is all the info we were able to gather from the Nintendo Direct. A lot of excitement surrounds every direct, but this one in particular has a certain importance. There are little games announced thus far coming off of a strong first year, so Nintendo needs to keep the train rolling and let us know that it won’t get derailed anytime soon. Keep in mind that all dates pertain to Europe.
3ds Announcements
WarioWare Gold is coming to the 3ds. This will be a collection similar to the Mario Party collection from last year. There will be over 300 micro games in this package. The game will release August 3rd 2018.
Dillon’s Dead-Heat Breakers is coming on May 25th 2018.
Bowser’s Inside Story!!! This is the 3ds announcement I was most excited for. This epic RPG sees you control both Bowser and the Mario Bros as they are trapped inside Bowser’s body. Like the remake of Superstar Saga last year, Bowser’s Inside Story will receive an additional bonus story. This one will centre around Bowser Junior, titled Bowser Junior’s Journey. Unfortunately this game won’t release until 2019.
Luigi’s Mansion gets a remake on the 3ds! One of my favourite GameCube games of all time will make its way to where its successor found a home. The bottom screen will act as a map, making things much more convenient to get around the mansion, and a boss rush mode will also be added. We will see this remake some time in 2018.
Detective Pikachu got a brief showing, allowing us to see more of the story and his character. Detective Pikachu seems to be extremely unfit. Detective Pikachu is slated to release March 23rd 2018.
Nintendo Switch Announcements
Now we get to what most of us were waiting for, the Nintendo Switch news!
First up was some information on Kirby Star Allies. This mainly showed off some new controllable characters, including fan favourites Rick and King Dedede. Some of these friends will be coming as dlc, with a free update first up coming March 28th 2018.
Okami HD is making it’s way to our beloved home console/handheld hybrid. This version will have the addition of touch screen controls in handheld mode for the brush strokes. While docked you can still do the brush strokes manually with motion controls. Okami HD is coming in Summer 2018.
Sushi Striker: The Way Of The Sushido is incoming. Eat sushi and throw the plates at your opponents. This version will have online multiplayer, and will arrive on June 8th 2018
Project Octopath Traveler got some new information, as well as a release date. Two new characters were shown off, Tressa the merchant, and Alfyn the apothecary. The job system was also seen, letting us know that each character may be equiped and change out a second job class to pair with your main one. There will also be a beautiful special edition, which comes with a pop up book, map and replica coin. Project Octopath Traveler will release on July 13th 2018.
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes is coming this year in 2018.
Dark Souls made an appearance, with some new gameplay footage. It looks as good as ever on the Nintendo Switch! There will be a network test incoming, with more information dropping at a later date. The fans cries have also been answered, as a Solaire of Astora Amiibo is coming! This will allow you to use the ‘Praise the sun’ emote to your hearts content.
Mario Tennis Aces
Mario Tennis Aces got an in depth look, as we were told to expect. A bunch of characters were shown, including a chain chomp holding a racket?! There are four main shots you can perform, a basic shot, top spin, slice, and finally a lob. A special Zone Shot is also available, which pauses time for a moment and allows you to aim precisely where you want your shot to land using motion controls. This shot causes damage to an opponents racket, with 3 damaging shots to a racket causing it to break. It would seem that you also have a limited amount of rackets per game, so you need to be careful. If you time a block precisely though your racket won’t take damage. There is also a Zone Speed move that slows down time for you, allowing you to get to a ball that seems out of reach. This all uses and energy gauge that fills up the longer a rally commences. Pulling off trick shots fills the energy gauge a lot quicker than your standard shots. There is also a special shot that can be used to devastating effect, but uses up most of your energy. These can also be blocked if timed correctly.
There is the added option to play with simplified rules. This ruleset allows for basic shots only, and will be great for multiplayer fun with your non gaming family and friends.
An online portion will be available for all you competitive tennis superstars. Frequent tournaments will be held, so you will never be short of some online fun. Special outfits and additional characters can be unlocked via the online too it seems, which may incentivise people to participate.
You can use your joy-con like a racket if you would like. This may bring back some fond memories of Wii Sports for some people. Personally ill be afraid someone will throw a joy-con through my TV or whack me over the head while we play.
A pre-launch tournament will be held before launch, with more details on when to be announced soon. The game will release on June 22nd 2018.
Also, Waluigi look fly!
More Announcements
Captain Toad Treasure Tracker is coming to the Nintendo Switch and 3ds! The port will be adding Super Mario Odyssey levels, as well as a multiplayer mode. This will release on July 13th 2018.
Undertale is also coming to the Nintendo Switch. This is one I am very excited for, as I’m sure the many rabid fans out there will be too (looking at you Jordan). Undertale will be coming… Eventually.
Crash Bandicoot N’Sane Trilogy is incoming. For those wanting to battle Cortex on the go with their Switch, their wishes will be granted on July 10th.
Little Nightmares Complete Edition is making its was Switch-side. All past dlc will be included, as well as Amiibo support in the form of a Pacman mask. The game will release May 18th 2018.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole (not Butthole) hits the Switch April 24th 2018. The first two dlc packs will be available for purchase at launch as well, with a 3rd coming at a later date.
Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition get a release date. Expect the battle for Hyrule to commence on May 18th 2018.
Arms will be having a free 3-day play event. If you haven’t tried out this fighter, then your chance to try it for free will be coming on March 31st 2018.
Splatoon 2 Update
On March 31st, the European Championship will be held. What interested me about this event was that there will be a Pearl and Marina concert held at this event as well. This will be live streamed, so why not check it out?
The version 3.0 update will be coming soon. This adds over 100 new pieces of gear, 3 more stages, and a new X rank for all you ranked play fanatics. Callie will also appear in the Octo Canyon if certain conditions are met.
A new paid dlc expansion is coming, titled ‘Octo Expansion’. This expansion adds a whole new single player story, centred around an Octoling called Agent 8. There will be 80 test facilities to tackle, all tied via a subway system. A bunch of new lore info will be packed in this too, expanding on the world of Splatoon. The trailer showed some odd things of note, like a dolphin using a flip phone and an old man in a tracksuit.
The expansion is coming in Summer of 2018.
And Finally…
Smashing its way onto the Nintendo Switch will be none other than Super Smash Bros! No real info was given, other than the fact Inklings will be joining the fray.
So what did you think of this Nintendo Direct? Did you see anything you cannot wait to get your hands on? Let us know via Twitter or in the comments below.