Having given some rather absurd ‘leaks’ for what could be in this Direct yesterday, I’m happy to say it was a whole lot better than I’d expected. Not everything was going to be for me, such as the Fire Emblem opening announcement, but I was surprised at some of the stuff we got revealed. So, here’s my highlights from the September 2022 Nintendo Direct.
And first, I have to mention the showing of the third wave of the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. They only showed off two out of the eight tracks that will be coming, but these two tracks look delightful. As guessed by many, Merry Mountain is here to bring that holiday feeling, which is when the third wave will be coming. The other track shown was Peach Gardens from Mario Kart DS, which is looking divine.
A whole new batch of N64 games will be drip-feeding their way into the Switch Online app across this next year, and Nintendo seem to be answering to fan demand. All three N64 Mario Party games. Pilotwings 64. Excitebike 64. 1080 Snowboarding. The two Pokémon Stadiums. And the reveal that Goldeneye is finally making a return. With online multiplayer included.
I loved when F-Zero X came to the app last year, and while I’ve still yet to play it, I’m excited to be trying out Wave Race. With all of these new additions coming soon, I’m in retro heaven. I’ve never played these games before, but I’m aware of their legacy. So, much like with Wave Race, I want to experience what they have to offer for myself. Personally, I’m hoping for one of the extreme sports games to come first.
It’s not just the N64 that got some love here, as the Gamecube is also seeing some of its games appear on the Switch. Not in the form of an app, but with remakes. The one I’m interested in is Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life, which sees the Harvest Moon classic come to a modern console.
From what I’ve read of this one, it is one of the only Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons games to have a definitive ending, rather than being endless. Characters will age, along with your child should you have one, who will then go out into the world with a job of their own once fully grown. I really cannot wait to get stuck into this one and experience one of the Gamecube games I missed out on.
A series that started out on the Gamecube was Pikmin. Here, we controlled an explorer by the name of Olimar, who had crash-landed on their planet. Able to command the Pikmin and help them, the game presented you with just 30 days to find all your ship parts to rebuild it and leave the planet. Future games changed that formula, but still with you controlling an explorer who could command the Pikmin.
And now we have a fourth game. Well, I say that, but we’ve known about a fourth game for what feels like the Switch’s entire life and beyond. Back when it was just known as the NX. To finally have it confirmed and dated is great, even if we didn’t see it in action. Of course, Miyamoto took his time to reveal it, spending most of his segment talking of the mobile game Pikmin Bloom and his experiences with it. He sure does like to tease, that Miyamoto.
The celebration of Kirby continues, with a remake of a Wii game. Return to Dreamland Deluxe sees Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight and the Waddle Dees set off on an adventure across Popstar to help Magolor, whose ship had appeared from a wormhole and crashed onto the planet.
Having been invested in Kirby games for a while, getting to experience the past games is something I want to be doing. This remake will be a good way to start doing that. Meanwhile, I’ll just continue waiting for the one I want to see come to Switch the most. The only Kirby game that released on Gamecube that wasn’t even a platformer.
The rumours for The Legend of Zelda series were stating we’d be seeing The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess appearing on the Switch. Well, even if I would like to experience the Gamecube classics, I don’t need to with the news that was the last item of this Direct. The reveal of the title for Breath of the Wild’s sequel, and the announcement that it’s release isn’t all too far off.
Yes, Tears of the Kingdom is set for release in May, and while most of the trailer focused on slow panning shots of hieroglyphics, we did get to see more of the sky-based world that has appeared over Hyrule. There’s still a lot we don’t know about this one, but now that we have that title reveal, I’m confident a lot more will be shown across these next eight months about it.
Six announcements that make up my highlights don’t even put a dent in the number of announcements there were in the forty minute presentation. Smaller things such as the date of Splatoon 3’s first Splatfest, new game reveals such as Octopath Traveller 2 being announced, and even some indie titles such as Fae Farm. There was a lot.
What were some of your highlights from the Direct? Do you share some of mine, or do you have no interest in anything you’ve just read here?
Images Taken From:
More Nintendo 64 Games Heading to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack | Nintendo UK YouTube (1080 Snowboarding / Pokémon Stadium)
Wave 3 is coming! – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass | Nintendo UK YouTube
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe – Coming February 24th! | Nintendo UK YouTube
Pikmin 4 – Coming in 2023! | Nintendo UK YouTube
