The first Nintendo Direct of the year has now happened, and it brought some good surprises. In particular, a remaster of two games that have been delayed numerous times and new consoles on the Switch Online service. There were quite a few highlights for me with this one, but I’ll keep it contained to just ten announcements.

The Direct started with it, so I will, too. Pikmin 4 has finally got information about it, showing off a new type of Pikmin. The Ice Pikmin has been shown to be able to freeze enemies and even water, allowing tactical advantages in fights and new ways to get around. There’s also a dog that can do the same thing as the Pikmin along with a few more things, such as swimming across water.

From within the trailer, it seems the player comes across a castaway, so it seems this might be the reason we have come to the planet of the Pikmin. Rescuing castaways who have been trapped here. From everything else within the trailer, Pikmin 4 looks good. Bringing the camera closer to the ground allows the lovely details of these areas to shine, and the action to be more epic. With it arriving in July, this will make a lovely summer strategy game.

Speaking of strategy, Advance Wars has a new release date! Delayed indefinitely from its 8/April-2022 release owing to the Russia-Ukraine war, Re-Boot Camp brings the first two games into the modern age. While this trailer didn’t show us any gameplay, it has confirmed that the release date is 21/April. This… brings another game dated for either April or May, a period that at present is very close to being October-November in terms of big releases. Would have been nice to see it dropped after the presentation, but that’s for the best considering what did.

Metroid Prime has been long-rumoured for a remaster treatment, and during this Direct, that became true. But not only is it a remaster that looks awesome and fixes some of the flaws of the original, but it also became a shadow drop. They announced a huge bombshell, and dropped a second by saying you could play it right now. While I have no investment in the series, I’m always up for playing games that once belonged to my favourite console, so I’ll certainly give it a go.

And while I’ve not heard of these two, they are Gamecube RPGs, so I’m again curious. Baten Kaitos I + II HD Remaster brings two of Monolith Soft’s early RPGs to the Switch, with the card-based systems sure to make them feel unique. This is also the first time European audiences will get to play the second game, as it was only released originally in Japan and North America.

There was quite a bit of download content within this Direct, with Splatoon 3 having its expansion pass announced with two waves of content somewhat shown off. Inkopolis Plaza – the hub of the first game – is arriving to the third. While at present we’ve only seen that the shops are functional, there’s sure to be more that can be done with it. Otherwise, it feels a bit pointless. The second wave is known as Side Order. This puts players into a world without colour, with the flashes of other images that show up seeming like this will be all about recovering the memories of someone.

The other download content news to grab me was a tease of what’s to come for Wave 4 of the Booster Course Pass of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. A new course! Built for Tour, but still to arrive in it, fans of the Yoshi Island games are sure to recognise plenty within this course to get that nostalgia flowing. There’s also a new character arriving with this wave, as Birdo joins the roster. Complete with multiple colours. I’m really hoping this means we’re getting some Double Dash courses soon. Still can’t believe there hasn’t been a single one across these first three waves.

Fantasy Life is a game that released on 3DS early into its life. It looked an enjoyable game, but back then I’d neglected to get it. Now, there’s a sequel, that looks to expand on what the first provided by utilising time travel. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is sure to be a lovely life sim RPG whenever it arrives on the Switch. And speaking of Level 5, they also announced Professor Layton’s return with a new game coming for the Switch, too.

New consoles have arrived on the Nintendo Switch Online service, with Game Boy and Game Boy Colour being available on the base tier, while Game Boy Advance is available on the expansion tier. These are what I have been waiting for since the consoles started coming. I never had the love of Nintendo’s old consoles that plenty of others share owing to never originally owning them. It was always the handhelds when I was younger, so these new additions are more exciting for me.

While the libraries of both have started off small, each has enough to keep me occupied. Kirby’s Dream Land on the Game Boy has me loving some retro Kirby adventures, while Mario Kart Super Circuit brings even more retro karting goodness for me to enjoy on the GBA. I might even check out some of the other games on the apps before the end of February. While not in any way confirmed, with these apps now out, I could easily see a huge Pokémon dump happening after a potential Pokémon Presents at the end of the month. And those will keep me occupied for plenty of hours reliving the nostalgia.

Lastly, there’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. I’m already getting this, as I absolutely loved Breath of the Wild. There’s new parts of the world shown off, and new small features such as buildable contraptions seen, but major details are still yet to show themselves beyond the teases that have been happening. What this trailer continues to tease is the main villain of the plot, which seems to be Ganondorf, but perhaps not as we’ve seen him before.

From everything that was shown in the Direct, the first half of the year is packed. Especially, as I said before, the April/May period in general is looking to be October/November come early, with Advance Wars now joining the likes of Tears of the Kingdom, Jedi: Survivor, and Redfall as another big release. All I can say is, if this is gaming in the first half of the year, I really can’t wait to see what the second brings.

Images Taken From:
Pikmin 4 blossoms on Nintendo Switch July 21st | Nintendo UK
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass, Wave 4… | Nintendo UK