Nintendo premiered its first Direct, a showcase of upcoming games, of the year in early February and gave fans a peek at games coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2022. With the last Direct taking place Sept. 23, 2021, a four-month gap left lots of room for expectations to build. The Direct gave fans a lot to be excited about with many new announcements and updates to players’ favorite games.
One of the first big announcements of the Direct was the announcement of “Mario Strikers: Battle League,” which is set to release June 10. The last Mario Strikers game, “Mario Strikers: Charged,” released in 2007 for the Wii and has remained a dormant series ever since. The game seems to follow the path of its predecessors with new content and additions. The new game seems to be incorporating bits from the box arts with the games “Hyper Strikes” having a similar hand-drawn visual style. Its cutscenes utilize a similar “sketched” look to them with thick borders around the characters in a hand painted aesthetic. It helps the game stand out against the previous “Strikers” games and the rest of the games showcased.
Nintendo also showcased some more footage from “Kirby and the Forgotten Land.” The game is set to release later this month on March 25. NIntendo showcased it briefly last Direct, but are now giving fans a more indepth look at the gameplay. It is the first mainline 3D Kirby game and the trailer showed off the game’s newest feature, “Mouthful Mode.” Kirby will keep their classic capture ability, accompanied by the ability to take control of new objects for more actions. Though memed on by the internet for its seeming absurdity, this mechanic seems to be an interesting new addition to the franchise, similar in function to Cappy in “Super Mario Odyssey.” It helped show that Nintendo is willing to try new ideas with its franchises.
One of the biggest moments in the Direct, at least in my eyes, was the announcement of the critically acclaimed “Portal” and “Portal 2” being ported to the Switch for the “Portal: Companion Collection. The collection incorporates both games, with Portal 2 allowing for local, online and split-screen multiplayer. Though no official release date has been announced, it is set to cost $19.99 in the Nintendo eShop. The portal seems to be a collaboration between Valve, an award winning video game company, and NVIDIA, a graphics card manufacturer, and will hopefully lead to the re-release of Valve’s other classics such as the “Half-Life” series.
The next biggest reveal was Nintendo announcing a soft reboot of “Wii Sports,” this time called “Nintendo Switch Sports.” The original “Wii Sports” came as a pack-in title for the Wii, helping to showcase its technology. It was incredibly popular, with approximately 82.9 million units sold, and many assumed it would remain a one-off. This new game seems to be a soft reboot of the original, with new mini-games and a new art style for Mii characters. Some took to social media to express their disappointment at the new art style, saying it strays too far away from the originals. Nintendo has set a release date of April 29.
One series many were surprised to see recognized was “EarthBound,” with “EarthBound” and “EarthBound Beginnings” being added as a title on the Nintendo Switch Online. Nintendo re-releasing these games for the Nintendo Switch Online service works as a step toward wider recognition for these games. It allows many to experience them far after their limited release. Their recognition of these properties will hopefully lead to the release of “Mother 3,” with even the game’s original producer Shinichi Kameoka saying in an interview with Nintendo Everything to announce his support of a North American release.
The biggest update we got for an already released game was the “Booster Course Pass DLC” for “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.” The DLC, downloadable content, is where Nintendo will be releasing remastered “Mario Kart” stages from all of the previous “Mario Kart” games. The courses will be released periodically in six waves, each consisting of eight new courses. Even with the updated graphics, it still feels a bit off — they have a slight plastic look to them. The DLC will release March 18 for $25, but will be free for those with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack Membership.
Though the audience reaction for the Direct seemed to be relatively positive, with the announcement having 188K likes on YouTube, there were still many unsatisfied Nintendo fans. Many were disappointed that we have gotten no updates on the upcoming Untitled Mario film or the sequel to “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” The last time we heard anything from both of these projects was in 2020, with many rumors and hype building up for both of them as they are set to be released this year. There are now hopes that we will get a good look at them during the E3 Expo in June, where many major gaming titles and news are revealed.
The Direct helped showcase a lot of games coming in the near future. Nintendo announced a lot of big news, and we got a better look at previously announced titles, as well as some exciting new ones. Even though it didn’t have everything some fans were helping for, it gave a lot of good insight on what is to come.
Edited by Shannon Worley, sworley@themaneater.com
