A bunch of games were shown but let’s start with the number one game on my hit list: Splatoon 3. No release date other than “Summer 2022” but they did show a video showing the next version of Salmon Run: Next Wave. New boss salmonids were to be expected, but the biggest upgrade is the Egg Throw. Yes, you can now throw eggs a short distance to be picked up or caught by another player. You can even throw eggs into the egg basket! That’s huge! As sweet as that sounds, I just know the levels are going to be harder to account for new mechanic. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it though.
And the rest of the Direct was just okay. There were a few things worth pointing out though so here we go in no particular order:
Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp
I miss the Advance Wars pixel art style. Maybe it’ll be an option in the game? One can only hope right? Anyway, rather than just upgrade the graphics, slap the two games into this one package, and call it a day, Nintendo gave it once over and then some. There’s voice acting now of all the generals, there’s a new campaign, new enemy bosses, local and online play, and a mapmaker. It’s quite an overhaul to bring the game current adding all of the features you’d expect of a game coming out this generation. Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp comes out on April 8.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC Tracks
Nintendo is working on bringing more tracks from all versions of the Mario Kart games into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The “Booster Course Pass” will have 6 waves consisting of 8 tracks each. That’s 48 courses in all with the goal of completing them by the end of 2023. The cost? $24.99 for the entire pack. You can pre-order it today with the first wave available on March 18th.
I guess I should also mention that if you’re in the tiny minority of people who are a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscriber, then you can get it for free. Looking at that screenshot, it feels like Nintendo is desperately trying to add value to its Expansion Pack. The Expansion Pack more than doubles the cost of an annual subscription and since when does any “Expansion Pack” cost more than the base product?? Not worth it. If you have a regular sub just pay the 25 bucks and be done with it.
Triangle Strategy
I love me some pixel art and this game looks gorgeous. Very reminiscent of Octopath Traveler. I never ended up playing Octopath but this one I might try to carve out some time for. There’s a new demo out for allowing you play up to the end of Chapter 3. If you like what you see and end up buying it, your save data carries over.
Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series
I really enjoyed Klonoa on the Game Boy Advance and never really had the opportunity to play other games. But I’m kinda excited for this one. This game collects the first two Klonoa games in one package in Klonoa Reverie Series. This collection comes out on July 8.
And The Rest…
The Direct actually kicked off with Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes.
No Man’s Sky is coming to Switch. Go see what all the fuss is about this summer.
The next Mario fighting game disguised as a sports game is coming in the form of soccer in Mario Strikers Battle League. The game can be played 5v5 (up to 8 human players in 4v4 with one computer AI goalie) and will include items, tackles, special shots, and hyper strikes. It also includes a character customization feature. You can play 4v4 on one system. There’s also online play with club mode and a club can have up 20 players. That’s probably where the Battle League part of the title comes into play. I’m just guessing here. The game comes out on June 10.
The tactical RPG games Front Mission 1st and 2nd are coming to Switch. I never played these games but I’m intrigued. Front Mission 1st comes out in the summer. No release window for 2nd.
Disney Speedstorm looks like a Mario Kart rip off. I suppose it’s hard to make a fun combat racing game without being compared to Mario Kart. Honestly, they should have just licensed the characters and created content updates as paid DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe instead. This game comes out in the summer.
Do things Luke could only dream of in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed starting on April 20.
Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection will include two bonus short films that I assume is exclusive to the collection. This comes out on February 17. I should mention this game is made by Ubisoft.
SD Gundam Battle Alliance will be released sometime in 2022.
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is out on April 7. Sorry this game looks like ass.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land will be ready to swallow your car on March 25.
MLB The Show 2022 comes out on April 5th and features cross-platform play.
Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece for Cloud collects Kingdom Hearts 1.5/2.5, 2.8, and the Re-Mind DLC. You can also get each individual game in the eshop right now and they’re all on sale too!
Portal and Portal 2 will be arriving on Switch in the Portal Companion Collection. Portal 2 will include local, online, and splitscreen multiplayer. No solid release date other than 2022.
Live a Live is coming stateside. This is the first time it’s being released outside of Japan. You’ll be able to play it on July 22.
Wii Sports is being resurrected as Nintendo Switch Sports. It includes Tennis, Bowling, and Chambara. It also includes new sports Soccer, Badminton, and Volleyball. There’s local and online play with random matchmaking. There’s a leg strap accessory, the same one used for Ring Fit Adventure, that can be used with a Soccer drill. An update will allow you to use it in the Soccer game. There’s an online beta play test happening from February 18-20. The full game comes out on April 29.
There’s a new Taiko game coming out in 2022, Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival. It includes 76 songs out of the box including a Legend of Zelda theme song. Up to four players can play. There’s also an in-game subscription that will let you access over 500 songs at launch.
There’s a paid DLC update for Cuphead called “The Delicious Last Course”. It includes a whole new island with new bosses and a third playable character, Ms. Chalice. You can start dying a lot again on June 30th.
There a free update for Metroid Dread. The update includes “Dread Mode” which gives Samus 1hp. The update also swings the pendulum the other way and includes a “Rookie Mode” which increases recovery and maybe softens the enemies a bit? I don’t know. There’s a second update incoming in April where a Boss Rush mode will be added. Kinda feels like an indie title now.
Nintendo Switch Online will be graced with not one but two Earthbound games: Earthbound for NES and Earthbound Beginnings (better known as Mother in Japan) for SNES. Both games are available now.
Zombie Army 4: Dead War comes out on April 26.
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is available now.
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yahiba- The Hinokami Chronicles comes out on June 10.
The mobile game LEGO Brawls is headed to switch on June 2022.
Two Point Campus will be released on May 17.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was announced. Slated for a September 2022 release.
You can check out all the trailers and the Direct stream on the Nintendo YouTube channel.
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