After months of waiting and much speculation, Nintendo graced us with another Nintendo Direct. A lot of hype was riding on this Direct to set up Nintendo’s 2019 slate of games, and it certainly delivered. Here are a few of the highlights!
The Nintendo Direct kicked off with the surprise announcement of Super Mario Maker 2. This is a sequel to the smash hit Wii U title, Super Mario Maker. The original was flush with amazing content and tools for creators the ability to make amazing 2D Mario. From what we saw of Super Mario Maker 2, it seems that the options are only expanding, bringing new opportunities for creators to bring their Mario creations to life. Super Mario Maker 2 launches in June 2019.
The other major announcement present in this Nintendo Direct was a new reimagining of The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening. The classic Gameboy title is being completely reworked for the Nintendo Switch and it looks amazing. Featuring all an all-new visual style and art direction, Links Awakening (a game that is often pushed to the side in the pantheon of Zelda games) is looking to hopefully capture the hearts of a new audience with this updated release. The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening will be coming sometime in 2019.
Going into this Nintendo Direct we expected to get a ton of new Fire Emblem: Three Houses information and they definitely delivered. Nintendo went in depth on the new systems present in the upcoming title, new gameplay sequences, and the overall tone and style the story is going for. Unfortunately, it seems that Fire Emblem: Three Houses will not hit it’s planned release window of Spring 2019 as it is releasing on July 26, 2019.
Those are the main major updates that came during the Nintendo Direct, but plenty of smaller announcements were made. Updates on Final Fantasy VII and IX were given as VII will release on Mar. 26 and IX releasing today respectively. Tetris 99 brings the battle royale genre to the classic puzzle game Tetris as players compete to be the last piece dropper standing. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is getting new levels in a small expansion pack coming March 14th. Bloodstained Ritual of The Night, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Dragon Quest XI, Assasins Creed 3 Remastered, and Unravel Two are coming to the platform later this year. Finally, Nintendo saved another 3rd party announcement towards the end of the direct. Astral Chain, developed by the minds behind Neir Automata, is coming to Switch on August 30th, 2019.
What did you think of this Nintendo Direct? Are there any surprises you are particularly excited for? Leave a comment below and tell us what you think!