Here’s Everything Announced at the Latest Nintendo Direct: Weekly Roundup
Nintendo has arrived, riding in on the heels of Summer Game Fest with a jam-packed forty minutes worth of game updates, reveals, and more. While their Fall 2023 calendar was nonexistent before, it’s suddenly gotten a bit meatier, while Pikmin 4 received a generous four-minute section of gameplay and discussion.
Here’s everything that was announced at the latest Nintendo Direct:
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Lets start by addressing the elephant in the room. This elephant, in fact.
“How is this going to impact my Twitter Timeline??”
Yes, there’s a new 2D Mario game coming down the pipeline after ten years, and this one looks like a certified acid trip. Not much was revealed of story in the quick gameplay trailer, but it looks to fall in the same line as the established New Super Mario Bros. games – though with a major overhaul. New characters join the game, as Daisy, Peach, and Yoshi all appear to be playable, and new power-ups have been added as well (most notably the truly absurd Elephant Mario. Can everyone be an elephant? Is Elephant Peach going to exist? How is this going to impact my Twitter Timeline??).
The stand-out feature of the trailer is a new flower item that, when grabbed, turns the entire world into a Saturday morning cartoon. Everything gets eyes and animates around Mario, pipes move like inchworms along the ground, and a strange talking plant urges Mario along. We weren’t kidding when we said it looks like an acid trip. And it looks absolutely fantastic. It’s fresh, it’s updated, and I’m excited for it.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder launches on October 20th of this year, the same day as Spider-Man 2.
Pikmin’s Big Day
Pikmin 4 was one of the biggest announcements of Nintendo’s last Direct, and now we have a full four minutes of narrated gameplay exploring the new night mode, the adorable pup Oatchi, and the new Dandori Battle mode, which appears to be a sort of Pikmin strategy face-off.
Along with the extended Pikmin 4 trailer, which you can see by clicking above, Nintendo also announced that ports of Pikmin 1 and 2 had been shadow dropped that morning, meaning that for the first time, every game in the Pikmin franchise is available for Switch.
Pikmin 4 launches July 21st.
Warioware: Move It and Detective Pikachu Returns
No franchises in Nintendo’s vast stable of IPs are stranger than Warioware and Detective Pikachu. The first: a collection of absurd rapid-fire minigames themed around an evil, garlic-loving man. The second: Pikachu in a Sherlock Holmes hat solving mysteries who apparently loves coffee. Both series are getting sequels.
Warioware: Move It sets a strange precedent for the Warioware series. In past console cycles, Warioware has either been released at the very beginning of a lifespan (as with the Wii’s Smooth Moves) or at the tail end (as with the 3DS’s Gold). Now, for the first time since the DS, there’s two Warioware games on one console, as the Switch already has seen Warioware: Get it Together in its lifetime. In any case, Move It looks like a fun continuation of one of Nintendo’s oddest series.
Detective Pikachu Returns is, according to Nintendo’s official press release, “a cinematic adventure game with cases to solve…and plenty of coffee.” That’s an apt description. Pikachu (voiced by a silky smooth Kaiji Tang) and Tim Goodman return to solve crimes during Pokemon Friendship Week. The game is fully voice acted. Pikachu talks about his light roast. It’s all good fun. The first Detective Pikachu wore its strange, Pokémon meets Columbo inspiration on its sleeve, and was all the better for it, so theres certainly a few fans excited to return to the world of Detective Pikachu.
Warioware: Move It launches November 3rd, 2023, with Detective Pikachu Returns launching October 6th.
A Solo Princess Peach Game
While there’s not much to say about this one, there is in fact an untitled solo Princess Peach game in development at Nintendo. We don’t have solidified gameplay, a release date, or even a basic premise, but we know they’re making it and we know it’s probably going to be great.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince
Square Enix has officially announced Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, which looks like Dragon Quest meets Pokémon (a lot of Pokémon x Something Else games this June, huh?). Following a “dark prince” on a quest for revenge, DQ Monsters looks like an inventive take on the granddaddy of JRPG’s. Players can catch, train, and combine monsters to create hybrid monstrosities. It’s a welcome addition to the “catch monsters and use them to fight” genre that Pokémon has held in a death-grip for so long.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince launches December 1st.
DLC, Remasters, and Ports Galore
Alright, look. There were roughly a million announcements for DLC, remasters, or ports this Direct, and we don’t have the time nor space to go over them all. So, here’s a laundry list:
PORT: Metal Gear Solid Collection
PORT: Vampire Survivors
PORT: Batman: Arkham Trilogy
REMASTER: Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
REMASTER: Star Ocean: The Second Story R
DLC: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero
DLC: Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope: The Last Spark Hunter
DLC: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Pack: Wave 5
See what we mean?
A smattering of fun indies:
There were, as always, a few sizzle reels looking into some upcoming Indie releases for the Switch. Here’s a few that caught our eye:
Mythforce – the first thing we said when we saw it was “who made the DND cartoon into a game?” Join your friends as you go on an adventure “inspired by beloved 80s morning cartoons” when Mythforce launches later this Fall.
Penny’s Big Breakaway – We were excited when we saw such a colorful and fun-looking 3D platformer in the same vein as A Hat in Time. We were ecstatic when we saw that Penny’s Big Breakaway is from the same team behind Sonic Mania. Keep an eye out for its launch in early 2024.
Headbangers Rhythm Royale - We don’t know how to explain this one. Just watch the trailer. Please.
Super Mario RPG gets a well-earned remake
Though it wasn’t the final reveal of the Direct – that spot was reserved for Super Mario Bros. Wonder – it was the one that made us collectively jump out of our seats. Though a remake, crossover, or even port was thought impossible for years due to finicky licensing issues, it seems Square Enix and Nintendo have finally come to an agreement, as Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is getting a full remake on November 17th.
Join Mario, Peach, Bowser, and a few new characters (ever wonder why hardcore Smash fans want that guy “Geno” as a playable fighter? This game is why.) as they journey through the Mushroom Kingdom on a quest to restore the Star Road. If you like the Paper Mario or Mario and Luigi games, well, this is the game that made those games possible. Whether you haven’t played it before or played it way back on 1996 on the SNES, it’s a fantastic RPG that’s worth a playthrough.
The Verdict: A-
Nintendo’s latest Direct was great. A new Super Mario Bros. game, a remake of a beloved RPG, more information on Pikmin 4, and a wide range of ports and DLC revealed and released. Admittedly, looking back, the biggest reveals of the day were Mario-related.
As Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications Devon Pritchard put it, “There’s never been a better time to be a fan of Mario, and we love being able to provide new and dedicated players alike with experiences that invite a sense of wonder.” While I can’t help but agree, if you’re not the biggest fan of Mario (though who isn’t?) the Direct is looking a bit barebones.
In any case, Nintendo’s fall calendar is suddenly thriving and teeming with fantastic releases, and for that, we are all grateful.
