Feature: The Big Nintendo Direct Summary - 13th February

Surely, one of the best Nintendo Directs!

Undoubtably the first Direct that I’d rate 10/10. It had a strong start with Mario Maker 2 which will release around E3 and make June an exciting month. We had some strong 3rd party reveals including two Dragon Quest games, plus lots of demos and even a free Tetris game. Then at the end there was a “one more thing” followed up by “the REAL one more thing”.

And more importantly, RUNE FACTORY IS BACK!!!!

Personally I was very happy with this ND, was really surprised with the demo's for Yoshi and DXM and the Tetris. Man i love Tetris.
Platinum Games new IP looks very interesting and i think it could be a day 1 purchase for me along with Links Awakening. Man best Direct I think I've ever seen
This is how you do a Direct Nintendo

Without doubt one of the best Directs. Lots of surprises, big announcements and most games releasing in the next few months. That's the way it should be done. Of all the surprises though, Tetris 99 was my favourite (after Links Awakening of course). It's a brilliant idea for Battle Royale and adds a lot of value to the online subscription.

The weakest Direct in a while for me. Not only where there odd pacing issues, the only announcement I was hyped about was Super Mario Maker 2. I’m still excited for Yoshi, Dragon Quest, and Fire Emblem, but I’m only just as excited as them as I was before the Direct. BOXBOY and Captain Toad DLC were nice surprises but it really seemed like the opportunity to announce a BOXBOY collection so we could play all the games on Switch, and more content for Captain Toad is great but they should have made more than 18 courses if they wanted to definitively convince me to buy the Switch version (as I already have the Wii U one). Astral Chain looked interesting but I need more info about it before deciding to make a purchase.

The big elephant in the room for me was the Link’s Awakening remake. It’s not my favorite Zelda game to begin with, but I was open to the concept of a reimagining. The issue I have is that the art-style looks way too fake and cutesy for a Zelda game (in my opinion, of course). I just can’t get used to it, and if it was closer to the ALBW or even Spirit Tracks styles I would have liked it a lot more. Oh well.

P.S. Tetris Battle Royale and Daemon X Machina demo were great announcements too, don’t want to forget those!

In poll you missed out Final Fantasy VII date.

But to be fair if you don't like RPGs there wasnt much.

Also, Link's Awakening looks AWFUL, Link looks like a russian doll

I seem to be one of the few who are a tad disappointed. No news regarding Pikmin, Metroid HD or Grandia. It's a lovely idea that they're remaking my favourite Zelda but I must say I don't like the graphical direction they've taken.

Ah well, there's still a massive backlog to clear!

It was good for “Nintendo only” fans. Not much for those with other consoles.

I wish they let us choose more than 3 choices in voting 😟 I wanted to also put Astral Chain, Fire Emblem and Starlink.

It was absolutely fantastic. I cant remember the last time I was so consistently shocked and excited by a direct

Thought this was a good one all things considered. Although was I shouting at the TV when the last announcement wasn't Metroid Trilogy HD? Yes, of course I was. But still, 2D(ish) Zelda was second on my most wanted list.

Just as a side though, did Grid look really [removed] in terms of graphics? I know it's the Switch, but come on, never has console disparity been so clear to me.

I give this direct a 6/10. Good to see FE and Zelda but besides that not too many games I consider spending money on. Maybe some Square games.

For me, I enjoyed Mario Maker 2, Starlink new content update, Astral Chain, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the update that said that new things will come to Smash Ultimate and Zelda: Link's Awakening remake.

Too many to pick just 3.

Dragon Quest XI S
Dragon Quest Builders 2
Zelda Link's Awakening
Mario Maker 2
Astral Chain
Fire Emblem Three Houses
Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice

Those are the really big ones for me. Also, nice to see Assassin's Creed coming over. Even though I'm not the biggest fan, sometimes I'm in the mood, and having a mainline numbered entry on an HD portable (along with an HD version of Vita's ex-exclusice) is just what I need.

This was a great Direct in my eyes, struggled to choose just 3 in the poll. I don’t know how I’m going to fit everything in considering this and all the other stuff that’s already been announced that wasn’t here.

Not diggin the fact that once again I won't be buying an exclusive until July... But at least the year will end well

Super Mario Maker 2 was the absolute winner in that Direct. Link’s Awakening was a great surprise, but I’ve been craving a new Maker really bad...and they crammed so much into this one, so it wins by a LARGE margin.

Also, can’t complain about final fantasy vii and ix. RPG goodness!!!

My socks did not need to be blown off, I already thought this year was great before the direct. BUT holy crap did they really fill out the first half! Summer 2019 with Mario Maker 2 AND Fire Emblem is incredible, and we are also getting Bloodstained and senuas Sacrifice.

I can't even lie, if you are dissappointed, you are hard to please. The only games they could've filled the first half of the year with is more ports. Kingdom Hearts and Prime Trilogy made zero sense to release so soon.

Although, I definitely wouldve liked to see SNES games online, but Tetris 99 is at least a little better of an incentive.

This was a pretty amazing Direct. I gave up trying to vote in the poll because I couldn't narrow it down to just three.

A very PUMPED direct!

Certainly a handful of did-not-see-that-coming moments.
And there really ought to be something for all tastes in there.

@peanutbuttercup
I fair few of the smaller titles making it out on eShop every week are exclusives (for a bit of time at least), but I'm sure those weren't what you were talking about.

@misterMike
I dunno about you, but I'd have paid $20 for that game on its own, so it actively covers the cost of a year of Nintendo's patchy online service for me, I suppose.

I thought is was a very good solid direct. Far to many games coming that I would like to play, going to have to prioritise what I can afford and what I haven't played before. Assassins Creed will have to wait and I'll see what the dlc for Captain Toad is like before double dipping on that as well.

Great direct but what happened to the Spyro rumors? I was hoping to play Spyro on Switch

@misterMike Yes it does, for me at least. I really like it and will get tens of hours of fun from it. I would have happily paid $10 to $15 for it so it being free as part of a $20 subscription adds value. Add SNES games and a couple of other free online games then the service is much better.

I only wanted one thing...Persona 5

Fire emblem was quite disappointing,
but astral chain and zelda were totally awesome!!

Hahahahahahahahaha

With Tetris 99 Nintendo has won at videogames. All of them.

Happy about the Daemon ex Machina demo.
Happy Starlink is getting more content.
Other than that, this is my least favorite direct since the announcement of the Switch.
Not interested in a single other thing shown during the direct. Link's Awakening is one of my least liked Zeldas and build your own Mario game (or be tortured by someone elses) does not appeal to me.
Also, far too many RPGs shown off during this one (another genre I have a few exceptions for, but loathe most)
Guess I'll just enjoy what I have for most of 2019. Here's hoping E3 is better.

Fantastic Direct. Only problem I have is that most of the releases seem to be aiming for the end-half of the year. Sort of hoping for an earlier Links Awakening release. When do you guys think it’s coming out?

Astral Chain looks good.. wish I had waited for the reviews of FF9, very disappointed with the borders.

Solid Direct overall. I’m surprised to see people not liking the Zelda art style, I love it. It’s interesting and reminds me as a kid playing it all over again. When there’s a departure in style, not everyone is on board, but I think the games that do that, stand the test of time better.

If there’s any disappointment it was not seeing Animal Crossing, but that’s ok, it must be a late year release. I am so hyped for Ultimate Alliance though. One of my favorite games from a decade ago, and with online play too! Dream come true so far.

3 answers aren't enough.

@dimi Still waiting for the Persona event in March. Ngl, if they announced Persona 5 here, though it's such a good game, it would be eaten up by the sheer number of RPG's haha

A perfect world would be Dragon Quest XII in September, Persona 5 in November, and Shin Megami Tensei V in January or February. That way, they don't steal the limelight from each other (and also gives me time to actually finish them)

Also, Persona 4 Golden would be the best surprise announcement for May. I NEED IT

@LegendOfPokemon I completely agree with you. It’s good that many fans are pleased with the announcements, but personally I feel really deflated after the Direct.

The only decent announcement was Super Mario Maker 2. As you say, strange to put it first and hype everyone up, only to be disappointed with the other lower key announcements.

I am just disappointed that Nintendo only seems to be able to get Japanese developers with a sprinkling of western titles – why aren’t they are reaching out more to third party developers in the west? This would also help them fill out the rest of the year, while we wait for the big first party titles to be released.

The biggest let down, however, was Zelda. I really want Wind Waker to come the Switch as this is an absolutely epic title. The problem for me with Link’s Awakening is that it is basically not a fully-fledged title. Happy for those who want the game, but I’m not shelling out $60 for a remake of a Gameboy game. If it was a full 3D title that would be different.

If you like Tetris you’ll love it! Very intense battling on there 👌🏾

I thought it was a fantastic Direct and whilst people can legitimately point to a quiet first half of the year (great chance to catch up on my backlog) the second half of the year looks absolutely stellar with more to come no doubt!

Best direct of the Switch era for me. Rune Factory 4 was my favorite 3ds game and I'm overjoyed they're making a 5. Link's Awakening is to date the only video game that has ever made me cry. I played through it 20 to 30 times as a kid and will gladly do so again. Astral looks really interesting and I'm loving the direction of Daemon X though it feels quite incomplete.

There were only really 1 or 2 sections of the entire direct that failed to grab me.

This is dangerous for me.
Dragon quest 11
Chocobo dungeon
Captain toad
Zelda
Mario

Slightly disappointed no SNES games or persona 5/atlus announcement though

@Thorthegreat12 my guess would be an early December release

At this point Nintendo literally don't need to do anything else this year and they've already won if for me. I'm really excited for Link's Awakening, it was the game that got me into Zelda and hopefully will again after BOTW kind of went in a direction that isn't for me.

I though that Astral Chain looked like Platinum as soon as I saw the combat, so I can't wait to see how that turns out. I basically want everything they announced, I'm clearly going to have to get a bigger micro SD card this year.

Far too much nerdy fantasy stuff. That said though, Mario Maker 2, Tetris and Grid Autosport are quite exciting.

Shame about no SNES games.

Dragon Quest XI S was definitely the highlight for me with its orchestral soundtrack, 16-bit graphics option from the 3DS version, both Japanese and English voices as well as several new story segments centered around each party-member.

The Link's Awakening remake also has me really excited, especially because its existence shows that both LBW-style isometric adventures as well as fully 3D Zelda titles can coexist on the Switch.

An excellent Direct, with one exception (two if you're not into Disney Tsum Tsum); the narrator for Fire Emblem: Three Houses at the start of the trailer sounds so bored and like he just woken up and started reading the auto-cue. Sounded like the most boring priest from Father Ted!

I thought it was a much better presentation than was done for E3, simply because they showed lots of games, instead of focusing on one for too long. That's an objectively better way to please more people. Of those saying "nothing for me", they are also adding an "except....", so not truly nothing. There were a lot of RPGs, true, but also many other games that are not RPGs.

Starlink looks great, always felt like half a game but enjoyed what it was and that the toys are optional. Would love to know what Ubisoft will report on earnings for that one.

@Yoshi87

I doubt it will be full price unless they're adding a lot of content. I would guess it will be £20-30.

Was a pretty good Direct. Link’s Awakening remaster announcement was fantastic, as was Super Mario Maker 2, and more info on Yoshi’s Crafted World was nice too. Some third party stuff I’m interested in, GRID Autosport and Dead by Daylight in particular, and there’s plenty of RPGs I should at least try to get into

I swear if the links awakening remake isnt called The Legend Of Zelda Links Reawakening....

@starman292 I hope you are right. At this point, I don't think I'll be purchasing the game.

As I said, I am happy for fans who want the game. Personally I am just disappointed as we only get one Zelda game a year and I would have preferred Wind Waker or another Zelda Wii U Port.

I know lots of people are against Wii U Ports, but they are great on the Switch and full 3D Zelda games really fit this nicely.

Super Mario Maker 2 was really the only announcement I was interested in. There were a lot of games that were heavily inspired by anime, and for someone not really interested in that, there was little else on offer. I found the Link's Awakening art style to be off putting, but I will likely pick that up because Zelda. I might give Tetris a shot.

I want to be excited for Ultimate Alliance 3, but I can't help but feel like it is a step backwards for Marvel games. It reminds me way too much of the Activision era (doesn't help that it is literally a sequel to some of those). Coming off of the excellent Spider-Man game, that is a disappointment. I'll wait and see what Square-Enix is cooking up with their Avengers games.

Although I still expect the Switch to fly off store shelves,I can't help feeling a little underwhelmed by all this,of course Nintendo will not want to reveal all their games in one hit...but still.

When the Switch launch was initially delayed due to software not being ready I was not that concerned,but it just seems like Nintendo have never really caught up,of course last year showed that Nintendo could be carried by two big games at the end of the year,and they do always seem to have a strong Christmas period,but you would think they would have something big at the begging of the year to give them the best start to reach those lofty 20 million targets.

As I said I still believe they are on a roll....but there just does not seem to be that much for me personally to look forward too..

Definitive version of DQ11, Mario Maker 2, Link's Awakening, Final Fantasy 9 being shadow dropped, Astral Chains (looks SICK), Rune Factory 5 announcement, release dates for a bunch of games I've been waiting for like Bloodstained, Fire Emblem looks great, Yoshi and DXM demos

So much news, and there's still Pokemon Day this month where we'll probably get a gen 8 reveal, there's the Atlus thing coming up where we'll probably get a P5 announcement, and we'll probably get another Direct before E3. How anyone could call this Direct disappointing is baffling to me, they're most likely saving the big Nintendo exclusives for E3.

@Yoshi87

I prefer 2D top down Zelda games. As for 3D, BotW kind of made all past linear 3D Zelda games irrelevant for me. Link's Awakening, ALttP, and BotW are my favorite Zelda games.

I found the Direct very meh, but I can see I'm in the minority here.

Link's Awakening is one of my most loved Zelda games, but first showing some awesome anime-style intro and then showing how the game actually has a fairly generic 2.5D look was disappointing. Does it look fine? Yes, it does. Does it look great and appropriate for the tone in Link's Awakening? Definitely not (I mean, just look at Link, when has he ever looked that "chibi-esque"). To be fair, I mostly wished it looked amazing, so I wouldn't feel so salty about not getting any Animal Crossing gameplay, but I will buy both regardless and do applaud Nintendo for remastering an amazing game that lots of people will have never played before.

Also Mario Maker 2 looks nice.

1/10 for me until I get my Chubby Cherub HD remaster.

Not the best Direct ever. But very solid. 4/5.

So many great things and you could only pick three in the vote. It just not fair^^

Loved dq ,rune factory ,maker 2 ,Fe and so many more good announcements

@starman292 it’s listed as 59.99 at Best Buy right now. But I hope it’s a mistake. An animal crossing paint job isn’t enough to justify full price.

@Monkeido

Eh, I feel like Link's Awakening is one of the most light-hearted Zelda games, especially with the Mario and Kirby stuff. Link's Awakening was being developed for the 3DS, you can kind of tell with the art style even though it does look very crisp and HD. I think it's going to be great.

@Spudtendo I am pleased that is the case. As I said, I am just expressing my thoughts as I personally prefer 3D Zelda games, but I respect the fact that there are lots of Zelda fans like yourself who prefer 2D titles, so it's good that Nintendo produces a variety of games.

I just wish we had more than one Zelda title per year.

For me, the Direct was 6/10.
Not bad but I have covered my Switch with towel and muted it frequently whenever I saw rated 18+ games displayed. 😒
I didn't react quite hysterical from the Direct last morning, indicate I wasn't really impressed.
Maybe another Direct with sudden announcement about The Sims 4 on Nintendo Switch can make me Extremely Hyped.

How am I only meant to pick 3 in the vote? Not possible!

One of the great directs in my opinion, struggling to think of one better. Best thing for me was that there was so much new stuff but everything included was coming out this year! In many cases first half of this year too.

Remember when people were complaining that this year was looking thin? The release schedule now is insane.

@ieatdragonz wish we get persona 4 golden as well (i bought Vita mostly for that)

One thing missing: a device to stop time so we can play all the games we want.

@Yoshi87

Same, I would absolutely take more Zelda if given. If you were hoping for more Nintendo exclusives I wouldn't worry too much mate, we're definitely going to see plenty of first party good stuff either with the next Direct or at E3. I think Nintendo really wanted to focus on third party, and they really kicked it out of the park with this one.

@Spudtendo I think the fact it ends up all being a dream is what makes it so mysterious. It's not a dark game, but for me (and others) it felt surreal.

I was hoping for Persona 5 and Metroid Prime Trilogy and none made it to this direct.

A bit disappointed but it seems to be a solid Direct

@Monkeido

Yeah you're right, let me edit my post lmao

I'll admit it isn't the art style I'd have chosen, but Idk I'm still excited to play through it and see what kind of content they've added. Knowing that it was developed originally for 3DS allows me to give the art style a bit of slack.

I had no expectations and still felt let down. The weakest Direct in a while, not even cool looking Astral Chain managed to save it.
My thoughts during the last announcement: "F**k, It's another Zelda."

@Preposterous

Astral Chain is now one of my most anticipated games of the year, so Nintendo dropping that announcement at the beginning of the year definitely did make the Direct for me.

Dragon Quest XI piqued my interest if only for one thing - a new orchestrated soundtrack. The PS4 version is saddled with one of the worst soundtracks I've ever heard in an RPG. It's truly painful to listen to.

Would have loved for there to have been Metroid Prime trilogy announcement, I'd liked for there to be some more news on Animal Crossing, but hey I've a decent backlog and I'd give the new Zelda a try...even if I'd rather it was even 2D Metroid.

@Spudtendo Edited my post as well

I definitely agree with you and in no way do I think it looks bad and as I said, I'll definitely buy it. I was even playing through the DX version on my 3DS a few weeks ago, so I'll happily play this remake. Would probably excite me a lot if indeed they added new content. ^^

Oh, one more thing I have to say:
Link's Awakening is also the only Zelda game where you have the option to steal from the shopkeeper. Something I managed to find out as a little kid and be amazed by. Though to be fair to my younger self, I was stuck on the first part for ages (not knowing English back then also didn't help), so I basically tried everything I could and still loved the game while being stuck. ^^'

I didn't chime in yesterday because what with timezones being what they are, I had to go to bed at a decent time. So I figured out I'd say my piece here.

Maker. Hands off the best news to come out of the Direct, regardless of what the Zelda fandom might say in this comment section: it was one of the three things I wanted out of this Direct, after all. The implication of more playable characters alone is fantastic, and the slopes being the first thing that's been shown in the trailer speaks volumes of how Nintendo has been listening to the fans despite them not really having to (NSO reasons-for-existing aside). Glad to have waited before giving in and buying NSMBUDX. Also, feel free to analyze the crap out of the panoramic artwork: forget the Koopa riding a 4x4, what about a Thwomp moving sideways?!?

Link's Awakening. Pretty neat, honestly. It's a win-win for everyone. It has the same claymation style as Kirby's Wii U title, it's a "simple" remake to keep Zelda fans waiting for the BOTW follow-up, it's the Switch's answer to A Link Between Worlds, and most importantly, the Nintendo answer to Tunic. Obviously.

Fire Emblem: Harry Potter edition. (C'mon, I couldn't be the only one to come up with that joke.) Not gonna lie, I tried getting into FE through The Sacred Stones on 3DS (Ambassador right here), but for some reason I couldn't. So I haven't been exactly thrilled to see so much of the Direct being dedicated to it, but hey, I knew some game would inevitably steal the spotlight.

Smash! Slightly disappointed in the update implying we won't see mid-patches until 3.0.0 arrives, but I'm glad we're getting what are heavily implied to be new modes. Wouldn't have hurt to share a full view of Joker's character model, however... but hey, it's Sakurai's usual style of trolling. I just go along with it at this point.

Nice to see BoxBoy hasn't been buried in the wooden boxbox yetyet.

Nice to see we're getting an implied exclusive from Kamiya!

Tetris 99. While most definitely not the Nintendo Switch Online saviour we expected to see, it is, without even the slightest shred of a doubt, a strong argument in paid-online defense. It's another win-win scenario: it's a free game, that needs Nintendo Switch Online in order to be played. It's also an exclusive Tetris game and, so far, the only instance of the battle royale genre combined with puzzle game elements. It's genius, and regardless of the lack of envy towards it, also works crazy stupid fine.

Admit it: you read "crazy stupid fine" in Michael Peña's voice.

Easily the most poorly timed announcement of the Direct is Tsum Tsum Whatever, coming right after a Square-Enix announcement. See my username and figure out what made this poorly timed.

Another surprise! And following the footsteps of Ms. 'Splosion Man, it's another game coming out on Switch before its previous installment. Not complaining, though: if the first Unravel doesn't come to Switch, all I'll have to do is buy the first on Xbox One and then the sequel on Switch, especially given the sequel's co-op mode.

Now Assassin's Creed, THIS got my heart racing. Too bad that what I've read into Assassin's Creed popping up during the Direct was, "this has gotta mean we're getting Spyro". And lo and behold, the purple boy is still MIA. Thumbs down, next!

This is among the 18+ stuff we've seen. Funnily enough, the actual research that went into development got me thinking about Yume Nikki. And after a couple hours, digging into the "upcoming" eShop folder, I found Yume Nikki staring at me right in the face. What even were the odds?

I've already downloaded the demo. Will surely try it out later and see if it stacks up. (Dammit, now this would have been a good Tetris 99 joke...)

Captain Toad made the leap from "meh" to "maybe" just for the co-op alone. Trust me: living with your girlfriend at times can do a number on you!

Super glad we're getting DQXI after all! Too bad that...

... every...

... single...

... Square property under the sun has been announced during this Direct, barring the one that's been seen on Nintendo hardware only via spinoffs. At this point it became clear as day: we won't be key-slinging for a while longer. (Also, FFIX's price being twice as high as its original incarnation on PSN is a bit of a bummer, but hey, it's an actual numbered FF on a Nintendo home console, and one that's been a PS exclusive for two decades as well! Super stoked!)

Why Pigma, Andrew and Leon are DLC is beyond me, but then again, the idea of a toys-for-life compromise being the only way to experience a new StarFox falls a bit flat on its face considering the Switch is also a portable.

DBD is easily not the first thing that came to my mind when I saw that juicy 18+ disclaimer at the beginning of the Direct, but is still an interesting choice. Its most Nintendo-like trait is the asymmetrical multiplayer, which is a concept I'm glad to see alive and kicking despite the console built on it - Wii U - has failed.

Who knows about DXM, I'll give it a shot.

Most definitely not a Gran Turismo/Forza Horizon "killer", but the next best thing. I'm happy for the realistic driving game fans, I guess.

Not at all surprised by the shilling Captain Marvel got given her movie is going to be out next month. I'm sure @Thanos_ReXXX has caught on just as quickly.

As said before: if only they gave Joker half as much screentime as these amiibo got. We'd have seen the full render by now.

I see we're going heavy on the RPGs, huh? Good to see.

Bloodstained is bloodily going on the bloo--sorry--dy Switch! The art style is neat, whatever anyone dissing it for being multiplatform might have to say about it.

Addressing Bayo3 after the Astral Chain reveal was kind of a wee bit inevitable. Still coming, though!

The early '90's DOS-like, shareware/episodic approach to Deltarune is the right approach to allure new fans. I'll finally see what all this fuss about Toby Fox games is about in a couple weeks.

And that's kind of it! Here are all my thoughts!

Great Direct for me. Was going to get Dragon Quest XI on PS4 but it's looking like the Switch version will be even better.

Was shocked by Links Awakening at first by how it looks but am getting used to it. Will probably be a day one buy for me. Am just not sure if I want to play the original again first or not.

@DockEllisD
OMG!
Doraemon X Bokujo Monogatari ?!
LOL Nobita as a farmer in Harvest Moon Back to Nature style. 😂

@Monkeido
Um....
Stealing from shopkeeper in Zelda games ??

@AlexSora89 Argh, you basically reminded me that Tunic, an indie game (afaik), looks better than the remake for Link's Awakening.. by a major company like Nintendo.

@Anti-Matter Yes, you can. After stealing anything and going back to the shop, you'll be instantly killed though. You basically have to make sure the shopkeeper is facing up (from what I remember), while you go out the door with one of the buy-able items in your hands.

I really enjoyed the direct and I'm hyped af for FE and DQXII, but I was expecting at least some news about Shin Megami Tensei V, it's been a whole year already...

For me this was one of the best directs ever. Packed with games, without much time in each one (I was expecting FE to take 20min and I took a little over 5!) and I left 3/4 choices from the poll because 3 is definitely not enough.
In the end the highlights for me are
1 - Zelda (obviously)
2- FF ix (that I am playing right now)
3- DQ11 (looks awesome and all the additions are very good)

And I don't care about Mario maker myself (2d Mario's don't rock my world) but I like to watch good players on YouTube

@Spudtendo I pretty much agree with you - as I said I just want more third party western companies as well as Japanese ones - but the third party offering was a good one.

Perhaps I am being a little demanding, but the Switch has now been out for nearly three years and I am wondering how long it's gonna take Nintendo to bring Wind Waker, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword to the Switch.

I accept that perhaps this is simply a pacing issue and Nintendo wants to space them out so they have a release each year. I just really wish Nintendo could 'clear up' the old Wii U Ports, so we can move onto new games.

At a minimum, those games plus Super Mario 3D World and Pikmin 3 (unless a sequel is coming) need to come to Switch. Nintendo can then be done with the port thing and we can move on to new games only.

@WOLF13 @Yoshi87

As far as I know most ports/remakes have had at least a slightly lower price tag. The only other thing they could be doing (unlikely though) is charging full price and bringing it out with Oracle of ages/seasons? It was the same engine originally so would kind of make sense. I just felt like the vagueness of details might have been deliberate.

I honestly do not believe it will be the Base game at full price though. The trailer showed it is a faithful remake of the original down to exact placement (unless extra content is made). To me it would make sense to charge lower and make it download only for a game that size. It's going to be way smaller than a link between world's, put it that way and I paid £30 for that at launch.

I wonder if a majority of the people complaining about Link’s new look weren’t around for the first Wind Waker reveal? Remember the shellshock everyone had when Link became a cartoon for the first time? For most of us who love this new look, maybe we have a ‘been there, done that’ mentality where we know Nintendo likes to shake things up and are anxious to accept whatever art style they want to throw our way next. Wind Waker was excellent. I also have no doubt Link’s Awakening will win you over and I applaud Nintendo for never failing to surprise us.

@Monkeido
Just give Aonuma time. The fact we're seeing just the year of release, if Smash Ultimate is of any indication, means we'll get the game barely in 2019 - along the lines of December.
Which means there are major improvements further down the line.

@starman292 I think you could be right. When this was shown, my first thought was that this could be one of the Eshop only games Emily Rogers was referring to in her recent post.

I've seen a lot of people disappointed with this direct, and I think it's a perfect example of one man's trash is another man's treasure. Super Mario Maker 2, Link's Awakening, Rune Factory 5, Box Boy + Box Girl, Unravel 2, Tetris 99 — all things that I thought were great.

Definitely a solid direct, and the baffling thing is that it's mostly between spring and fall. The fact that we most likely have a new Pokemon game, Animal Crossing, and Luigi's Mansion 3 suppose to come out this year as well has me wondering just how much they can pack into this year.

@AlexSora89 I hope so. And honestly, the graphics won't make or break the game for me, I even think the original Gameboy version still looks great, so I'll enjoy it regardless. ^^

EDIT: For me it's more about the fact that I know Nintendo could've made a top-down game that looks absolutely gorgeous.

The top 3 things for me include release dates for the Dragon Quest games and the Link's Awakening reveal. I was already planning to get DQ Builders 2 Day 1 as it was, but I'll probably do the same for DQXI (and get any limited edition they may have for it, like I did the PS4 version). And they're remaking my favorite game of all time! I honestly probably wouldn't have bothered watching if my friend hadn't told me about that.

I'll also pick up Deltarune and eventually FFIX, and I'm putting Astral Chain and Chocobo Mystery Dungeon on my radar. Couldn't give a toss about anything else.

@Monkeido
Who knows? The right analog stick is right there for that exact purpose: tilting the camera to your heart's content. I'm already predicting it will do just that, because what else should it do?

Though I was disappointed no mention of Animal Crossing was made, it's understandable; this was Fire Emblem's (and a few others, like Super Mario Maker 2) time to shine. Now that I think about it, it might have been too much overload. My guess is we'll get details and gameplay by the time E3 rolls around.

I've tried the demos of both Yoshi's Crafted Word and Daemon X Machina. The former is utterly adorable and the latter is an extremely interesting game I thought I might not have any interest in.

Oh, and don't play Tetris 99 with the Pro Controller since it's a reminder how terrible the D-pad is on it. I kept accidentally hard dropping like the dickens because of it so I switched to the Joy-Cons.

@Scrummer
I take this chance to point out that despite 2/3 of my wishes not having been granted, this was by no means a bad direct - far from it, actually. I'd have been far more disappointed if Maker 2, the remaining third of the fraction, wasn't announced. But even then I'd have to admit this Direct was hella solid.

Nobody else probably cares, but I'm a little disappointed we didn't get the expansion for Civ VI. Seemed like the right time to mention it, if it was coming.

I would call it a very good Direct. Some tent-poles were missing, like Luigi's Mansion and Animal Crossing, but they're obviously holding it back, but that also tells me they're going to arrive after summer. Hopefully it doesn't mean they were delayed.

Still though, there was a lot to unpack. I can't wait for Ultimate Alliance, and I just downloaded the Daemon X Machina demo last night. Mario Maker looks terrific, and my wife nearly jumped off the couch at the Rune Factory reveal. Fire Emblem has an interesting concept too.

Also how about that Link's Awakening mic drop. There was definitely plenty there to enjoy. If you were overall disappointed, you probably set your expectations too high.

@starman292 yeah I hope so. It looks like the exact same game including the speed Link moves. Its not a large game so it would be ridiculous to pay full price for a game boy game with new graphics.

@Reignmaker

Yeah I was wondering that the other day actually. I would say though, we probably aren't getting it, and that's too bad. It's a great port overall, and I'd love to see expansions come to it.

It was a really solid direct overall even if Fire Emblem turned out to be a disappointment.

Mario Maker 2, Dragon Quest 11 and Builders 2, Bloodstained release date, some surprises to look forward to in the spring Smash update and Final Fantasy 9 being a thing immediatedly. All great stuff.

@Yorumi

I actually quite like they art style of Link's Awakening, but I get it's all up to your preference of what Zelda should be. Not everyone is going to agree when an art-style changes.

To me though, this game came out in '93, when a lot of us were kids, and having that "toy like feel" for this remake does feel appropriate to me.

@AlexSora89 That would be pretty nice. In the end, I can't deny I'm just glad this gem will get played by a lot of new people. ^^

I also already know 99% sure I will thoroughly enjoy it, it just disappoints me a bit when I know Nintendo could've really made it amazing.

@Monkeido
I feel like stressing that at one point during Kingdom Hearts' development, something as simple as the logo looked like this.

It was a great direct in terms of announcing actual games coming to the system.

It was less great knowing the Switch is going to be fairly dry until the summer (at least for the games shown here).

Summer and beyond though will be absolutely jammed-packed with intriguing games. By the end of the year the library will be very solid.

@frabbit Please mind your language!

@AlexSora89 I never played Kingdom Hearts tbh, even though I'm quite the Disney lover, but I understand your point. ^^

In the end, I know myself well enough, that I know I wouldn't have complained at all if Nintendo showed some Animal Crossing gameplay, but they didn't, so then I start to nitpick about other games I care about. I will enjoy the Link's Awakening remake and will probably think it's amazing, even though I think it could've been even better (which IMO is only a compliment to Nintendo).

@Monkeido
Our safest bet is that - given April or May will most likely get a Direct, although April would make the most sense - the Animal Crossing cards (not the amiibo ones, I'm being figurative here) are being kept close to Nintendo's chest as E3 material.

We can't predict or pinpoint exactly what the Directs' schedule actually is, but we can connect some dots in order to see the bigger picture.

Why no physical copy of Final Fantasy IX available? It's only digital download

@PharoneTheGnome
Because older games. The PS1-era FFs have been digital-only ever since their PSN rerelease.
Save some SD card space and see where it goes from there.

Not the best Direct in my opinion, was alright I suppose.
No mention of Animal Crossing, Luigi’s Mansion, a possible Spyro release or Kingdom Hearts (was not expecting KH for the Switch anyway but this site seems to like to hype us up for it).

The only games that I am possibly interested in that were shown were Super Mario Maker and Zelda, with Dragon Quest also looking like it could be a great game as well. Odyssey and Breath of the Wild were the two games that I bought the Switch for in the first place anyway. Always Mario and Zelda. 😃

I love Disney but am not a big fan of Tsum Tsum (and that game looked dull to me). Not much from Disney has been released to the switch and THAT is what we are getting? I would love a good game set in the Disney universe for the Switch (does not necessarily have to be KH) over that.

@AlexSora89 I understand it makes sense and I know all there is to do is wait. I know being an Animal Crossing fan also means you shouldn't whine about things and just be "chill" (just like the games), but it's hard to deny I felt really disappointed to get nothing about AC in this Direct.

Also, if you hadn't said "not the amiibo ones", that's exactly what I would've thought you meant. ^^'

@Monkeido
It's the same thing as being Nintendo fans in general: playing the waiting game. Trust me: I've become a patience _behemoth.

Pfff.... once again SO much negativity. I just don't understand how people, in the face of SO many titles, and good titles as well, making this a REALLY solid Direct, can still complain. It's incomprehensible.

People also never seem to be satisfied, betting on reveals of unconfirmed rumors, and even though there's no substantial evidence towards any of these games ever appearing in the Direct, people are STILL disappointed that they didn't get to see the game(s) that they alone expected to see in this Direct, and because of that, it is a bad or disappointing Direct for them.

So, by all means: let's focus on all the negative things, and whine and moan about that. Never mind all the good stuff that actually WAS shown...

Glass half empty, people. Glass half empty. It's utterly sad.

I think the Nintendo Direct was good. I was hoping for a Persona announcement for the Switch, but maybe later. Mario Maker 2, Zelda, Final Fantasy IX and VII were great announcements in my eyes.

So much Hype! The switch is destined to be the greatest console ever.

10/10 between my available time of gaming, the announced games, my backlog, games from 2017 and 2018 that I've missed I have games to play until 2025

@ThanosReXXX

Amen, amen!

@Yorumi

I actually thought about sprites last night, and was thinking that this game could be a perfect opportunity to let you change modes between the 3D and sprites, kinda like in Mario Maker.

I have no basis for this theory, but it would be really cool if they could implement something like that for Link's Awakening too. I get it though, sprites can be quite lovely in a game.

An overwhelmingly positive comments section after a Direct! Can I have it framed?
Fantastic presentation with something for almost everyone. I stress the almost as you cannot please everyone.

Shame on you NL. Only three choices?

I went with the Link's Awakening remake, Astral Chain, and DQ XI for my votes.

This was definitely a strong Direct. It's in the running for a top 5 Direct list in my book.

I was pretty disappointed. No SNES games... No mention of Pokemon (I know it will have it's own Direct, but still). Why so many JRPG's? The only games I am excited for are Yoshi and Zelda.

@stckyfngr

If you haven't heard yet, Nintendo Treehouse blocked time segments for something Pokemon at the end of the month. The formal announcement will be soon. Pokemon Co. almost always just does their own thing, so I never expect them in a Direct, unless they've been formally announced already.

Loving these Game Boy remakes. I hope Nintendo does Super Mario Land next. Most of the original Game Boy games haven't aged that well, so it's fun to see them given new life.

WOW. Just....WOW........that has got to be the best Direct since the WiiU era mega E3 that showed what ended up being the entire life of WiiU. And I'm so glad they put Koizumi back in the spotlight. I coudln't take another Treehouse centered Direct. Directs should be |DIRECT| and Koizumi fills Iwata's shoes very nicely.

Wow....a non stop barrage of amazing games, surprises, updates, release dates, confirmed rumors, first and third party.....and that doesn't even include Pokemon. And this is ALL slated for 2019!?! That was an absolutely incredible direct, 90% of everything in there is a "must own."

And for all the disappointed people....what the heck do you guys want in a Direct? If you didn't find that to be an amazing showcase of games, maybe you just don't like games.

The only negative thought I have here is this was the full year showcase (mostly...no AC, no Pokemon, I assume that's the E3 showcases) means that there's not going to be an amazing E3 show, mostly an in-depth look at these games, and Pokemon and AC. E3 truly is dying, and that makes me sad, it's a national holiday to me. Sony's gone, Nintendo did their announcements yesterday....MS will probably go traditional and "win".

Mario Maker 2 is fine I guess. It'll like be the only thing I'm excited for. Link's Awakening is perhaps one of the most forgettable Zelda games. I don't care what anyone says.
And the lack of information on Pokémon or Animal Crossing was disappointing.

Mother 3 being cancelled forever ruined my chances of ever looking forward to another Direct. I'll be angry and think this Direct blew if I want to!

The amount of complaints I've seen, surrounding this Direct, confuses me to no end! We got the announcement that we've been begging for in Mario Maker 2, a game that has an insane amount of play value! We also get a remake of one of the best games on Game Boy, Dragon Quest 11 in the West, Astral Chains (a game that looks ridiculously fun), Tetris 99, FF9 shadow dropped with a concrete release date for FF7, Assassin's Creed III, Hellblade (a game I've heard nothing but great things about), demos for Yoshi and Daemon X Machina, etc. Are we really so spoiled that we expect more than two HUGE announcements, which we actually DID get! Sorry, but it just seems childish to consider this Direct a bust because SNES games weren't announced for Switch Online, or Metroid Prime Trilogy isn't a thing (yet). This is a sample of what the year has to offer, and it looks pretty amazing!

I was about to write off the Direct as a disappointing pile of recyclables. Very predictable ports, remakes and I'm sorry, but that Game Boy Zelda looks like trash. I'm not saying there weren't good games in the mix, but not much surprising. The game I was most interested in before the Direct started was Daemon X Machina, and while they did confirm it's still in the works and implied its release is getting close, they really didn't show us anything new. But then the preview for Astral Chain came out. Wow! It looks amazing and its something new. The Direct was saved!

@NEStalgia - Well, I don't know about anyone else, but speaking personally, while I can't really call it a bad direct, there were a lot of titles I wasn't really interested in. There were some I did like, such as Mario Maker 2, Dragon Quest XI, Hellblade, and Astral Chain, but others like BoxBoy, Tsum Tsum, Dead by Daylight, Rune Factory, Unravel Two, Dragon Quest Builders 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 just didn't get me all that excited. And I'm not sure what to make of Tetris 99, Fire Emblem, or Zelda: Link's Awakening at the moment, despite the fact the latter two were probably supposed to be big announcements (Link's Awakening in particular I think was supposed to be their 'one final thing' reveal, but, to me at least, it just looked like a 3DS remake ala Link Between Worlds ported over to the Switch).

It was very good. One of the best Nintendo Directs I've watched. It really seemed to have a little something for everyone. The coolest things in my opinion were the Mario Maker 2 and Tetris announcements. But it doesn't end there! I was as disappointed as everyone else about Metroid 4, but there seems to be enough other content to keep everyone busy.

@FullMetalWesker But it did have several games your'e interested in. I mean, a proper, well rounded games showcase will have multiple things for everyone, and plenty of things not for everyone because it's a showcase of a big library catering to a lot of groups. BoxBoy, TsumTsum, Dead by Daylight don't appeal to me at all either, Ultimate Alliance and Tetris not so much either. But it was still packed with stuff that was great to me (even if I'm not buying because I own it elsewhere like AC3 that came with my AC:Odyssey gold edition.)

Zelda....I mean Link Between Worlds is my favorite Zelda - it was Link to the Past but ALBW remade that legendary game in a modern way without the really dated idiosyncrasies it had. I expect Link's Awakening is the same so that's a good thing. There's only so much you can do with 2D Zelda, but I think for long time fans, the fact that 2D Zelda isn't dead forever is, alone, a great thing. It's really a whole separate thing from 3D zelda and shouldn't be lost. Especially with 3D Zelda going open world this is a nice traditional experience. But I was hyped on the direct even before I saw Zelda so that's not really an influencing factor (even though personally it's amazing.)

Rune Factory 5 alone is pretty amazing though...that series was presumed dead forever. Even if not a fan, that's a big, if niche, announcement.

Astral Chain = Sin & Punishment 64 Sequel?!? You've got a brother/sister combination saving the world, the creature designs are similar, and if you REALLY strain to recall, Sake said he wanted to be a policeman at the end of S&P. Plus the Treasure/Platinum connection. Oh, and it LOOKS GREAT!!

That zelda remaster looks incredible.

Day 1.

Fantastic Direct though before Mario Maker 2 in June is very quiet.

@electrolite77 I miss E3 being about waiting for big announcements, but I'm ok with it if E3 is about deep dives into announced content...that's still something to look forward to. At least this year Nintendo's E3 can be packed with like 4 games of deep dive focus each day and not run out instead of "All Smash, only Smash."

@sikthvash Actually, that narrator/voice-over person sounded exactly like the voice actor for Jiraiya in Naruto (english dub). Because of that, I was super interested in everything he had to say.

Nintendo's 2019 Switch exclusive lineup:
> NSMBU DX (already released)
> Yoshi's Crafted World
> Marvel's Ultimate Alliance 3
> Super Mario Maker 2
> Daemon X Machina
> Astral Chain
> Fire Emblem Three Houses
> Luigi's Mansion 3
> Zelda Links Awakening Remaster
> Animal Crossing
> Pokemon Generation 8
> Town

I'm looking forward to pretty much all of these games outside of NSMBU DX.

Great poll, by the way

Terrible Direct, they gave us way too much and left us nothing to complain about for the rest of the year.

Ah, who am i kidding, I give it about ten minutes before the dire warnings about a Switch drought come back in full force.

My 2019 list of games to play is spiralling out of control and now contains 21 items, including several (presumably) massive RPGs. Advanced apologies to my wife, career and cat.

@electrolite77 I don't think it was about warming up the masses for Smash. I think it was just a poorly planned and executed showcase combined with relatively nothing else to show, at all. They could have shown 3rd party games more, they could have shown even indies more, they could have shown more of Octopath and Pokemon, but TPC handles Pokemon mostly by themselves so that's limited. They just had little else to showcase, and what little they did, they botched the presentation.

The masses still got the same amount of Smash either way via mainstream news picking it up from the presentation.

Apart from Yoshi, I guess it's Link and Dragon Quest, but I fear we won't see Link this year. It will get a Nintendo push back towards the end of the Summer.

Fire Emblem was my must have game, but I don't like the look it has been given, now I'm not sure.

Unless a shinning star of a game is hidden among the titles I never heard of, there is, I guess something for everyone but not enough for everybody.

Let's hope Sonic Racing is good

@electrolite77 Sure, if you're into those types of games.

Watched the Direct, went out and bought a One X.

Newegg has the Fallout 76 bundle for $350 right now.

Aside from Zelda links awakening and Mario marker 2, it wasn’t a great direct in my opinion.

@Mgene15 it doesn't help that Link's Awakening's art style is god awful.

And for me, after BOTW, I struggle to revisit any Zelda game anymore, and I used to love them all. BOTW literally changed the game for me. Playing past Zeldas anymore is like going back to listen to the radio in your living room after having been introduced to television.

I was honestly taken aback by how good this showcase was.

I'm interested in pretty much everything that was showcased (I really want to play Astral Chain) and I know I'm not gonna have the time to play all of it. And there are likely more announcements and release dates to come around E3.

I figured 2019 was probably gonna be a big year for Nintendo, but I didn't expect this much from the first direct of the year.

@MoonKnight7 Thank you.

@NEStalgia I know, right? A whole lot of Nancy Never Enough's, if you ask me. Stupid enough to believe that if one rumor is true, all of them must be, and subsequently being short-sighted enough to become angry or disappointed about that, while it's actually their own, stupid fault...

It's just like @ieatdragonz said, some people are just extremely hard to please.

And then there's some that still confuse opinion with fact:

whiner: "This was an extremely disappointing Direct"

happy person: "No, that's just your opinion, the poll says differently, so you're definitely part of a minority"

As for the two titles mostly named by these clueless souls:
Nobody ever said, hinted at, let alone confirmed that either Pokemon or Animal Crossing were going to be in the Direct, so how the F*** can you be disappointed about something that you don't even know for sure is going to be in the Direct?

These people should instead be angry at or disappointed with themselves for being so stupid to believe in that, and focus so much on it, that they weren't even able to enjoy the rest of the Direct, which, by and large, should have contained something for everyone.

So, again, whiners: big finger towards all of you. For some people Nintendo can just never do any good...

@electrolite77 @NEStalgia My theory of E3 2019 being pretty much E3 2018 but with Smash replaced with Animal Crossing seems pretty likely given its absence in yesterday's Direct.

@Grumblevolcano I can't imagine with this huge catalog of games to showcase, several right after E3 including FE, they'd do the whole AC-exclusive showcase thing. That was because they had nothing else to show, and Smash was huge. AC (or Pokemon) will be the showcase, certainly. But I doubt it will be so all encompassing as it was this year. It will be much more rounded. FE will definitely steal time (releasing 4 weeks later, and being a heavy hitter helps.) DxM likely as well. Even DQXI maybe since this version is exclusive, and Sony dumped and ran without promotion.

@Kal_el_0724 Glad it worked for you! I'm afraid I couldn't stand the English dub for Naruto, so that might be why I couldn't connect with it =0p

Solid direct. It was objectively probably a very good direct, for me personally it was "OK". Would have liked a show of stronger third-party support from big studios. No interest in Mario Maker - which looked really solid - and my most anticipated game Fire Emblem came across a bit meh. I have faith it'll still be terrific, though.

Daemon X demo was a bit underwhelming with hard to spot enemies due to design direction. The setup itself seems kinda cool but doesn't seem like my type of game. Nice surprise with a demo already however. The Yoshi demo was better than anticipated but it's not the type of game I buy - unless under $20. Really glad to have Assassin's Creed back but III is one of the few ACs I didn't enjoy much. Might buy due to bonus game.

Intrigued by Hellblade, and was really glad to see a new seemingly quality IP in Astral Chain. Probably not my type of game but really glad for that type of announcements. Dragon Quest: will buy. It'll be my first Dragon Quest.

Zelda... when I first saw the waves I was hyped & hoped against hope for a new take on Wind Waker, but I'll still purchase this Zelda day one. Not a fan of the graphical direction but you can't please everyone & I'm starting to get old

@molkom They didn't convey this well in the showcase but keep in mind Assassin's Creed III is a remaster, but Ubisoft commented that they're actually making a lot of changes in the game to make it "more Assassin's Creeed-like", addressing a lot of complaints people had about III. Like you I wasn't thrilled with 3, a lot of people weren't. But this remaster/remake attempts to sort of retcon it into being what it is supposed to be. It's a multiplat remaster/remake going to PS4/PC/XBox as well as Switch, so it's a "new" game across the board (it was a free bonus for AC Odyssey gold edition purchasers on PS4/XB1, so I'm already paid for on XB1, but am interested to see what they fixed.) And yeah, it has Liberation remastered as well. It was a Vita game so it's a bit stripped down but it was a lot of fun for what it was (played it on Vita.)

Would have liked to see some Animal Crossing news or Pokémon news but otherwise it was a great direct and I LOVE the art style of the Link's Awakening remake..remix? XD

@bluedogrulez I also thought Astral Chain was Sin & Punishment 3 for a moment! Too bad the on-rail shooter genre is on the low.

Link's Awakening is easily my #1 favorite announcement, but man, that Astral Chain game looks sweet.

I agree with @ThanosReXXX, whiners are never satisfied. They whined when there is no direct, and they whined after it is done. Listen, this was a great direct. Nintendo is not going to reveal everything. People should be patient. You do not want Nintendo to reveal all their secrets, especially with E3 coming soon.

@misterMike onside4ing I paid about 8 quid with a few friends on family sharing I’d say a game of that quality does add a lot of value.

How anyone who remotely likes Nintendo or video games wasn’t impressed then what do you want? The Zelda news was incredible.

@Medic_alert Agreed on the game bringing a big smile to my face, but not agreed on it having underwhelming gameplay. It's exactly what I expected from a Yoshi game, and it had some neat and inventive twists, with the transformations of structures and so on, so I really liked it, even though the gameplay is relatively simple in some regards. But it was very enjoyable and relaxing to play, in my opinion.

@ekwcll Thanks!

@electrolite77
Man, it's pretty darn easy to forget about TSA and BoxBoy when they have to compete against the rest of that lineup I listed.

In fact, the lineup is packed enough to the point where I could see 1 or 2 of the titles (outside of Pokemon and Animal Crossing - Nintendo needs those for the holidays) getting pushed back to Q1 2020 just to space things out.

Would FF IX be a good first FF game or should I wait for VII?

@electrolite77
If Nintendo thinks their Q1 2020 lineup is lacking, something that is currently scheduled for a late 2019 release (outside of Pokemon/Animal Crossing) could definitely get pushed back to fill in a void. That's probably what happened to NSMBU DX this year.

But yeah, April/May of this year is kinda quiet with regards to 1st party releases. April at least has MK11 and FFX/XII, but May is pretty barren. I think Fire Emblem 3 Houses was probably scheduled for an April/May release but got push back by 3-4 months to improve its technical quality.

I suppose Marvel's Ultimate Alliance 3 could release in May to coincide with Endgame's release, but something tells me that it's going to release in August/September instead.

Surely this summer is going to be PACKED!

-Super Mario Maker 2 (I suppose it will be released by the end of June)
-Fire Emblem
-Astral Chain
-Dragon Quest Builders 2
-GRID
-Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
-Oninaki
-Daemon X Machina (although I´m pretty sure this one will be delayed a bit)

It´s just... TOO MUCH!

A really good Direct. I was super happy with the new Zelda remake, it looks brilliant.
I also really liked the look of Oninaki. It looks like a great action RPG and the artstyle reminds me of Breath of the Wild.

"The first Direct of 2019 was worth waiting for" You have a typo....
It should read, "Was the first Direct of 2019 was worth waiting for?" After lowering your expected sales....the answer is "no".
I give it a maybe 5.5 out of 10.

So I already have a dangerous switch backlog and this direct gave me:-

FFIX drop - payday
FFVII release date
Best version of DQXI
Oninaki
Rune factory 4/5
Marvel ultimate alliance

RPG goodness galore and not enough time to play them all

@starman292 I'm hoping Link's Awakening won't be full price too. Good to see someone mention Oracle of Seasons/Ages, am hoping they'll get remakes too as they were released late into the life cycle of the GBC if I remember correctly.

@wazlon
Yeah they were great originally there were supposed to be three games. Obviously Din and Naryu were featured but There should have been one for Farore (probably butchered the spelling on that). If they remade them it would be good if they brought back the missing content. Tbf all the gameboy Zelda games were fantastic.

Unfortunately Final Fantasy IX looks like it has the same problem as the mediocre PS4 version – slightly sharper, but somehow clunkier, characters jarringly set on top of blurry, pixelated PS1 backgrounds. Maybe this is will be an issue for most Squaresoft PS1 RPGs – SE might not want to spend the time or money to clean up all of the hand-drawn backgrounds. But I wish they could fix the discontinuity somehow (perhaps using better scaling algorithms and filters.) I think running the PS1 version with CRT emulation might actually look a lot better...

FFVII might look better than IX if they use some of the assets from the ongoing HD remaster. One can only hope.

@Tourer145 I'm excited about the new content in DQXI, and 2D mode, but not the downgraded graphics in 3D mode. ;-(

@starman292 Now that you mention it I remember if you played both games you unlock a final boss and true ending. Yeah they were great games and both massive for Gameboy games.

Best Nintendo Direct ever. Why? MARIO. MAKER. 2.

No-one thinks the Tsum Tsum are cute Lol