I'm not one to be disappointed often, especially with Directs. Yes, even Partner Showcases — some of the best Directs have been these third-party lead ones, with June 2022's Mini Partner Showcase ranking pretty highly for me.
Today's Partner Showcase was not one of those, which maybe hit a little harder because this was our first Direct post-Switch 2's launch.
It feels like we're in a new era for Nintendo, where release dates and brand new games can just randomly pop up on a news app, and the Switch 2 is now getting day-and-date ports like Bloober's Cronos: The New Dawn; a cool little surprise for you horror fans out there. This Partner Showcase felt like it was ushering in that era.
But, for anyone watching who was maybe on the fence on buying Nintendo's shiny new console, this probably wasn't the Direct for you. I'm not sure if Partner Showcases have ever been targeted at people without the console, given that they focus on multiplatform releases, but when your console is brand new and you need a hook for people? This perhaps wasn't the greatest lineup.
While I did make one wild prediction that was never going to happen (Final Fantasy IX, my beloved), I'm more than a little shocked that we still have a ton of games shown off during the April Direct that don't have release dates.
Elden Ring, despite getting rated in June, is still MIA on Switch 2; a date would've lit the bonfires, or Sites of Grace, I guess. Instead, we get Chillin' by the Fire, which looks cute and, importantly (for Nintendo, at least), uses GameChat and other Switch 2 exclusive features. But it's not a headliner, is it?
Final Fantasy VII Remake, Witchbrook, Hades 2, Silksong, all of these games are sitting with a vague "2025" or "Winter" date, and they remain untouched (I think Silksong news is a Gamescom lock-in, though, given that it's playable there).
One of the games that did show up was Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. I thought for sure we'd get a date for that, but nope, still just "Winter". The trailer felt like a little poke, a reminder that the game exists. But hey, at least we saw a Champion's face and got a glimpse at a new construct.
I promise it wasn't all mediocre for me. My favourite game of the show should be pretty obvious to those who know me; it's a Square Enix HD-2D game, but not the one that was rumoured to be showing up.
Despite the name, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales looks lovely and is exactly where I wanted Team Asano to go with HD-2D; not just a remake, something a little different, and an action RPG. It gives me a little bit of a Secret of Mana vibe — multiple weapon types that you can upgrade, a small open world... Oh, and there's couch co-op! You know I've already downloaded the demo.
Sticking with Square Enix, I was worried Octopath Traveler 0 was going to be a port of Champions of the Continent, the mobile game. It's not, as Square Enix confirmed in a blog post, and instead uses the mobile game as a base. And good lord, there's town building? Help me. And, as a little bonus, a Switch 2 Edition upgrade for Romancing SaGa 2's remake also gives me a good reason to finally play this one.
Persona 3 Reload is at last coming to a Nintendo console — it's a fantastic remake and, whether you've played FES or Portable or never touched the game at all, is well worth grabbing. I'm always happy to see a new Katamari game on Switch, and Once Upon a Katamari looks delightful. And, while I've never played a game in this series, Monster Hunter Stories 3 looks pretty darn good, too.
If we were a year or two into the new console's life, I think this'd be a pretty solid Direct. Not earth-shattering, but a nice little cherry on top of the foundation already built. But we're not. We're not even two months in. So it's hard not to feel a little deflated.
Perhaps it's because we're in a time when having multiple consoles is more common; my Switch 2 is, of course, my main platform right now, but I've already played Persona 3 Reload and I already own Yakuza Kiwami 2 on PS4. Again, both great additions to the new system, and I know there's a bunch of people who want to play these games afresh or have yet to play them. Though the steady trickle of Game-Key Card confirmations for the likes of Pac-Man World 2, Octopath Traveler 0, and a few others seems to be dampening the mood.
The Switch 2's more-powerful specs, even when games like Star Wars Outlaws looked a little rough, open the floodgates for a more mainstream suite of ports, like a feature-rich EA Sports FC and Madden, and like Cronos. This is probably the new normal, so we're going to have to get used to it.
But even if you had modest expectations like me, I think many will feel a bit let down with today's showcase, particularly us early Switch 2 adopters. Fortunately, we've got plenty to look forward to — even if the very best stuff still doesn't have a release date. Honestly, Nintendo, how can you stick Hyrule Warriors in a Direct and not even give us a date...? Or a month?
I'm sure a full-fat Nintendo Direct, or even an Indie World later in the year, will be enough to satiate. But for now, I'm left wanting a little more from my new console.