Welcome back! Hey, remember during the Direct when Shigeru Miyamoto came on, and we all thought it was time for the prophesied "Zelda blowout"... and then he just talked about a year-old mobile game? Yeah. Read on to find out our reaction to that moment...

Rune Factory 3 + Rune Factory 6

JIM: Now we’re talking: Fishing minigame! A department sorely lacking in this Direct…

KATE: Yeah, sure! Why not! I played Rune Factory 4 for hundreds of hours. I don’t love the upscaled art style, but that’s okay!

New NSO games

KATE: Pokémon Stadiuuuuuuuum!!! But we have to wait until 2023. NSO is still not looking that great…

ALANA: …I still don’t have the Expansion Pass *hides* BUT these new additions are pretty sweet.

JIM: Alana, you have opened the floodgates and I am eternally grateful. I, too, do not have the Expansion Pass, but this release might just make me invest.

KATE: I have the Expansion Pass and it’s only really been worth it for me when the New Horizons expansion came out.

GoldenEye 007

OLLIE: GoldenEye!! After so many leaks and rumours, I still can’t quite believe it’s actually coming. I really can’t wait to get my friends round and play some multiplayer; it’ll be just like old times… Except our reflexes won’t be half as good as they used to be.

JIM: Now this, this is a release that I never could have seen coming. Online multiplayer only available on the Switch? RETRIBUTION!!

ALANA: That’s one huge industry rumour we can check off the list then! And the Switch version is the best version? *gasp*

KATE: Seriously!! That never happens! We always get the cloud editions and worse graphics.

Various Daylife

KATE: Square Enix needs to find a new font.

ALANA: I totally forgot that this was an Apple Arcade game (a launch title!) until like, the day after the game came out. Oops. It looks okay? Team Asano has been busy these past few years!

JIM: I would like to see a little more from Square Enix. Could you guys maybe put a little more effort in here please? On Various Daylife notes though, I am not a fan of this artstyle at all.

Factorio

KATE: Honestly pretty into the Command and Conquer vibes of this one.

JIM: You see, this is what would have happened in The Martian if Matt Damon hadn’t learned how to grow potatoes.

Mario Strikers: Battle League

JIM: This is all fun and games, and I like the fact that we are getting new characters added in updates. But would it be a huge pain to ask for a complete game to be released?

Nintendo Switch Sports

ALANA: Nintendo Switch Sports is definitely popular with the crowds that maybe don’t watch Directs or even spend much time online – I wish that latter one was me! The golf delay is probably disappointing for many, though.

JIM: Golf always was the unsung hero of Wii Sports, so delay or not, I for one will be glad to come back to it here.

Pikmin (and Shigeru Miyamoto)

KATE: I love how obvious it is that he was allowed to have as much time as he wanted. I mean, Pikmin Bloom has been out for so long, Shigsy! However… Pikmin 4 makes up for it, even if it’s not what everyone wanted. I love Pikmin.

JIM: Miyamoto genuinely showed up, said the Mario Movie and theme park exist, spoke about Pikmin Bloom for 5 minutes then dropped the (second) biggest trailer of the Showcase and left. My Direct King.

ALANA: Pikmin 4 exists! After being the butt of many a joke for years. I love the Pikmin games – they’re equal parts cute and horrifying – and I want to see more of 4. Are we on planet Earth now, with those benches?

KATE: Pikmin become Pikmen.

OLLIE: Yeah, this was undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the show for me, even if I’m not a massive fan of Pikmin. It’s been so long coming, it could only have been announced by Miyamoto, right? As for all of that Pikmin Bloom stuff… Good LORD, Miyamoto.

Harvestella

KATE: The demo will help me decide if this game is my thing. It could be too JRPG for me, or it could be exactly enough JRPG. I’m always down for more farming, though I wish it was a bit cuter and less… Final Fantasy.

JIM: It’s a farming sim meets *spins wheel* Monster Hunter!

KATE: JIM I WILL FIGHT YOU

ALANA: I would honestly love to see a farming sim/Monster Hunter crossover. But I’m really interested in this! I’m not sure I’ll be able to pick it up in November, but I’ll at least give that demo a whirl.

Bayonetta 3

KATE: This Bayonetta is so Bayonetta. It’s everything Bayo fans want – guns, hats, legs, stupid outfits with way too many flaps and thousands of pounds of filigree, and best of all, it’s real. It’s real, and it’s soon.

ALANA: I still haven’t finished 1 or 2! But I’ll most likely be experiencing this through my partner, who is a big Bayonetta fan. I feel like I’ve seen enough, even after like, years of silence.

OLLIE: I don’t know why, but I’m not super hyped for this one. Like, I’ll still get it, but I’m not chomping at the bit. It’ll be good fun, I’m sure!

JIM: Not keen on this one one bit. Bayonetta has never really struck a chord with me and this looks like, well, Bayonetta.

Resident Evil 2, 3, 7, and 8 (Cloud Editions)

OLLIE: So much like everybody else, I was absolutely devastated that we’ll be getting ruddy cloud versions of some of the best Resident Evil games on the market. If it’s the only way to get them on Switch, however, then so be it. Having said that, I’ve tried out the demo for RE: Village and it actually works like a dream; no stuttering, super crisp visuals, the works. I know this won’t be the case for everyone, though.

ALANA: That’s the real bummer, isn’t it? It’s a less-guaranteed consistent experience for everyone. I at least get why these games are cloud-based to a degree (looking at you, Kingdom Hearts), but I would’ve preferred seeing the original PS1, 2 and 3 on Switch or, like, the GameCube remake?

KATE: I don’t know much about Resi games, but it seems daft that 2 and 3 are cloud editions.

Tales of Symphonia

KATE: Yeah, I think I’ll give it a go! I know next to nothing about Tales of Symphonia but it looks very Dragon Quest-y, and that’s fine by me.

ALANA: Not the Tales of game I would’ve predicted, but hey, I’m happy the series is getting a bit more attention given Tales of Arise’s success. It’s a bit cheeky calling it a remaster when it runs at 30fps (it’s based on the PS3 port). I would’ve preferred an actual playable version of Tales of Phantasia or a modern port of Tales of Destiny – but it could be worse!

Sizzle Reel

(Life is Strange: Arcadia Bay Collection, Romancing SaGa, LEGO Bricktales, Disney Speedstorm, Fall Guys Season 2)

KATE: I’m content with all of these being sizzle reel clips, I think. Life is Strange is cool, but I’ve already played them all!

JIM: We live in a world in which Fall Guys appears in a Nintendo Direct. Fall Guys. Nintendo Direct.

ALANA: Hey, Jim, has Square Enix done enough here squeezing in another two trailers into the sizzle reel?

JIM: …

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe

ALANA: I think I like the sidescrolling Kirby games more (I know that’s like, all of them), so I’m happy to see Kirby thriving, but the real disappointment here is that it’s not called Kirby’s Adventure Switch in Europe.

KATE: Looks cute, but I’m all Kirbied out for now!

OLLIE: I’ve been Kirbied out since ‘92.

JIM: Nintendo do know that just because it’s Kirby’s 30th anniversary, they don’t have to release 30 Kirby games this year, right?

KATE: 2022 will forever be remembered as the year the Que– I mean, the year that Kirby turned 30.


Head to the last page to read our overall thoughts, our biggest surprises and disappointments, and — of course — our reaction to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom!