So, there we have it – the first proper Nintendo Direct for ages, and it gave us plenty to talk about – including a Zelda remaster, an amazing online multiplayer title and a second sequel to a beloved classic.
However, there were also moments of slight disappointment; we didn't get anything on Bayonetta 3 or Metroid Prime 4, and Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 isn't ready to be shown off yet, it seems.
Taking all of this into account, did the Direct meet your expectations? Perhaps you went in with hopes as low as possible to avoid being disappointed? Or maybe you were super-hyped and it didn't quite live up to the dream? Perhaps you're somewhere in the middle?
Whatever you're feeling right now, we want to know, so vote in the poll below and leave a comment to tell us – and the world – what you made of the Direct.
Comments 380
Definitely the middle, now I'm gonna get out of here before this comment section goes into nuclear war.
I think people have seen enough of my comments on the other articles to know what I think. But again, I hate the fact that only two announcements actually got my attention.
Fans need to tone down their expectations honestly. What we get is more than what we knew last week and what we get is better than we deserve.
The direct didn't contain much from Nintendo.
But I'm satisfied since it focused mainly on games which are being released in the next 4 months.
I can see them not wanting to show too much for further down the line since we still live in uncertain times.
Hoping for more, I could not get the trigger tobbuy anything else from the remake. I wanted moderna RPGs... The default Brave was already on my buying list, time lost
Mario golf! Motion controlled! Blown-a-way!
@GilbertXI oh yeah this comment section is gonna get interesting pretty quickly
Best way to describe it as 'hit or 'miss'. People need to learn to tone down their expectations. It's not as bad as they're making it out to be.
Only Miitopia HD, Mario update for ACNH and new Joy Cons bundle caught my attention.
Other games just Nah for me.
It was ok. There were odd omissions imo like SMT Nocturne HD but I was really pumped for Project Triangle Strategy, NMH3 getting a release date and Squid Megami Tensei III where the Great Zap Fish legally changes his name to Lucifer
I also really want those Zelda Joy-Con. Like holy ***** those look sexy
With so many ports filling in the gaps all I can think is what have Nintendo been doing since 2017? Honestly, I wonder if they have a number of games ready to go, but the success this generation has given them no reason to release any top tier stuff for a while.
I enjoyed it. I was super geeked when it was revealed Famicom detective club was being localized and I was taken off guard at the beginning where I assumed Xenoblade 2 was having its own version of a sequel. It was a nice way to start the presentation.
I was already super happy when I saw Famicom Detective Club, it's the type of thing I love and it looks so good. Not the type of game I'd usually expect to see show up in a Direct so it was a great surprise.
Really keen for Outer Wilds and World's End Club too and Splatoon 3 completely took me by surprise at the end. Overall a really great Direct.
I’m pleased I don’t have to spend any more money till skyward sword comes out. I see that as a positive 😊
Sortof unimpressed but decently pleased with a few announcements. No More Heroes 3 lands awfully close to my birthday so can't be sad about that (except for the withering of my mortal shell of course😖💀).
As I have said before: I expect something new, but at the same time I do not expect anything and my life is easy, because it does not frustrate me if there is no new game for me and if there is, it is very well received; Also, if there isn't something that I like, that's fine, since maybe for others it's something they expected and that's very good, I shouldn't be frustrated by that and incidentally, there will be more announcements ahead, just to keep waiting ^^
I'm fine with what they announced and I'm interested in Mario Golf, DC hero girls and some others, and well, as always, I was expecting an F Zero, My Sims, a new Cruin's, Sim City, until GTA, but that's fine, still There is time and I know that in any future they will announce them, but in the meantime, to continue enjoying what there is, and there is much games to enjoy ^^
I was happy, some great stuff, but just would have switched out Splatoon 3 at the end for pretty much anything else.
Copying what I said on the Roundup:
I'm happy with Skyward Sword HD and Splatoon 3, but besides those games this might have been an extended Partner Showcase. It's worrying that Nintendo's only first party games from September 2020 (SM3D All Stars) to July 2021 (SSHD) are ports. (While Nintendo did publish Age of Calamity and will publish Mario Golf, they weren't developed in-house.) The pandemic must be hurting Nintendo much worse than we thought.
My expectations are low, I'm always hoping for a good surprise or 2 and a few games to be excited about. Project Triangle was a great surprise and I always enjoy Mario golf games so expectations met! Beyond that it was nice to see a Direct again. It felt normal when little feels normal lately so I thought it was great. Can't wait to play the demo for project triangle and will buy Mario Golf when it releases.
I was left satisfied as I got Mario Golf (a guilty pleasure of mine) and Skyward Sword HD with physical controls. Splatoon 3 and an Octopath successor for next year were just icing on the cake. That being said, I realize not everyone is into these games and I felt like the Direct was waaaay longer than it should have been. Like I enjoyed maybe 15 minutes of it and the rest was just filler with JRPGs and ports.
Overall it was solid but I can understand the mixed responses.
It met my expectations.. I expected to not be blown away, and I was right
I wasn't expecting much, really just a few ports and some realistic things, but literally none of it happened. I didn't expect Switch Pro or any Zelda really, just a few things like Crash 4, Silksong, Pokemon Snap, and (not very realistically) an emulated port of Prime Trilogy. Instead, we got even less with the only big things (in my eyes) being Mario Golf, Zelda, and Splatoon. Even then, Zelda is controversial and a lot of people (myslef included) won't pay $60 for Splatoon 3 after Splatoon 2. Mario Golf was literally the only thing I liked in the direct, so it definitely did not live up to expectations, even though I was being as realistic as I could.
Which is why I've mostly been refraining from commenting today.
Does make me feel better about my upcoming PS5 purchase.
Edit: To explain my reaction a bit:
530 days w/o a full Direct, then we get that 50 minutes of what it was.
I really think if that was all Nintendo had they would have been better served by spreading it out into 3 shorter "Directs" each about 18 minutes each over a few weeks, thus each w/ smaller expectations.
Nindie Direct w/ all those indie games
3rd party Direct w/ Monster Hunter Rise and all those Squenix JRPG
Mini Direct w/ Smash, SS, Mario Golf and Splatoon 3
I dont really get why people are saying this direct was terrible considering that presentation was practically an entire E3's worth of content. Obviously there are things they can't show just yet and we are only at the start of the year.
I am not surprised about BOTW2 taking so long considering the gap between Skyward Sword and BOTW1.
If there are Pokemon Gen 4 remakes they will be revealed in their own Pokemon centric direct.
Remember Metroid Prime 4 restarted development like 2 years ago which in game development terms is not a terribly long time.
I do think people need to do a better job of keeping their expectations in check
@thethreatisreal I mean, that is one way of looking at it. =P
It felt like it was 80% indie games and 20% Nintendo first party and bigger budget games.
@Zach777 Kinda the same. I knew the way to go into this was to go into it with no expectation. It was still a nice Direct.
The way I see it, the lack of Direct always kind of had to do with the fact that "COVID-19 has been a thing making a mess of scheduling/organizing anything", especially stuff that would need to involve film/sound recording crews and the like. To not mention the impacts on traditional games development studio.
So for me that Direct was always more "they finally overcame the difficulties of hosting a Direct at all" and always much less "they must have something major to announce".
If anything, the really major announcement was Splatoon 3 in more ways than one: not only did it announce the sequel to an awesome loved franchise.... it also, much more subtly, sent another message: "We're here for a LONG haul".
Perhaps it wasn't intended but if there's a reason(beyond it's aesthetics and gameplay) Splatoon titles are loved, it's also one in particular: post-release content updates and events happened not just months but YEARS after release.
Splatoon 2 got released in 2017, the first year of the Switch. IT STILL HAS SPLATFESTS AS OF THIS YEAR.
Revealing Splatoon 3 couldn't be a nicer way of going "we're barely into half of this tiny console's lifespan. Buckle up, you folks".
@Friendly The Direct not containing enough Nintendo is exactly the problem with it I feel. What have they been doing for the last year and a half?
Now was the time to take centre stage again with the PS5 and Xbox now out but unavailable to purchase, and they blew it really. Triangle Strategy was the only new game to intrigue me and that sin;t out until next year. sigh
I hope the Pokemon one brings us the goodies.
It was pretty good. After all we knew nothing going in to 2021, but now we do! It showed off some stuff for Q1/Q2 and a few for next year. It could have been better, but now I have more to look forward to than just BOTW2. EDIT: I just remembered the Age Of Calamity DLC! I loved that game, much more than the first one, and I can't wait for the new content!
I stopped going into Nintendo Directs with a ton of expectations a some time ago. I've found that going in with little to no expectations often yields a better experience. You won't get disappointed as much and if something nice happens, it becomes a pleasant surprise. For instance even if many folks wanted someone else, I'm super excited to have Pyra and Mythra in Smash and I had stopped hoping for a XC2 rep a long time ago.
I'm excited for Mario Golf and Fall Guys but kind of disgusted that Nintendo's now selling stand alone 3DS and Wii ports for $60. Wii U is one thing, being only one generation behind but gosh... both games (Miitopia and Skyward Sword) looked like arse too... HD... really?
Also feel a different Nintendo franchise we've not seen on Switch yet like F-zero, Pilotwings, Kid Ikarus etc would be preferable to another Splatoon when we have that already.
I expected more for Zelda's 35th, but an HD Skyward, while inevitable, was a welcome addition
Skyward Sword was really the main thing that got me hyped up. I'll have to see more of AoC DLC, Mario Golf, and Splatoon 3. Miitopia is cool and fun but overpriced. Smash fighter is epic and a great surprise. Fall guys, I'll get if it's free or cheap. Joycons looking kinda shmexy but I'm not sure yet.
Considering its the first half of the year it was okay. I'd expect a couple of heavy hitters to appear in the direct that reveals the second half of the year.
The worst part of the direct was the pyra reveal in smash. I got so excited that there was going to be a sequel to xenoblade 2 that when I released it was a smash reveal I just felt deflated even though she'll be an amazing smash character.
It was a little disappointing for me. I was hoping for some Metroid news, like an update on Prime 4 or an announcement for a trilogy remake! I was quite surprised to see a new Splatoon though. Didnt think there would be another for a few more years.
I feel like there were good announcements but nothing that strongly appealed to me personally.
I probably won't buy a single thing from that Direct.
I'll go back to waiting for Silksong...
For me it was okay. Nothing special. I hoped for a bombshell announcement, but that triangle-tactical-rpg thing looks good to me. I loved octopath traveller and this is in the same veign, only a bit more tactics ogre, which I also loved. But it's far off... so...
Nothing "immediately" interesting, but I got PS5 strikers incoming, still try to beat Mario 3D World (I have a REALLY hard time doing jumps in 3D) and of course Monster Hunter. Besides that a fulltime job and a budging writing career, so I'm fine!
I might add though I'm really in the mood for Smash Bros and Splatoon 2 now again. Those games keep giving. Also, after beating XCOM 2 (again) I might want to get that Rabbids game again! It's just such good fun!
Just an extra bit since I see a lot of people saying they’re afraid to be disappointed by this showing:
Don’t be afraid. It’s okay not to like everything and be left a bit upset. That doesn’t make you entitled. Not enjoying something as much as others is different from being angry and complaining how something isn’t catered directly for you. Glad to see everyone seems civil here so far lol.
The usual trained seals are explaining why the direct wasn't that bad (when you're explaining, you're losing) and the biggest headline was an internet rumour about two more rehashed Zelda games coming to Switch this year (probably for 80$ each, not collectively). Let's not kid ourselves. The only upside is that maybe they're keeping their powder dry until they reveal something amazing at E3 (the next Zelda game or something of a similar scale) for release later this year. Still on track for the Switch to have the weakest first-party library of any recent Nintendo generation.
I think the next Nintendo console will come out in 2022, and Splatoon 3 will release on Switch and its successor.
Somewhere between expectations met and blown away. I really enjoyed this Direct, and it had a lot of cool surprises.
underwhelmed. I am very happy i have a lot of different platforms to play on other than switch and a very healthy backlog.
I think my opinion on the Switch has changed from a year ago. It's gone from impossibly good system to a very respectable "very good" system.
@Franklin Could be, personally I hope for a Switch Pro with a beefy GPU in the dock, otherwise pretty unchanged. I love the concept and it seems like I am not alone. I hope they're not "switching" things up too much, now that they have a winning system and considering that none of the competition really goes that route, it's not old/stale for quite a while.
you cant do a 2min trailer for botw2? no gameplay no release date, just something shinny to look at! thats a failure right there
Happy with it. Maybe a smidgen more on Legend of Zelda 35th anniversary plans (other than Skyward HD which was welcome)
@sleepinglion Zelda's 35th doesn't start until the 21th on Sunday ;3
I could recall wrong, but you could note that though they revealed Skyward, they made no mention of the 35th... and why would they, it doesn't start until the next week start.
Recall: we had hints that a 3D All-Stars collection would happen in 2020 as early as March 2020. But it didn't announced in any official manner(to the point people thought the "rumor" was ultimately false when we entered the summer without announcements yet) until the 3rd of September.... Mario's -actual- anniversary.
Nintendo hadn't forgotten the anniversary. They just recalled it didn't start until September.
So dates(and months that will follow afterward) to look forward to imo:
February 21: Zelda's 35th anniversary
February 27: Pokemon's 25th anniversary
May 26th: Dragon Quest's 35th anniversary
August 6th: Metroid anniversary.
And that last one is the kicker imo: People complained at "still nothing metroid", but honestly this one is indeed far into the year I'd indeed go: don't expect Metroid anything until August.
Just like last year waited until Mario's anniversary on September 3rd to actually reveal 3D World+Bowser's Fury and 3D All-Stars.
Definitely pumped for Skyward Sword since I never played it! Nice to have a No More Heroes release date. Curious about that Star Wars game. Overall not bad!
For being the first proper direct after so long it was disappointing.
Direct was OK, nice to see Nintendo continuing to offer a game a month even if none of them are for me personally, and miitopia 3ds port gives me hope for other 3ds ports. Splatoon 3 is potentially huge, but so far away...just like BOTW2 and MP4 and Bayonetta 3.
But I am offended by Skyward swords pricing. Last year there were two wii ports, XCDE that got entirely remade assets, additional content and mechanical tweaks, and Mario Galaxy that was simply uprezed and had control scheme changes, but also got uprezed Sunshine and 64 in the package.
Now they want to sell us Skyward Sword with uprezing and control scheme changes...for full price? There better be a ton of fixes and additional content to make it seem like we are not being ripped off.
1) Bummed about no Bayonetta info
2) I gave up hope for an HD Prime
3) pleased with Splatoon
4) thrilled about MarioGolf
5) don’t care about the rest
Overall direct score... 6
More Nintendo stuff, check... more overduly portable pastgen ports, check... more JRPG goodness, check... yup, expectations definitely met. Add up all the extra street cred unexpectedly earned with me in Smash and Monster Hunter departments, and we're that much closer to "blown away" territory.
Happy with Skyward Sword HD (i can finally finish it cuz i never did on my wii u)
Excited for Splatoon 3 but I'm gonna have to find some way to sell Splatoon 2 before it dies
Overall I wasn't expecting much from this direct so I'm happy with it
I had what I considered realistic expectations and Nintendo failed to reach them somehow. Most of the games belonged in a Nindie Direct or relegated to social media announcements. No Zelda collection was disappointing (yes, Skyward Sword was there but it's one game and one of the more divisive entries at that) and absolutely nothing on Metroid was shameful. The continued lack of anything for Bayonetta 3 is also a disgrace.
Since I like to be fair, I'll highlight the few good points. Monster Hunter Rise will be awesome, nice to get a No More Heroes 3 release date (will definitely be a day one buy) and given how much fun Splatoon 2 was, I'm hyped to see what 3 brings.
I feel like there were some solid announcements that certainly cater to large group of gamers, but there just wasn't anything that got me terribly excited personally.
Middle, because all my expectations never materialised, most games didn't appeal to me.
But I appreciate that Directs are not solely aimed at me.
I'm not a fan or JRPGs, but I know tons are, so I won't grumble about there being "too many games I don't like"..
.. but there wasn't nearly enough that I do.
@lumothesinner Don't buy it, I'm not. I hope Skyward Sword gets slated by reviewers for it's pricing and the original was probably the worst and most gimmicky 3D Zelda.
@jockmahon Would have taken the steam out of anything else imo.
I'm more curious about February 21st myself. THAT is the day of Zelda's actual 35th anniversary.
If you recall: we knew at the start of 2020(March 2020, when I searched for article) that a 3D All-Stars collection might happen because "2020 is Mario's 35th anniversary". But nothing was announced for most of the year so people began to think it was just "more false rumor".
But they forgot the anniversary was on September 3rd.
Come September 3rd: Mario All-Stars added to the online service, Mario 3D All-Stars would be coming September 18th, Mario 3D World+Bowser's Fury would be coming February 12th. Which also add another fact: we're still in Mario's 35th anniversary until next September, and just got a Mario Golf reveal too.
So I'd say wait until Sunday and later.
Reading the comments where's the love for Famicom Detective Club?!
That's some genuine old Nintendo history coming out for the first time in the West! Mario Golf, No More Heroes, World Ends Club, Ninja Gaiden, Capcom Arcade... Genuinely a really good direct.
While I thoroughly enjoyed it and was so happy we got some zelda. I did however hope we got a little more zelda or a mention of the anniversary.
I was also hoping for some dkc, metroid or fe to be there too.
Very good direct. Nice mixture of games for a variety of tastes and ages.
Nice to see more legacy content coming (Skyward, Mana, Saga, first ever NA translations for Famicom Detective) as well as some intriguing new stuff.
People tend to forget other new games have already been announced for this year that weren't covered: Snap, Sports Story, Axiom Verge 2, SMT 5, plus first party fall/winter lineup that hasn't been announced.
Smart announcing Splatoon 3 for 2022 now. The fans know it is coming to build hype, and it frees up a prominent fall/winter reveal in future announcements.
2021 is looking like it will be pretty full month-to-month.
I had NO expectations going in. I love Spatoon and Splatoon 2, but the Splatoon 3 announcement didn't show me enough to get me excited. Of course it will be a day one purchase, but I wish it had given me something more.
With all of that said, I enjoyed the 50 minutes of games coming out and I am actually rather pumped to play quite a few.
I still feel very sour about it. First time a general direct has left me feeling that way. There's so much good stuff dated for this year, and we saw almost none of it.
Sad for my bank account. Happy for me.
Lots of momentum this year for sure. Between the Direct and the last few partner showcases, Switch has a lot in store for a wide range of consumers.
They definitely went for quantity over quality with this direct.
Personally I would have left out all the EA crap, along with many of the smaller releases as these just damage the pacing and mess with the emotional rollercoaster.
Just focus on the highs.
Smash reveal
Splatoon 3
Monster Hunter Rise - Apex Monsters and Rampage Mode
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD with new controls
Project Triangle Strategy + Demo
Star Wars: Hunters
Mario Golf: Super Rush
Capcom Arcade Stadium
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection
Bravely Default II Final Trailer + Demo
Miitopia returns
Legend of Mana
Disappointed, but every time a Direct is announced everyone makes wild assumptions to what is going to be announced. I'm excited for Skyward Sword, a game I already own & was hoping for Metroid prime another game I already own.
I already have too many games, so it didn't disappoint me.
I was expecting something else but there was alot on hand. Ninja Gaiden, and a few of those RPGs looked great. I'm just not into Smash, or Splatoon at all. I'm more of a single player gamer. I'll see about Skyward Sword. I have it for Wii, but never played it. I also think this presentation was stretched out too long. Could've been done in 10 to 15 minutes.
Despite it's length, it wasn't the best Direct ever. No Super Monkey Ball. 7/10. Plenty to play this first half of the year, that's for sure and it does mark a welcome return to the format. I'm sure we'll still get Pokemon Directs, Third Party showcases and Indie Spotlights on top too. And, I dare to say, that DC Heroines game will probably be better than it initially looked.
@Clyde_Radcliffe I'm surprised because they released Skyward Sword but made no mention of Zelda's 35th anniversary.
Which led me to check and... the anniversary is not until Sunday, on the 21th of February.
Which reminded me of a thing about last year. We take Mario 3D All-Stars for granted now because it's finally been released...
.... but it was as early as March 2020 that we had people telling us a collection was coming "for Mario's 35th anniversary in 2020".
But months passed without any announcement and I still recall people who eventually went and claimed "that 3D All-Stars Collections was just more fake rumors!".
But the actual anniversary wasn't until the 3rd of September. And guess what?
On September 3rd we got Mario All-Stars on the online service, Mario 3D All-Stars revealed to launch September 18th and Mario 3D World+Bowser's Fury revealed to release February 15th of 2021.
And the same person who told us 3D All-Stars would happen is now telling to wait and see because Wind Waker and Twillight Princess are likely coming this year,
It was alright. I wasn’t even expecting a direct. I have a massive backlog I want to play
Splatoon 3 (which I've shortened tp Spleen) was completely out of left field and yeah sure there were other things I was expecting, but I'm happy with what we got, especially after the pandemic threw everything off.
Just 3 letters.. Meh
Old games, indie games etc
Nothing wow.
Guess it's time to move on. After all these years I thing Nintendo now is not the right choice for my taste... 😢
Blew me away. I wasn't really expecting much in the current climate, considering Xbox and Sony seem to be really struggling to bring anything out at all.
Definitely more than enough to be going on with here, it didn't even mention Pokemon Snap and whatever else gets announced at the likely pokemon direct on pokemon day next week.
Wasn’t blown away. Too many titles announced I’m like “huh”
And when Mario golf was the most exciting title announcement for me says a lot...
I can't believe people are so disappointed over this Direct. People got waaaaay too hyped due to the long Direct drought. Nintendo skipping an E3-sized Direct last year didn't help. But what especially doesn't help is people forgot Directs never had mind-blowing after mind-blowing announcements.
I've watched pretty much every Direct Nintendo released since the beginning. This Direct was about what I expected: it was good. Not amazing, far from the best one they ever put out, but it was good. I'm mildly excited for Pyra as a Xenoblade fan. I'm mildly interested in the Famicom Detective Club games. I'm mildly interested in the Mario Golf game. I'm mildly interested in the Project Triangle Strategy. Really, the only announcement that got me really hyped was the Skyward Skyward HD + joycons. I must have hated the Direct based on my thoughts, right? Nope. It was good. There was something for everyone, so I can't complain. Can't wait for the next one, I genuinely mean it.
As an aside, I find it ironic people are complaining about Skyward Sword HD being $60, but where were they when Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD were charged around full price? Ah, the joys of being in a grumpy Nintendo fanbase.
None of those options really meet my opinion. Personally I was disappointed. Personally there was nothing there for me. But thinking more objectively, I thought it was a decent Direct. A decent enough Direct to leave us with a brand new game instead of a remastered port, at least.
I just wanted to see games that are interesting (for me). Nothing for me this time.
This was a very meh direct. It should've been called a partner showcase with a smash and zelda announcment
Famicom Detective Club and Legend of Mana were nice surprises, and Ninja Gaiden would have been if its existence hadn't been leaked weeks ago. That DC Heroines game is just weird, Mario Golf wasn't asked for but isn't bad either, and I can't really hate Pyra/Mythra in Smash because people kept demanding her or Rex when the game launched, so there's obviously a rabid fanbase out for them.
But here's hoping that pesky Eternal Darkness trademark gets used this year...
Metroid Prime 4 is years away and Breath of the Wild 2 is a winter tentpole game so we were going to see niether of them.
However Mario Golf, Skyward Sword, Legend of Mana, NMH3, Project Triangle and Saga Frontier are all definite buys so as long as you came away with something you will purchase, I'd call that a win.
I was looking forward to some new news about SMT, but then nothing. Still, I'm grateful for this Direct.
Now I have something to look forward to every day,
@Ludovsky Good points, I hope to see them make a big fuss over the franchise. After the stellar job with Link's Awakening on Switch, I hope to one day see remasters of the original NES titles and A Link to the Past. An HD upscale of the 3DS' Ocarina of Time while I'm dreaming
I give it a solid B. I liked that it was a good mix of first party titles, third party titles and independent titles across a wide range of genres and age groups.
I would have liked SOMETHING about Metroid, or another Nintendo IP that we haven't heard about in a while (Star Fox? F-Zero? Hell, Pilotwings?)
I'm not fretting about Bayonetta 3. If the game was cancelled, they would tell us. It'll arrive when it arrives.
I am excited about No More Heroes III, Skyward Sword HD (without forced motion controls, thank God), Mario Golf, Ninja Gaiden collection and Outer Wilds. I already got the first volume of the Capcom Stadium Arcade collection.
If you are an RPG or multiplayer gamer, or a huge Splatoon fan, you probably thought the Direct was an A.
@Xenobound94 Announcements I didn't expect. Seeing some screenshots of BotW2 or MP4 was the bare minimum they should have done. Not even some content of the Expansion Pack for Age Calamity was shown.
Pretty bad. Expected more after all this time.
@GrailUK Well I'd say to look toward to these dates myself:
February 21th: the actual Zelda's 35th anniversary
February 27th: pokemon's 25th anniversary
May 26th: Dragon Quest's 35th anniversary
August 6th: Metroid's 35th anniversary.
Like recall this one other thing: we knew VERY EARLY in 2020 that a Mario 3D All-Stars Collection might happen. But for most of the year people began to think it was fake because there wasn't any announcement.
And guess when we finally got the reveal announcement?
September 3rd, which was the actual day of Mario's 35th. Revealing 3D All-Stars releasing on September 18th and 3D World+Bowser's Fury releasing on February 15th of 2021.
And now? The same who'd told us all the way back in March 2020 that this stuff was coming is hinting we're getting Twillight Princess and Wind Waker again.
It was Fantastic! So excited about No More Heroes III, The Mario update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Project Triangle Strategy, Monster Hunter Rise, Pyra and Mytha from the “Xenoblade Chronicles” series will be joining “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” as playable fighters, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” will be coming to the Switch on July 16 in HD, Capcom Arcade Stadium, Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Complete Edition, Ninja Gaiden Master Collection, including all DLC, on June 10; and a Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity expansion pass starting on May 28!!!! If that doesn't excite you, then sign yourself into a nursing home.
I thought it was really good and plenty of content for us to be playing for some time to come. Lets not forget we are likely to get another direct sometime around summer.
Those moaning are doing so because its what they do well to be honest. I swear there are Nintendo fans out there who could win 2 million on the lottery and would still moan about it not being 3 or 4!! Plenty of great stuff, slick direct. Job well done.
As much as Skyward Sword was the black sheep of the 3D Zeldas, seeing it described dismissively as "a remake of a ten year old Wii game" is surreal to me. If anything, Skyward Sword is the game most in need of a remaster of this nature (it's hardly a lazy remaster, is it?), and it is likely to be followed by both the Wind Waker and Twilight Princess HD this year, in addition to further information about the Breath of the Wild sequel, and upcoming content for Age Of Calamity. All of this for Zelda alone, in one Direct. If this direct just had indie games and the Mario Golf thing, certainly, I would understand the complaint, but they are more than delivering an appropriately balanced slate of old and new. Let's be reasonable, here, there are plenty of new titles on offer in this direct.
6/10, would've been a 7 if it hadn't been this long or if we had more to look forward to this year. Not many games that are to my taste, Fall Guys looks fun and I'll keep an eye on Mario Golf and Neon White. I'll pick up Skyward Sword when it's on sale. Splatoon 3 is a cool announcement, but they should've showed off some of the single player stuff.
@Wolfgabe The thing is, BOTW was made from the ground up, while BOTW2 (theoretically) will use the same engine and many of the same assets, so it should take less time to develop. I'm more confused than disappointed that we don't have addtional information about it.
It was amazing. Famicom Tantei club is just the coolest. Would have been a good direct without them but they made it so much better. A few games I'm not interested in, but overall a very 'me' direct.
Built a gaming PC this week. After playing Cyberpunk, it looks like im going to be emulating a bunch gamecube games in HD, because I cant get them on switch. As for this direct, there was nothing for me.
@kingbk Metroid I'd say isn't ready yet. At least Prime 4. That could well be a 2022 release or late. If anything, the Splatoon 3 reveal is a good way to hint we're barely halfway into the Switch's lifespan(Splatoon 2 released in 2021. Just last month it still got a new splatfest, years later).
But Metroid announcements? I'd say have no expectations of anything until August 6th. That's the date of the franchise's actual 35th anniversary.
Recall, beyond Paper Mario, Nintendo was VERY quite about Mario anything last year and it wasn't until September 3rd(the actual day of the 35th Mario anniversary) that they finally revealed Mario 3D All-Stars Collection / Mario 3D World+Bowser's Fury.
@Xenobound94 To be fair, the price has always bothered me. But I am guessing more people are noticing with Skyward Sword because Nintendo are so damn inconsistent with the remasters/ports, especially recently. Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition got quite the facelift and Future Connected that added about 10-20 hours worth of extra content. Then you had Mario 3D All-Stars which did minimal improvements, but you at least got 3 games. Skyward Sword seems to be minimal improvements, and by itself, so it is an easier target. An even easier target is Miitopia, because that I believe is even more expensive on Switch than it ever was on 3DS, and seems to have had the least improvements. Now that I think about it, despite how much I want Metroid Prime Trilogy remake/remastered, I am not sure I trust Nintendo to do it justice anymore.
No windwaker on switch is a disappointment
Meh Direct. I would have loved if Metroid Trilogy was going to be become a Switch version.
It’s a 6/10 for me. I honestly didn’t care for 80% of what was shown and it felt like there was so much filler content. If it were only 20 minutes long but only contained Mario Golf, Fall Guys, Splatoon 3 and Skyward Sword, then my impression would be vastly different as those were the only things that stood out to me personally. I just want to see some exciting first party stuff like Metroid, DK, Zelda or Pokémon, we’ve had enough indie games taking the spotlight during the past few years.
@Menardi Yeah, the guy who told us Mario 3D All-Stars was coming last year is already telling us Twillight Princess and Wind Waker are coming this year.
I'm of the line of thought that I don't expect major Zelda announcements until this upcoming Sunday, the actual day the Zelda 35th anniversary start.
Kind of like we knew in advance that Mario 3D All-Stars was coming thanks to re: that journalist but it took until the actual anniversary on September 3rd before the games were revealed at all.
@Ludovsky Agreed with the Metroid comment. We still have a lot of time. There probably won’t be anything until maybe E3ish time-frame so they can release trilogy or another 2D game around the anniversary. Or they might just not announce anything until the anniversary itself. Worst case to me is all we get is an update on Prime 4. I’d be really surprised if they didn’t mention Metroid at all later this year.
@Ludovsky Very good point. To be honest, I'll be mostly playing Rise the moment it comes out lol!
I hope there is a good single player campaign in Splatoon 3. The first two the single player campaign is mediocre and I'm not a huge fan of multiplayer shooting games, as I just stink at them, haha.
@FyFyre I was hoping for Wind Waker as well lol
Personally, I wasn't all that enthused, but it was a reasonable mix of stuff overall. It felt "Direct worthy".
I was expecting that they'd announce EarthBound for Nintendo Switch Online. Maybe that'll happen next time?
Splatoon 3 saved it imo, even though it's so far away. Honestly, there was very little in this direct for me. I think the most intriguing bit of news outside of that was the Famicom Detective Club remakes. I've been predicting a retro remake, but this one was so left field. I only ever saw references to these in smash and old game magazines, so I'm pretty stoked to try them!
Torn on skyward sword. I really did not enjoy it when it was new, but maybe with the stick controls I'd double dip. I'd have to be very bored tho
It was okay, I don't really care about new nintendo games anyways from now on. A bit disappointed but it was average, and I knew for sure there won't be a lot anyways because of covid.
@Sirloto Mario 3D All-Stars wasn't revealed until September 3rd, the day Mario's 35th anniversary officially began.
I'd say give Metroids until August 6th and the months that follow before expecting any news. Metroid's 35th anniversary isn't until August 6th and if anything is planned they'll likely do the same than Mario 3D All-Stars: not reveal it, let alone say anything about it, until the actual day of the anniversary.
Same reason I'm not seeing Skyward Sword's reveal as indication of anything because Zelda's 35th anniversary doesn't start until February 21th next Sunday. So if anything is planned for Zelda's 35th(and though I could recall wrong, I don't think they ever mentioned the 35th when talking about Skyward Sword), we won't learn about it until at least this Sunday or Monday.
Unfortunately it was the first direct since the switch launch where I have to say "nothing for me today" and that is strange as it was 50min packed of games
As expected. They fooled me for a second at the start. For a brief moment, I thought they were going to announce a new Xenoblade . Thrilled about Skyward Sword, though. I love that game!
@DeathByLasagna I thought they might do Ocarina of Time first before all the others because everyone voted on that game.
After the first viewing, I was pretty upset. Smash character was very underwhelming in my opinion. Only Mario Golf stood out, didnt care about any of the other reveals. But after the second viewing, some more stood out to me as potential buys. Project Triangle Strategy seems good, I just hope it has an in-depth and robust job system, similar to the one in FF Tactics. Neon White looks like a unique and interesting take on the FPS genre. So overall I give it a 6/10. But Im sure there will be more directs to come that will give us games/characters that will really get us hyped so Im not really worried.
It wasn't the worst Direct, but I expected 1 or 2 more 1st party games to be announced. Only announcements that really interested me were Skyward Sword HD and Splatoon 3.
@ianl579 We dont exactly know how much they are actually reusing though
For a partner showcase, it was good, but not for a normal Direct. Nintendo is taking it way too easy showing off big (and new) games.
We needed Zelda, Metroid, Bayonetta, big stuff. Not just a... Mario Golf.
@Crockin I'm curious about the Famicom detective games myself as well.
What I find curious is they announced Skyward Sword but made no mention of Zelda's 35th anniversary.
But I checked and the anniversary doesn't officially start until February 21th, so I'm really curious if they have anything in store for us in term of "surprise" reveals this Sunday or Monday(after all, Sunday's on the weekend).
After all, the guy who told us in March 2020 that Mario 3D All-Stars Collection would be coming later in 2020(it got revealed finally on September 3rd, right on the start of Mario's 35th anniversary) is already telling us to expected Twillight Princess and Wind Waker this year.
Smash DLC was perfect, didn't care for any of the third party stuff, mario golf looks good, AOC DLC looks very underwhelming, miitopia (???), skyward sword hd looks fine (cool joy con though), sploon 3 is interesting to say the least.
It was an okay direct. My spotlight was definetely Splatoon 3 (love its theme). Also I was intrigued by Skyward Sword (only played WWHD, TPHD & BOTW), Samurai Warriors (loved Hyrule Warriors DE) & the Square Enix exclusive RPG.
It's nice to see some people were happy with it. I think I might not be their main demographic anymore. Maybe I just need a generation with Sony and the PS5 before they move forward enough for me to be interested again. It feels like Nintendo have been cycling the same content for nearly 5 years now, with a few notable exceptions.
@Ludovsky I think maybe one of those games to come to switch this year, but i kinda doubt 2 zeldas. nintendo keeps making surprise moves though, so anything is on the table
Two new games I'm looking forward to are Project Triangle Strategy aka Octopath Tactics and Splatoon 3. And I'm really glad that both come out only by 2022, truly! Starting next month, Monster Hunter Rise will occupy my free time a lot
Not much for me, but it was still fun
@kingbk Have you played Octo Expansion?
Wasn't blown away by it, but it did have a few games that got my attention. Mario Golf will be a must buy for family play. My youngest can't wait for Mario in animal crossing. And my oldest loves Splatoon so knowing the 3 one is coming has got him hyped. And Famicom Detective Club might be worth a purchase, but otherwise not the best direct. Still plenty of time left in the year for more announcements though.
I'm surprised by how many people are complaining about this Direct. They showed off quite a bit of stuff including a launch date for NMH3, announced Skyward Sword HD, Splatoon 3 (which is huge IMO because a lot of people didn't believe we'd get another one on the Switch), etc. I can understand people being disappointed that "their" game wasn't covered. I myself hoped to see SMT V REALLY bad, but I'm not going to pretend everything else doesn't exist and rage that the whole thing sucked because my favorite game wasn't spotlighted.
@Old-Red Kind of feeling that myself, but I don't particularly want the PS5 yet. It is way too expensive for my tastes, and not enough exclusives yet. But damn am I tempted to do the same.
The thing that got the most surprise out of me was Smash DLC. I recognized the clip was Xenoblade related the moment the clouds appeared, than I thought "no way Xenoblade 3?" than all the silly story about Pyra missing wasn't making any sense and I moved to "okay, a second Xenoblade 2 DLC?" and finally it blew my mind hahahahaha
Edit: I mean, I wasn't expecting Splatoon 3 AT ALL, but the presentation for Pyra in Smash played way more with my expectations
@the_beaver Ehh.... I recall plenty of "dud"(to the opinions of fans hyped for more) Directs in 2019 and before.
People thinking that Directs always equal "supermassive announcements" forgot all the lowkeys "major" Directs that we actually did have before our COVID-shaped drought in 2020.
If anything the big announcement is the way Splatoon 3 might hint in the ways the Switch is indeed here to stay in the years beyond 2022, if Splatoon's traditional post-release content updates and post-release events of the last two titles(2 having had another splatfest just last month. Which... not bad for a 2017 release) is anything to go by.
I feel like the really big announcements will be handled just like last year's biggest announcements: on anniversary dates(September 3rd, Mario's anniversary, was the day the 3D All-Stars & 3D World titles were finally revealed despite the fact we knew as far back as March 2020 from sources that such might be coming).
As it is the big ones I'm eyeing:
-February 21st: Zelda's 35th anniversary(though as it lands on a Sunday, I'll also be eyeing the week that follow just in case)
February 27th: Pokemon's 25th anniversary
May 26th: Dragon Quest's 35th anniversary
August 6th: Metroid's 35th anniversary(the fact it's not until this summer is why I'm not holding my breath for Metroid announcements until then)
There's probably others I'm forgetting, but they're the ones I'm keeping an eye out for. I mean... we're also STILL in Mario's 35th anniversary until next September so I wouldn't be surprised if future mini-directs/etc for stuff like Mario Golf made mention of that.
@Crockin something Zelda related (other than SSHD) must come this year. It's their 35th Anniversary & one of Nintendo's biggest franchises. If BoTW sequel or some kind of collection doesn't come in 2021, they'll gonna release a smaller game, like a port of Phantom Hourglass or something.
It was alright. It really wasn't anything groundbreaking. I went in with zero expectations and it was a decent showing. Don't care much for the character in Smash being added but looking forward to how they play, Splatoon 3 looks amazing, Mario Golf looks cool.
No More Heroes 3 looks shaping up pretty nicely, Knockout City looks nice, Project Triangle looks cool, and there's a bunch of other games that looked neat, but overall there wasn't a whole lot of excitement for me. It was mostly just 'okay, yeah, this looks nice, I might check it out'. Splatoon 3 was definitely hype though.
I don’t get the hate. Outside of a Wind Waker HD announcement, I was happy with what they showcased.
BOTW 2 and MP4 will be part of their e3 presentation if they have one. Their fall lineup remains a mystery.
I expect there may be a Monster Hunter centric one in a couple weeks, and probably one for Pokémon Snap 2 before that comes out.
@TheFox Honestly I'm not surprised. It's been 500 days since the last "true" Direct?
But on the other hand people forgot the main reason we likely didn't get any in so long was the difficulties to schedule sound recording and filming crew in the first place.
So people thought that the first Direct in 500 days would have MAJOR announcement but for me it was always "cool, they finally got through the difficulties of hosting a direct in the pandemic".
Like, the biggest announcement there was probably Splatoon 3 in more ways than one.
They didn't just reveal the sequel to a loved franchise.
They revealed the sequel to a franchise known for it's multi-years post release support and events.
Couldn't be a nicer way to go "you're barely into this tiny consoles' lifespan, buckle up folks".
A Zelda reveal would have been nice, but that's a single player story; it might be an evergreen but in term of actual update it's maybe only 1 or 2 years of updates.
Splatoon? Now you're in for the long haul(fishing pun non-intended... but perhaps fitting).
I didn't had any expectations, I also went to bed and watched the video this morning. I was still disappointed. I'm worried about a future (that is already present) full with Free to play or online multiplayer battle royal shooters. I really can't get into them. SS was ok and it is a very good game (even if it's one of the lesser Zelda games). And Nintendo keeps talking about original, new content, but 80% of announcements are ports. I see lots of people here asking themselves what is Nintendo doing? They have lots of money right now, internal development studios, only one console... And they make Mario Golf with Miis? Are Miis still a thing? I thought they where almost abandoned. And Miitopia? Like: "let's port one of the great 3DS games with updated graphics!" and this came out? Do they want us to create Miis, again?
The one thing I really hoped for came, NMH3, but I'm really not sure... The gameplay trailer for it wasn't really great... But I can't judge from that only.
Personal note: becoming older I would like to get a different gaming device, I always had only Nintendo (and a Dreamcast). So I was thinking about a gaming PC or a PS5... The only problem is they are nowhere to be found (pc=good graphics card), at the moment 😅.... What do you guys have (or would buy) to stand next to the Switch?
Overall I’m satisfied, if not blown away. There wasn’t much I was interested in, but the games that did catch my attention - namely Project Triangle Strategy, Splatoon 3 and Skyward Sword HD - have me REALLY hyped. Frankly, I’m only disappointed because we didn’t see Rune Factory 5 or Monster Hunter Stories 2 (which are major 2021 releases for me), a Wind Waker + Twilight Princess collection (which was a bit of a leap but could still happen in the future), or a big 1st anniversary New Horizons update, but that’s my own damn fault for getting overly ambitious with my expectations pre-Direct. 😂
@TheFox The sort of games I hope for will probably never happen anyway like a new star fox game or something
Also given the gameboy love they've given in the past ala pokemon let's go and links awakening... but wheres 6 golden coins?
Surely everyone found something to like in there? If not then they are just picking it apart for the sake of having something to moan about!
✅ Mario Golf
✅ Ninja Gaiden
✅ Hyrule Warriors DLC
✅ Skyward Sword
✅ Zelda Joy-Cons 🤤
I enjoyed it.
I had hoped a little they would show something from the rumoured Resident Evil Revelations 3 game.
But then again I knew they probably wouldn't because the Village game is coming out soon in the same series, so I was neither disappointed nor uplifted by the "show" (I did watch it all though and wasn't too bored).
Somewhere in the middle. I liked some of the indies coming like Outer Wilds. Tactics successor looked dope. Mario Golf might be cool? (Not high expectations, arcade golf has really been stagnant for years and Speed Golf looks gimmicky as hell). SSHD is a cool release but a joke at $60 MSRP.
I think it was a good, thorough show, it just largely missed any of the types of games I care about personally. Was hoping we'd see Shin Megami Tensei V. That would have been a realistic game to cover given its supposed release window. I knew Metroid 4 was a pipedream but I hoped a port of the Prime Collection might be a reality.
@Bocking87- I don't think there's a Switch Pro coming.
If anything, Splatoon 3 might well be a way to say THIS console still has years ahead of itself, with the multiple years of post-release support and splatfest events the franchise is now known for. Or else they'd have already announced the Switch Pro in the same breath.
I'm more thinking they're holding back announcements for the same reason they held back announcing Mario 3D All-Stars until September 3rd: franchise anniversaries. Because Mario's 35th anniversary only officially started on that day
As it turns out, here's a couple of them coming this year:
February 21st: Zelda's 35th anniversary (though as it's a Sunday, I'll be keeping an eye out for the week that follow as well just in case)
February 27th: Pokemon's 25th anniversary
May 26th: Dragon Quest's 35th anniversary
August 6th: Metroid's 35th anniversary.
This last one is probably the biggest one not because of what they'll announce but the when. In the sense that much like it took until we finally hit september to finally get a confirmation of Mario 3D All-Stars being a thing rather than unsubtantied rumors.... I'm not expecting Metroid anything until August 6th has rolled in.
My expectations were pretty low and I was disappointed. Not many really games that interested me thus time around.
They could’ve given us something on BOTW2 and ending on Splatoon 3 was weak. Some interesting titles though
I really enjoyed it, but taste in video games is subjective. No point in arguing haha
What was up with the Age of Calamity expansion reveal that contained zero information about what was being added to the game? Give me something. One character, one new locale, something. This little chart is not selling me a 19.99 DLC.
@TheImperator I think ocarina at very least is a lock. Mario 3D all stars proved that people will pay premium prices for unaltered ports. Also it’s very possible that Zelda 35th is not acknowledged, at least not while they are still on the Mario anni kick
I was ok with the Direct, and still expecting more Zelda and Metroid through this year.
Splatoon 3 really made it for me.
@MS7000 I got one back in November, mainly for Demon's Souls and cause I'm stuck at home so much. It's been ace, but very expensive. Luckily, I have a crazy amount of cheap PS4 games to go through while I wait for the new games to come down in price a bit. The cost of gaming is definitely getting a bit out of hand.
For this being the first full direct in a long time, obviously it was a massive let down...pretty pathetic lineup of games. Mario Golf was cool and the new Zelda and Joycons but most of it was garbage including the smash DLC but I gave up on anything worthwhile being added to smash and have now given up on future directs so the bar has been set really low at least
I didn't have expectations other than something for Zelda and a Smash character reveal. I was hoping for AoC dlc and got that, plus a handful of other things I'll consider buying, so overall I'm pretty happy with it.
I don't really judge Directs by "meeting expectations" or overall "objective" quality, I just make lists of the things I want. The only time I remember being disappointed was when Miitopia was a port rather than a sequel.
I usually don't set any expectations for Directs, however this one sure got me hyped! Some of my highlights:
Info on Animal Crossing x Mario
Famicon Detective
World's End Club
Skyward Sword (I love this game and can't wait to see the improvements)
Miitopia (I didn't get around to it on 3DS)
Mario Golf (I am also hyped for the motion controls)
Splatoon 3 (Super hyped for this)
Overall a decent presentation because there was something cool there for everybody. Almost...everybody. I'm hard to please.
My biggest surprise was with Skyward Sword HD. For the longest time I was convinced that it wouldn't be technically possible for the Joycons to do the same job as the Wiimote and nunchuck. But, Nintendo seems to have faith in it, and that's saying something. I'm still a bit skeptical though.
Skyward Sword is hugely disappointing — just lazy to re-release essentially the same game as was used for the 25th anniversary (and while I know it is oddly popular, I find it to be the weakest mainline modern Zelda).
But Mario Golf looks AMAZING and NMH3 is also really promising.
So on the whole, I’m happy, although Zelda is my favorite franchise in video games so I was certainly hoping for a bigger announcement in that respect.
@Old-Red I do have a collection of my own that I have been building in the past couple of weeks that I could probably go through on it if I did buy one, so not a bad plan. Best thing about new consoles is older games that I missed. getting cheaper all of a sudden. =) Got FF7R the other day for £20 from an ASDA. Hope you enjoy.
This direct was crammed with moments of, "Well this isn't what the fans wanted, but I am PUMPED!" The SaGa Frontier Remaster, the Famicom Detective Club games I've always wanted to try, Project Triangle Strategy, Mario Golf with story mode, Skyward Sword. Splatoon isn't a big deal for me, but my son is over the moon. It's like it was a direct just for me.
For me the most exciting things were coming next year. Mario golf and Skyward Sword are decent summer titles though. I think a lot of people are acting like that’s all we’ll get this year, when there has been no reveal of anything sept-dec. I highly doubt this is the only direct we’ll get now that they’re back.
@Ludovsky
@Manjushri 12-month plus global pandemic?
I overall enjoyed the direct. I do wish they showed us something from Breath of the Wild 2 but it's fine. There were a lot of games I was very interested in but also realize I will probably never play, and and a few that I will try to make a priority to play but still might not get to them because that's life. Mario Golf will probably be in my house shortly after release, my son wants Skyward Sword which is yet another game we already own that he will hound me to buy so we will see. I haven't purchased Smash DLC yet but they definitely have added some great characters so it is tempting.
During the Splatoon 3 reveal I was wondering if it was a more of a Splatoon open world action adventure game which really intrigued me to be honest but it looks to be just more of the same Splatoon. Maybe the single player stuff will be more fleshed out though.
All in all I was happy with the direct, sad that the amount of games I want to play is currently at an undoable amount.
@Octorok385 I'd say : "wait until February 21st, and later"
That's the day Zelda's 35th anniversary actually starts. It's a Sunday though so I'd leave the possibility of announcements only being later during the actual week.
We were told by sources that Mario 3D All-Stars would be only coming as early as March 2020***, but only got the official reveal on the day of the actual anniversary.... September 3rd.
((***the same guy who told us that was coming is also now telling us to keep an eye out for Twillight Princes/Wind Waker most likely being re-released this year. And I'd possibly add a "perhaps more" but for now I'm focusing on these two and Sunday/next week for possible "surprise" mini-Directs).
Really disappointing. Nothing I’m remotely interested in.
I love and hate Nintendo at the same time.
Just give all the big hitters we all want for the love of God.
They’ll sell like hot cakes but typical Nintendo give us a few average titles and another rehash of a game.
I've gotta say I LOVED this direct even though I didn't get everything I wanted
I can't stop smiling man, it's been too long since I last felt the hype of a Nintendo direct! Lets be honest here though, it isn't a Nintendo direct if there isn't any division lmao.
@Kiz3000 @Friendly
SSBU DLC
Famicom Detective Club
Miitopia
Skyward Sword HD
AOC DLC
Splatoon 3
Animal Crossing Update
Mario Golf
New Joy-Con
More 1st party Nintendo stuff than we get in most directs around this time. I think your problem with it is a lack of Nintendo content you like. I personally loved the direct and think they did a great job. Also, I'm fairly certain a pokemon direct next week will give us even more.
Honestly I don't know how I feel about it. I've come to prefer Twitter drops so I wasn't super hyped to begin with. They showed some neat stuff, I'm looking forward to Mario Golf and Skyward Sword HD. But I was honestly hoping for a new Fire Emblem trailer. That's my fault for not managing my expectations, though. Zero evidence for anything other than Smash Bros.
@Hurblyburbly There's a lot of anniversaries this year.
Last year, we got hints early from sources that 3D All-Stars was coming, but Nintendo kept silent until the actual official anniversary on September 3rd... well after a lot of people had finally thought it was just another fake rumor.
Same source's now saying to keep an eye out for Twillight Princess/Wind Waker this year now... and it's indeed a shame they were not announced in this direct.
But the Zelda 35th anniversary doesn't officially "start" until February 21st.
And there's enough anniversaries this year, I have the feeling the big announcements will this be scheduled for these days rather than any "general" Direct.
February 21: Zelda's 35th anniversary. Also a Sunday so I'm keeping an eye out for the week that follows.
February 27: Pokemon's 25th
May 26th: Dragon Quest's 35th(Yuji Hori already gave hints he's got announcement planned this year, too)
August 6th: Metroid's 35th(so I wouldn't expect Metroid anything to be revealed until that day.... kind of like how Nintendo kept silent about Mario 3D All-StarséMario 3D World until the official start of Mario's 35th)
Those are all days with potential for major announcements... the kind that could overshadow a lot of other content in a general direct. So it's probably normal that if anything is planned, it'd be kept out of the general Direct and instead relegated to appropriate days of their respective anniversaries.
I enjoyed most of the announcements but it still felt light for being the first direct after a year and a half. The last two partner showcases actually had me more excited than this direct. The most baffling thing was the lack of news on games we already know about. Where were the two SMT games? Rune factory? Monsterhunter stories? The world ends with you? Most of these games are scheduled to release in summertime and despite nintendo claiming this direct would focus on the first half of this year they still included a lot of summer games and two 2022 titles.
It was a 7/10 for me. I'll be buying the Hades physical release, Skyward Sword HD, Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, Neon White, and Triangle Strategy. But there were several casual games shown that I have zero interest in playing. And that's...okay.
Meh, no Prime Trilogy or Soulcalibur announcement makes jack a sad boy. 🙃
Was definitely underwhelmed by this Direct. Especially after Mario got 2 whole collections of games for his 35th Anniversary. Zelda just got 1 game. And its strange because Wind Waker and Twlight Princess HD should be easy to port over to the Switch. Meanwhile, they could have had Grezzo work on HD remasters of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
@Crockin Yeah. This said, it would fit a pattern established last year: waiting until the official date of the anniversary before the, well, big Mario 35th anniversary reveals.
So I get the feeling a lot of franchises that are having announcements this year will be purposefully kept away from general directs(where they would overshadow anything else that'd be announced in those) and specifically kept instead for the official days of those anniversaries(so I wouldn't expect anything Metroid until Metroid's 35th anniversary on the 6th of August for example).
I'm firmly in the "not blown away, but satisfied" majority.
The Direct opening with XC2 characters in Smash did nothing for me, but other tidbits during the presentation left me with an OK impression overall.
I liked seeing the Rampage mode in Monster Hunter Rise, where it looks like the poor harassed beasts finally take the offensive and attack the village. It's probably the closest we will get to a Princess Mononoke video game.
The Outer Wilds also looks like a port I might enjoy.
Capcom Arcade was a pleasant surprise for an old arcade brat like me!
Splatoon 3 grabbed me immediately - I thought it might be some kind of adventure game spinoff at first, but it settled back down into familiar team shooter territory and my enthusiasm cooled a bit.
My kids and I all liked the looks of Miitopia and the SMB items in Animal Crossing. Fall Guys I think depends on the price point.
Overall for me I'd say it was an exciting 50 mins. Except for that Triangle RPG game segment, which seemed to drag.
There's no way they could have met the immense hype, considering the loooong absence.
@GrailUK honestly big same XD
With 3D World/Persona 5 Striker/MH Rise already lined up for me, it was a relief most of the Direct's stuff is not coming until April and later.
These results disappoint me. That was a flawless direct
@sleepinglion I'm keeping my expectations low but then again who knows. The big hints we're having right now(from the same guy who told us about 3D All-Stars seasons ahead of it's reveal) seem to be Twillight Princess and Wind Waker at least.
I mean, those would be easy move to make too, considering the ports already existed on the WiiU to grab and convert to Switch. And still are pretty loved releases.
There's also been a flurry of copyright renewals specifically this month ahead of the anniversary(specifically the other wind waker timeline games: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks iirc) but regarding that I'm putting myself in a "wait and see" mindset since that could be nothing(copyrights gotta be renewed once in a while after all).
This was one of my all-time favorite directs. 10/10 for me personally, and the only reason I'm announcing this is to balance out all the hate.
@BabyYoda71 It's like people forgot that this is just the Direct for the "early" 2021 and then some, and that already has a LOT of stuff with 3D World/Persona 5 Striker/Bravely Default/Monster Hunter Rise.
Early 2021 doesn't have a lot to cry for tbh imo.
Plus there's a lot of anniversaries this year so I fully expect announcements involved with related franchises to be specifically held off for those anniversaries so as to not overshadow everything elses in the general Direct.
In many ways it was a very traditional Direct(not all directs were groundbreaking announcements after groundbreaking announcements) and Splatoon 3 was perhaps the more powerful but also downright subtle announcement: A sequel to your favorite franchise is coming next year, and it's the one that can guarantee you there'll be more support for years to follow.
If anything, Splatoon 3 is why I feel a Switch Pro is still a way off. Or else they'd already have announced one in the same breath.
A very subtle way of going "You're just hitting the midpoint of this little console's lifespan. Buckle up, we're in for a long haul".
Skyward Sword and Triangle Strategy are all I needed. I was hoping for a release date for Spelunky 2 on switch (all we know now is Summer 2021) and for The Great Detective ports.
Pretty solid. Splatoon 3 was nice, but not unexpected. Same goes for many of the announcements (SSHD, Mario Golf, etc.) I'm personally very excited for Legend of Mana HD and Project Triangle Strategy...really, all the Square Enix love was great.
More a quantity over quality Direct, IMO. Lots and lots of great/good (grood?) stuff, but no megatons.
I wanted to see F zero GX so I guess Im somewhat disapointed? 😂
Eh... Imo this could have been separated into smaller ones like they have been doing. I'm not saying that I only want Nintendo announcements but good games. This was the most checkmark all the genres for every demographic direct I've seen. Also, Hardcore Nintendo fan boys and girls I think the Big-N hates you.
Pretty solid Nintendo Direct. There's only a couple games I'm really keen on getting though, which is probably good for my wallet. Can't wait for Mario Golf (been a fan since the N64 and GBC originals), Skyward Sword HD (I never actually finished it back on Wii), really want those Zelda Joy Con (hope Nintendo makes enough to satisfy demand), and I'm still hopeful for a Legend of Zelda 3D All-Stars release similar to Mario's. I am also interested in trying out the demo for Project Triangle Strategy and I will eventually get Bravely Default II but not at launch, since Square games usually go on sale a few months after release.
@benchan I want a Switch release of Windwaker HD so bad. Mostly so I can finally complete the Nintendo Gallery. I tried on Wii U but I was relying on Miiverse to get the photos of characters I had missed early on in the game and I really don't want to restart the file from scratch. Plus, I just can't get back in to using the GamePad....it's too bulky.
@Ludovsky Idk about it being specifically anniversary related, I just mean that if it is, i don't think they would have marketing campaigns for mario and zelda anniversaries running at the same time or close to each other
@Zach777 How dare a consumer expect some exciting new title announcements after all this time. Bad bad bad consumer hurting the feelings of our friend Nintendo. Those Directs are a big commercial, not an artistic statement by a human being at a gallery art show. For me, the Direct was whatever. About what I expected....except for the reveal of Splatoon 3, which made my heart sing.
Unfortunately for me, I don't have much to look forward to over the next four to six months. Mario Golf seems cool and I might consider it, but I'm not huge on golf. Monster Hunter, like Pokemon, has never been my jam so I always pass on those games. I've already purchased most of the re releases such as Skyward Sword, Hades, Outer Wilds, etc, so those will be a pass for me. The only game I know I'll pick up is the Legend of Mana remake as that was one I missed back in the day. It's going to be another light year for me as far as big Nintendo releases.
Pretty good. Like most Directs really. A couple of things I’m really pleased about, a few I’m interested in and some stuff I don’t care about at all.
Mario Golf and Skyward Sword the highlights for me.
Tons of titles, something for everyone. Just nothing earth shattering IMO.
It was solid, but the world situation really makes waiting for things hitting even as soon as the summer seem too far off to really energize me. And I can only assume that anything coming in the far flung space year of 2022 will arrive in pill form.
Can't really get excited about Skyward Sword HD, even if it's the only 3D Zelda I haven't played at this point and I'm sure it's a fine game. If they were dropping it next month? Maybe. But it's a long time to wait to find out whether we should have all just played the Wii version.
@Manjushri amazing direct. No need to hold them to any particular standard. They know what they can get away with. I personally made the last mistake of actually watching it along with my wife. That mistake won’t be made again that’s for sure.
I was mostly satisfied with the direct. The smash announcement and splatoon 3 were definitely the highlights.
I didnt like it. Like at all. There was only a few things that even remotely interested me. I am glad however that others were excited for it
In the middle. Alot of things I wasn't interested in, which is ok because others will be. One announcement that got me excited, one that annoyed me, one I was surprised by and a few I'm mildly interested in.
@Blooper987 I'm going to come across really negative but I'll address your points
Miitopia and SSHD are both ports and will be handled by third parties. Sure Nintendo will consult but they shouldn't be considered "first party"
SSBU and AOC Calamity are again third party games which Nintendo consult on. DLC also does not need anywhere near the man power of a new release.
The Animal Crossing update is welcome, but seems pretty minor, unless there was something I missed.
Are Camelot considered Nintendo first party? Either way Mario Golf did look decent. I concede not my cup of tea though.
I don't know enough about Famicom Detective Club to make any judgement. Videogame novels have a very niche market though.
Splatoon 3 and the joy con were welcome however.
@Clyde_Radcliffe But Nintendo just generally does that
This was a great direct, the smash reveal was great, fall guys, Miitopia and the return of miis, mario golf looks pretty good if they have online multiplayer and a good story mode it's going to be a great game. I probably won't get skyward sword right now because of all the games I want to buy but I'm happy for everyone who gets to play it for the first time. This direct made me confident in nintendo's 2021 because there is so much stuff coming out in the summer and march the holiday months are gonna have some great games.
Skyward sword I don’t care, splatoon 3 wtf who asked for that, no bayonetta 3, no BOTW2 news, mario golf is almost the only thing that caught my attention!
To be honest I don't like being this vitriolic, but as a major Direct after 500 days it absolutely sucked.
I wasn't expecting much, but I really didn't think it could be this bad.
The fact that they said "focus on the first half of 2021" only to announce another two 2022 games is taking the p*ss, considering we're still waiting on Bayo 3, BOTW 2 and MP4. At least NMH3 is a thing.
No SMT V is just a joke. It's been 4 years and we still know nothing FFS.
No new major games, and the worst 3D Zelda in HD.
Really terrible.
@Friendly we didn't get much from nintendo but their announcements were great. I think this direct nintendo wise was just eh. What really pulled through was square enix and ff tactics octopath style game is absolutely phenomenal fans have been begging for this for years and it's finally happening any person who has played a lot of rpgs will know just how much of an absolutely huge deal this is. Also pyra and mythra are much better than rex as characters so that's nice.
THE GOOD: I liked what I saw with Mario Golf and I've been really enjoying the Project: Triangle Strategy demo (honestly that was my favorite reveal of the whole Direct, and I wouldn't be too surprised if it ends up being named under the Final Fantasy Tactics banner).
MIXED FEELINGS: The BotW 2 wait was disappointing in it's own right, but even though I'm happy to see a Skyward Sword remaster I fear that it signals a domino effect for those hoping for a 35th Anniversary Zelda compilation. Even if that happens (and the possibility took a hit with this reveal anyway), it's almost certain that it won't launch alongside BotW 2. If it happens it would be this fall or Christmas season, meaning that BotW 2 would be a 2022 release. The Animal Crossing Mario content is cute, but I was hoping for something more substantial with the game's first anniversary coming up.
THE BAD: As usual the Switch continues to be the home for lots of games from previous platforms, many of which are dated by now. The Smash Bros Ultimate fighter reveal was honestly a disappointment; yet another sword-wielding character from an in-house franchise, and far from a household name like many folks were hoping. It's also another slot gone in the Season 2 Pass; I'll bet if a vote were taken far more users would've rather had Waluigi, if anyone from Nintendo's own roster.
Overall I would rate this Direct a 6 or 7 out of 10, because I figured two or three good announcements would be about what we could realistically expect. Hopefully around E3 Nintendo will reveal at least a couple more AAA first-party releases for the back half of this year.
@Dang69
Oh stop that, please good person.
They have:
Monster Hunter Rise
Mario Golf
Zelda Skyward Sword HD
Miitopia
Outer Wilds
Ninja Gaiden
No More Heroes 3
Fall Guys
Apex Legends
New Hyrule Warriors/Smash/Animal Crossing DLC/updates.
Famicom Detective Club
Project Triangle Strategy
Legend of Mana
Ghosts n’ Goblins Ressurection
Splatoon 3 (2022)
Other than Splatoon 3 what they showed is mostly up to July 2021, which is memory serves me correctly leaves 5 more months of stuff they didn’t even talk about, and Nintendo always hits hardest the second half of the year.
@clvr the problem is atlus not nintendo for smt v. What they should have done was talk about how it's still coming and a nice trailer to drum up interest with no new info, then a lengthy smt nocturne trailer so people get hyped for the game because now I'm worried it won't sell well when nocturne is a really good game that deserves it more than p 5 honestly (and I adore persona 5 but it's really on par with the smt series and persona as a whole not some revolution or something it's just as good as the last 3 persona games (not 1tho lol) does some things worse some better) and smt nocturne is a game that is as good as p5 imo. Heck I'd say smt strange journey is absolutely better than five or nocturne and most people who've played it would agree. Yeah I hope persona can carry on it's hype to MEGATEN because I've seen ads for p5s yet none for nocturne. WHY I just want atlus to succeed with the series that persona is based of of not because atlus deserves it their business practices are pretty scummy but people who like persona should experience the games that are as good and better than persona.
@Ludovsky
Appreciate the response that you’ve clearly thought out and have knowledge about too.
You obviously make valid points but the likelihood is even with anniversaries all we’re going to get is a bunch of games that have been out previously and have been given a coat of paint and then they charge £50 for them.
This doesn’t really cut it with me tbh.
The switch is fast becoming a console of old games ported on to it as it’s so successful.
I just want new games of some games the great franchises that Nintendo have made over the years.
Where’s?
Metroid prime?
F zero?
An actual new Switch Mario kart and not a port.
Maybe Mario strikers?
A new switch Sports game (similar to wii sports)
I’m sure there’s loads more that I can’t think of atm.
It would be nice to have some new titles to look forward to. That’s all
@Zach777 it's more like they revealed stuff we didn't expect I thought it was a good direct bit nintendo revealed two games and a port really. Square enix made the direct amazing though for anyome who likes ff tactics lol. Just expecting more first party stuff or smt stuff or something when the square enix picked up the slack. Really good direct imo people should be happy with it
Just too long. They had like 10 minutes worth of Direct.
Nintendo play it way too safe imo these days. Where’s the more left field stuff they used to release?
I love Mario, Zelda, AC etc but damn the variation is lacking. Gimme some wave race, excitbike, pullblox, doshin etc! Variety is the spice of life right?
I don’t think they have enough development teams to do all their IP justice.
I had low expectations. It was ok, no more, no less.
Project Triangle Strategy alone made it worthwhile for me. Damn, that's a terrible working title though.
A large chunk of the content this time related to stuff that isn't my personal cup of tea (like Splatoon and Mario Golf), but I'm pretty excited for Famicom Detective Club and Project Triangle Strategy. The Mario addition to ACNH seems fun too.
@Steelhead that game looks like the best game in the presentation and I am a hardcore splatoon and mario golf fan but damn that game looks like a masterpiece I saw a job system and a cool weapon elemental thing epic
@Ghostchip
Yes, that’s precisely my point. Fans EXPECTED something specific and then when things didn’t lay out their way, the world ended and “Nintendo is horrible and gave us nothing and wa wa wa wa.”
Last year the world shut down because of an apparently horrendous virus that decimated everything. The world is still not bounced back. What do you really expect when employees can’t work together as they used to?
@datamonkey You mean left field stuff like Famicom Detective Club? I like Pullblox (Pushmo), Advance Wars, etc. as much as the next person but the truth is these things don't typically sell very well. Mario and Zelda are annual franchises so you knew that was going to be there. Animal Crossing gets a new game every few years plus with new IP like Arms (that's not left field?), Splatoon, Astral Chain, etc. I don't think we have any room for complaint. Not all these are my cup of tea but we can't complain about lack of variety. And yes, I am pre-ordering the FDC games.
@Ghostchip yeah I absolutely agree, I'd love for SMT to break into the mainstream like Persona did.
I just hope that Persona's success doesn't mean they'll "personify" SMT, as I don't want anime students getting into whacky situations like in Apocalypse lol
Btw I think both Ninty and Atlus should push the series more, since V is an exclusive.
If Nintendo doesn't care, who should?
Overall a good presentation considering it only focused on the first half of the year, aside from the big Splatoon 3 news.
@clvr exactly. And not only that but p5s is terrible to me. You just put a sequel to a very story oriented game on switch to see if it would sell well. That would be fine if the original was there but no one who just owns a switch is going to want to spoil p5 and jump right in... Persona 3 portable, persona 4 golden, or persona 2 duology would have been much better picks as they start you in on the series. I just hope if this doesn't sell well atlus doesn't discount switch as an smt only platform when we want persona. Joker was so cool in smash everyone wanted to play his game but nope only ps. I got p3p on my psportable just because joker was so cool in smash so I had to try a game of his series and now I'm a fan of atlus games. Not a lot of other people have PSPs lying around though
Edit: that's why I hope nocturne and smt v sell well because it'll show atlus persona isn't the future MEGATEN is the future with persona being half of the fun and smt being the other half (anime is not how smt should feel). I love persona for its character development I'm not an anime guy akihiko is such a well written and relatable character as well as other characters from the series. Smt is not supposed to be that. It's supposed to be a dark non anime like game with a mature themes and a very threatening environment that sets a somber tone.
Id have been interested in mario gold or zelda remake if they were budget titles.
But as they're full price, absolutely nothing of interest to me.
Pretty decent Direct, there seemed to be something for all walks of life in there. I saw some bits to look forward to in the coming months, but for me there's still so much from the past couple of years I'm yet to pick up that I'm pretty much set up for ages. I had no hopes and there were some nice surprises.
As has been said before, I was surprised at how much was there considering the crap we've all been through in the last year due to covid.
Well, I expected botw2, Bayonetta 3 and Hollow knight 2. And maybe Metroid. Well, nothing of that! Famicom detective club coming was a nice surprise and looks pretty sweet, but they should be 2 on a card. As for Mario golf: Mario sports titles get worse and worse over time. And Splatoon 3: Probably again focused on multiplayer, so not for me.
That Nintendo even showed 2022 titles tells me they wanted to throw everything on the table at once, meaning that first-party wise there isn't much happening. Basically all their franchises are dead, not all their staff is working on Zelda or Metroid. I guess most of them are send home.
This is Nintendo just riding the Switch-wave. From a business-point I understand: They basically can stop with first-party games altogether, the system keeps selling. From my own point its heartwrenching: First party is basically dead, and third party is just ports of old stuff and indies. Now if we gotten the latest third-party games Sony and Microsoft are getting (but they have to be hugely downgraded) or some REALLY solid exclusives...nope!
"and surely now would be time for Nintendo to work on delivering new games or new entries in a series that become classics in their own right"
I agree. If they want to make older series popular again now its the time, everything sells on Switch. But no, they are super lazy. I remember Miyamoto saying a while back that he feels the younger staff can stand on its own now. The only thing I see is Nintendo doing nothing with them (except Splatoon, but that isn't my thing).
I'm definitely on the boat that this was very thin.
The direct yesterday is the most convincing evidence I've seen so far of an update to the Switch being close by. My guess is that all the new major releases are being planned for better hardware and we got the ports and smaller titles filling in space until then. While I'm looking forward to playing Mario Golf in those sweet-looking new joy-cons, I'm surprised at how uninteresting this was as a 50min direct.
For me it was Shakespearean: Much Ado About Nothing.
@Henmii "First party is basically dead."
Because there isn't a plethora of their IPs on the table right now?
BotW2 is sill in dev. We have no news on MP4 but that doesn't mean it's dead (though I would say struggling right now). Splatoon 3 is in dev and who knows if they have anything else up their sleeves they're waiting to show.
Most of the stuff shown is for the next few months to boot. Who knows if there will be another direct this year like this one.
I came with the mentality to not be hyped and expecting to be dissapointed but somehow Ninterndo managed to dissapoint me even further. I have no idea how they do it.
More and more I only see them providing to japanese gamers and needs.
@datamonkey
That feels a touch harsh IMO. Splatoon was 2015 as was Boxboy, Starfox Guard 2016, ARMS 2017 and Ever Oasis 2017, Sushi Striker 2018, Astral Chain and Daemon X Machina 2019. We’ve had Labo, Ring Fit and Mario Kart Home Circuit on the Switch and they’ve published indie stuff like Good Job, Snipperclips, Flip Wars and The Stretchers.
I added 5 games to my "buy eventually" list, so I'd say it was quite good.
@Zach777 yeah we got a fare amount of announcements I just feel like so much is ambiguous about titles coming very soon. I was surprised square enix didn't talk about jeo the world ends with you but other than that I'm cool with the direct. Oh and smt is gonna flop on nintendo switch because they never ***** talk about it dammit it's one of this year's biggest releases in spring and summer why
@Denoloco Japan is their primary market.
I was disappointed...I expected much more Zelda for its 35h anniversary. I get that others are coming later, but overall, it was mildly disappointing.
@Denoloco why wouldn't they... They are a Japanese company...
@Simmo
“ The biggest disappointment is that there is a huge audience for updates in old classic series such as F-Zero, wave racer, Star fox,”
The problem-speaking as a big fan of all 3-is that there isn’t a huge audience. The last games were a while ago but they didn’t sell.
@Agent721 probably waiting for the actual anniversary I think
@Henmii
“ Now if we gotten the latest third-party games Sony and Microsoft are getting”
That was realistically never ever going to happen though.
@WiltonRoots I have the same opinion as you. While there was quite a few games I'm interested in getting, there were many I didn't like.
My feeling about a quarter of the way into the Direct: "They're trying to appeal to ALL GAMERS using the Switch." It was enjoyable, plus there's plenty more presentations to come throughout the year. They hinted more Directs would be on the way. Also, we didn't have a FULL Direct, but lots of mini presentations throughout 2020. Some that were really good too.
@MegaVel91
I don´t think I agree on that.
Seeing this, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_Nintendo_Switch_video_games, you get a pretty varied list of games to be catered to a worldwide market (no Xenoblade, JRPGs and such) so I kind of question who they want to deliver to.
@MegaVel91,
Yeah I guess there still will be "some" stuff, but not much. I agree with one of the comments above: I also think they are working on a new Switch. I however don't think of a new model, but a much more powerful Switch. Metroid most definitely will be on that system, maybe Bayonetta 3 too. Zelda might be a dual-release. But it doesn't change the situation: If it also will be a massive succes, Nintendo will drop a few cool games during the first year or so and after that they just go to sleep again.
@electrolite77,
I know and I keep finding it sad.
@Denoloco,
It looks that way. Basically all the Nintendo franchises I like are dead.
@Wolfgabe
“ I do think people need to do a better job of keeping their expectations in check”
Totally agree. It’s the same every Direct. They also need to remember there’s a Global Pandemic hammering Office working i.e. Video Games development.
I wasn’t expecting Miitopia.
It met my expectations, but unlike most people (or a vocal minority), I keep my expectations in check. I mean what are people expecting? 50 minute long orgasms for a presentation catered specifically around their wants? Stuff to make youtube compilations about all the reactions of screaming people? Most titles don't really do it for me. I don't play Smash or Animal Crossing and haven't started Age of Calamity yet, I don't play online games, and I played most other games.
But it seemed like there was something for mostly everyone, and whether they call it Direct Mini, Partner Direct, or Perhaps Somewhat Indirect, it's all the same, albeit the one is more focused than the other. I'll replay Stubbs, possibly Ninja Gaiden, and may consider getting Hades now that it gets a physical release. I have absolutely zero interest in golf... But SPEED GOLF? That seems a lot of fun! And hopefully Skyward Sword gets accompanied by Wind Waker and Twitlight Princess (and Minish Cap and the Oracles, now that I'm thinking hopefully, not probably). But I did get chills and a few tears when I heard the Skyward Sword music start, and I'm definitely looking forward to that. Miitopia, at the right price (...) would be nice, but even the 3DS version is still expensive.
(Octopath Tactics) and (Zero Escape sidescroller) look promising.
@Franklin a Switch successor won’t come until at least 2024.... it’s selling like hot cakes and no one is complaining about it lagging behind their competitors.
@Manjushri Coronavirus.
@Denoloco well the truth is a good game is good for all audiences they make very japanese games but they are all good and amazing how the heck cares they are fun worldwide lol
Was impressed and unimpressed at the same time. Games like Mario Golf and Fall Guys were fun to see. Not a big fan of much else though. I’ve always wanted to play octopath traveler but it never dropped down in price so I never picked it up. I have a feeling that’ll be the same with the new one too sadly.
Highlights
Mario Golf
Fall Guys
Joy-Cons
Good
The Famicom Mystery games
Triangle Strategy
No More Heroes
Splatoon 3
Meh
Everything else (hating commence)
Unfortunately this direct seemed to be more quantity than quality. At least we’ll be getting more games this year though.
@electrolite77
Yeah perhaps there isnt, but surely now is no better time to reintroduce these series, both for those new to Nintendo and those of us with the fond memories.
The success of the switch could mean bringing these game up to date and giving them a proper push, i think those of us who grew up with those games would have been buzzing if we learned one was in development.
Ill buy the remasters and ports but they dont have the same buzz as a new first party game
Underwhelming. Feels a bit like Nintendo is holding some cards too close to the vest while developing whatever comes after Switch. It’s becoming the platform of remasters and re-releases.
The Switch has been a runaway success, I’m wondering if they’re holding off on sharing upcoming AAA exclusives to line up with their next hardware iteration? Similar to how Breath of the Wild was delayed for Wii U so it could launch with the Switch.
This Direct confirmed to me that Nintendo fans complain about everything. I've defended against it, and still can't stand the fans who complain about complainers, but this Direct was MASSIVE. I'm not a fan of everything they announced on the direct, but look at what they announced!
A new character for Smash, No More Heroes 3, Splatoon 3, Skyward Sword HD, a strategy RPG follow-up of Octopath Traveler, a couple new IPs and ports of two EXTREMELY popular games: Fall Guys and Outer Wilds. And that was only PART of the presentation!
It didn't have the things I was looking for, but what is Nintendo supposed to get from the complaints? They made SEVERAL huge announcements!
Skyward Sword was nice announcement but there was nothing else much.
It was about right for me. I didn't expect anything other than ports and remasters, but we're getting a concrete release date for No More Heroes 3, plus a new Mario Golf, a third Splatoon, a Xenoblade 2 rep for Smash Ultimate who wasn't the obvious pic of Rex, and a new FFT-style JRPG. I'm satisfied.
It’s the first time that i left a direct with out a single title to look forward to. Very disappointed and a bit worried about Nintendo plans.
@Clyde_Radcliffe Miitopia is 50$ check ur facts be4 u start groaning
It was an average direct, but feels disappointing because of the long wait and high expectations.
I bet we're in the middle of a coronavirus drought and Nintendo's studios haven't been able to adapt to remote work. Here's hoping unannounced projects haven't been cancelled outright.
Solid - albeit not mindblowing - direct for me given the sheer breadth of content shown, though I'm speaking from someone who wasn't expecting to see BOTW2, Prime 4, or Bayo 3. I'm sure this Direct was disappointing if you only were only interested in seeing those games.
I was disappointed by possibilities. There are plenty of Nintendo IPs gathering dust which still have meat on their bones. Even some of their IPs have sub-IPs. Nintendo could be hiring devs like Playtonic, EldenPixels, Tarsier, Pixeljunk, Team Cherry, House House etc that proved they can build a campfire, but instead of stoking the industry coals, we get no-personality Mario (one of Nintendo's most exciting IPs) Golf (a game so boring that the point of the game is to have played less of it). If you've heard of these studios already, you know how many people haven't, and you do know how many people would buy a 1st Party IP game, and would buy more fresh IP studio titles (BigN's 3rd party support) the next time around. I was all for the re-releases at first, but now I'm jaded as a gamer who bought these games before, sometimes twice. This direct didn't offer me much Nintendo, just a lot of Nontendo.
It was good, some games shown were not interesting but overall it was a good showcase.
Entitled fans will always be entitled.
Hating Nintendo is cool because social media tells them to do so.
My reaction? Simple.
Ninja Gaiden - NINJA APPROVED But it’s coming out on PC same day, so I’ll pay the same price for the better version.
Everything else was literal garbage, with the exception of Zelda and the Triangle whatever, I’m sure people will enjoy those.
All these people scolding off in the comments need to step back, we aren’t toddlers.
We are dreamers. That’s why we play games to begin with. Is it asking a lot or having high expectations to get news on the original Metroid Prime, a GameCube port? Or a collection of legacy Zelda games, from NES to SNES? No, of course not.
There was a disappointing amount of filler and shovel ware in that direct, it lowered my expectations of the company.
Anyway
NINJA APPROVED
It isn't that I wanted more, I'd just like something... a crumb from the table... please Nintendo... I'm starving...
Nope, again... I accept many really appreciate what's on offer, but it seems they aren't bothered about making the games I want to play these days... perhaps my style of gaming went out of fashion with the Gamecube?
OK, I'm pleased to see a new Mario Golf game, but that's not exactly going to set the world on fire is it.... its golf (Galf these days).
The whole F-Zero, Waverace, 1080, Pilotwings (a proper one not a remaster of the demo they put out on the 3DS) snub is ridiculous now... if you're not into slow paced games, jrpgs and turn based efforts, well move along there's nothing for you here anymore. This complaint is so old it's now a cliché, but that isn't my fault... more of a reflection on Nintendo.
It genuinely puzzles me how they can say they don't have anything new to add to F-Zero, yet we can't even play it in HD... and they'll seemingly re-master anything they can get their hands on in certain genres... I'm bored of their output simple as that.
Rather than the worst Zelda I've ever played, why not remaster some great Gamecube games, yeah F-Zero... again...
We've been playing the same MarioKart for what, SEVEN years across two systems? ... I mean, come on.... some new tracks? Maybe?? ... no...
Thankfully there's plenty of interesting indie stuff out there, but Nintendo... I have little interest these days. Until MK 9 eventually drops... unless they decided to keep it on mobile rather than bring it to their next rpg heavy, water my garden, arrange my room, paint gun snorefest of a machine... we'll see i guess.
@Ghostchip Yup...but that's literally in 3 days...February 21, 1986.
I was happy with it. But I'm a simple man that likes simple things :
Project Triangle
Legend of Mana
Mario Golf
No more heroes 3
Ninja Gaiden
Skyward Sword
Fall Guys
Saga Frontier
@CBordo Which is really funny that you mention it. There ARE a lot of JRPGs on that list, and in an interview in 1999 Hiroshi Yamaguchi was quoted, [People who play RPGs are] “depressed gamers who like to sit alone in their dark rooms and play slow games.”
NINJA, uh, wow, that’s out of touch LOL
@BloodNinja ... Are you for real? More than half the games on it are not shovelware, and actually have interesting concepts. Just because they don't jive with you doesn't make them shovelware.
@Goomba77 their argument for snubbing F-Zero is really stupid. They don't have a problem doing two Splatoon games on the same system and releasing thousands of ports and remasters. It's just about money. F-Zero games don't sell enough for them.
@MegaVel91 No, I’m just smoke. Nothing to see here, move along.
NINJA APPROVED
While mildly disappointing, I'm also quite relieved.
There is too much too play as it is, and I have more games than I will ever know what to do with. (and that's just my ever-burgeoning Switch library!)
Miitopia was the highlight for me. I absolutely freaking loved it on 3DS and had hoped for a Switch version for some time, but it was off my radar again. I hoped for an announcement of at least one of either Tomodachi Life/Miitopia/Nintendogs/Style Boutique and I'm glad that at least one had come to fruition.
It's a little disappointing that it appears to be a port of the 3DS original with a few new features, but I'm not complaining either as I have no qualms about playing it all over again. Sexy twerkeys in HD? Aww, yeah.
My only wish at this point is that they had some more amiibo costumes in addition to what was already in the original.
Also a little disappointing was the lack of more Zelda ports, but we'll probably get some sort of collection akin to 3D All Stars in time for the Holidays. Skyward Sword is great news as I haven't played it on Wii (even though I have a copy, albeit one I bought at a closing down sale for $5), and those Joy-Con look absolutely gorgeous (and if there's one thing I don't need more of, it's more Joy-Con ). Glad to see that the motion controls have been shafted while also giving everybody the option for more conventional controls. I suspect that this will be one of those rare games that I will only ever play in tabletop/docked mode (and I play in handheld mode 99% of the time).
The Ninja Gaiden collection is great if it includes all three games on a single cartridge with no download/update requirements.
The only "new" highlight for me was the Famicom Detective Club duology, but seeing as there won't be a Western physical release (and the Japanese release is Japanese-only), it looks like I won't be buying that, sadly. I may have considered a download, but not for the laughable price of AU$90 for the two. I'd happily pay up for a physical release, however.
Mario Golf looks good too, but I've been burned by Mario Tennis Open (unfinished at launch) and the 3DS installment (which had a season pass). So, this will probably be the first time in the Switch's lifespan that I will be reserving judgement on a first-party release.
My lowest bar for expectations wasn't even met. I was ok with ports and remasters until now, but I'm sick of it (from Nintendo and everyone else).
We got 2 new games from Nintendo. One of which will not be released for at least 12 months. The other is a golf game.
It's... complicated.
Basically nothing I hoped for was in the Direct. My hopes were not extravagant.
That said, I am looking forward to Skyward Sword, SaGa Frontier, and Ninja Gaiden, all of which I've never played. And Square's tactical RPG looks nice indeed, though it's not exactly coming soon. I'm also intrigued by oddball titles like World's End Club. Not sure how that'll turn out, but it could be interesting.
So the Direct wasn't a complete desert landscape. But it was still somewhat underwhelming. And there better be more Zelda this year...
I am mildly intrigued by Mario Golf and Splatoon 3 but let's be honest, we got the Zelda game that most people wanted least and not much else.
All the games I was hoping for such as Rhythm Heaven, Warioware, Wave Race, F Zero, Jet set Radio, Ready to Rumble, Powerstone, GTA, Silksong, Wind Waker and BOTW 2 were completely missing.
I thought it was fantastic! Lots of games coming, lots of different genres, first and 3rd party titles, all quite good.
People seem to think these Directs should be tailor made for them personally and throw a fit when it's not exactly what they wanted.
No Unirally, no CDi Zelda remakes so by default it was the worst direct ever. Even worse than the previous worst direct ever with no Unirally and no CDi Zelda remakes.
Also no news of an update to nintendo online with GBA or N64 games.
Or even an update to the operating system to allow folders
@Goomba77
Im exactly where you are.
It shows now though with expectations of Nintendo that rather then hoping for new games in these classic franchises, We would accept a port. Don't get me wrong i would love a port of the games you mentioned, but just goes to show what is becoming the norm on the switch.
I guess my main gripe was that the offering was very japanese. If you dont like that style o game then there really wasn't much there for you. For a long time nintendo fan, another remake is also kinda meh, i already have skyward sword, i already have super mario 3d world, i already had all the other old mario games... its just nothing for the long time nintendo fan here and there hasnt been in a while
Not good. Lousy smash character and a lot of the best stuff is tba BUT I can wait. I'm okay with saving the best for later.
@Zach777 We are but dogs, feasting on table scraps.
It revealed some things that I intend to buy and enjoy. Specifically Skyward Sword HD, Ninja Gaiden Trilogy (probably on PS4 though), Splatoon 3 (1 & 2 have the most hours for me on Wii U and Switch, so this was great news). New Smash fighter looks like they'll bring some new gameplay mechanics which is good, though the character themselves isn't as exciting as some previous additions. If it had nothing in that I planned to buy, that would have been a disappointment.
Splatoon 3 and Skyward Sword are all I needed, only wish they would come out sooner, specially SS. The rest is just bonus. Fall Guys in particular was nice to have confirmed, my daughters really want to play it.
@Simmo sad but true
I was exited but 60 bucks for skyward sword? 50 bucks for Miitopia? I feel like it should be a bit lower.
@kaffepapu No Hotel Mario either, it totally sucked (though seriously, I might actually buy Hotel Mario if it came out)
Happy for skyward sword as I’ve not played it but other than that nothing to entice me to pick up my Switch again
I was very hyped going in and now on reflection it was what I was expecting deep down, as it was a look at software coming for the first part of the year, they announced a lot of stuff even if the majority was third party and indie titles.
Mario golf was one of the highlights, as it gives me a new Mario golf game and effectively Wii U sports golf in the same package, it was on my wish list too.
I would still expect Nintendo to carry on with the shadow drops and directs centered around specific titles and events, so not too worried.
I think the issue is it comes down to a few things:
-First, Nintendo didn't really show off a lot of in-house stuff that's new, original, or massively exciting. SS HD is cool, but it's a barebones port of a less than 10 year old Wii Game with the bare minimum done to make it playable. Splatoon 3 doesn't seem to have much purpose exist since 2 is on Switch already. They didn't show off anything yet to really justify a sequel especially since they made such a big deal about supporting 2. Mario Golf is cool, Miitopia is cute, Pyra in smash is neat, but all of these aren't really anything new or groundbreaking. No info on Bayo3, Metroid Prime 1-4, 2D Metroid, really anything Nintendo has a hand in barring Project Triangle Strategy (admittedly, that did look outstanding and original). Second, why are all these games so overpriced for what they are?
-SS HD is $60, comparing that to all the Wii U ports that at least were this same generation/usually had a substantial amount of new content is a joke and not something I want to support. Being a Nintendo fan is kind of expensive as is and having to pay full price for a game that's not even a decade old and has no new content is kind of absurd. That doesn't even begin to talk about the advantage of an emulator or simply buying it on Wii U. What about the fact Nintendo knows Joy-Con are having serious issues, but still advertised a new set of Joy-Con? Unbelievable and frankly kind of scummy from a company I like.
Why is Mario Golf, a semi-niche sports title, a full $60? Why were the most interesting announcements from 3rd parties? Why is Miitopia, a free 3DS StreetPass game, $50?! I don't want to seem ungrateful, I am happy Nintendo did a direct and I am excited for these games, but not at that price point during a time when it's really hard for people to justify spending $60 on one game. I know Steam Sales have gotten kind of worse over the years, but it's much easier to be playing games on PC when most people aren't leaving their houses over biting the bullet on Switch. Frankly while I enjoyed the direct, it left a bad taste in my mouth from the overpriced and unoriginal games the Big N showed, and makes me worried about the future and arrogance of reliability on overpriced ""Legacy"" content, without even touching anything from N64-GCN and GB-DS.
Its a reminder why they stopped making them, first they have to make games
@infernogott possibly... though, done well, who knows? All they have to do is add a futuristic descendant of Link and some other tech styled Mushroom Kingdom characters... that tough Mario and Luigi from Tekken!? And people would get on board... there really is loads they could do... they did mention adding RPG elements at one point, and other stuff... ... maybe a gritty, futuristic cyberpunk racer is just too far away from their comfort zone these days? Whatever their reasoning, it doesn't change the fact, it's what I'd like to see from them.
530 days i waited for the return of the general Nintendo Direct and we have this very disapointing Nintendo Direct, Nintendo where is the rumored and higly antecipated 2D Metroid game that continues the Metroid Fusion history?where is the teaser of Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild 2/Bayonetta 3?where is the first 3D mainline Kirby game?is better this games Brasil featured on E3 2021 Nintendo Direct or when gonna have a really serious conversation.
I expected a popular/demanded character to appear in Smash, but seeing the large amount of male characters already in the game I can't complain about Pyra definitely a stepup from Corrin and Beyleth, who have boring designs imo.
But the only time I got genuinely surprised and overjoyed was the Famicom Detective Club announcement.
For all intents and purposes, this was a fantastic direct. I was shook by Pyra/Mythra, and am pumped for Project Triangle Strategy, SSHD, and Age of Calamity DLC. I may even get Legend of Mana, and they may have just sold me on Monster Hunter Rise.
Did it meet all my desires for the entire year? Of course not.
I fully expect a Pokémon direct next week, and a Zelda direct later this year. I wouldn't be surprised if a Nintendo direct including more details on Metroid Prime 4 comes later this year too, given the anniversary.
Mostly I'm bummed for no mention of Golden Sun. It's the 20th anniversary! This is a big year for the games. But Camelot releasing Mario Golf this year all but confirms that they haven't touched any RPG games this past year. Maybe we need to wait 5 more years for Golden Sun 4.
@Henmii might want to turn down your expectations there
Pros-
Skyward Sword
Mana
Project Triangle
Cons-
No WW or TP
No new DKC
No Metroid mention.
It's Samus' anniversary too
I like the strategy game and golf. While I am sorta glad more people while get to play Miitopia, I feel that this is a disturbing trend to bring in ports, almost as a substitute for new content.
Very solid Direct in my eyes. Highlights for me were Splatoon 3, Skyward Sword HD and Ninja Gaiden Trilogy. SE's new strategy title looks cool too.
It was a very weak direct. I understand that people here love Nintendo and are willing to forgive a lot, but i expecting something more. Well Splatoon 3 isn't nothing but it was the only real AAA new game. We already had a Splatoon game this gen though. No persona, no GTA
@Ghostchip yeah agreed.
I like anime and anime games, there's obviously nothing wrong with those, I just hope Atlus keeps SMT and Persona as separate series with their own individual identities.
Regarding P5S I can't comment as I haven't played it nor any Persona game, but that's definitely a series I'd like to tackle someday!
I’m excited for Skyward Sword HD because my kids and I missed that the first go around. Excited for Miitopia , ACNH x Super Mario items, Mario Golf and Splatoon 3. I’m hoping that they will announce a Pokémon direct on the 27th.
Was only like 2 games I got excited about but it's just nice to have directs back.
@Ludovsky Nintendo never anounce information on weekend, and i don't believe Nintendo is gonna celebrate Metroid 35th anniversary(given they negleted the 20th, 25th and 30th anniversary of the franchise).
@Blooper987 True, but not much new new new stuff .
the only highlight i have for this Direct is Monster Hunter Rise and Project Triangle.
The only thing this Direct showed me was how anti-consumer Nintendo as a company has become with ports of their 5-10+ yr old games.
it wasn't perfect but there were quite a few nice things in there. hopefully we won't be left in the dark too much longer with the likes of botw 2, metroid prime 4, bayonetta 3 ect
@Ludovsky Exactly. People keep saying Splatoon 3 makes no sense since there’s already splatoon 2 on Switch, and I agree with that. So there’s only one other logical explanation... it won’t be on Switch, it will be Switch Pro.
I had hoped for much more, especially after all this time.
It was good, I'm just sad there was nothing Metroid of any kind.
It wasn't the best and could honestly have delivered more. I get that Pokemon is exempt because Gamefreak is gonna do its own thing very soon, but we didnt even get Genshin Impact.
Phantasy Star, Yokai Watch, various other titles that have the potential to be on Switch and instead we get... Fall Guys, Plants Vs Zombies and a couple of other titles that are much MUCH older then the system itself. And we're supposed to just be okay with that after all this time? Yes, Covid has been an issue, blah blah blah, but Splatoon 3 was the only big hit (if you dont count Pyra/Mythra in Smash) when there should have been 3-4 for a regular Direct. The wait wasn't really all that worth it. Splatoon 3 is a good start, however.
Pretty disappointed at just how far off many of the releases are.
that nintendo direct was wack. 👎🏽
Splatoon 3? we already have one, in 2022!! Mario Golf? no more Mario please don't. Skyward Sword HD? the worst Zelda ever at full price.
Pretty weak, Honestly.
1. ANOTHER JRPG Sword Using Coming to Smash!! Even if it's a first party Nintendo Character, it's still another GENERIC SWORD USING Anime character. BARF!
2. About.... 10,000 additional JRPG games nobody really cares about coming to Switch. How am I pumped up to play SaGa Frontier again? All the other games are solid passes.
3. Triangle Tactics or whatever it's called... Square can't even name it's games properly anymore. Demo put me to sleep.
4. Mario Golf! HOORAY!!
5. Splatoon? Splatoon but BORDERLANDS?!?! COOL!!!
.... And then it's revealed to just be another Splatoon game. Just like 2 was identical to 1, 3 looks to continue the trend and be nothing really -New- but just more of the same.
For the record, I would go in heavy on a Splatoon/Borderlands game.
Well... Atleast we have all the juicy Zelda info and new Zelda games coming to digest... Like maybe a new Four Swords Adventures that could capitilize on the Switches online play / capabilities?! RIGHT?!?
Not just a remake of the most overlooked Zelda game ever?!
Oh... Oh.....
TL;DR — YAWN.
I love Nintendo, but I really think they missed an opportunity with the Zelda Anniversary. I know some were really want Breath of the Wild 2, but I just didn’t think that was feasible considering the shutdown of the last year.
However, if you can put Mario 64, Sunshine, and Galaxy together, you could have done more than Skyward Sword. I know it’s HD, and that leaves room for Ocarina, Mask, and Windwaker, but if they were going to do that, it should have been announced as well.
I didn’t hate this Direct, but I didn’t love it either. For the life of me, I can’t understand where Prime Trilogy is. That alone tilts this Direct to Meh!
It was garbage.
Shocked at how poor it was
It was pretty much what I expected.
Some peoples overblown reactions to a direct that didn't meet their personal expectations was equally just as expected.
We got Skyward Sword HD before any form of Ocarina of Time re-released. Finally, knocking some sense into people who seriously believed the other way around.
As for the rest of the anniversary, I'll be patient. If Nintendo has something big, it's definitely waiting at E3 (or the summer Direct).
Splatoon 3? Self-explanatory. Overly hyped.
For my two cents...Switch has a successful, growing, and robust console fan base. Not all of the 80+ million users are going to like the same thing. Directs are probably going to be more diverse to speak to more to every demographic of Switch user.
@electrolite77 @rosemo yes I guess I was a bit harsh.
I probably should have said “can we have some left field stuff that I like!” 😂
Nintendo revealed a grand total of 2 new games, and one is slated for 2022. Everything else was ports and remakes of old games. I'm sorry, but I bought your new console for new games, Nintendo. This direct was embarrassing.
Pyra in Smash is awesome, though.
@RainbowGazelle yup - it was dreadful. 4 switches in my house and I have loved it but there was NOTHING in that direct that interested me.
Some of the games were laughably bad - dross
Only Mario Gold grabbed my attention. I laughed at the Smash char announcement being yet another sword user(s).
Completely disappointed, I was waiting a Zelda 35th Collection with either OoT and MM remakes or WW, TP AND SS on one collection for 60€, not just an ugly "remaster" of SS (to me looks awful). And sth about MK9 or some DLC for MK8DX and not Splatoon 3 (and I never really liked Splatoon as game at all), Switch has already a new Splatoon and still no new MK. At least I wasn't expecting any BOTW2 news, it would have been a complete disaster for me.
@Goomba77 True. There is so much that could be done with the concept. They just have so many cash cows that F-Zero is probably too much of a risk for them. Just my guess.
@datamonkey
😂😂
it was Good, but it could be better. the only things i like were Miitopia, Mario Golf, Splatoon 3, World Ends Club, Samurai Warriors V, Project Triangle Strategy, Animal Crossing: New Horizon Mario Items, Monster Hunter Rise and Neon White.
@Simmo
Yeah I agree with that, the way their software sells on Switch you’d think this is the time to give it a go. They could even use modern distribution methods. For example F-Zero could be an NSO game-even a rezzed-up F-Zero X with 30 player online. My personal missing favourite Advance Wars could be an Eshop title where you pay extra for more maps. Starfox could get another opportunity if they released a Starfox game that was actually good.
But I’ve learnt to be realistic with these things. The last entries haven’t sold well and Nintendo seem determined to ignore mitigating factors for Starfox Zero, AW:Days of Ruin and Wave Race Blue Storm (mainly not being as good as they could have been), or F-Zero GX coming out as Future Racers fell out of fashion everywhere (Quantum Redshift on the OG XBox sold about 3 copies). And they’ll churn out endless Mario Party games but ‘can’t think of anything to do with F-Zero.’ Maybe I’ve just given up.
@Aozz101x
So....9 things? But it was only okay?
I dunno if it's just because I never got on the hype train, but I was pretty excited to see 50 minutes of game announcements.
Woke up early to watch it at 6am live and wasn't disappointed. Lots of stuff I won't be buying and some stuff I will, but it was really cool to see so many new (and old) games coming to Switch.
I'm particularly surprised that Outer Wilds is coming because I remember reading a technical 'analysis' of that game at launch that claimed the CPU of the Switch couldn't handle if.
It was surprisingly boring. The only interesting news was Splatoon 3, and that almost seems too soon for another sequel.
I really do not understand Splatoon 3. That should have been a game for the next console. Same with a potential Mario Kart 9.
The one game i i am really interested in is Triangle Tactics but that is a game that iw ill be able to get on PC.
I am still waiting for that one game that makes me want to buy a Switch. I just have too many of the WiiU ports already.
It listed some games. I'm interested in maybe four. The absence of any new Nintendo triple a games was noticeable.
Some good, but honestly disappointed. Not enough first party games, too many anime eastern hemisphere games. Not enough western AAA games. That said I enjoyed a few also excited for SS HD and Splatoon 3.
All I want is a new Pikmin, Wario Ware or F-Zero. I’m always a little disappointed!
Most nintendo directs have been underwhelming for me (please dont attack me nintendo fanboy zealots)
Skyward sword announcement was ok, but it was never my favourite 3d zelda.
Tell you when ill be excited about a nintendo direct, itll be when we get any metroid news, anything on botw2, anything zelda anniversary related, and finally, anything fzero etc related.
Honestly, I agree that this Direct could’ve shown more. But people in the comments section on here and on YouTube make such nasty comments towards Nintendo and its fans that they make me want to take Nintendo’s side out of spite. People become such awful beings when they don’t get what they want.
I am thrilled about Splatoon 3. That was the biggest and best takeaway for me.
@clvr start with persona 3 portable on the psp with an emulator or original console. It is the hardest and p3p is the best version of persona 3. I feel it retains the horror vibe of smt the best and the religious crap is much more smt like. Also it is the hardest meaning you won't feel spoiled after 4 and 5 and 1 and 2 (which are all extremely easy). Just play at your own pace though no guide for s links and what not. The story is the best in the entire smt series imo and the character development is unmatched as well. Combat is a great difficult introduction to the series.
Edit: you shouldn't need to grind more than an hour over the course of the whole 60 hour game. I grinded extra to get the true mc persona but if you are smart with fusion and look at a guide every once in a while for fusion you shouldn't need grinding.
@slowp0ketail Wasn't there a trailer for Pokemon Snap like a month ago? And Crash 4 was announced for switch last week or two weeks ago.
@Agent721 yeah I know but isn't there a event or something
@Ghostchip I haven't heard anything official announced from Nintendo.
I wasn't expecting anything big and I was right, but what really bothers me is a port of a 10 year old game and the worst one to boot.
Mario Golf, Miitopia, and Skyward Sword HD made the direct for me. I'm impressed.
Not much for me. Hope there are big reveals for the 2nd half of the year
@electrolite77
Editing this for (hopefully) a better explanation
It's not that the Direct was bad or good. i kept my expectation pretty low for this direct. while i do like these announcements, i wasn't quite excited for these games yet. i'm more interested and wating for details, i wasn't expecting Splatoon 3 or Miitopia to be announced at all, (in fact, i thought they would save Splatoon 3 for Nintendo's next hybrid system/switch 2.) although i'm waiting for details for both because miitopia is only a port with a few new features (and i already own it on 3DS.), and i haven't got into Splatoon, since the original. hopefully that will change once i pick up Splatoon 2 next month, . as for Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Smash Bros Ultimate getting Updates and DLC. i was already getting those, since both of those were the most that i was excited for. (Super Mario Odyssey as well) however, i plan on buying the 2nd fighters pass for Smash Bros, once all characters from that pass has been revealed and released. i don't plan on buying Skyward Sword on switch quite yet. i may pick that up on Wii, it all depends if the used price is less. and i was already planning on getting Monster Hunter Rise.
maybe saying "okay at best" was not the right word. i probably should have said "Good, but could be better" instead. and i do plan on getting all the games that i was interested in. but, i'm gonna wait and see more details about these games, before i go and say "day 1 buy".
@Clyde_Radcliffe Skyward sword is straight booty grade.
@Friendly i agree and im pretty certain nintendo is saving their big titles announcements probably for may and june time frame to cover the second half of the year.
I get that it's impossible to please everyone, there's so many different people all with different tastes, the best you can do is hope there's at least one or two games in the presentation that appeal to you.
this direct was the return of the mii's though! Mii's in mario golf AND miitopia?
This is why you should go into these things with no expectations. Then your expectations will always be exceeded.
@ianl579
Not for nothing, but why does it really matter where they come from just so long as they are securing titles? And this isn't really directed towards you, but since it's something that I've seen a few times before it gives me a chance to address it. The funny thing is nobody ever really asks the same of the other companies. If sony,MS or anyone else had has some outside company delivers a game on their platform people don't seem to care where it came from, how it got there or have that sentiment.
Look at when people wanna praise VR where sony's doing virtually none of the heavy lifting. Or when everyone was giving them a lap dance for the first spiderman game or bloodbourne. Up until the latter part of last generation all they did was coast off of others until they finally got in house exclusives that some deemed worth talking about.
And while MS have done some things recently to bolster their first-party and in house output, they very much have had that benefit from others as well. And hey, no problem as long as we get the games I think, but it's crazy that this is often something that's held over Nintendo so much more so than others.
Probably the best direct I’ve ever seen. We got Splatoon 3, Miitopia, more Monster Hunter Rise news, and hope for BOTW2!
2021’s looking good.
Mario Golf and that's about it.
I was pretty underwhelmed, but I did get a new Mario Golf I've been asking so long for, and its out real soon!
I really love this trend of announcing a game, and having it release shortly after.
While there was a few disappointments, over all the Direct was outstanding in my opinion. Lots of announcements to be excited about, such as the Famicom Detective Club games, SaGa Frontier, Samurai Warriors 5, Miitopia, and so on and more news for MH Rise and confirmation that BOTW 2 is still going (which was a big relief to me). Skyward Sword HD was a total surprise, but one worth looking forward to.
@Plexagon yeah. I just mean they would have more trailers
While it wasn't mind-blowing like I kind of expected, I'd say this was pretty okay. Really looking forward to Mario Golf: Super Rush, and more BOTW 2 info "later this year" whenever that happens. As my longtime gamer friend put it, whatever happens, happens
@gameboy1975 I can't speak for others, but I own a Wii U, 3DS, and PS4. If I want to play first-party ports or third-party games, I can do so on those systems for cheaper. I bought the Switch for new, first-party exclusives (Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, Smash Bros Ultimate, Pokemon SWSH, etc) and lately those have been lacking. Obviously, the more games on the Switch, the better. But their first-party output isn't meeting that expectation, at least for me. (Though to be fair, the pandemic is probably playing a large part in this, and I'm really hoping Nintendo can deliver a really strong set of games in the second half of the year.)
Also, Microsoft and Sony aren't really known for their first-party games, not the same way Nintendo is.
Horrible said in Shaq's voice
The Direct was fine, but where is Metroid (a 2D one is fine even Samus Returns HD), Pilotwings, F-Zero, Wave Race, Mario Strikers or Excite Trucks HD? I even miss smaller download only games such as Pushmo, Dr Mario and Mario vs Donkey Kong.
@Agent721 my guess is they will maybe idk or maybe they delayed it
@Zach777 I suppose Expectations plays into it a bit, but honestly I'm disappointed because there was nothing new that really jumped out at me as "Yes that is something I want to buy, I'm excited for that". I'm not saying I'm entitled, because I'm only entitled for what I pay for. And at least for me, Nintendo won't be getting too much of my money in the near future as there is not much they showed that I'm really willing to buy. (Besides Monster Hunter Rise but I already knew about that and am going to buy it, there's no question.)
@tseliot
Lol
@Franklin so you think nintendo is going to kill off switch just after 5 years like wii u? It makes no sense at all as it's still selling close to 20 million every year
@Mallow announcing splatoon 3 now is smart? Fending off potential splatoon 2 buyers and eventually dividing the playerbase is smart?
@Zach777 Agreed. Also, E3 is only a few months away. I imagine Nintendo is saving their big hitters for that Direct.
@Retrodouche
Wii U was closer to 4 years. Wii, which sold more than the Switch so far, was around 6. End of 2022 release for Switch successor would be similar.
And as you demonstrate just below your reply to me, Nintendo do not always make logical decisions anyhow.
@electrolite7
Yeah hundred percent with you on this. To me all of that would be far more exciting...
@Aozz101x
Gotcha, I read too much into the number of things and forgot the scale of how exciting those things are 🙂 One mega-exciting thing could be more exciting than 9 ‘OK, maybe’ things
@a1904,
When I have paid 300 Euro for a Nintendo device, is it strange that I demand strong first-party support? Well, I don't see it!
How to be a cynical Nintentroll:
1.) Say: "Why won't they re-release the classic games we DEMAND!?!?"
2.) When the classic game re-releases we demand are announced, say: "$60 for a decade old port??? Those games are so old, no one cares about them anymore. We DEMAND NEW GAMES!!!"
3.) Repeat 1&2, year after year, decade after decade, until death.
Zelda 35th anniversary and Pokemon 25th ongoing and still nothing really mind blowing from either franchise. Was really hoping for BotW2 news, but barring that at least an HD rerelease of OoT/MM. Nope, just SS, the worst main Zelda game (fight me on this).
Also no Pikmin 4 HMPH.
Looking forward to Splatoon 3 tho--really hope they push further with fleshing out the world. They took baby steps with 2 but could've done so much more. I honestly think Splatoon could stand next to Zelda and Mario as a core franchise if they really make a stellar single player experience to go side by side with the phenomenal multiplayer.
Honestly I think one of Nintendo's greatest issues is they drop the ball more often than they catch it in terms of hype. First full direct in over a year sets people's hopes up and then you have no really major upcoming new releases? Splatoon 3 is great but it's in 2022. This whole release was billed as being soon to come games (which imo wasn't a great idea since they apparently didn't have much to show). Should've waited til they had BotW2 updates or something equally grand.
It's like when Pokemon announced two presentations back to back a while ago; people got Pokemon Snap in the first and were really excited, then the second release was just some generic looking crossover. If it had been just roped into the first presentation instead of hyped as a whole second one it'd have been taken differently.
Definetly underwhelmed..
The lack of more Zelda content is the worst part.
My hype was so high, after this long and all we get is this ugly Skyward Sword port... not even the same beauty treatment of Wind Waker or Twilight, just the worst port of the three..
It was trash. After a year and half, all they can manage are more ports? I want new experiences alongside ports. 2021 is apparently a lot more 'nothing' from Nintendo, continuing on from 2020
At least Project Triangle looks badass.
I'm done with overpriced ports. And $50 for Miitopia, when $40 already felt like too much on 3DS? Nintendo is laughing all the way to the bank that people will buy their bullcrap
@Ghostchip hey, thanks for the detailed explanation!
Cheers!
I'm starting to think this drought of major first party games is pointing to a new console/hybrid generation coming in the next 24 months. This typically happens for Nintendo when they start their transition. They always state they will have continued support of the current console but the amount and quality of first party games being released is the best indicator every generation where Nintendo's priorities are. Additionally I am very bummed they haven't added N64, GB and GBA to the NSO.
@matt02785
Nintendo just announced Splatoon 3 and Triangle Strategy for a 2022 release. 2022 is also when Metroid Prime 4 or Bayonetta 3 will be released. Breath of the Wild 2 may be pushed to early 2022; a new generation Pokémon game should release by then as well given precedent.
Switch 2 isn't coming until late 2023 at the absolute earliest. Nintendo will stick with Switch for quite some time.
@westman98 Those can easily be cross generation games just like BOTW became. That way Nintendo said they support switch but are still moving forward. There are no signs any of those games are coming exclusive to switch. You don't find it suspicious we have seen no trailers let alone even a still of any of those games except Splatoon and that's not exactly a console pusher on the spec side of the house.
Edit project triangle as well, but it's not a first party title.
@matt02785
Outside of Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild, when else has Nintendo published any high-profile cross gen games?
If Nintendo still has like 5-6 big high-profile Switch games scheduled for 2022 in early 2021, it's not because they intend to abandon the Switch in 2022 over some mythical successor.
This is of course not to mention that Nntendo themselves have stated over and over again that the Switch is at the mid-point of its lifecycle and that they want it to last lonegr than any of their previous hardware. Given how wildly successful Switch is (it will likely sell another 20+ million units in 2021), I see no reason why a Switch successor is going to release anytime soon.
@BabyYoda71 Or.... it just means that the Switch is here longer than we expect?
I mean, the N64 and Gamecube era saw not one but two Zelda games for example. Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask. The Wii saw not one but two Mario Galaxy.
The Switch could easily get two Splatoon without a "new" console coming yet. And why wouldn't it? It's still selling record without those gamers clamoring for a new console or else they wouldn't be buying the current one by record numbers as they are!
So there's clearly something there where the mainstream are quite content with the current tech or else they'd actually be holding out for the "next console".
@MontyCircus Yeah.... yeaaah.
Honestly the cynic in me would almost want to add:
"But I had these titles on WiiU alongside the 13 millions of players who owned that console! Who cares about that! Who cares about the 67 or more millions of Switch owners who never owned a WiiU unless the 13 or less millions of Switch owners like use who owned the WiiU?"
Like... a lot of people don't realize the difference in sheer scope and size of playerbases when they claim that games they played on WiiU don't deserve a port on Switch because they have played them before.
@veesonic Come on, no company would be able to put all of those things into one direct. You can’t complain about a Direct because it announced a very highly-requested game.
It was fine and I didn't waste hours watching it because I did jump around but it was ok. My favorite part was the DLC fighter! Glad to have another Xenoblade character, Shulk was alone.
No F-Zero let's me already feel underwhelmed...
Disappointed that there weren't more 1st half of 2021 games (seemed to have a large focus on 2nd half and later despite the description saying 1st half to be honest) so in terms of content a bit underwhelming but it's still a lot better than if they used last year's approach of announcing 1st party games on social media and Partner Showcases for 3rd party games.
General Directs aren't just about the games though, it's also about the experience of which the experience was fantastic.
I had a great time watching, looking forward to the next Nintendo Direct!
@Zach777 a lot of that list is the second half of 2021 and later.
Second half of 2021:
Zelda Skyward Sword HD
No More Heroes 3
New Hyrule Warriors DLC
Neon White
Then a few things like Fall Guys say Summer 2021, so unless it all gets crammed into the end of June, that's all technically the second half of the year. Outside of Neon White, I don't care about these game myself, Skyward Sword I played on Wii and it sucks. Some good in it, but is entirely overwritten by the amount of BS and poor design in it. Fall Guys is approaching being a dead game, so I don't even know what match making will be like on it. I've had my time with it and been done for many many months. The Hyrule DLC, they showed NOTHING or barely described ANYTHING to get excited about. I liked my FE Warriors DLC, but this seems to be something much lesser. NMH 3...looked like garbage visually (like 540p? are you kidding me), so there goes a title I was excited about and absolutely drained all interest...yet again another title released on Switch that can barely run on the hardware.
2022:
Project Triangle Strategy
Splatoon
Excited for both these games...but they're probably 16 months away, if they match their Splatoon 2 and Octopath month launch dates.
Outside of that stuff...what is there? Monster Hunter looks strong, have it preordered, but the demo didn't grab me. Totally fine, looks like a quality release. Bravely Default 2, getting that this week...I did like the gameplay in the hard mode of the demos despite those doll heads and some visual muddiness bothering me, lol. Then...I dunno man. A bunch of old games I skipped out on previously, lackluster ports of "yesterday's flavor" games like Apex (I dont know why you would play a competitive game like that on Switch)...and a Mario Sports game (could be good, but that trailer was really flat and Camelot isn't a dev I get excited for). It's just all very mediocre.
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