February 2022 Nintendo Direct Recap

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Nintendo released their first Direct of the year yesterday on February 9th. Nintendo showed off a good bit of stuff, so let’s take a look at the topics of note.

• Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes
  • Koei Tecmo is once again working on Fire Emblem, although this time they are putting their familiar Warriors spin on things. Three Hopes appears to be like Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity in that it’s focused on a single game instead of the broader series and expanded on its lore. While details on the plot are vague, the core cast of Fire Emblem: Three Houses is still there. Byleth, Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, and even Rhea are all returning. It is set to release on June 24th, 2022.
• Advance Wars 1+2: Re-boot Camp
  • Re-boot Camp has finally gotten a confirmed release date, and it’s April 8th, 2022. Wayforward has added custom maps, voice acting, and local/online multiplayer to these GBA classics.
• No Man’s Sky
  • At one point, No Man’s Sky was one of the most disappointing games of all time. Now, after years of patches and quality of life changes, the game has managed to turn its reputation around and meet some of the promises it made back in the day. The Switch port of Hello Games’ once controversial title is now arriving later this year.

• Mario Strikers Battle League
  • The latest Mario Sports spinoff to get a release on the Switch, Mario Strikers Battle League is coming out June 10th, 2022. Pre-orders are also open now. The chaotic and intense soccer-based action of the Mario Strikers games are on full display, complete with super moves, tackles, and items. Local multiplayer can support up to eight players this time. Meanwhile, the online multiplayer has a strong focus on clan style gameplay. Players can create or join “clubs” and try to take their club all the way to the top.
• Splatoon 3
  • The beloved Salmon run mode is now confirmed to return in Splatoon 3. It also has some new features, including new bosses like the Fish Stick and the Flip Flopper. There have also been quality of life changes, such as being able to toss eggs to your teammates. There was also a giant kaiju-esque salmonid that got shown off at the end of the trailer. While we did not get a release date, the game is slated to come out in the Summer of 2022.
• Front Mission 1st and 2nd
  • Remakes of Front Mission 1 for the Super Famicom and Front Mission 2 for the Playstation have been confirmed. Front Mission 1 will be launching later this year, while 2 has not got an official release date yet.
• Disney Speedstorm
  • Disney is making a foray into kart racing again with this free to play title. It will have cross platform multiplayer and is releasing this Summer.
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
  • Players can revisit the adventures of Vader’s secret apprentice in this game, originally released in 2008. Motion controls are still present like the original Wii version. The game launches April 20th, 2022.
• Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection
  • Assassins Creed 2, Brotherhood, and Revelations will be re-released in a collection on the Nintendo Switch. Watch the story of Ezio unfold as he travels throughout Italy and Constantinople as he takes on the Templars. The game will release on February 17th, 2022.
• SD Gundam Battle Alliance
  • Control up to three gundams in this RPG as you attempt to fix the proper gundam timeline. You will also be able to play this game with Co-Op multiplayer online when it launches later in the year.
• Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers Edition
  • One of the PS1’s most acclaimed RPGs and the sequel to Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross is getting an HD remaster. You can also turn off enemy encounters in this updated remaster. To further sweeten the pot, Radical Dreamers, the Satellaview original pitch for the game, will be coming to the west for the first time officially in this collection. Launches April 7th, 2022.
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
  • Kirby got a new trailer for his game, and we sure got a mouthful of new info. The new Mouthful Mode lets you inhale objects such as cars, vending machines, or cones to give Kirby more options to explore and fight enemies. Kirby can upgrade and evolve his copy abilities now at Waddle Dee’s Weapon Shop. Classics like Fire and Cutter get extra attacks and a new coat of paint to boot when upgraded. You can explore this new land with Kirby and save the Waddle Dees on March 25th, 2022.
• MLB The Show 22
  • Sony’s MLB The Show launches on a Nintendo system for the first time this year. This baseball game will have cross progression, so if you have it on other platforms you can get the same rewards on both systems. There is crossplay too and the game is launching later this year.
• Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece
  • The Cloud ports of the Kingdom Hearts games, which we previously learned about in the Battling with Sora presentation, launches tomorrow. You can purchase any of the three collections separately as well.

• Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series
  • Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, will be getting remastered for the Switch. Both games are cult classics, known for their artstyle and simplistic yet fun gameplay. Launching July 8th, 2022.
• Portal Companion Collection
  • Valve’s classic FPS/Puzzle games are heading to the Switch. Use your portal gun to create portals to solve puzzles and escape Aperture Labs. Portal 2 will also have its online and local multiplayer intact. Launching later this year.
• Live A Live
  • This RPG classic makes the leap to the west with this 2D HD remaster. Multiple stories featuring different protagonists and different eras are open for the player to explore in any order they choose. Pre-orders are available today and the game launches July 22nd, 2022.
• Nintendo Switch Sports
  • A follow up to the Wii Sports series, launching with 6 games. Tennis and Bowling are returning from Wii Sports, and Chambara is returning from Wii Sports Resort. Three new games are being included too: Soccer, Badminton, and Volleyball. Soccer even has a special leg strap included in the physical versions to let you kick the ball with your own leg. Local play and Online play will be included, with online featuring ranked matchmaking. Golf from Wii Sports will also be coming back later this year. The Game itself launches April 22nd, 2022, and will have a public test from February 18th-20th.
• Taiko No Tatsujin Rhythm Festival
  • The latest installment of the Taiko Drum series includes several hit songs from other games, such as Megalovania and the Legend of Zelda theme. There are new modes such as 4 player concerts in the Don-chan band or face off against other players in the Great Drum Toy War. Launching later this year. There will also be a paid subscription service that has access to over 500+ new songs available at launch.
• Triangle Strategy
  • Triangle Strategy will be launching soon on March 4th, 2022. Another new demo will be available later today, letting players play all the way up to Chapter 3. Save data will transfer over to the full game.
• Cuphead Delicious Last Course
  • Cuphead’s DLC launches June 30th, 2022, adding Mrs Chalice as a new playable character and a ton of new bosses. This will surely be a swell bout!
• Metroid Dread
  • A free update to Metroid Dread is now available. Dread mode offers a brutal new difficulty that gives the player only one hitpoint. A new rookie mode also is being added to allow greater accessibility. Later in April, a boss rush mode will be added.

• Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings
  • Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings finally make their way onto the Nintendo Switch Online service. Both of these classic games are now legitimately available to owners of Nintendo Switch online.
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass
  • After almost six years, DLC is coming to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. 48 remastered tracks will be released in 6 waves by the end of 2023. Fan favorites like Coconut Mall and Choco Mountain will be making a return in the first wave, which will be launching on March 18th. Pre-orders will be available today. The booster pass will be available on its own for 24.99 USD, or as part of the Nintendo Switch online expansion pack.

• Xenoblade 3
  • Finally, Xenoblade 3 is coming out September 2022. It will tie together the worlds and stories of Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Protagonists Noah and Mio will team up with a party of other individuals in the midst of a conflict between two hostile nations. The series' famous British voice acting has returned as well for the English localization.

You can watch the full Direct here.

Author's Note: What was your favorite part of the Direct? Let us know in the comments below!


Credits:
Writing: TCT~Phantom
Editing: @Sari and @Zerp
Thumbnail Graphic: @Zerp
Social Media: @Zerp

 

This was a really great direct, one of the best we've had in a long time, in my opinion. It's nice to see that even without Smash, Nintendo can still thrive with their individual franchises as well.

 

plenty of interesting things and plenty of uninteresting as well. like every direct

 

The direct was good, but the new miis were dissapointing.

 

My biggest gripe had to be the idea of adding more race tracks onto Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The game is almost 5 years old, and I'm very sure that the people whom have already played the original Wii U version of the game have moved on.

Long story short, the developers probably should've saved those tracks for the next Mario Kart installment, instead of continuing to milk a port that's older than Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (which is completely finished with its DLC now).

 

My biggest gripe had to be the idea of adding more race tracks onto Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The game is almost 5 years old, and I'm very sure that the people whom have already played the original Wii U version of the game have moved on.

Long story short, the developers probably should've saved those tracks for the next Mario Kart installment, instead of continuing to milk a port that's older than Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (which is completely finished with its DLC now).

nintendo aren’t prepared to break their one MK per console yet

 

nintendo aren’t prepared to break their one MK per console yet

But still, we haven't had a brand new Mario Kart installment on a major console since 2014. You would think that we'd be long overdue for a new Mario Kart game by now.

 

But still, we haven't had a brand new Mario Kart installment on a major console since 2014. You would think that we'd be long overdue for a new Mario Kart game by now.

you’d think but apparently not

 

My biggest gripe had to be the idea of adding more race tracks onto Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The game is almost 5 years old, and I'm very sure that the people whom have already played the original Wii U version of the game have moved on.

Long story short, the developers probably should've saved those tracks for the next Mario Kart installment, instead of continuing to milk a port that's older than Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (which is completely finished with its DLC now).

A large portion of the Mario Kart 8 team is the team currently working on the Splatoon series. They clearly are going to be busy with that for a while, especially when Splatoon 3 inevitably gets its own DLC like 2 had with the Octo Expansion. Stealing courses from Mario Kart Tour and being able to rework a large number of retro courses, which as a whole are easier to make than designing a new course from the ground up, is an easy way to give players a fix to their cravings for new Mario Kart content.

Furthermore, MK8 has such a huge install base, making DLC for it instead of reinventing the wheel makes so much sense outside of logistics. Almost half of the people who own a switch own Mario Kart 8. That is nuts. Do you think Nintendo wants to make a full new Mario Kart and risk losing access to that massive install base? Or do they wish to appease people wishing for new content while still making the people who already own Mario Kart 8 Deluxe not have to buy a new game. Heck, Nintendo showed off how much DLC was making them money in one of their financial reports, so I would not be surprised if this revitalization of an older game through DLC becomes more appealing to Nintendo going forward.

 

It's still a mixed bag though, since there are those whom are all done with Mario Kart 8 (such as myself).

 

A large portion of the Mario Kart 8 team is the team currently working on the Splatoon series.

really? so the same team does mario kart, animal crossing and splatoon

 

how I missed the coconut center, it's good to see it back

 

It's still a mixed bag though, since there are those whom are all done with Mario Kart 8 (such as myself).

I was wholly expecting at least a tease for a new MK but as someone who didn't own MK8 during Wii U nor hasn't gotten it yet for Switch...it gives me a reason to buy it and enjoy it now. I kept putting it off now more than ever because I was sure a new one would be teased soon. But at least now I'll have a year or so to enjoy it before a new one crops up! XD

 

I overall rate the presantation a 7/10.

Sure the Mario Kart DLC announcement was good enough, though it would have been way if we also got characters to come with it.

If characters are essentially planned for DLC being seperate from the courses, that would just be scummy of Nintendo.