February 2023 Nintendo Direct Recap

Nintendo just dropped a huge February direct and it's stuffed with content! Let’s recap the big reveals.

Nintendo began the direct by giving us a look at the long-awaited Pikmin 4. Of course, there were quite a few interesting things on display. You’ve got Ice Pikmin, a helpful dog named Oatchi, caves and a teaser for what seems to be a night time mode. Pikmin 4 will be launching on July 21st, 2023!

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Expansion Pass Volume 3 came up next. Volume 3 features a new character called “the Lapidarist, Masha”, challenge battles and new outfits! There was also a snippet of cutscene footage from Volume 4, showing off some story details. Volume 3 will be available on February 15th, 2023 and Volume 4 will be available later in the year.

Not too long after that came a trailer for Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, releasing on March 17th, 2023. Splatoon 3 also got a new trailer, this time for an Expansion Pass! Wave 1 brings back Inkopolis from the first Splatoon as a fully functional hub. Wave 2 goes with a different approach, and boasts a new single player campaign called Side Order. Wave 1 will be available in Spring 2023, and Wave 2 sometime after that.

Fire Emblem Engage followed right after, and it decided to join in on Expansion Pass mania! Wave 2 will feature Hector, Camilla and Soren as Emblems and is available later today. Wave 3’s gives players Chrom, Robin and Veronica! Wave 4 gives players an entirely new story to play, called Fell Xenologue. And, as if that wasn’t enough Intelligent Systems content, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp finally got a new release date, April 21st, 2023!

Following Advance Wars was a Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe trailer. The game now has an entire postgame story called Magolor Epilogue. Players will get to control Magolor and help him restore his power. A demo for the game is also available now! Speaking of things available today, Metroid Prime Remastered got announced with a launch trailer. Yes, that’s right, a launch trailer, it’s out right now on the Nintendo eShop!

Those aren’t the last classics given a new lease on life either. Game Boy games are coming to Nintendo Switch Online. And Game Boy Advance games are coming to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass! These games are all free for owners of either service. The roster of games includes:

Game Boy:

• Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (Available now)
• Game & Watch Gallery 3 (Available now)
• Gargoyle’s Quest (Available now)
• Kirby’s Dream Land (Available now)
• Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble
• Metroid 2: Return of Samus (Available now)
• Pokémon Trading Card Game
• Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins (Available now)
• Tetris (Available now)
• The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX (Available now)
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
• Wario Land 3 (Available now)

Game Boy Advance:

• F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
• Fire Emblem
• Golden Sun
• Kirby & the Amazing Mirror
• Kuru Kuru Kururin (Available now)
• Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (Available now)
• Mario Kart Super Circuit (Available now)
• Metroid Fusion
• Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Available now)
• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (Available now)
• WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgames! (Available now)

The big reveals didn’t stop there, as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass Wave 4 was next in line! The presentation showed off an entirely new track called “Yoshi’s Island” themed after the game Yoshi’s Island. Birdo also made an appearance as the first new playable character to debut in the [/i]Booster Course Pass[/i]! Wave 4 is slated for a Spring 2023 release. Finally, fans were greeted with another look at The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. We got to see some gameplay snippets, including a vehicle system. The game will launch alongside a Link amiibo on May 12th, 2023.

Believe it or not, those weren’t even all the titles with content in the Direct! They were just the big highlights, here’s the rest of the games featured in the Direct:

• Samba de Amigo: Party Central
• Fashion Dreamer
• Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania DLC
• TRON: Identity
• Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
• DECAPOLICE
• Disney Illusion Island
• Harmony: Fall of Reverie
• OCTOPATH TRAVELER II
• We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie
• Sea of Stars
• Omega Strikers
• Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection
• Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE
• Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster
• Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
• PROFESSOR LAYTON and The New World of Steam
• Minecraft Legends
• Blanc
• Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection
• Have a Nice Death
• WBSC eBASEBALL: POWER PROS
• Disney Dreamlight Valley
• Tales of Symphonia Remastered

Author’s Note: I'm very happy with what we're seeing with Pikmin 4. I'm very excited to see the caves are coming back, Pikmin 2's always been a personal favorite of mine. But what do you think? Please let us know in the comments below!

Credits:
Editing: Zerp , @Thirdkoopa
Graphics: Zerp
Social: Zerp

 

I'm a huge fan of Fantasy Life (3DS) so it was a complete and welcomed surprise to see an announcement for Fantasy Life i coming to the Switch. Many people think Fantasy Life is basically another Animal Crossing and while they share some similarities the overall experience of the two games is much different. Fantasy Life is more of an Action/Adventure game with "Life Sim" elements integrated into the world. It's a game for RPG fans first and bridges over into crafting or Life Sim as an addition.

Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe is a notable game because Shinya Kumazaki is an amazing director and Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii) was the 1st original Kirby game that he directed. The additional content created for the deluxe version of the game looks great; Merry Magoland has a whole slew of mini-games and the unlockable "Magalor Epilogue" extends the story further. An excellent game for anyone who missed out on the original Wii as well as fans who want to relive deluxe nostalgia.

I was actually a little disappointed with the Splatoon 3 paid DLC. Only the 1st Wave was shown off and it seems to literally just re-skin part of your game to look like Inkopolis. Wave 2 was simply titled "Side Order" and little to no information was given which is not a good way of selling a product. I'm left to assume Wave 2 will be additional Story similar to Octo Expansion was... but even assuming it's at least on par with Octo Expansion the price is not -- Splatoon 3 DLC is notably more expensive. On top of that, Octo Expansion is now bundled in free with the premium NSO subscription and there's nothing to say it won't happen again.

Speaking of the Nintendo Switch Online service, the Game Boy being added was awesome and the Expansion Pack becomes that much more worthwhile with Game Boy Advance bolstering its library.

Lots of other fun titles and announcements, especially for RPG fans with Octopath Traveller II, Etrian Odyssey, and a remaster for Tales of Symphonia. We get some good Spike Chunsoft titles with DECAPOLICE and Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE.

It's nice to see Professor Layton back on the scene again.

 

I was actually a little disappointed with the Splatoon 3 paid DLC. Only the 1st Wave was shown off and it seems to literally just re-skin part of your game to look like Inkopolis. Wave 2 was simply titled "Side Order" and little to no information was given which is not a good way of selling a product. I'm left to assume Wave 2 will be additional Story similar to Octo Expansion was... but even assuming it's at least on par with Octo Expansion the price is not -- Splatoon 3 DLC is notably more expensive. On top of that, Octo Expansion is now bundled in free with the premium NSO subscription and there's nothing to say it won't happen again.

I actually feel the exact opposite, actually and am actually incredibly excited for it. The expansion pass is $25 vs. Octo Expansion's $20, but $5 for an additional hub and themed city is worth it for me. Now, it is possible that it'll be added down the line to the NSO premium tier, but in that case does it matter what the price is? Maybe it's just my dislike of the Splatoon 3 city hub and my nostalgia towards Splatoon 1's Inkopolis, but I'm pretty stoked.

Everything non Splatoon related I agree with though! I never played Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Deluxe) and that looks fantastic. Also glad for Layton to be returning and I'm really happy they didn't just sweep Advance Wars under the rug (though it was basically completed so I can't imagine they'd scrap it due to some relation to real world events, but who knows).

 

Here is Tears of the Kingdom!

Here is the end of the direct!