Yesterday, Nintendo’s highly anticipated September 2023 Direct dropped with tons of information! So, let’s take a look at Nintendo’s most noteworthy announcements.
The Direct started off with a heavy hitter, Splatoon 3’s Side Order DLC! It opened with a brief story teaser and some gameplay featuring eerie new enemies. In the DLC players will venture into a tower called the Spire of Order. It also boasts a skill tree system, as well as a focus on high replayability. Side Order is set to be available sometime in Spring 2024. Following Splatoon 3 was Mario vs. Donkey Kong. If that title sounds familiar to you, that’s because it’s a remake of the GameBoy Advance title of the same name. The remake features the same gameplay as before, but with completely new graphics and co-op play! Mario vs. Donkey Kong is scheduled to release on February 16th, 2024.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong wasn’t the only Mario remake we got to see though, as Super Mario RPG also showed up. The remake updated action commands, when a player times an attack just right it will now damage to all enemies! And that’s not all, there’s a new kind of attack called “Triple Move”. This Triple Move utilizes all three party members and deals massive damage. Additionally, the game now features boss rematches. Super Mario RPG will be launching on November 17th, 2023.
Mario has been getting quite a bit of spotlight, but now it’s Princess Peach’s turn. The previously untitled game starring the Princess finally got a title, Princess Peach: Showtime!. We got a quick look at the plot, Peach’s abilities and her new pal, Stella. Peach can use Stella’s ribbon powers to attack enemies and interact with the environment. Peach also has a bunch of transformations in this game. These include a swordfighter form, a kung-fu form and even a detective form! Princess Peach: Showtime! will be releasing on March 22nd, 2024. And speaking of detectives, Detective Pikachu Returns was also in the Direct. Nintendo showed off some new Pokémon that can assist the player’s work. Growlithe tracks scents, Darmanitan can destroy things, and Luxray sees through walls. Detective Pikachu Returns releases on October 6th, 2023.
The next Mario character to get his own spotlight was Luigi, this time with Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD. The trailer for the remaster showed off some gameplay, including the co-op mode, ScareScraper. Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is launching in Summer, 2024. The next announcement was interestingly not for a game at all, but a museum! The Nintendo Museum is being constructed in Kyoto, Japan and will likely be complete by March, 2024. And right after that we got more news that wasn’t directly related to a game. This time, the new Zelda and Ganondorf amiibo got a release date, November 3rd, 2023. And they’re not alone, Noah and Mio from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 are arriving on January 19th, 2024. Sora also joined in, as he’s getting his long awaited Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo sometime in 2024.
Back onto gaming announcements, Nintendo unveiled F-ZERO 99. The game turns the original F-ZERO SNES title into a massive 99-player battle royale. And, the game’s already out, players only need Nintendo Switch Online to download it for free. The next Nintendo game shown off was WarioWare: Move It!. Among the things revealed were microgames, new poses the player must take, and a party mode. WarioWare: Move It! is coming to Nintendo Switch on November 3rd, 2023.
Nearing the end of the Direct, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course Pass Wave 6 made an appearance. Wave 6 features Daisy Circuit from Mario Kart Wii and not two, not three, but four new characters. Diddy Kong, Funky Kong, Pauline and most surprisingly, Peachette are joining the race. Wave 6’s scheduled to release during the holiday season of 2023. Finally, the last game in the Direct was Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. It’s a remake of the original game released on the Nintendo Gamecube all the way back in 2004. Details are currently scarce about the remake, however it’s set to release sometime in 2024.
Of course however, those were just the biggest games at the Direct. There were actually quite a few more, the other games were:
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- Horizon Chase 2
- Super Crazy Rhythm Castle
- SPYxANYA: Operation Memories
- Another Code: ReCollection
- SaGa Emerald Beyond
- Tomb Raider 1-2-3 Remastered
- Trombone Champ
- BATTLE CRUSH
- Wartales
- Contra: Operation Galuga
- Unicorn Overlord
- Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story
- Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story
- Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
- Eastward: Octopia
- Wargroove 2
- DAVE THE DIVER
- Among Us
Author's Note: I thought a couple of the games were pretty interesting. Really like how the Peach game looks, and it's awesome that The Thousand Year Door is finally getting a new release, especially as a remake! It's one of my favorite games, so it's really cool to see it again. But what do you think? Please let us know in the comments below!
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