Hello, and welcome to this week’s Nintendo recap. Several exciting new game announcements for the Switch were revealed via Nintendo Direct on Tuesday. The most notable announcement was the release date of Breath of the Wild 2, which we now know is officially called The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Arguably the most exciting news next is about nine classic N64 games coming to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, including the GoldenEye 007. There’s more to discuss, so let’s get down to this demo and then finish with this week’s Switch game recommendations!
Nintendo Direct finally revealed the official name and release date for BotW 2
On Wednesday morning, Nintendo released a 40-minute Nintendo Direct that featured 53 games and updates heading to the Switch in the next few months. By far, the most exciting news that was revealed during the September 2022 Nintendo Direct is the official name of Breath of the Wild 2 as well as its release date. The game is called The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and is scheduled to be released on May 12, 2023.
The trailer was short, but it gave us several new things to look at, including some new gear attached to the Link belt. It’s unclear what these glowing green cans are at the moment, but they can carry some new powers or they could be an item that Link is collecting.
We also see Link dive seamlessly from the floating islands above and into the vast world below without any load time. Up in the air some floating devices are waiting, although we don’t know if Link is commanding it or moving its own path.
Breath of the Wild players will remember that there were a lot of ruins in the Faron area of the game. Through some texts that players can discover, we know that the objects that made them were magical users known as Zonai. It seems that the sequel will require a link to examine their creativity and culture.
Britain’s Nintendo Channel has not broadcast live regarding the 12-day period of national mourning marking the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Given the name The Breath of the Wild, that was a good call.
Nine N64 games including GoldenEye coming to NSO
Another exciting reveal from Direct included nine N64 classics heading to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. Arguably the most anticipated address is GoldenEye 007
1080 degree ice skating: Take to the mountains and speed your way to the finish line while performing tricks and outsmarting your opponents.
Xcitebike 64: The classic Nintendo racing series that depicts bike brands in the real world and empowers players to be able to perform stunts on the ground.
Mario’s party: The original Mushroom Kingdom party game that launched a franchise. Up to four players participate in a digital board game with mini-games between each round.
Mario Party 2: If you ask old fans what is the best Mario Party game ever, they will probably tell you 2 or 3. This game is based on the original game and offers more mini games and boards to interact with.
Mario Party 3: As with the previous entry, this improved the Mario Party formula while providing new mini-games. Perhaps most importantly, it was the first game that allowed players to play as Waluigi.
Pilot Wings 64: This is a classic flight simulator where each flying vehicle handles a little differently. Try to do various missions like flying through hoops, collecting points and more.
Pokemon Stadium: This was one of the first games that allowed Pokémon fans to see their beloved characters in 3D. You can battle from the list of available Pokemon. The original version allowed players to import their own Red, Blue, or Yellow Pokémon if they had the appropriate device, but it’s not clear if anything like this is present in the Switch version.
Pokemon Stadium 2: This entry is built on the basis of the original while providing more Pokémon for players to drive. There are also some mini games that players can compete in.
Golden Eye 007: is a Bond-themed shooting game created by Rare and released two years after the movie of the same name. The mechanics used in both single and multiplayer mode defined the genre in the late 1990s. The NSO version will have both local and online multiplayer.
As was the case with previous N64 games announced for the expansion pack, these games will slowly roll in one by one. All of them are expected to join the group by sometime in 2023.
Announcing the new Fire Emblem game
Fire Emblem Engage was also announced during Direct and featured the new protagonist with split red and blue hair. If this character sounds familiar, it’s because the visuals for this game leaked a few months ago, but some people had a hard time swallowing it as fact with the hero’s hair being so unique.
In Engage, players take on the role of a young man known as the Divine Dragon. The world is in danger, so they must team up with familiar Fire Emblem heroes from the past to gain their skills and weapons.
It’s definitely quite different for the series compared to the calm and laid-back look of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Given that the recent entry managed to be the best-selling Fire Emblem game of all time, it will be interesting to see if this game can pull the same kind of numbers.
Notable games missing from Direct: Wind Waker, Twilight Princess and Advance Wars
Last week, I reported that Jeff Grubb had claimed in his podcast that two Zelda games, Twilight Princess and Wind Waker, were coming to Switch and would be in Direct. However, this turned out to be not true. While we’d love to see these redesigned classics ported to the Switch, it’s unclear if Nintendo will do so as no official reports of these plans have emerged.
Another game that many people expected to see in Direct was Advance Wars 1 + 2: Reboot Camp, which was postponed earlier this year due to the invasion of Ukraine. However, the strategy battle game was also a no-show. Despite this, fans should not give up hope of its release.
Nintendo asked if Advance Wars 1+2 has been canceled, given there has been little news of it since it was delayed by the invasion of Ukraine. A Nintendo rep responded: “The release has been delayed. We’ll announce a new date as soon as that has been decided.”September 13, 2022
Axios reporter Stephen Totilo reached out to Nintendo to ask if the game had been cancelled. A Nintendo representative responded, “The release has been delayed. We’ll announce the new date as soon as it’s decided.” While we don’t know when this highly anticipated title will be released, we do know that the Japanese gaming company hasn’t quite dropped it. We’ll just have to wait and see when the new launch date is revealed.
Splatoon 3 sales have already surpassed 3.45 million copies
Splatoon 3 was released last weekend to a stellar start by breaking sales records in Japan. As reported by Nintendo, Splatoon 3 has already sold over 3.45 million copies in Japan within just three days of the game’s launch. To put this in perspective, the original Splatoon on the Wii U reached a total of 4.95 million sales worldwide in its lifetime, so Splatoon 3 is doing really well. The third entry will definitely exceed that number because we don’t even know what sales are like in the US at the moment. We’ll have to wait for Nintendo’s next financial report to see how well this title works.
It’s no surprise that players take Splatoon 3 aggressively. The game offers many improvements over previous entries and offers both a fun single mode and a polished multiplayer experience that doesn’t underestimate the value of microtransactions.
Rayman in Mario + Rabbids sparks of hope
During the Ubisoft Forward event last weekend, we got a new trailer explaining the downloadable content for the upcoming Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. In a quick teaser, we’ve seen that Rayman will have some sort of “starring” role in this bonus content.
Rayman’s participation in the game is not too surprising, considering that the Rabbids were originally from Rayman and served as antagonists of the hero.
Switch games to play this weekend
Had the bear and breakfast It was already released on Steam earlier this year, but now it’s finally released on the Nintendo Switch. In this cold simulation, you play as an titular bear who is running a bed and breakfast in the jungle. Enjoy decorating your rooms and looking after the tourists.
Splatoon 3 It might have been released last weekend, but it’s still a game that I highly encourage everyone to check out. With the upcoming Splatfest festival fast approaching, you’ll want to get a lot of practice and get used to those weapons before things get really competitive.
different daily life It was one of the games shown during the Nintendo Direct. It was released on Tuesday and put together by the creators behind Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default. If you like this style of JRPG, you really should check it out.
Enjoy the weekend!
This week’s Nintendo Direct sure gave us plenty to chew on. The Breath of the Wild sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, is shaping up to be a captivating new adventure packed with new mechanics and lore to uncover. Then of course, when the N64 was newly announced, I would spend a lot of time diving into classic titles from my childhood.
We haven’t seen some of the rumored titles expected in Direct, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Nintendo will never release them. We just have to wait and see what the gaming company does.
Until next time.
– Rebecca Spear