How do you Rate the Nintendo Direct?

[John Elden Ring]

How good was it for you?

Though Nintendo didn’t show its upcoming Switch successor during its Nintendo Direct broadcast Tuesday, the company outlined its release schedule for the second half of 2024. The June Nintendo Direct ran for 40 minutes and showcased everything expected in the coming months, including a brand new Zelda game. There were even a few teases for 2025, including the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4.
There’s plenty left on the Nintendo schedule to hold eager fans over until Nintendo’s next console is revealed. Here’s all the news and game announcements shown during Tuesday’s event, which could be considered an extension of last week’s Summer Game Fest, where other major publishers showed off their works-in-progress.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership​

Mario and Luigi are bouncing around in Nintendo’s latest game in the Mario and Luigi franchise — the first in almost 10 years. Mario & Luigi: Brothership will be released on Nintendo Switch on Nov. 7.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition​

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is all about speedrunning and challenges. There are also modes that put you head-to-head with other players in an attempt to be the last one standing as you make your way through the challenges. It’s here on July 18.

Fairy Tail 2​

Koei Tecmo America’s Fairy Tail 2 is a take on the anime Fairy Tail. In this real-time strategy game, you’ll take on enemies in collaborative battles. It’s coming this winter, Nintendo said.

Fantasian Neo Dimension​

From Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, Fantasian Neo Dimension is a turn-based role-playing game where you’re taking on an evil guy that wants to destroy “all mankind,” according to Nintendo. The interdimensional game launches on Nintendo Switch this holiday.

Nintendo Switch Sports​

Basketball is coming to Spocco Square, where up to four players can team up locally and online to shoot some hoops. It’ll come to Nintendo Switch this summer.

Mio: Memories in Orbit​

Mio: Memories in Orbit is all about its pretty, watercolor world. Not much information was shared outside of the trailer, except that it’s coming in 2025.

Disney Illusion Island​

A new mystery update is coming to Disney Illusion Island — and it’s launching on Nintendo Switch Tuesday, the same day as the Direct.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure​

Hello Kitty Island Adventure, originally available only on mobile, is coming to the Nintendo Switch (and PlayStation and Xbox consoles). It’s a timed exclusive, though, meaning Nintendo players will get the super cute Animal Crossing: New Horizons-like game first.

Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports​

Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports has four arcade-style sports minigames, including soccer and basketball — all with a Looney Tunes spin, like falling anvils. It’ll launch on Nintendo Switch this fall.

Among Us​

Among Us is getting a free update Tuesday with new crewmate and imposter roles, like the tracker, which plants trackers, or an imposter who can turn invisible.

Farmagia​

Felicidad is a realm of monsters where a guy named Ten needs to take on a big army. The game is a farming simulator where you raise monsters to help you battle. Farmagia is coming to Nintendo Switch on Nov. 1.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD​

Originally released on the Wii, Donkey Kong Country Returns will be released on Nintendo Switch on Jan. 16.

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake and more​

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake will be coming to Nintendo Switch on Nov. 14, bringing the classic game to modern consoles. Remakes of Dragon Quest 1 and Dragon Quest 2, in HD-2D form, will come in 2025.

Funko Fusion​

10:10 Games showed off Funko Fusion, an action adventure game where you play as Funko characters — all set in different shows and movies, like Jurassic Park. It’ll come to Nintendo Switch on Sept. 13.

Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD​

Luigi’s Mansion 2 is getting an HD upgrade when it launches on Nintendo Switch on June 27.

The New Denpa Men​

The New Denpa Men looks like a weird version of Animal Crossing, with minigames. It’s coming July 27 on Nintendo Switch.

Metal Slug Attack Reloaded​

Metal Slug Attack Reloaded is coming to Nintendo Switch on Tuesday! Surprise!

Darkest Dungeon 2​

Gothic roguelike role-playing game Darkest Dungeon is getting a sequel, Darkest Dungeon 2. It’s coming to Nintendo Switch on July 15.

A big Nintendo Switch Online update​

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords, Metroid: Zero Mission, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, and Perfect Dark are coming to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion today. You’ll be able to play Four Swords online with friends for the first time, too.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero​

Marona is on a journey to save her friend Ash in Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero, which looks super cute and is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2025.

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics​

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is seven whole games coming as one collection.

Super Mario Party Jamboree​

Super Mario Party Jamboree has a whole bunch of new boards and tons of minigames, including a board set in a mall and another on a race course. Five new board games and two from previous games are available in total. Up to 20 players can compete online, too, in new modes. It’s the biggest Mario Party yet, Nintendo said. It’s coming Oct. 17 to Nintendo Switch.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom​

Finally, a game starring Zelda! In The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, a stylized, Link’s Awakening-like version of the franchise, Zelda takes on her own adventure. When Link vanishes, Zelda needs to step in to save the day. It’s coming Sept. 26.

Nintendo Switch Lite Hyrule Edition​

Image: Nintendo
A new Nintendo Switch, all gold with the Hyrule crest, is coming on Sept. 26 alongside the new Zelda game.

Just Dance 2025 Edition​

Ariana Grande, Enur, Sia, and more artists will come to Just Dance 2025 with lots of new dances and challenges to take on. Hundreds of songs in total, coming in October.

Lego Horizon Adventures​

Nintendo had another little peek at Lego Horizon Adventures, which was first announced during Summer Game Fest. It’s coming this holiday season, Nintendo said.

Stray​

Stray, the kitty cat adventure game, is coming to Nintendo Switch during the holiday season.

Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game​

Live as a hobbit in Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game. It’s basically a life sim set in the Lord of the Rings world, and it looks lovely. It’s coming to Nintendo Switch this holiday season.

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection​

Two Ace Attorney games are coming to Nintendo Switch as a single collection: Ace Attorney Investigations Collection. It’ll be released on Nintendo Switch on Sept. 6.

The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy​

The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is coming in early 2025, Nintendo said. The enemies may look cute — but they’re also deadly!

Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven​

“Rule and expand” is the name of the game in Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven. The turn-based battles are flashy and strategic — and the game is coming Oct. 24.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond​

Metroid Prime 4 was first announced in 2017, but it’s been a long time since we’ve heard anything else. This is the first look, and Nintendo is not expecting its release until 2025; development had to be restarted in 2019 under Retro Studios.

 

[Nhomnhom]

Didn't watch it, but I'll give them an A for not announcing that they'll be releasing their games on PlayStation.

 

[Box]

A

Finally Metroid 4

 

[GachaMadeMeBroke]

Definitely A. For my tastes personally, it was show of the season. Nintendo cooked

 

[Muddasar]

More regurgitated crap.

Of course Nintendo fans love this sort of shit.

Metroid Prime 4 will be Day 1 but it looks disappointing graphically.

 

[BroodCorp]

Hard to rate it when there were zero stakes. Nintendo is so far ahead they could close out the Switch lifecycle with anything and it’ll feel like an accomplishment.

 

[TrishaCat]

B
Nothing that had a HOLY COW factor for me but it had a lotta great stuff that I'll love

• Dragon Quest I, II, and III HD-2D
• Fantasian port
• Romancing Saga 2 remake
• The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- (Kodaka and Uchikoshi game)
• Phantom Brave 2
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
• Metroid Prime 4

I'm eating good. And while I'm not a Mario & Luigi fan (never played the games) I'm looking forward to its soundtrack assuming Yoko Shimomura is still composing for them. As a JRPG fan this was a great show.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Strong B+ for me. Had a lot of games I'd be interested in playing and picking up, though with some 3P stuff being multiplat I could consider PC for a couple here and there.
The standouts for me were Mario & Luigi, Fantasian, Dragon Question remakes, Romancing SaGa 2 Remake, the NISJ game, Capcom Marvel collection, Zelda Echos, Metal Slug, and Metroid Prime 4 (I'd count LEGO Horizon but that was already shown at SGF). So at least as many games as from the Xbox Showcase for me. In both cases tho, a lot more than from the last State of Play which only really had Monster Hunter Rise, Infinity Nikke (more intrigued with this vs. actually playing) and Astro Bot that caught my eye (Silent Hill 2 looks a bit rough IMO).

Although I give the Direct & Xbox Showcase the same score, the Direct is the "stronger" B+ IMO because Nintendo still offering many reasons to buy their hardware with exclusive games & content. Also them supporting Switch this strongly in its 8th year suggests they aren't holding out on it just for Switch 2's sake, so whatever they're cooking for Switch 2 will be really good stuff.

What I do like with Nintendo & Xbox though is, even if going completely different directions, at least I can get a clear read on the direction they are going. It's PlayStation which seems confused with mixed messaging, and not providing clarity in their direction where some folks are saying one thing one week, then actions showing the complete opposite occur the following week.

That gives me a bit of unease and it's similar in ways to what Xbox was going through up until the massive leaks of their multiplatform strategy finally came out early this year. Though in their case, that leak just correlated with a logically acceptable conclusion given sales info/leaks we were getting from Xbox for a year or so prior, combined with the leaks from ABK court hearings and the staggering cost of buying both ABK & Zenimax combined with how badly Xbox consoles were selling (not to mention, MS already committed to Day 1 on Steam for all their games in 2020).

 

[SLB1904]

E

Looked like an Apple Arcade show.

And some people have the nerve to say this looks better than Xbox showcase
Fuck me

 

[Zzero]

B-

It was above average presentation compared to a lot of the slop we eat these days, with lots of stuff but the big game got a "delay" compared to my suspected release date and they have NOTHING for Christmas unless you like a western developed M+L or (also possibly western?) 2D Zelda spin-offs. This does put it above the Xbox presentation but I dunno, maybe I was too hard on that one after years of them blueballing on release dates.

 

[Ico]

like 90% of the switch owners that have one just for first party, it was genuinely nice to see the new zelda game and metroid prime 4, its a B for me

 

[voke]

Nintnedo cannot get a B+ without monolith imo lmao. Good show though.

 

[Muddasar]

E

Looked like an Apple Arcade show.

And some people have the nerve to say this looks better than Xbox showcase
Fuck me

Metroid Prime 4 was the highlight of the show and even it looked dated.

Really disappointing.

Honestly don’t care about the HD remakes and regurgitated games like Mario & Luigi and now a Zelda Awakening.

It’s my biggest issue with Nintendo.

Laughable people are even given this showcase A and B.

The same people would be rioting if Sony remakes and regurgitates shit.

Nintendo can get away with it. People love the nostalgia hit.

 

[voke]

Metroid Prime 4 was the highlight of the show and even it looked dated.

Really disappointing.

Honestly don’t about the HD remakes and regurgitated games like Mario & Luigi and now a Zelda Awakening.

Laughable people are even given this showcase A and B.

The same people would be rioting if Sony remakes and regurgitates shit.

Nintendo can get away with it. People love the nostalgia hit.

Nintendo put out so many remasters, their fans now accept them as new releases (I think this is a good thing)

 

[SLB1904]

Nintendo put out so many remasters, their fans now accept them as new releases (I think this is a good thing)

the double standard is what pisses me off

 

[Muddasar]

Nintendo put out so many remasters, their fans now accept them as new releases (I think this is a good thing)

Not just their fans. You have so called Sony fans heaping praises.

Not just remasters and remakes but the same regurgitated shit with a new coat of paint.

There are people excited for another Mario Party, Mario & Luigi game and now a Zelda controlled game with Links awakening graphics.

Surprised Nintendo didn’t announced another Mario Tennis, Mario Football, Mario Golf and a new Yoshis world game with a new texture. We had wool and paper. Whats next?

 

[Evilms]

Between C & B

 

[GachaMadeMeBroke]

Strong B+ for me. Had a lot of games I'd be interested in playing and picking up, though with some 3P stuff being multiplat I could consider PC for a couple here and there.
The standouts for me were Mario & Luigi, Fantasian, Dragon Question remakes, Romancing SaGa 2 Remake, the NISJ game, Capcom Marvel collection, Zelda Echos, Metal Slug, and Metroid Prime 4 (I'd count LEGO Horizon but that was already shown at SGF). So at least as many games as from the Xbox Showcase for me. In both cases tho, a lot more than from the last State of Play which only really had Monster Hunter Rise, Infinity Nikke (more intrigued with this vs. actually playing) and Astro Bot that caught my eye (Silent Hill 2 looks a bit rough IMO).

Although I give the Direct & Xbox Showcase the same score, the Direct is the "stronger" B+ IMO because Nintendo still offering many reasons to buy their hardware with exclusive games & content. Also them supporting Switch this strongly in its 8th year suggests they aren't holding out on it just for Switch 2's sake, so whatever they're cooking for Switch 2 will be really good stuff.

What I do like with Nintendo & Xbox though is, even if going completely different directions, at least I can get a clear read on the direction they are going. It's PlayStation which seems confused with mixed messaging, and not providing clarity in their direction where some folks are saying one thing one week, then actions showing the complete opposite occur the following week.

That gives me a bit of unease and it's similar in ways to what Xbox was going through up until the massive leaks of their multiplatform strategy finally came out early this year. Though in their case, that leak just correlated with a logically acceptable conclusion given sales info/leaks we were getting from Xbox for a year or so prior, combined with the leaks from ABK court hearings and the staggering cost of buying both ABK & Zenimax combined with how badly Xbox consoles were selling (not to mention, MS already committed to Day 1 on Steam for all their games in 2020).

A measured take Though I won’t fully lump Nintendo and Xbox together. Nintendo’s roadmap and plan is clear as it’s always been, that’s just how they are. While the writing is on the wall for Xbox in terms of multiplat their messaging is still all over the show. In the span of a few months we’ve went from rumors, to 4 games don’t expect everything to more games will come to more platforms. Not to mention them trying to hype up next gen. Their messaging is a direct result of unclear strategy and unrest in the fanbase. In terms of games though, we have a clear outlook of what to expect from Xbox yes but also have to remember a lot of these games were also known for a long, long time.

Sony, yeah, they’re in a super weird spot and I have very mixed feeling about where they’re at right now. I think the pivot to GaaS caused the most issues both internally and within the fanbase. They’ve put out great games these past 4 years but you’re still left with this weird feeling and it’s because we really have no insight into what’s coming next for them and it sucks. I think the work they’ve done on partnerships has more than kept my interest in the platform and it’s where they’ve truly shone this gen but on the first party side I can’t help but feel kinda let down. If 2025 really is the year we see heavy hitters I hope we see them this year.

 

[Kokoloko]

Metroid Prime 4 was great to see. Disappointed its cross gen with tech from like 2006 lol, thought they’d leave it for Switch 2. I know it makes sense money to have it on Switch, but I couldnt care less, they have enough money lol

Im a big fan of Luigo’s Mansion, so its good to see it L2 on a console

Mario and Luigi looks ok

Dragon Quest Remakes looks great.

Star of the show for me was Marvel Capcom Crossover. Xmen vs SF is like my favourite fighter along with SFA2.

Show gets C

 

[Dr Bass]

Nintendo put out so many remasters, their fans now accept them as new releases (I think this is a good thing)

the double standard is what pisses me off

Yeah they did, but are you ignoring all of the new games that were announced too? Didn't count them, but I don't think either Sony or MS showed as many new titles this year as Nintendo just did. Whether you want them or not is a different question, they definitely skew differently overall.

But there is no doubt that Nintendo is working on software and putting it out for sale at a regular pace.

Prime 4 also looks like a Switch 1 title to me.