Danny: I was beginning to think that Nintendo forgot about this! Of course, the ONE TIME that James and I play Rocket League together, Nintendo releasing this Direct, unbeknownst to the two of us!
James: Love the pre-trolling that Nintendo did here, tweeting out a random pic of Chibirobo on fire. Only a Mini Direct though? Hmmm, maybe that means a big one is coming soon.
Sairus: I think traditionally they’ve done a Mini Direct a couple of weeks before a full Direct, so I guess stay tuned? I was following the growing insanity on the Switch reddit in preparation for this Direct and it was hilarious. Nintendo then just dropping it out of nowhere was fantastic.
Ty: What’s a Nintendo Direct?
The World Ends with You Remixed on Nintendo Switch
The classic is back with a new control option!
Danny: The visuals for this new version look absolutely fantastic! I’ve been interested in this game since the DS days but never enough to pick it up. I do like RPGs, so this game is definitely going to be on my radar.
James: I dunno, I always thought it looked interesting and unique back on DS, but I also heard it can be quite monotonous, plus I’m not an RPG guy anyway. Cool that a DS game is getting a HD remix though.
Sairus: I played a little of TWEWY back on the DS. I adore the visuals, but the gameplay didn’t grab me. It had a weird system where you played two battles simultaneously, which ended up meaning I paid no attention to either of them. I am excited to see this game return to see if they can fix it though! However, the $60 price tag is far too steep for me.
Ty: The World Ends with You is my favorite James Bond movie.
New Battle Pokémon in Pokkén Tournament™ DX DLC
Find out who shows up this time!
Danny: Pokkén. I think it’s great that they’re supporting this game. Perhaps all of the content from the arcade will make it to the Switch. Good for fans, but not really something I’m interested in.
James: Paid DLC, for a game that made people re-buy the game again if they bought it on Wii U? Good luck with that. Side note: I saw them selling this as a separate download card in shops today!
Sairus: I’m pretty happy to see support for this, especially in the form of weird Pokemon like Aegislash. I agree it’s a bit of a hard pill to swallow paying for more DLC on a rerelease, but considering DX came with 5 extra characters and new modes out of the box, I give it a bit of a pass. I guess I’m just used to this behaviour from fighting games. The DLC has already appeared on the eShop for €15 though. A quarter of the full price of the game for 2 new characters? That seems a bit nuts.
Ty: I love the progression system it has for online multiplayer.
New Abilities for Kirby and His Friends
…in Kirby™ Star Allies! But when?
Danny: Mechanically, I’ve always felt Kirby games were fine. I really like the transformations but always find the games a bit on the slow side.
James: Looks cute, but is it push up to to infinite fly/win? Side note: no multi-lingual support for this game, Japanese version is Japanese only like Splatoon 2 was.
Sairus: I love Kirby, but I never play his games, so I don’t really have much to say on this guy. However, there’s something about this that really looks and feels like the Smash Run mode from Smash Brothers 3DS? The way Friend Attacks bounce enemies around the walls feels ripped straight out of it!
Ty: Kirby games are way too hard for me, pass.
The Ultimate Version of Hyrule Warriors
…is coming to Nintendo Switch!
Danny: Despite having this game on the Wii U, I really am considering this one. Why? Well, I never put down the straight cash for all of the additional DLC. Plus, for some reason, my wife really liked playing the game on Wii U!
James: The third remake of the Direct, and one that already has been remade, now for the third time. I wonder how folk who bought this game before and all the DLC will feel. Again, no multi-lingual support by the way.
Sairus: *raises hand* Played about 200 hours of Hyrule Warriors on the Wii U with all DLC. I never got Legends on 3DS though. Legends had some sizeable new features like new maps and story mode which I’ve always wanted to try, so despite it being a remake of a remake, I’m kind of tempted. However, not having any major new features or characters, particularly from Breath of the Wild kills that interest a lot. If I had played Legends too there’s no way I’d care about this.
Ty: I heard Breath of the Wild is really hard, so maybe this is more my cup of tea.
Mario Tennis™ Aces Serves Up a Story
Only on Nintendo Switch
Danny: I was a pretty big fan of Mario Tennis on the Game Boy Color. The gameplay was great and the story elements were really fun. This looks like a bit of a return to form for the series - which is a great thing! I’m interested to see more of what this game has to offer before deciding if I’ll pick it up, though.
James: I was actually quite impressed with this, looks slick and not at all like the barebones cash-grab piece of crap that was Ultra Smash on Wii U. Plus they actually listened to fans’ complaints and are adding a story mode? Holy crap, colour me impressed! Now we just have to wait and see how in-depth it is. From the one screen we've seen so far, it's just a Super Mario 3D World style map where you walk around and select a mission and then walk to the next part of the map, so don't get too hype just yet!
Sairus: Absolutely zero interest in this. Looks pretty though! I like how Nintendo are so comfortable with their characters now they don’t have to be in their iconic costumes all the time anymore. Fun game: compare some of the animations, like win poses and whatnot, from Ultra Smash to this. Wholesale reusing their assets. I don’t mind! Waste not, want not.
Ty: Waluigi is my waifu.
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA on Nintendo Switch
Now you can play on your TV or on the go!
Danny: I’ve never played any games in the series and honestly, this (or any of the other games in the series) don’t really appeal to me.
James: Nope.
Sairus: I feel we don’t have a lot of JRPG players on our team. Despite how old the series is, I basically know nothing about the Ys series aside from its name, and I don’t even know how to pronounce that.
Ty: Anime is real, as proven by this game.
Break Out the Balloons: Free Update Incoming!
Find Luigi—and balloons—in Super Mario Odyssey™
Danny: I sure as hell didn’t see THIS kind of DLC coming to Odyssey! I’m not sure if I’ll ever get into it, but the idea is intriguing nonetheless.
James: Holy crap, DLC for Mario Odyssey already? I still have about 350 moons left in the regular game! Thankfully this looks like it’s taking a different spin at things, looks cool. Plus an online mode? How very un-Nintendo!
Sairus: Definitely not the DLC anyone was expecting for Mario! It’s a clever way to use the core Find Everything gameplay in Odyssey competitively. I have zero interest in it, but I’m sure it’ll be at least a short term distraction for active Odysseyers. I don’t know how much staying power a mode like this has though.
Ty: I tend not to like good games, so I’ll pass on this one.
Face Off in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy
With fan-favorite characters on Nintendo Switch
Danny: I’ll be taking a hard pass here. Really not interested.
James: The concept of an all-female fighting game is interesting, but I don’t really know any of these characters. Plus it also looks a little too AKB48 for me.
Sairus: Well this certainly came out of nowhere! It’s actually not the first time SNK have done this sort of game. Check out Gal Fighters for the NEO GEO Pocket sometimes if you’re thirsty for more! I’m not terribly interested in this title, but it’s a fun reuse of all the King of Fighters 14 assets, and the gameplay mechanics - particularly how the lifebars work - actually look really unique.
Ty: This straight up is pushing me towards buying a Switch just for this game!
New Character in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
You’ll go bananas over this one!
Danny: It’s cool to see continuing support for this game. Of course, like everything else in the game, DK fits nicely!
James: Donkey Kong in a Mario game? Get outta here.
Sairus: DK appearing in Rabbids before Odyssey? Honestly, I thought it was a bit weird he wasn’t in the game already considering there’s enemy Rabbids based on him. Someday I might get M+R, but this wasn’t enough to convince me.
Ty: Rabbids can’t hold a candle to Minions, which are my all time favorites.
PAYDAY 2 Character Premiering on Nintendo Switch
Plus, local play with CRIME.NET
Danny: Wow. I thought the publisher forgot that they had announced this game for Switch! I love me some shooters, and this one actually looks good mechanically and conceptually interesting. I’ll still be waiting for a final verdict for pulling the trigger on this one. *har har*
James: Local play FPS console game sounds cool, and may have never been done before. I wish them all the best and hope it finds an audience on Switch, but maybe not for me.
Sairus: More ‘adult’ games on Switch a very welcome, especially big genres like team shooters. However, I have heard bad things about the Payday 2 devs abandoning console versions of their games pretty much immediately after release so I am a little worried about that happening again here. Interesting that they had to specify “invite friends who also have the Nintendo Switch version”. Cross-platform is the norm now I guess!
Ty: This game will be way better without mouse and keyboard controls.
Feel the Song in Fe and Climb Mountains in Celeste
When both indie gems hit Nintendo Switch
Danny: Celeste looks really cool. I like the visuals and the gameplay looks like a lot of fun. Fe is also striking and given the pedigree behind Zoink Games (I really enjoyed Stick it to the Man), it’s great to see that the Switch is a home for great indie content.
James: Fe looks cool! I guess people who’ve finished Breath of the Wild are gonna have fun with it. Celeste also looks cool, kind of Meat Boy meets Azure Striker: Gunvolt with a female main character.
Sairus: I love the art style of Celeste. It actually looks sedate enough that I might enjoy it, but it didn’t really sell me on what they showed. Also, the second anyone starts talking about HD Rumble I get worried. Celeste falls into that unfortunate “Do you like Meatboy? You’ll love X” category. Probably good, but I could just play Meatboy.
Ty: Celeste looks harder than Meat Boy, pass.
This Cool Game is Back and Funkier Than Ever!
Go ape with the DK crew on Nintendo Switch
Danny: The Wii U version of this game has been sitting on my shelf for the past two years after I got it for Christmas. It would be great to have the game on the Switch, but maybe I should just play the games I already own, right?! At any rate, Tropical Freeze still looks fantastic. The addition of Funky Kong is interesting and is a nice addition to help the people who refuse to git gud...Maybe that should be reason enough for me to pick it up, then?
James: I completed this on Wii U, it’s pretty balls hard. Not gonna be doing that again, for $10 more than the original. Also Retro better not have had anything to do with this.
Sairus: Like Mario Odyssey, this is one of those games that I’d probably play the heck out of it someone gave it to me, but I’m not too interested in buying. I never felt too bad that I missed it on Wii U. Funky Kong looks ridiculous. I assume he’s there to help people actually finish the game since the original was famously difficult.
Ty: Shame the extra character isn’t a playable Candy Kong.
Dark Souls™: Remastered is heading to Nintendo Switch
Danny: I’ve always been interested in Dark Souls but was never brave enough to pick it up. With the impending release on Switch at a relatively low price (a little over ¥4,000/$40 USD), I might jump in. The technical side of things doesn’t really bother me - 1080p docked, 720p in handheld both running at 30 FPS. As long as the framerate is consistent, I’m good with it.
James: We heard rumours of this, so it’s cool to hear that it is coming! People who like this series tend to think the first is the best, so good time to get into it now I guess. Don’t think it’s for me though. Note: again, the Japanese version is Japanese only, so don't think about getting it unless you're fluent!
Sairus: Very cool this is coming to Switch! And yeah, plenty of rumors swirling that this was coming but even then it’s still a surprise to see it. It’s sad, but understandable that it’s locked to 30FPS on Switch. I wonder if that will hold up in Blighttown. I’ve never played a Souls game, and even I know that killed the frame rate to almost unplayable levels in the original. All that aside though, Skryim, DOOM and Dark Souls all on a Nintendo console? Heck of a time to be alive!
Ty: These games are way too hard, pass.
Bonus: News flash - Detective Pikachu coming to the west with a new GIANT amiibo
Danny: I’m one of the few Westerners that had a chance to play this game when it was originally released in Japan in February 2016. I even wrote a review for it at the time on Nintendo World Report (you can find that here). It sure as hell took them long enough to bring the game outside of Japan. I’d really like to know the backstory behind this ridiculously long delay!
James: Shame it’s not Danny Devito’s voice, and holy crap have you seen the size of the amiibo?!
Sairus: I’d love to be in the office the day they decided “Yes. This is it. We’ve wanted to make a double size amiibo for so long and Detective Pikachu is perfect.” The kids from the Monster Hunter Stories amiibo line will probably fit nicely on his head.
Ty: I guess it’s like Ace Attorney with Pikachu, yes please!
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