The latest Nintendo Direct was chock full of games, with just about something for everyone in the gaming company’s wide audience. It was a solid showing in what’s probably the last big Direct event for the current Switch hardware as the Switch 2 looms on the horizon. However, some of the games shown off certainly stood out from the crowd, and as expected it was from well known franchises such as Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid.
Fans of the famous plumbing duo will be getting Mario & Luigi: Brothership, which is a turn-based RPG where both Mario and Luigi will be featured in gameplay. The game is sporting an interesting and colorful cel-shaded art style that makes it stand out to other games in the Mario universe. Nintendo says players will be able to “set sail on Shipshape Island (part ship, part island) to navigate the vast world of Concordia.”
By far and away the biggest surprise is the debut of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. This will be the first game in the series where Zelda herself will be the protagonist. It seems as if Nintendo took the opportunity to not only have this be the first game where Zelda is playable, but also to introduce gameplay mechanics from Tears of the Kingdom. Players will be able to use “echoes,” which are copies of in game objects, and use these objects to traverse the game world and fight off enemies.
After a very long time in development that included being scrapped and sent to a different development team, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is now a reality and gamers got a glimpse of what the game has in store for them. It looks very much a return to form for the franchise, as it was oozing vibes from the original, beloved Metroid Prime. However, players will need to wait until 2025 to experience Samus’ latest adventure.
The rest of the titles that made an appearance during the Nintendo Direct include:
- Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
- Dragon Quest I & 2 Remake
- Super Mario Party Jamboree
- Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
- Lego Horizon Adventures
- Just Dance 2025 Edition
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure
- Stray
- Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Video Game
- Nintendo Switch Sports
- Funko Fusion
- MIO: Memories in Orbit
- Disney Illusion Island
- Luigi’s Masion 2 HD
- Darkest Dungeon II
- Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports
- Metal Slug Attack Reloaded: Metal Slug
- Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
- Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero
- The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy-
- Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
- Fantasian Neo Dimension
- Fairy Tail 2
- Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
- Farmagia
- The New Denpa Men
- Nintendo Switch Online (Game Boy Advanced): The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords, Metroid: Zero Mission
- Nintendo Switch Online (Nintendo 64): Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, Perfect Dark
With this slate of games 2024 is shaping up to be a solid year for Nintendo Switch owners, and the 2025 is also looking good with the latest Metroid scheduled for release.