First 2021 Nintendo Direct Highlights: Major Trailers
The latest Nintendo Direct presentation is behind us. Nintendo announced a lot of titles, including many refreshed versions of older titles.
There are a lot of reasons why gamers might remember 2020 badly. One of them can be considered the lack of large episodes of Nintendo Direct, the regular presentation of Nintendo games. Only yesterday, after a hiatus of almost a year and a half, the Japanese publisher released a video lasting more than an hour, showing upcoming productions for Nintendo Switch. Was it worth waiting over 500 days for the return of the real Direct?
Splatoon 3 announced
Ink shooter series is growing into another strong franchise in Nintendo's catalog. It's no surprise that after the warmly received second game, Splatoon 3 was announced. In the new installment we'll leave the metropolis of Inkopolis known from the previous games and head to Splatsville, also known as the "City of Chaos". The new game will bring a lot of new weapons, abilities and customization options. The game is scheduled to debut next year.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Fighter Pass DLC
The biggest crossover in video game history continues to generate a lot of excitement, despite the fact that the forced stay at home has clearly highlighted the game's problems with online mode. The excitement is building with speculation about the announcement of new fighters. During the Nintendo Direct, another female fighter was revealed to be joining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Pyra and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles, functioning as one character. It may not be a surprise on the scale of Joker from Persona 5, Minecraft's Steve or Sephiroth, but Shulk fans are unlikely to complain about more female representatives of the series. The fourth DLC from the second season pass will debut in March.
Mario Golf: Super Rush
We had a new tennis game from Nintendo, it's time for golf. On June 25 ,Mario Golf: Super Rush will be released. In the game we will be able to try ourselves not only in the story campaign, but also in local and online competitions with other players. The developers will include a lot of modes and new gameplay mechanics.
On a side note - fans of more realistic sports games will receive eBaseball Professional Baseball Spirits 2021, a virtual baseball game from Konami.
No More Heroes 3
Travis Touchdown didn't make it into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but the eccentric assassin won't be complaining about lack of action this year. The release date of No More Heroes III was revealed, in which the hero will have to face an interstellar threat. With the help of players, Travis will climb to the top of the galactic ranking of superheroes, although first he will have to raise considerable money for the entry fee. The third No More Heroes will debut on August 27.
DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power
Starting on June 4, Switch owners will be able to purchase DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power, a "teenage" variation on the theme of female superheroes published by DC Comics. Each of them will have unique abilities, but also their own ordinary life, which will force balancing between everyday affairs and heroic duties.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Yesterday's Nintendo Direct also brought announcements of refreshed versions of older titles. This includes the long-awaited remaster of of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which will be released on July 16. Alongside the beautified visuals, Nintendo will also be adding improved controls to make the gameplay more "fluid and immediate". However, if swiping Joy-Cons isn't to your liking, there will also be an option to control Link using buttons only.
Unfortunately, during the presentation there was no mention of a sequel to Breath of the Wild.
News, DLCs...
During the presentation there were also a few minor announcements. This includes new titles like the continuation of The Caligula Effect (on Switch and PlayStation 4), Star Wars: Hunters (also on mobile devices), the fifth Samurai Warriors (PS4, XONE, Switch, PC) and the first-person action game Neon White.
There's also plenty of DLCs. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity will get a season pass, as part of which we'll receive two content packs. Some new content will appear on May 28, so before the actual launch of the first wave of expansions in June. For the second we'll have to wait until November. On March 1, fans of the extremely popular Animal Crossing: New Horizons will receive a handful of cosmetic items inspired by the Super Mario series.
...ports and more
The new Nintendo Direct was also packed with announcements of ports from other platforms. The titles coming to Switch in 2021 include Apex Legends, Outer Wilds, Fall Guys, Tales from the Borderlands, Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, and the Ninja Gaiden series collection. We will also get remasters of Saga Frontier, Stubbs the Zombie and Legend of Mana. Miitopia, known from Nintendo 3DS, will also return.
In addition to fresh announcements the presentation brought with it new footage of already announced games. Subsequent trailers were released for, among others, Bravely Default II, Monster Hunter: Rise and Ghost 'n Goblins Resurrection. The trailer of the last of these games revealed the presence of a local co-op mode, which will be available to check out along with the game's release on February 25.
