All the Big News from the Latest Nintendo Direct

Nintendo had its first big Direct in quite a while the other day -- and while there was no news on any of the games that people were actually excited for (Metroid Prime 4 and Breath of the Wild 2), there were a few announcements and treats that warrant a mention.



Pyre and Mythra, two of the main characters from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, are coming to Super Smash Brothers Brawl as the second-to-last DLC fighters. Not exciting choices, but not terrible ones either -- although between their outfits and the jiggle physics, one really has to wonder why Mai wasn't allowed to be a background fighter in the King of Fighter's stage.



A new Mario sports game was announced, and golf is back on the menu. It's been seven years since Mario last stepped foot on the green, and seventeen since he's done as much on the console, which means he's got a lot of catching up to do if he wants to get back in his prime. It looks like good fun, and the story mode seems as if it could be pretty goofy, if Nintendo is willing to inject a little Paper Mario style humor into it.



Fall Guys, the famous battle royal obstacle course, is finally coming to the Switch. A little late, as it seems as if Mediatonic's fifteen minutes in the spotlight have just about passed, but more players from a different console might be all it takes to rejuvenate this charming party game.



Monster Hunter Rise, a switch exclusive and the next entry into the Monster Hunter franchise, got a brand-new trailer. We saw some new monsters, which was cool, but not quite as cool as getting a closer look at the strange tower-defense-like mode that seems to be the game's most unique selling point.



Neon White was announced, a new first-person card-based tactical run-and-gun title, by the looks of it. While I wasn't a fan of the voice-over, the gameplay looked interesting, and as someone who's addicted to card-based battle systems, I'll need to keep my eyes on this one.



Square Enix announced Project Triangle Strategy, a new tactics game that looks to borrow heavily, at least thematically, from 2019's Fire Emblem Three Houses, as well as their own Final Fantasy Tactics series. The game looks hella gorgeous, and I'm probably going to check out the demo just to soak in those amazing 2.5 graphics.



While Nintendo acknowledged fan's disappointment at the lack of Breath of the Wild 2 news, they gave us perhaps the next best thing: a HD remake of the Wii's last major game, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. While I was never a big fan of this game's combat or puzzles, I've long believed it's got the best story of any Zelda game, and getting the chance to play it again has me genuinely excited.



They wrapped things up with an announcement trailer for Splatoon 3, which is cool, but wasn't exactly what I was expecting or hoping for. It looks as if it's the same ol' Splatoon experience, but with a new story and a few new weapons and tools. Maybe the singer main characters will be dudes this time? Who can say.

Anyway, those were just the major announcements. There was also news on the Switch port of Apex Legends, a Legends of Mana remake, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity DLC, new items coming to Animal Crossing, a re-release of Miitopia, and more.

Not the best Direct, but there have been more disappointing ones.