Everything in the 2.13 Nintendo Direct

There was a Nintendo Direct yesterday! It was pretty great, but if you missed it, don’t worry: I’ll get you all caught up with a quick summary of everything that was revealed.



Headlining the presentation was the reveal of Super Mario Maker 2, the follow-up to the wildly popular Wii U game that let you design and publish your very own Mario games, which was a rare moment of Nintendo giving the fans what they’ve always wanted. Mario Maker 2 doesn’t appear to have too many new or exciting features, but even if it was just a straight port it would be good news for Switch owners.



Link’s Awakening is considered one of the best Zelda games ever made by some, and Nintendo is finally bringing it back with a full-on remake. However, in an unexpected but completely welcome move, they’ve decided to give it a graphics update that has everyone looking like adorable clay figures. It reminds me of the “craft” style Nintendo has used recently in Paper Mario, Yoshi, and Kirby games: I suppose it’s only natural that the Legend of Zelda would get a turn with it.



We finally got another look at Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and I don’t mind saying that it looked pretty fantastic. It’s a weird mix of Game of Thrones and Harry Potter, with you playing a professor teaching nobles affiliated with three rival houses how to properly kill each other. It’s set to come out sooner than I was expecting, July 26 (the new release date after their initial delay), but I’m really excited at the chance to both experience the new gameplay mechanics and play matchmaker in a school setting.  Because really, that’s the only reason to play Fire Emblem games anymore.


 
Platinum Games is back with the first fully-fledged new IP in the presentation: Astral Chain. Produced by the same people behind Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, and most importantly Nier Automata, this game showcases a bunch of future-cops using weird mechanical ghosts to fight monsters and unravel mysteries. It’s looking like a pretty unique cyberpunk game, so consider me pumped to see more gameplay and trailers in the future.

But not everything came with an exciting trailer:

• BoxBoy! + BoxGirl! was announced for the console on April 26, which will come with co-op, 270 levels, and a few stages with a brand-new character.
• As everyone anticipated, Dragon Quest XI will be coming to the Switch this fall as a definitive edition, which will come with new storylines, both Japanese and English audio, and even a 16-bit graphics mode for you fans of nostalgia.
• Tetris 99 was announced as well: a free-to-play Battle Royale where 99 players play a game of Tetris and see who can last the longest. It sounds so stupid and so, so good.
• Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is getting a free update that adds a two-player mode, and a few new courses as paid DLC.
• There’s a new demo for Daemon X Machina available on the eShop as well.
• Final Fantasy lX is now available on the eShop, with Final Fantasy VII coming on March 26. 
• The first chapter of Deltarune is going to be released free on the Switch (and the PS4) pretty soon. Good if you want to know what the hell that fuss was all about last year.
• Rune Factory 4 is being remastered on the Switch and will be out later this year. More importantly, Rune Factory 5 has been confirmed.
• Oninaki, a new RPG from the folks behind I am Setsuna and Lost Sphear, will be coming this summer.
• Starlink: Battle for Atlas (remember that? Because I sure don’t) is getting more Star Fox related content this spring, giving you the ability to play as the rest of the Star Fox crew.
• Super Smash Brothers Ultimate is getting a big 3.0 update in spring, although we don’t know what it’ll involve.
• Disney Tsurn Tsurn Festival, which is basically Disney Mario Party, is coming soon.
• Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon: Everybuddy! will be launching March 20, and will feature new additions alongside the remastered original game from 2007.

And that’s pretty much everything! Was there anything that got you especially excited?