I do not often, as in I do not think we have ever written one, write about Nintendo Direct presentations, but for some reason that will be made clear in the coming paragraphs, I decided that this would be a good change of pace. Also, this has been the first Direct presentation that has excited me in a loooooooong time, and that could all be due to a couple of reasons.
The first reason being that with the exception of a few games here and there, usually relegated to one or two games, I have not been interested in what Nintendo has had to offer by way of their announcements in a while. As previously mentioned, I am not a very good Nintendo fan, so my hopes for any interesting announcements were not very high to start off with. I could go and break down each Nintendo Direct over the last two years, but 1) That would take too much of what little time I have to write articles theses days; and 2) Nobody wants to read that.
So rather than that drivel, I think I will just go over what did excite me about the games that were either announced or showcased.
Super Mario Maker 2: I originally did not think that I was the target audience when the first game in this franchise was announced. My fear that people would only try to make levels as stupidly difficult as possible turned out somewhat true, but I still liked the concept. Then when Dr. Potts got me Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, I was kind of surprised by how quickly I took to the game, both in its presentation and building on my love of 2D Super Mario Bros. games. I loved that it also seemed to showcase how not overly easy it is to make a fun level reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario World. Anyway, I am pretty excited to see what new additions SMM2 will bring.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Update 3.0: Okay so, you probably all know by now that I am not a fan of the Smash series (and if you didn't know then, then you know now), but what I did like, was the announcement of the Simon Belmont amiibo. Yes, I have a handful of amiibos despite what I said about them a few years back. I am also just a sucker for the Castlevania series so having a figure of Simon Belmont is pretty cool. Because there was no mention if it would be an exclusive to GameStop or Best Buy, I am hoping that come sometime this year, that I can just pre-order one off of Amazon and that some other game down the line will have functionality with this one. Basically what I did with the Ridley amiibo.
Blood Stained: Ritual of the Night: I had previously late-backed this over on IndieGogo, so seeing an update is very nice. I do have a hankering for some Castlevania action (see above).
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age: I knew very little about DQXI before watching the trailer, and despite the fact that if you have played three Dragon Quest games, you have probably played them all (albeit with a slightly different mechanic), I do really want to play this one. I do really love the option of playing the game in its 3D modern graphics state, or in a 2D sprite set reminiscent of the NES Dragon Warrior games but with an SNES aesthetic. And after attempting Dragon Quest VI a few times (the last time I had to stop due to my 3DS button issues), I would like to find my way back into this franchise.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses: Mixed feelings on the trailer, mainly because the opening narrator sounded like he wanted to be anywhere else and was phoning it all in. The second narrator came across as someone reading a history book written for 13 year olds. The story and characters, I am hoping ends up being as customizable as I would like. Since you have a gaggle of students under your watch and it looks like you can have them learn whatever skills you like (through appropriate training), and that you could, hypothetically have a group full of archers on horseback, or axe wielding spell-casters. The choice of three houses promises at least two additional replays, but I am a little concerned about paid DLC as has been the case with the last three Fire Emblem games that were released on the DS.
Tetris 99: This was a pleasant surprise and one I was not either expecting or really wanting. I mean, sure I love Tetris, but a battle royale style combative Tetris game was not on the top of my list of games that I wanted to see. Obviously though, I downloaded it upon getting home and have played a handful of rounds, with some lasting a couple of minutes before I am eliminated to lasting less than 30 seconds as I get pummeled by untold numbers of other people.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice: I guess you could say that I am settling for the Switch port of this game that I have had my eye on for some time now, but my only other two options are buy a PS4 Pro, or buy a new computer; my current laptop was chugging slowly with . And I do not really like that sentiment, settling. I would like to believe that Ninja Theory is partnering with a competent company to handle the Switch port so that it looks as good as the Switch can currently do. I am also excited to hear David García Díaz's BAFTA winning soundtrack in the context of the game.
Unravel 2: I never played the first Unravel, but I did play Little Big Planet on the PSP and the aesthetic is pretty similar. I also like the idea of a co-op platformer that isn't Contra or Kirby Star Allies. I don't know, I guess I am just drawn to this visual aesthetic, and it might be a good game for both Conklederp and me to play together.
Final Fantasy IX: I probably will not pick up FFIX, especially at the oddly priced $20.99, and I do not know if I would actually pick it up again with all of the newer games that are being released that I have not yet played. What excited me about seeing this released was that I had a lot of fun playing FFIX and really, just think it is cool to see this released for the Switch.
Astral Chain: I had mixed feelings about this game. My first thought, was how two police looking officials were confronted with what looked like an aggressive adversary, the amount of time it took them to acknowledge the tactic they were going to use, then activate whatever it was they were attacking seemed laughably long. Then I realized that this was a Platinum IP because I was getting Bayonetta / Devil May Cry vibes and I was a little more okay with the absurdity of it all. I feel like this might be a doable title in the meantime for Bayonetta 3.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: And holy damn what a way to finish this Direct! I was a little worried when during the initial cinematic there was the "not actual gameplay footage" disclaimer down at the bottom and I was afraid that this was just an announcement trailer and that there would be nothing presentable. And in the fewer than 24 hours after the presentation, I have read mixed reviews on Twitter and Reddit for the art style being taken. I personally love it and think that it is a great way to remake a game that I had a lot of fun playing roughly 25 years ago. I would even be 100% okay if Nintendo used the exact same engine and did remakes of the original Legend of Zelda and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Not that either of those games need to be remade, but if they did, and they looked as good as the Link's Awakening trailer, you bet I would be just as excited. The only thing about Link's Awakening that I am not looking forward to is collecting all of those shells. That was stressful enough considering there were some you could only get when you had the rooster to fly you around.
So those are my thoughts about the most recent Nintendo Direct. And do not get used to us posting whenever one of these drops, this just so happened to have a fair amount of content that I was interested in amongst all of the posts I saw about people being upset that there was no mention of Animal Crossing, Pokémon, Metroid, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Party updates, Mario Tennis Aces updates, Netflix support, or that there were just too many JRPGs for all the apparent weebs (?? Yes, I looked it up, but didn't know that that was a name for it, and how is too many JRPG's a bad thing!?).
~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
Instrumental
So those are my thoughts about the most recent Nintendo Direct. And do not get used to us posting whenever one of these drops, this just so happened to have a fair amount of content that I was interested in amongst all of the posts I saw about people being upset that there was no mention of Animal Crossing, Pokémon, Metroid, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Party updates, Mario Tennis Aces updates, Netflix support, or that there were just too many JRPGs for all the apparent weebs (?? Yes, I looked it up, but didn't know that that was a name for it, and how is too many JRPG's a bad thing!?).
~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
Instrumental
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