Here’s a breakdown of the main announcements from Nintendo’s Direct on March 8th, 2018, and hoo boy, it’s a big one!
Nintendo 3DS Headlines
- WarioWare Gold is coming to 3DS August 3rd, 2018. It’s a compilation of the best micro-games throughout the series as well as some brand new ones, similarly to how they did Rhythm Heaven MegaMix. It’ll be the biggest collection of games in the series thus far.
- Dillon’s Dead-Heat Breakers, an unexpected new addition to the Dillon series, is coming to 3DS May 24th, 2018 with a demo coming May 10th. It’s looking like it’ll add racing and custom Mii characters to the series’ tower defense gameplay.
- Skipping right over Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the next game in the series to get the 3DS remake treatment is Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story with an additional Bowser Jr.’s Journey adventure. It’s coming sometime in 2019. That’s quite the wait. The 3DS just ain’t ready to die it seems.
- We’ve known for a while, but Detective Pikachu along with its double-sized amiibo is still coming to 3DS soon, March 23rd, 2018.
- Here’s something else no one expected. The original Luigi’s Mansion is getting remade for 3DS with a new boss rush mode, available sometime in 2018. For those of you who wanted the series on one system, you got it.
Nintendo Switch Headlines, Part 1
- Kirby Star Allies is just around the corner, coming March 16th, 2018. In this Direct, they revealed that aside from the basic enemy characters you can befriend and play as, you can also play as fan favorite characters like King Dedede, Meta Knight, and Bandana Waddle Dee. That’s not all though, as more iconic characters will be added in free updates like Rick, Kine, and Coo as a single character, Gooey, and…Marx? Marx!? Since when was he Kirby’s friend, or even alive for that matter? It’s really cool regardless, and the update releases March 28th, 2018.
- One of my personal favorite games ever, Okami, is on its way to Switch in HD. On Switch, you can now use the Joy-Con’s motion controls in TV Mode or the touch screen in Handheld Mode to control the Celestial Brush. It’ll be available this summer.
- Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido, that bizarre but neat looking game revealed last E3, is now on its way to Switch as well as the 3DS. It’ll be available on both on June 8th, 2018.
- Octopath Traveler finally has a solid release date of July 18th, 2018, with a special edition being available the same day. They also revealed some new info on the game: a new character named Tressa will be playable, who can buy things from NPCs, as well as Alfyn, who can acquire information from NPCs that no one else can. Characters will also be able to equip an additional job in battle along with the one they started out with.
- Travis Touchdown is back in Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. It’s a much different type of game than the previous ones in the series, as Travis will be hopping through different game worlds in a more simplistic looking top-down action experience. It’ll also have co-op multiplayer. It’s set to release sometime this year.
- Dark Souls: Remastered is coming to the Switch on May 25th, 2018, with a Network Test planned prior to the game’s release. On the same day of release, there will be a new Solaire of Astora amiibo featuring the popular “Praise the Sun” gesture.
Mario Tennis Aces
They took some time to go over Mario Tennis Aces in a bit more detail. Revealed was the character roster of 15, the online multiplayer, and mainly the gameplay mechanics. The basic shots like Topspin, Slice, and Lob are all there. In addition, there’s the new powerful Zone Shot, that’ll allow you to aim where you want the ball to land with motion controls. Rackets are now breakable too, and if all of your rackets break, the game’s over. Avoid this by blocking shots, especially Zone Shots, with perfect timing. Since blocking perfectly is tricky, you can use Zone Speed to slow time and get the timing just right. However, Zone Speed (as well as Zone Shots) uses up your Energy Gauge, which can be filled by performing impressive Trick Shots. Lastly, when your Energy Gauge is full, you can perform a Special Shot that could instantly destroy someone’s racket. However, if you’re a purist, you can also play with just the basic shots. So far, the game already looks like a vast improvement over Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash. Mario Tennis Aces will be available June 22nd 2018, with a free Pre-Launch Online Tournament happening as well.
Nintendo Switch Headlines Part 2
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is coming to the Switch with some new levels based on Super Mario Odyssey, such as New Donk City. The Switch version also has a 2-Player Assist Mode. In addition, the game will also be available on the 3DS. They release July 13th, 2018.
- Another personal favorite game of mine is also coming to the Switch, Undertale! Undertale will be available on Switch…..eventually. Yeah, that’s it. Eventually.
- I doubt anyone saw this coming, but Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is coming to the Switch as well. This marks the first time the original three Crash games will be available on a Nintendo platform. It releases July 10th, 2018.
- Little Nightmares: Complete Edition is coming to the Switch on May 18th, 2018. In addition, using a Pac-Man amiibo will unlock a special Pac-Man mask in game, only on Switch.
- There certainly have been a lot of ports, and here’s another big one. South Park: The Fractured But Whole is coming to the Switch on April 24th, 2018. The DLC will also be available, although it’s purchased separately.
- Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition now has a release date for Switch on May 18th, 2018.
- ARMS is having an Online Open for USA and Canada. Preliminary Ranked Matches will be held March 8th through the 18th, 2018, with the top 8 players moving on to the Online Final on March 31st, 2018. Additionally, all finalists will receive a custom art piece from the development team. If you still haven’t played ARMS yet, there will be another Global Testpunch on March 31st, 2018.
Splatoon 2’s Big Update
In late April, Splatoon 2 is getting the 3.0 update. It’ll include 100+ new pieces of gear, returning stages like Piranha Pit and Camp Triggerfish, the brand new stage Wahoo World, and the new X rank that skilled players can now reach, going even higher than S+. Also, the countless people screaming for Callie in Inkopolis Square can finally be happy as Callie will now appear in Octo Canyon, most likely after you’ve completed Story Mode.
Speaking of story, Splatoon 2 is getting its first paid DLC with the Octo Expansion for $19.99. It’s a new single-player adventure that’ll have you controlling an Octoling for the first time. Familiar characters like Cap’n Cuttlefish, Pearl, and Marina will be featured along with some brand new and strange faces. Considering there’s still a lot we don’t know about Pearl and Marina, the Octolings, and certain parts of the original Single-Player Mode leaving people with more questions than answers, this new mode is sure to expand on the Splatoon lore and give us those answers fans have been craving. To top it all off, once you finish this mode, you will FINALLY be able to play as an Octoling in multiplayer matches. The expansion will be released this summer.
This new expansion is looking to be everything Splatoon fans have wanted, and honestly, it could’ve ended there and I would’ve said this was a really good Nintendo Direct. But no. They had to take it a gigantic step further with…
Super Smash Bros
Everyone in the Nintendo Direct live chats who’re always spamming “Where’s Smash?” can finally shut up. Super Smash Bros is coming to Switch at long last, and it’s THIS YEAR, 2018, no less. If the trailer is any indication, the Inklings, both female and male, will be added as playable fighters. But near the end, you can also see a shadowed figure that looks an awful lot like Link from Breath of the Wild, which can only mean one thing: he will be playable too. With many signs pointing to this being a brand new game rather than a port of Smash 4, the Hype Train is back full-force!
With that, Nintendo dropped the mic and left.
You can check out the full Nintendo Direct below.
