You thought the summer showcase festivities were over but – wahoo! – there’s still one more to come: Nintendo Direct. The showcase will begin today (18th June) at 3pm UK time, and run for around 40 minutes.
I’ll be covering all of the announcements from the show live, right here, keeping you up to date in case you can’t watch it. But you can also watch the stream here and chat with us, of course. These things are much more fun with friends.
So, what are we going to see? Let’s get the big one out of the way first: Nintendo Switch 2? No, unfortunately. Nintendo has already ruled that out. “There will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during this presentation,” said Nintendo, yesterday, while announcing the broadcast. This show will focus on the games coming to Switch in the second half of 2024 instead.
What are those games? Potentially, Switch ports for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD and The Wind Waker HD. There’s also a chance we’ll see a release date for the lovely-looking Plucky Squire, and – whisper it – for the hallowed Hollow Knight Silksong, at long last.
See you at 3pm!
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Good day! And so we meet again. I see Neddie is already off the mark revealing their expectations ahead of this afternoon (have a gold star, Ned), but what are everyone else’s expectations?
I was just watching a Nintendo 2004 E3 press conference, coincidentally, and my oh my how they’ve changed. Remember those sales graphs? Remember those business updates? Remember Nintendo doing live conferences? Ah, memories, memories.
One conference that’s seared into my mind is the one where Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aimé was pretending to play (or was actually playing?) basketball with someone, and spouting some incredibly awkward trash-talk. Things like, “You’re going to hurt yourself throwing so many rocks.” It was excruciating. I wish I could remember exactly which show it was from so I could watch a recording!
Oh and one more thing: petition to please change the name to Twiglet Princess, for my brain’s sake.
Earl-Grey says: Show at 3 pm, 18 is 6 times 3, Half-Life Episode 3 confirmed.
Hang on a second…!
Kami says: ARMS 2 LEGS. They spent the last six years or so working on new stretchy leg physics lol
Haha that made me chuckle!
The countdown to go-time is here. We’re a little under 10 minutes away. I shall have a Swedish Fika cookie in anticipation.
Dangerous_Dave says: My Wild Card predictions; They’re remaking Super Metroid in the Dread engine and releasing it before Christmas. There will be a double pack release of Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD, will release during the summer. A collection for all the 3DS Picross games will be announced and immediately released. The Pullblox and Pushmo(?) games will release as a bundle late 2024. A new Kirby side scroller will be announced for Christmas 2024. A new Punch Out!! Title will also release before November.
And that will be the last Direct before they show off the new console.
I have written all of this out on a bingo scoresheet and I am ready to fill it in!
Fallout2 says: Shining Force pack including SF I, II, the three scenarios of III, and the SegaCD game.
Sequel to Demon’s Crest.
Remaster of E.V.O.
Switch port of Fantasian.
Switch port of AM2R with a graphical update.
Reggie voice pack for mainline Nintendo games.
That magic you felt seeing a cool screenshot when you were 11.
I am expecting at least one of these.
Haha very good! You are all on fine form today.
We coil, poised for what’s to come. The clock ticks dispassionately down. I wonder how long ago Nintendo recorded this Direct? One week, two weeks, more?
This top tip just in from Ed Nightingale: “There’s usually a delay on these streams but if you select 2x speed it’ll catch up.”
MajesticStevie says: Yoshi’s Island, Golden Sun, Mario Marker 3. Any of these please
Mario Marker eh? That’s a bold idea. Do you see what I did there? No? No one? OK I’ll stop.
I know what you mean though and I’d take all of those!
Nearly there now. 30 seconds. Come on, Nintendo, let’s have a show.
The show begins
10, 9, 8…
We’re off!
Mario & Luigi: Brothership announced
It’s Luigi running away from some bees and screaming out for Mario’s help – as ever. Is this, yes, it’s Mario & Luigi!
It’s a cel-shaded kind of world where the brothers are getting up to some hijinks. They’ve got giant mallets now and they’re hoofing them around in turn-based battles. Is this a remake or a newmake?
There’s Peach – hey Peach! It’s all very sunny and bright. Mario & Luigi: Brothership. 7th November 2024.
Apparently it’s the first new entry in the series in nine years. So it is new.
Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is coming. Can you beat the speedrunners?
It’s a collection of intense challenges for players who like that. It’s coming to Switch on 18th July.
Look at those running animations. This is Fairy Tail 2 Land by Tecmo Koei. It’s coming to Switch this winter.
Hironobu Sakaguchi now and Nubuo Uematsu and their new turn-based RPG Fantasian. This looks nice – a mix of old and new. Fantasian: Neo Dimension coming this winter to Switch.
Switch Sports getting free basketball update this summer
Switch Sports time. Basketball is coming as a free update to the game. You can dribble, pass and shoot in two-on-two challenges. There’s also a free throw challenge you can take on alone, or with three other people. This looks fun! I love a bit of basketball.
It’s coming this summer.
A hand-drawn kind of game now. We see an automaton with glowing wires for hair. Those worlds are pretty. It’s a side-scroller of some kind and yes it does look a bit lke GLADoS!
A colourful world. Mio: Memories in Orbit, coming 2025 from Focus Home.
Disney Illusion Island is getting an update and it’s available later today!
What’s the open-world adventure you’ve been waiting for? Is it Hello Kitty Island Adventure? Because it’s coming to Switch next year.
Or did you want a Looney Toons sports game? That’s also coming! It looks a bit like Space Jam. It’s coming to Switch this autumn.
This is fast and furious! Not the game – the broadcast. There’s a free update coming to Among Us on Switch later today.
An RPG that’s a bit of an anime spin on Pokémon now it looks like. Only you raise multiple monsters – many monsters – and you grow them in your, um, gardedn. What the hell?
You command droves of them during battle. And you can merge them altogether, Power Rangers style, to make a huge monster such as a dragon. It’s called Farmagia and it’s coming to Switch on 1st November.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD coming to Switch
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is coming to Switch. It’s a port of the Wii HD game, it looks like. Gosh I remember playing this when it first came out on SNES all those many years ago. It’s got additional levels from the 3DS version.
It’s out 16th January 2025, so a bit of a wait for this one.
Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake coming in November
Ooh what’s this. Things are slowing down now for some big announcements. What is this – it’s an old-school-looking RPG. Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D remake!
What does that mean? Well, that it looks a bit like Octopath Traveler, if you’ve played that. It’s the old look but new, and it looks quite pretty!
It’s coming 14th November to Switch.
DQ 1&2 remakes to follow in 2025
Oh there’s also a remake of Dragon Quests 1 and 2 coming in 2025!
All of the Dragon Quest games are getting the same treatment, by the way.
A Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD trailer now. This arrives later this month on 27th June, remember.
A free-to-play Demper Men game is coming 22nd July. It looked strange.
A turn-based Metal Slug game is coming. Metal Slug Attack Reloaded is coming later today!
Ooh! Darkest Dungeon 2 is coming to Switch. I love a bit of Darkest Dungeon. I’m impressed that it’s running on Switch. It’s coming 15th July.
Turok and Perfect Dark available today
Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords and Metroid: Zero Mission are on their way. There’s also some mature N64 games coming. One is Turok, the other is Perfect Dark – well timed given the recent announcement of the new game. Perfect Dark has online multiplayer. They’re all going to be available later today.
Super Mario Party Jamboree coming 17th October
Super Mario Party Jamboree time. We’re getting an overview of some of the new mini-games. There’s a lot of them. Goomba Lagoon. Roll ’em Raceway. I can’t keep up, but there’s a good mix.
There are more than 110 mini-games, apparently.
Up to 20 players can go head-to-head online in the Koopathlon mode. Sounds like a Fall Guys mode.
It’s coming 17th October.
A new Zelda game starring Zelda announced
Gasp! Something Zelda! It’s a remake of an old game but which one?
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. Eiji Aonuma is here to tell us about it. Link has vanished and Zelda will have to find him! They’ve created a new gameplay style for Zelda. It’s going to be top-down.
It’s got a very cute and almost plasticky look about it. Zelda uses a magic want to overcome environmental puzzles. She creates echoes of things she finds to help get her to new places – things like tables, crates, and so on.
Oh there are battles. You can create a rock echo and throw that, for example. You can even create echoes of monsters that will then fight byyour side.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom coming 26th September
We see a montage of Zelda using all kinds of creatures and objects to help her accomplish things. We’re leaning on Zelda’s wisdom, apparently.
It’s coming 26th September this year!
BJive says: I am probably alone in this, but I find Eiji Aonuma unreasonably attractive. Grey fox.
He is rather dashing isn’t he!
WithLove&Squalor says: GODDAMMIT ANOTHER LIMITED EDITION SWITCH CONSOLE TO COP. WILL IT NEVER END?!
Buy it without thinking! That’s what we recommend.
Lego Horizon is coming to Switch
Oh, here’s Lego Horizon Adventures for Switch! So it is coming to Nintendo’s machine.
It’s coming this winter.
Madame-Drofla says: @WithLove&Squalor – Twiglet Princess? I must have missed that one.
We’re making it happen from today! You heard it here first.
Stray coming to Switch this winter
The Cat Game – Stray – is coming to Switch. I’m surprised the Switch can handle it – but how well remains to be seen. Coming this winter.
Two Ace Attorney games are coming to Switch in a bundle. They’ve got new hand-drawn visuals as well as the old pixel art look.
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is coming 6th September.
What on earth. Two characters were walking through a city and now we’re in some kind of destroyed metropolis with enemies that look a bit like they’re out of Splatoon. But it’s not Splatoon!
This is a tactical RPG by the looks of things. It’s got nice art, it’s a bit weird, and I have no idea what’s going on. The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, coming early next year. Made by the creators of Danganronpa.
A turn-ased RPG about expanding empires. Various characters are wearing short skirts and long stockings. It’s Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven, coming 24th October – my birthday! – to Switch.
One last thing. Sci-fi writing. Is this Metroid?
The show closes
That’s it for the show. That was a packed briefing. Some genuinely big new announcements and lots of smaller ones besides.
Grenners1397 says: MP4 looking a little too good for the switch……
Oh gosh that is a really good point. Which system is this game on?
Also, the acronym MP4 hurts my brain.
perfect_organism says: I hope I age as well as the Switch has.
Haha – quote of the day!
Kami says: Remember how utterly dry the last few years of the Wii U were? I do. And it makes this Direct all the more impressive.
Wow, yes, I do. The graveyard shift.
Kami says: I remember every KickStarter had a Wii U stretch goal to get more money.
Haha oh my gosh you’re right.
dbaner says: They didn’t say Prime 4 was coming to switch
Yeah. I think the main question surrounding that game now is Switch 1 or Switch 2, or both?
FTJT says: There was quite a lot of padding in that imo, which I found strange because the Good Announcements were all really good and could have had time to breathe. M&L, new Zelda, DQ3HD2DR are the picks for me
That’s true. They did rattle past a bit.
I’ve just properly noticed the acronym you used there for Dragon Quest 3: DQ3HD2DR. My god. It looks like a number plate.
Kami says: So the next question is; when’s the Switch 2 Announcement Date? Think they’ll leave it for October, eight years after the original Switch teaser?
Eight years. Has it really been eight years. It would make sense. Leaving it all until 2025 might seem a bit late if spring is the release target. Exciting, though, isn’t it?
perfect_organism says: @Kami this direct would make me queue up for a midnight release!
Midnight releases! Oh be still my beating heart. Remember those?
Grenners1397 says: You get blown up if you miss a dance step
Haha. This tickled me!
Right, that’s it from us. Thank you for joining us for what was one of the more memorable shows this summer. Good work, Nintendo.
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