Nintendo Direct 2/9/2022 Recap

Nintendo spot announces a new video showcasing titles which are coming out in the first half of 2022 and the internet goes into rampant speculation mode. Breath of the Wild 2, Super Mario Odyssey 2, Mother 3, plenty of crazy hopes and dreams are shouted to the ether?will the Big N grant these wishes or will they disappoint. We have 40 minutes and boy did they pack it in (see the full streaming event replay, here).

Leading off is an announcement for a sequel to Fire Emblem Warriors, this one dubbed Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes takes place in the Three Houses continuity. Batting second is Advance Wars 1+2 Re Boot Camp where they laid out new features such as voice acting, a map maker and online play. Hello Games returns to the portable realm as they release their procedurally generated space adventure No Man?s Sky onto the Switch, so thank you PS4 and PC players for being beta testers. This next one lit up my previously lifeless eyes as a new entry in the Mario Strikers series was revealed! Mario Strikers: Battle League brings that intense arcade action with a splash of Nintendo flavor! Splatoon 3?s Salmon Run mode is showcased, looking gritter and with plenty of fishy foes to paint over. In what appears to be the first of many Square Enix remakes of games we didn?t get during the SNES era is Front Mission 1st and Front Mission 2(nd?).

Disney Speedstorm looks to be a multiplatform free to play racing title from Gameloft. The conspiracy theorist in me suspects this next release might mean a certain secret apprentice is getting a Disney Plus show as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed makes it to a modern console (hopefully this isn?t a port of the Wii version?yes it exists). Collect feathers to honor your dead brother and kill the pope as Assassin?s Creed: The Ezio Collection arrives on February 17th. Chrono Cross is back and it?s bringing it?s ?only released on a satellite service abroad, text only prequel? to the Switch in Chrono Cross The Radical Dreamers Edition!

Kirby and the Forgotten Land shows off that there?s things the Pink Blob can?t cram down his gullet with the new mouthful mode. Baseball Polymath Shohei Yotani promotes Sony San Diego?s MLB: The Show 22, which features cross save and play, so you take the national pastime on the go, but when you want higher fidelity you can play on other systems (sadly Cross-Buy isn?t a feature). It wouldn?t be a Kingdom Hearts release without a long winded title with obscure words, as Switch players can experience the core 3 titles only while connected to the internet in Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece for Cloud. Namco dusts off the duo of Klonoa games in Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series (apparently sitting next to Kingdom Hearts rubbed off on the game?s title). [Insert Cake Joke here] as Portal and Portal 2 is released in one release under the name Portal: Companion Edition. Live A Live marks the 4th previously unlocalized Square SNES title gets announced in this direct?will we see Bahamut Lagoon as well?

Nintendo Switch Sports was a high and a low for me. I was in the market for a new TV and pretty soon I?ll mysteriously lodge a Joy-Con in my old 1080p set, however this collection will NOT feature boxing, and do not feature Miis! The game does already have some free updates announced and I do look forward to hitting the golf links on my Switch Lite. Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival is the 2nd Taiko game on the Switch, but it?s drum controller is not available in the states. However this version will feature a subscription service which will offer up over 500 more songs. Guess it?s time to import that pricey controller from Japan.

Next we get news of another Triangle Strategy demo which will let prospective buyers play up to chapter 3. Cuphead: Delicious Last Course gets a release date and Metroid Prime gets 2 updates which will cater to both ends of the difficulty spectrum and a boss rush mode. Nintendo decided to throw some crumbs to the fervent Earthbound/Mother fanbase as Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings gets added to the SNES/NES collections for Nintendo Switch Online members. A short montage rapidly fires the existence of the following titles on the Switch including Zombie Army 4: Dead War, GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles –, LEGO Brawls and Two Point Campus.

The next bit of news will upset folks expecting Mario Kart 9 news, but hey it welcomed news to me. Mario Kart 8 will be getting more new old tracks! Dubbed Mario Kart 8: Booster Course Pass, 48 tracks from the series? past entries as well as tracks from the mobile title Mario Kart World Tour will make its way to the kart game that won?t go away! Nintendo Switch Online members who have the Expansion Pack won?t need to dip into their wallet for one as this pass will be available for any member in good standing! The presentation ends with a world premiere (sorry Mother 3 fans?you?ll never have your game, not as long as Reggie remains on this mortal coil). Monolithsoft?s Xenoblade Chronicles 3 already showcases the series? preference of having LED highlights in their weapons, lush and vibrant worlds and anime-ass protagonists. The game is dated for September 2022, so there?s plenty of time to save up for that collector?s edition that will be hard sought after.

With over 20+ titles announced and many more in the pipeline, the first half of 2022 for Switch owners can be a very busy one. I?m sure there will be plenty of opinions of the showcase, but for me this was a solid one with titles I?m already looking to pre-order on the eShop (Gonna make those gold coins raaaaaaaaaain!). For those who didn?t want to read through my musings here?s a list of all that was announced with release dates. Otherwise let?s get back to speculating when the next Direct will occur!

• Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes – 6/24/22
• Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp – 4/8/22
• No Man?s Sky – This Summer
• Mario Strikers: Battle League – 6/10/22
• Splatoon 3: Salmon Run Next Wave – Summer 2022
• Front Mission 1st – This Summer
• Front Mission 2 – Coming Soon
• Disney Speedstorm – This Summer
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – 4/20/22
• Assassin?s Creed: The Ezio Collection – 2/17/22
• SD Gundam Battle Alliance – This Year
• Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition – 4/7/22
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land – 3/25/22
• MLB The Show 22 – 4/5/22
• Kingdom Hearts Integum Masterpiece for Cloud – 2/9/22
• Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series – 7/8/22
• Portal Collection Companion Collection – 2022
• Live A Live – 7/22/22
• Nintendo Switch Sports – 4/29/22
• Taiko no Tatsujin Rhythm Festival – 2022
• Triangle Strategy –  3/4/22
• Cuphead: Delicious Last Course – 6/30/22
• Earthbound – Later Today
• Earthbound Beginnings – Later Today
• Zombie Army 4 – 4/26/22
• GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon – Later Today
• Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles – 6/10/22
• LEGO Brawls – This Summer
• Two Point Campus – 5/7/22
• Mario Kart 8 Booster Course Pass – 3/18/22 (Wave 1)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 – 9/22