Nintendo Direct recap: Splatoon 3, Skyward Sword and more

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Nintendo held their first full-sized Nintendo Direct in over a year, today on Feb 17th, 2021. The 50-minute Direct was focused entirely on games coming to the Nintendo Switch in the first half of 2021. Here’s everything that was announced!

Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s Pyra joins Smash!

First off, I told you so. But secondly, she looks amazing. Pyra is the next character in the Smash Fighter’s Pass bringing a wide array of moves and a new stage in the game. The coolest thing is that she can switch back and forth between herself and Mythra on the fly, each with their own Smash Attack. They’re coming in March.

Fall Guys for the Switch – Summer 2021

Mediatonic’s game show-inspired battle royale platformers is finally coming to Switch!

Outer Wilds comes to the Switch – Summer 2021

Famicon Detective Club – May 14th

Both “Missing Heir” and “The Girl Who Stands Behind” are coming to the Nintendo Switch, completely remastered with fully voiced dialogue, new visuals, and animation

Samurai Warriors 5 – Summer 2021

Legend of Mana Remastered – June 24th
Experience a remastered version of this old-school favorite. Optimized visuals and gameplay, including the ability to turn off encounters. It has the original and remastered soundtracks that can be switched.

Monster Hunter Rise – March 26th

A new trailer for Monster Hunter Rise was shared, giving us a first look at the new monsters Rakna-Kadaki and Almudron as well as some returning monsters. We also saw two new locations, Lava Caverns and Sandy Plains.

Mario Golf Super Rush – June 25th

Golf fans will finally have a new game to enjoy on the Switch with Mario Golf: Super Rush. There is a story mode where you bring a Mii character into the game as well as Speed Rush mode where multiple players play at the same time but with powerups (like in Everybody’s Golf). There’s a targeting system as well as the option for motion controls.

Tales from the Borderlands – March 24th

Capcom Arcade Stadium – Available today!

This collection of classic Capcom games comes with 1943 for free. Other games my be added in packs. The ability to rewind has been added to all games.

Stubbs the Zombies – March 16th

No More Heroes 3 – August 27th

Travis takes on a bizarre alien horde while wearing a bizarre Joy-Con glove that allows him to cast spells

Neon White – Winter 2021

A bizarre first-person free runner like Mirror’s Edge where weapon attacks are done while running via card-based battles, hopefully it’s not as complicated as it looks.

DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power – June 4th

Multiplayer Beat’em up with RPG elements and outfit customization.

Plants vs Zombies Complete – March 19th 

All the previous Plants vs Zombies games with all DLC (probably not the Mass Effect stuff though)

Miitopia – May 21st

The exceptional 3DS RPG returns now with a ton of new customization features.

Animal Crossing’s Mario 35th Anniversary Items – Feb 25th

In addition to outfits and decorative items, you can also get warp pipes that allow you to hop from one place of the island to another. You can unlock and encounter the items on February 25th and purchase them from the Nook’s starting March 1st.

Project Triangle Strategy (Working Title) – 2022

Square Enix brings us a very Octopath Traveler-looking tactics RPG. The demo is out now and they’ll be taking a survey of the players to see what works.

Star Wars: Hunters – 2021

Not much was shown on this except for a brief trailer and some morsels of information. It’s a free to download arena combat game coming in 2021. Here’s everything we know so far.

Knockout City – May 21st

This is basically a battle royale game but with more Splatoon-looking characters and a fairly unique dodgeball mechanic where you can even catch the ball to turn it around on an opponent.

World’s End Club – May 28th

The makers of the Danganronpa series brings us a similar tale with a twist. While it sounds familiar at first because several characters are brought together and only one will leave, there’s a change as the event is suddenly cancelled. The characters then leave only to discover Japan completely empty and abandoned. The characters must now survive in a discarded country overrun by monsters.

Hades gets a Physical Release – March 19th

Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection – June 10th

Collects Ninja Gaiden’s 1, 2, and 3 while cleaning up the visuals.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Expansion Pass Content – Later 2021

Includes new characters, story and maps.

Bravely Default 2 – February 26th

There is a demo out now.

Ghosts and Goblins: Resurrection – February 25th

The first new Ghosts and Goblins game in forever complete with a co-op mode where a second player can control a helpful spirit

SaGa Frontier Remasters – Later 2021

A remaster of the classic game comes out later this year with an entirely new character added and mixed in with the rest of the gang

Apex Legends comes to Switch – Later 2021

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD – July 16th

Unfortunately, there was no news on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, but we are getting Skyward Sword from the Wii to hold us over. The motion controls have returned but have been vastly upgraded. Button controls have also been added with the sword oddly mapped to the right joystick. Special Skyward Sword Joy-Cons have also been announced for the same day.

Splatoon 3 – 2022
First looks of the game show us interesting new mechanics (including a weapon that looks like it lets you fly. Also shows off that you have some bizarre pet that you can also customize.