Ah, the Nintendo Direct. It’s that special little moment in time that pops up here and there, and almost always entails some form of unit-moving news from the video game company. As usual, today’s Nintendo Direct was no exception, with fans enjoying a whole plethora of news from Nintendo and other third-party companies who release on their Nintendo Switch and 3DS/2DS hardware.
We like to be thorough here, and for the sake of both brevity and clarity, here’s a quick list of everything we feel you cannot be in the dark about.
- Pokemon Ultra Sun and Pokemon Ultra Moon are progressing nicely — we’ve got a slew of new monsters and outfits set to be included, and they’ll all be released on the 3DS on November 17.
- A Pokeball-themed New Nintendo 2DS model is incoming, and it’s got us seriously excited. You can expect to pick up your own on November 3, 2017.
- An enhanced version of the Game Boy Advance classic Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga is due out on the 3DS on October 6. You can play as Bowser’s minions in a new side story this time around too.
- Kirby: Battle Royale is an amalgamation of all of those great multiplayer Kirby minigames you’ve grown to love, and you can play both online and off with friends. Make sure to vote in Nintendo’s official Kirby 25th Anniversary copy ability poll too, found here!
- Enhanced versions of Yo-Kai Watch 2 are on the way, with Psychic Specters coming Sepetember 29. For more Yo-Kai action, be sure to check out the trailer below:
- Can you believe the Professor Layton series has already had 7 main games? Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaire’s Conspiracy launches October 6 for the 3DS.
- The 2D Metroid adventure we’ve all been waiting for is finally here. Metroid: Samus Returns launches on the 3DS on September 15, AKA today.
- Quad announcement from RPG factory Atlus! Alliance Alive, Etrian Odyssey V, Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey Redux, and Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology are all coming West.
- Xenoblade Chronicles 2 received a huge info dump, and I can’t recommend watching the game’s in-depth explanation trailer enough if you are interested in the inner workings of the game’s systems.
- Ah of course, how could I forget until now. LYN IS COMING TO FIRE EMBLEM WARRIORS. I’m obviously pretty excited, and can’t wait to check it out.
- A new MOBA from Tencent is heading to the Switch, and it’s called Arena of Valor. It’s going to feature some pretty familiar faces, so if MOBAs are your thing, it’s definitely worth checking out.
- As they are porting The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to the Switch, so too are Bethesda bringing over booth DOOM and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Bethesda sure do know how to flex the capability of the Switch, huh?
- Classic Nintendo arcade hits Mario Bros., Vs. Super Mario Bros., Vs. Balloon Fight, Vs. Ice Climber, Vs. Pinball, and Vs. Clu Clu Land are receiving Switch releases.
- Octopath Traveler is a gorgeous 2.5D RPG from the Bravely Default team at Square Enix. “Octopath” has to do with the fact that there are 8 characters to play as, and is not, in fact, tangentially related to Splatoon or something like that. Expect more in-depth impressions on this one soon!
- Kirby Star Allies is the name of the sublime-looking new game announced back at E3 for the Switch. If you’re gearing for some more Kirby action, with up to four of your closest friends, then this might be the game for you.
- Super Mario Odyssey is just a little more than a month away, and I’m still predicting it to be an incredible experience from start to finish, especially if this new trailer is anything to go by.
I’d dare suggest that pure gaming bliss has a name, and that name is Nintendo.