Despite a growing crescendo of rumours that a new Nintendo Direct is on the way (and there’s nothing to say one won’t still happen), an announcement of a date for it has yet to occur. It seems less likely that one will occur following a huge swathe of Nintendo announcements in recent days, led by new information on Yoshi’s Crafted World.
Yoshi’s Crafted World was announced back in 2017 for a 2018 release, yet was a no-show during every subsequent Nintendo Direct before skipping E3 2018 in Los Angeles and being delayed to an unspecified date in 2019. While no new gameplay was shown for the game to coincide with this announcement, we did find the game receive a release date of March 29th, with a ‘story’ trailer unveiled at the same time. While it is perhaps ironic for a game with such a wafer-thin plot as a Nintendo platformer to receive a story-focused trailer, it ends up as a cute and charming introduction to the craft-based crew of Yoshi nonetheless.
Alongside this was the news that the previously-announced Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn port for Nintendo 3DS would also release in March 2019, albeit on a date closer to the beginning of the month of March 8th. The 3DS is slowly fading from public consciousness as the Switch’s popularity grows, a shame since the system’s demise will see with it the loss of 2-screen gaming pioneered by the original DS and in turn many experiences that couldn’t be replicated elsewhere. Although this title doesn’t quite use the multiple screens to its benefit due to being a port of a Wii title, it looks like it successfully transports the yarn-based experience to the smaller screens.
In other Nintendo-related news, the Japanese indie game Downwell will be released on Nintendo Switch on January 31st. This was joined by the announcement of a port of Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen to Nintendo Switch too, the game having already been made available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and the news of the latest NES games being added to Nintendo Switch Online, Blaster Master, The Legend of Zelda II and, exclusively for Japan, the Japan-only Joy Mecha Fight.
While the existence of this slew of news doesn’t necessarily mean that a Nintendo Direct is not on the way any time soon. Game’s like Fire Emblem: Three Houses and more have release dates pencilled in for the near future while more details will be expected soon on Piranha Plant’s inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate alongside news of other DLC fighters. The news about upcoming Nintendo titles like Yoshi’s Crafted World does suggest we may be at least a few weeks away yet, although the news provided here is a tantalising appetiser for one whatever the situation.