Nintendo Direct 09/04/19 — Wild Wolves and Definitive Encores

Nintendo has fully settled into their current pattern for Nintendo Direct presentations. Instead of streaming one every time they need to provide even the smallest bits of news, they’re instead providing one whenever they have moderate-to-large announcements to make. The number of them has lowered, but it’s also reduced the chances of fans expecting too much from each and every presentation. They’re now holding these on a quarterly basis, and this was the first since E3 2019 in mid-June.

A big takeaway from this Direct was confirmation that ports and remasters will continue to be important for the Nintendo Switch software ecosystem’s future. The biggest such announcement was Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, saved for the last surprise. It’s being called a remaster of the original Wii game from 2010, one fans had to beg for Nintendo of America to bring over thanks to some bizarre and unfounded reluctance, despite the praise it received in Japan and Europe. The fact that a remaster is being presented as a big worldwide announcement shows how far we’ve come since the late Wii era.

It’s also a surprise that this is being classified as a “remaster,” because it’s being given enough of a presentation upgrade that almost qualifies as a remake. The visuals look nearly on par with Xenoblade Chronicles 2, especially through how it leans further into the anime style — not that it didn’t qualify before. It will arrive in 2020, for the 10th anniversary.

In porting news: Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore is coming to Switch, a port of the original Wii U title. It’s a good choice considering the original version released during the Wii U’s final year, when everyone and their mother swore up and down that the console was deader than dead, which sent software sales into even lower depths. This version will include a new song and new story elements, as extra incentive to sell it to anyone who already played it. It will arrive on January 17th.

The aforementioned trend also applied to third-party publishers. Overwatch for Switch quickly became a badly-kept secret after several leaks, but it’s nice that the Legendary Edition is coming, and will arrive so soon on October 15th. It’s a pity it will only be available on the eShop, and that retail copies will only include vouchers. Other third-party ports and remasters include Doom 64, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy (also on PS4), Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection (which includes Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Rogue with all the DLC), Return of the Obra Dinn (also on PS4 and XB1), and, for some dumb reason, Devil May Cry 2. Capcom really doesn’t care.

A good amount of the Direct was dedicated to providing new looks and release dates for previously-announced titles. The port of The Witcher 3: Complete Edition will arrive on October 15th, while the Game Freak’s Town has been retitled as Little Town Hero, which will arrive on the eShop on October 16th — with music from Undertale’s Toby Fox. Others included a look at Luigi’s Mansion 3’s multiplayer mode, the announcement of a new Daemon x Machina demo, and a look at the Chamber Dungeons for The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake, and several customization features and a new creature type for Pokémon Sword and Shield.

A big spotlight was reserved for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, to no surprise considering the franchise’s overwhelming popularity and its very, very vocal fanbase. The game will present similar life simulation elements that have been standard in previous games, but with a new high-definition pristine sheen. It’s bound to be a treat when it arrives on March 20th.

To no surprise, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was also a big focus. After word leaked through Nintendo’s UK website that the upcoming character would be from SNK, it was confirmed to be Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters. The trailer is a huge treat for a fan of the company and its history, which starts with a parody of The King of Fighters ‘94’s intro and features several characters shown to not receive the Smash invitation. It was also confirmed that more characters are coming to Ultimate, beyond those from the initial Fighters Pass. Terry will arrive sometime in November, and should be detailed just before then.

The Banjo-Kazooie duo are also now available, who come with remixed tracks from original series composer Grant Kirkhope. Tracks from Undertale have also been added, along with Sans as a Mii costumes, along with other outfits that were missing for a while. There’s also, of course, a character balance upgrade.

There weren’t many new announcements, but one in particular was good: Deadly Premonition 2. The direct sequel to the original will be coming to Switch as a launch exclusive next year, and Swery65 is returning to direct and write it. The original game is also now available on the eShop worldwide. This was the last announcement anyone expected, given how niche of a game it is. The only other new announcement was for Super Kirby Clash, another free-to-play Kirby vs. game released immediately after the Direct.

Nintendo also finally announced that Super Nintendo games are coming to Switch, to shake up the digital retro software lineup and stop rabid fans from asking about where they are in Twitter and YouTube replies to their NES videos. The actual surprise here is how many games they’re releasing to start with, which is a whopping 20 of them. They’ll include popular games like Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Super Metroid, to comparatively more obscure offerings like Breath of Fire, Joe & Mac 2, and Super Puyo Puyo 2 — the last of which is releasing outside Japan for the first time. They’re also available now, though you’ll have to wait if you want to play them with the wireless SNES controller.

This wasn’t the best Nintendo Direct in recent memory, but it still contained several good announcements. There will be little to complain about regarding the upcoming lineup for Switch, which will have too many games for anyone to purchase or play — and that’s not including the digital SNES games.

If you want to watch the Nintendo Direct, feel free to do so here: