Introduction
Nintendo has finished their 2018 Nintendo Direct showcase. I know that I am a little late on this one. Although I do not own a Switch, I am interested in what the company has in store for this year.
For those who do not know about this event, it is a keynote, showcase or presentation by Nintendo. Here they talk about various games announcements or progress for the short term future. Nintendo started doing these in 2011 and has been doing them periodically ever since. If you want to see the full list of what was announced, here is the link.
Nintendo Direct 2018: https://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct/01-11-2018/
Discussion (The Good)
Let me start by outlining the announcements that I found exciting.
Kirby Star Allies
I liked the fact that there was a new trailer for Kirby Star Allies. There was also a date attached to this announcement of March 16th, 2018. That is pretty close. I know that this franchise is not one that is loved as much as Mario, but it is one that has potential to be good.
Dragon Quest Builders
This game I find really interesting. I have seen people describe it as Minecraft meets DQ RPG which sounds intriguing. The game is set to release at the end of January. This looks like it could be a sleeper hit. Not sure that it is on a lot of radars but it could prove to be a hit with those who play on their commute.
Mario Tennis Aces
This game is probably one that I secretly love on any system. Nintendo has a way of creating simple sports games that are engaging. Now if you add Mario and the rest of the crew this can only be fun. I am sure that this will be a party game that people can enjoy.
Super Mario Odyssey Update
As if you did not need more reason to like Mario, they are releasing an update that will involve his brother Luigi. So a new world will be discovered to extend the life of the game. More Mario for the win!
Here are the things that I found were disappointing or did not hold any interest with me whatsoever.
Discussion (The Bad)
No New Metroid Trailer or News
I found it disappointing that they did not have any new information about Metroid Prime 4. I know that I was expecting something by E3 2018 but the little kid in me wanted to see something new. I guess we will have to wait a little longer to get any news.
Ports
From what I can tell there are 2 types of ports. There are the ones from other systems which is fine. Then there are Nintendo's first party games that they port over and add the DLC. For example, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. I wonder why they just do not call this backward compatibility. I know the underlying tech is different but I am sure that they could write an emulator for the system. People will be doing it anyways on the black market. But I must give kudos to them for releasing a steady stream of older Wii U games onto the system.
Dark Souls
I am not sure about this one. Then again, I was wrong about Skyrim. I played these on PC and I love them on that platform. One of the aspects of the game that is awesome are the visuals. I am sure that, this will have to be scaled back. Also, not sure if there is a hunger for this game. Like Skyrim, if you like the game, you probably bought it on another system already. it is one of those games like the Witcher, where when you complete the game, you are done with it. Most players do not go back to those games once finished. May be it will be popular back in Japan.
Conclusion
That is my take on it. It was the middle of the road in terms of excitement for me. Although it was never going to top the Switch announcement last year. Also they had such a good year in year one, I cannot expect them to maintain the great releases for a long time. At some point it will dip like any system. However it does look like Nintendo is working hard to have a steady stream of games out every month.
What do you think? What did you like about the announcements? What did you not like? Let me know.
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