Nintendo has dropped the first Direct of 2022, and it’s a pretty great one. In this review, I’ll be going announcement by announcement reviewing this Direct in its entirety. Let’s get started.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes
The rumors were true, as we are getting a new Fire Emblem game in the form of Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. Scheduled for the June 24, 2022 release, the new Fire Emblem game was the first announcement during the presentation, directly after (no pun intended) the intro.
Next we see Shinya Takahashi as the host of the Direct. He explains that Three Hopes is set in the same universe as Three Houses before moving on to the first batch of Nintendo Switch headlines.
First Batch: Nintendo Switch Headlines:
- Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp – April 8
- No Man’s Sky – Summer 2022
Mario Strikers: Battle League (Spotlight Title)
I was incorrect that we were getting a reboot of Super Mario Strikers from the GameCube, but was close enough with the reveal of Mario Strikers’ sequel, Mario Strikers: Battle League. This made the Direct a lot better for me. I was very excited for a new Mario soccer game, especially since we mostly have been getting golf and tennis games that last few years. I’m very excited for Battle League, and was very excited when watching the reveal.
Splatoon 3 (Spotlight Title)
Another correct prediction was Splatoon 3 info, with the first look at Salmon Run 3, known as Salmon Run: Next Wave and a summer 2022 release. Most likely after E3 so Nintendo can let people play demos, but we’ll see. On to the next batch of headlines!
Second Batch – Nintendo Switch Headlines:
- Front Mission 1st & Front Mission 2 Remakes – (FM1) Summer 2022
- Disney Speedstorm – (Free with switch Online) Summer 2022
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – April 20
- Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection – February 17
- SD Gundam Battle Alliance – 2022
- Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition – April 7
More Kirby and the Forgotten Land Information (Spotlight Title)
Kirby can suck up a car? Yes! A vending machine? Yes! Kirby now can suck up big objects and use them in a very silly way. This makes me even more hyped for the game. We also learn that the Waddle Dees are kidnapped and Kirby must save them. There is a lot of new stuff, just adding to my excitement for the game.
Third Batch – Nintendo Switch Headlines:
- MLB The Show 2022 – April 5
- Knigdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece for Cloud – February 10
- Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series – July 8
- Portal: Companion Collection – 2022
- Live a Live – July 22
Nintendo Switch Sports (Spotlight Title)
What announcement was I most excited for during the Direct? This one. I absolutely love Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort, and seeing it return in the form of Nintendo Switch Sports was a huge surprise. I know Gamexplain did predict this game in the form of a Ring-Fit Adventure thing, but I never expected it to come true as a successor to Wii Soports of all games. While is sadly got rid of baseball and boxing, it does still include bowling, tennis, chambara (from Resort) and golf (as future DLC), it also includes new sports: volleyball, soccer, and badminton. This is very exciting as Wii Sports was a great game and a classic from Wii memories and bringing it to Switch is great. Plus, Takashi and Koizumi play Volleyball together and Yoshiaki Koizumi wearing a Nintendo Switch Sports jersey is just the best thing ever; but now comes the fourth and final batch of Nintendo Switch headlines.
Fourth Batch – Nintendo Switch Headlines:
- Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival – 2022
- Triangle Strategy – March 4
- Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course – June 30
- Metroid Dread Update: Dread Mode / Rookie Mode – Out Now
- Metroid Dread Update 2: Boss Rush – April 2022
- Earthbound & Earthbound Beginnings for NES Switch Online – Out Now
- Zombie Army 4: Dead War – April 26
- GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon – Out Now
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles – June 10
- LEGO Brawls – June 2022
- Two Point Campus – May 17
Final Announcements: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course Pass & Xenoblade Chronicles 3
We didn;t get Mario Kart 9, but we did get a crazy DLC pack for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. In the “Booster Course Pass”, you unlock courses through waves until 2023. Of the 6 waves, each gives you 8 courses, all retro and from the mobile title Mario Kart Tour. The first wave’s tracks were revealed including Coconut Mall from Mario Kart Wii, Choco Mountain from Mario Kart 64, and Tour Tokyo Blur from Mario Kart Tour. That’s 48 courses! That’s insane! But this wasn’t the last announcement. At the end of the Mario Kart 8 announcement was the official reveal for Xenoblade Chronicles as the last game of the Direct. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 will be released in September 2022. That was the whole Direct. It was a pretty great one with superb announcements, big surprises, and more. That’s all for today’s Nintendo Direct.
