E3 2021: Nintendo Direct Overview

Shinya Takahashi & Yoshiaki Koizumi came on to talk about the Switch’s fifth anniversary, thanking everyone who plays on it. He then said that the Direct would be focusing on games releasing this year, before starting the first trailer.

The first trailer showed Kazuya Mishima dropping Ganondorf off of a cliff. That’s right, Tekken is coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. And apparently Kazuya is going to drop everyone into a volcano.

Masahiro Sakurai came on to talk about Kazuya details coming at a later date, before showing us some of his moves in gameplay footage and letting us know that we’ll get more details in the 28th of June Smash Direct.

Shinya Takahashi came back to talk about Kazuya before kicking things off into the next game trailer.

It was an animated trailer showing that Life is Strange Remastered Collection and Life is Strange: True Colors are coming to Switch. No sign of Life is Strange 2, though. True Colors is coming on the 10th of September and Remastered will join later in 2021.

Next up we had a short look at Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, first shown during the Square Enix event. It’s coming out on 26th of October, in the form of a Cloud Edition.

Then we found out that Worms Rumble, the multiplayer battle royale game, now with an exclusive outfit, is coming to Switch on 23rd of June.

Next was Astria Ascending, a side-scrolling fantasy title in the same hand-painted style as Super Neptunia RPG because it turns out that it’s being developed by the same people, Artisan Studios. It’s coming out 30th of September.

Two Point Campus came up next, with a release date of some time in 2022.

We then saw Super Monkey Ball celebrating its 20th anniversary with Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania. It’s a remaster collection of the original three games. It’s coming out on the 5th of October.

Next was Mario Party Superstars, with five classic boards from the N64 games, and over 100 mini-games from the franchise. It promises button controls (for you Switch Lite players) and online play. It’s coming out on the 29th of October.

Shinya Takahashi came back to talk about Metroid Prime 4, but not. Instead, it’s Metroid 5? Actually titled Metroid Dread, it’s a return to sidescrolling metroidvania, with the gameplay showing Samus being chased by a robot called E.M.M.I. More gameplay showed some of the levels involved, and new abilities such as magnetic wall climbing and cloaking. It’s coming out on the 8th of October.

Shinya Takahashi came back to talk about the game, as well as amiibo for Samus and E.M.M.I., launching when the game does.

Just Dance 2022 came next, first shown during Ubisoft Forward. It’s coming out on the 4th of November.

Then we saw Cruis’n Blast, a racing game with over-the-top tracks and multiple vehicle types, including a unicorn. It’s console exclusive to Switch and coming later this year.

Next, DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT + A New Power Awakens Set was revealed as finally coming to Switch on the 24th of September 2021.

Mario Golf: Super Rush was next, showing off some of the golf courses. It will include normal golf, speed golf (chase after your ball), battle golf (fight each other), golf adventure (an action campaign). It’s coming out on the 25th of June.

Next was Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, letting us see how the game looks on Nintendo’s console. It showed off exploring and some of the turn-based battling. It’s coming out on the 9th of July.

Then we saw WarioWare: Get it Together with its familiar mini-game fun, but this time you control characters each with their own abilities, rather than using the stylus. It’s coming out on the 10th of September.

Yoshiaki Koizumi came on to talk about the game, and the co-op mode, before introducing the next trailer.

Next was Shin Megami Tensei V, an open-world game where you fight demons in turn-based battles. You can also recruit them to fight alongside you. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic alternate Tokyo, and it’s coming out on the 12th of November, exclusive to Switch.

Yoshiaki Koizumi talked about the game before giving us the next trailer.

Then was Danganronpa Decadence, a collection of the three Danganronpa games. They see you in a visual novel mixed with first-person exploration, trying to solve a murder and escape with your life. Danganronpa S Ultimate Summer Camp, the mini-game from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, is now expanded into its own game and included in the collection.

Next up was Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water, AKA FATAL FRAME: Maiden of the Black Water, a horror game that sees you using your camera to cast out ghosts to keep yourself safe. Originally released on the Wii U, it’s been updated with better graphics and includes the DLC costumes. It’s coming in 2021 to Switch, PC and basically everything else.

Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part One, the DLC for the DOOM sequel, got a quick trailer, showing that it’s out on Switch now.

Another short one, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 the remastered skating game, is coming to Switch on the 25th of June.

And then Strange Brigade, Rebellion’s co-op game from 2018 is out now on Switch.

With an abridged trailer, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope got a mention, first seen in Ubisoft Forward. It’s coming in 2022.

Then was a remake of the original two Advance Wars, the Game Boy Advance games. With 3D graphics and apparently rebuilt from the ground up. Advance Wars 1 + 2 Re-Boot Camp is coming out on the 3rd of December.

Yoshiaki Koizumi came on to introduce his final segment, the expansion pass for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. It showed off some of the fancy weapons and vehicles Wave 1: Pulse of the Ancients. It’s out on the 18th of June.

Eiji Aonuma came on to talk about how the expansion will take you through some more of the battles set before Breath of the Wild. But that’s not all, as this was now his segment.

Moving on to The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, he talked about how it is chronologically the first Zelda title. It is coming on the 16th of July

Next, he announced Game & Watch The Legend of Zelda, a physical Game & Watch. It’s a collection of the original two NES games and Link’s Awakening, as well as Vermin, the Game & Watch title, starring Link. It also includes a timer in two styles, so you can still use it as a clock. It’s coming out on the 12th of November

He then spoke about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel, and showed us some footage. It’s familiar gameplay from the original, but of course, there are going to be new abilities. It ended ominously with black smoke lifting Hyrule Castle into the air. It’s coming in 2022.

Eiji Aonuma talked about how the Breath of the Wild sequel will include you going skyward, somewhat fittingly.

Shinya Takahashi & Yoshiaki Koizumi came back to bid us farewell, and then it was time for the Nintendo Treehouse event, full of gameplay of some of these titles.