A brand new Nintendo Direct was released late in the day on Wednesday. This Direct focused on upcoming games for the Switch, including Arms and Splatoon 2, and upcoming games for the 3DS. Going into the Direct, I was hoping for more information about Nintendo’s online service, since both of the games will have online multiplayer. I’m also interested in what is going on with the 3DS and how Nintendo will handle their popular handheld dedicated system with the Switch now in the ecosystem.

Nintendo Direct Impressions

3DS

Highlights:

Hey Pikmin! – Releases July 28th
Evar Oasis – Releases June 23rd
Monsters Hunter Stories – Releases in the Fall 2017
RPGMaker Fes – Releases June 27th
Celebrating Kirby’s 25th Anniversary – Releasing three new games this year
Team Kirby Clash Deluxe – Released today
Kirby’s Blowout Blast – Summer 2017
A new multiplayer action game – Holiday 2017
Bye – Bye Box Boy! – Released the day of the Direct

While the 3DS might of been forgotten by some since the Switch release, it’s not by Nintendo. A solid slate of games are coming out over the rest of 2017. I’m also glad that they are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Kirby games. I’m excited to see what the third game released this year will actually be when it’s announced, I assume at E3.

ARMS

Highlights:

Releases June 16 2017
Different arm abilities
In game currency to purchase upgraded arms
New fighter Min Min – Deflect punches with kick attack
New color of Joy-Con Neon Yellow
Able to compete in 2v2 Battles

ARMS has always interested me, but never captivated me to a point where I must own it day one. I’m more interested now because of the depth that appears to be the game. Having unique characters, weapons, and fighting arenas is a major step in the right direction. I want to get a demo of this game before it releases in June. That way I can feel how it plays to see if it is the next Punch Out…Wii Boxing.

General Switch News

Highlights:

A battery adaptor for Joy Cons
Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers – Releases May 26
Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition – Releases May 11
Puyo Puyo Tetris – Demo Available Today
Monopoly announced
Pay Day 2 – Releases in 2017

What I listed above was just what I found interesting from the Direct, but there is a ton of content they showed off. Showing plenty of exciting games from independent developers that should keep us busy until ARMS and Splatoon 2 are released. I’m not excited about Monopoly itself coming to the Switch, but I am hoping this might lead to more modern board games making it to the system. It does seem that RPGs have found a home on both the Switch and 3DS. I’m looking forward to trying a few of them in the future.

Splatoon 2

Highlights:

Releases July 21st
New game mode – Salmon Run – Horde mode
New amiibo figures and functionality

Honestly, they didn’t show off much for Splatoon 2 besides the new game mode and amiibos. I’m interested in Salmon Run because it looks to be a lot of fun and something different than the normal turf war battles in Splatoon. However, the Splatoon 2 part of the presentation left me disappointed.

Overall, it was a solid presentation of the upcoming games for Nintendo systems. I do like the changes to the format. Having headlines of each of the topics they were going to discuss helped to peak my interest before they even talked about them. It always amazes me what they are able to show in just a 35 minute presentation. I had to pause the video a few times just to finish writing my notes before moving on. The amount of games they showed off today makes me even more excited for E3 and the major 1st party games they are going to show.