September of 2021 is quickly coming to a close, but leave it to Nintendo to give gamers something to look forward to. During the September Nintendo Direct presentation, the Big N focused on upcoming projects for the remainder of 2021, as well as things coming sometime in 2022. In case you missed it, let’s break things down.
First up was a cinematic trailer for an upcoming DLC expansion for Capcom’s “Monster Hunter Rise.” The title has done very well for itself in terms of reception and sales for the Switch exclusive. No real information was given for the “Sunberak” expansion, just that it’s supposed to be pretty substantive in what it offers.
Next was “Mario Party Superstars,” which brings back some classic boards from the original N64 games, combined with online multi-player and the typical “Mario Party” formula. It releases fairly soon on October 29th.
Then we get the first of the previously unannounced projects, and this will be a doozy for “Nier” fans. Upon the start-up of the trailer for “Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars,” some music that sounds incredibly similar to what was heard in “Nier” pops up. We then see footage of a card based RPG where everything is represented in card format upon a table top. The characters, weapons, etc. all are represented by cards that are turned over. Come to find out that the game’s creative director is “Nier” creator, Yoko Taro with music director Keiichi Okabe returning from the “Nier” series as well. The game is set to release on October 28th from Square Enix.
To quickly recap the next couple items, the indie-hit detective RPG, “Disco Elysium” is getting a Switch port to be released digitally on October 12th, with a physical version coming in early 2022. Also, Zelda spin-off, “Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity” is getting a second wave of DLC on October 29th. The last game featured in this quick block of titles was “Chocobo GP,” a “Final Fantasy” universe inspired racing game that takes heavy inspiration from “Mario Kart” and “Diddy Kong Racing.” No firm release date was given outside of sometime in 2022.
Anyone looking for an update on the final “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” DLC fighter went away mostly empty-handed. The last fighter was not announced, but it was revealed that a presentation for the fighter will air on October 5th, and it will indeed be the last announcement for the game after nearly 3 years of steady updates.
Then, as if to compensate for that bit of a letdown, Nintendo drops one of the big titles; a new Kirby game, but this time, one with 3D environments. Not 2D, not 2.5D, but actual, multi-directional, 3D environments. Entitled, “Kirby and the Forgotten Land” the game sees Kirby washed up on the shore of an unknown island, only to find abandoned, rundown buildings of a city and amusement park where nature has started to take over. Kirby has to navigate this land to uncover its secrets while also fighting some of the largest enemies ever seen in a Kirby game. The last Kirby game for the Switch, “Kirby Star Allies” was a 2D platformer with the gimmick of having multiple partners tag along with you and using their abilities to solve puzzles. Kirby looks to be travelling solo this time in his first true foray into 3D adventure. The title is set to release in Spring of 2020.
Skipping over some of the smaller updates we arrive at a pretty surprise announcement; “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” will be getting a Switch release on November, 11th. This is not a remastering of the original unlike what was announced for the PlayStation, but basically a touched up port of the original 2003 release for PC and Xbox.
Previously teased, and now confirmed for release in March of 2022 is the strategy RPG, “Triangle Strategy.” Having a very similar look and feel to “Octopath Traveler” this title uses the “HD 2D” graphical style seen in the aforementioned game. However, unlike that title from Square-Enix which was a traditional turn-based RPG, this is a tactical role-playing game, more akin to “Final Fantasy Tactics.”
The next bombshell was Nintendo announcing an expansion to their online services. As of the time of this writing, subscribers to Nintendo’s online service not only get to play games online but also have access to select games from the NES and SNES. This expansion pass will now open up games from the N64 and surprisingly enough, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. This will come at an extra cost, but Nintendo did not announce what that pricing plan would be. They did however showcase what games would be available at the launch of the system, as seen in the images below:
Wrapping up some of the other big news articles were some releases happening today, including a remastering of the classic game, “Actraiser” and a compilation of “Castlevania” games that were originally released for the Game Boy Advance. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto stopped by to discuss news about the upcoming “Super Mario Bros.” movie, news of which will be detailed in a separate article here on Nerdbot for your potential enjoyment.
The show closed out with a big reveal, finally giving fans a tease of what to expect with “Bayonetta 3.” Despite being announced years ago at this point, PlatinumGames is now far enough along to give us some actual game footage and a release date for sometime in 2022. There was also a tease of an enigmatic, sword toting figure at the end of the trailer. “Always leave ’em wanting more” they say, and PlatinumGames certainly accomplished that after leaving us wondering what to expect for so long. And yes, that is a giant spider that Bayonetta summoned which also bears a resemblance to Phantom from “Devil May Cry.”
And there you go, the Nintendo Direct in a nutshell. There were more bits about “Splatoon 3” and “Metroid: Dread” but Nintendo’s focused a lot on those games recently anyway. At any rate, it looks like there’s a lot for fans to look forward to, as well as gamers in general who have a Switch in their console collections.
Here’s to closing out 2021 with some fun, and starting off 2022 on a high note!
