Nintendo Direct Feb. 9, 2022 Summary

By: Chris Smith, Columnist

Views expressed in the column are the author’s own.

After almost 5 months and the start of a new year Nintendo fans were definitely eager for more news about upcoming games for the Nintendo Switch and on Feb. 9, their wishes were granted.

The Nintendo Direct opens up with a Fire Emblem spinoff titled “Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes” which is an indirect sequel to “Fire Emblem Warriors” released in 2017. Three Hopes is based on the successful “Fire Emblem Three Houses” utilizing characters and settings from that game. Not much else is known from the teaser trailer shown.

A big surprise to many people was shown shortly after and that was “Mario Strikers: Battle League” which was quite a shock due to the fact that the last Mario Strikers game released was Mario Strikers Charged back in 2007 on the Nintendo Wii. Luckily you won’t have to wait much longer now since the game is slated to release in June this year.

Splatoon 3 was up next and the third game in the Splatoon franchise was announced almost a year prior to this direct. It doesn’t have an official release date yet, but it is still slated to be released later this summer. 

The next few minutes were showcasing games from companies that aren’t Nintendo some games shown are: a Disney kart racing crossover game called “Disney Speedstorms,” a port of “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” which was originally released in 2008, and an enhanced port of Chrono Cross (originally released in 1999 on the Playstation 1) called “Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition.”

An upcoming video game releasing a month from now is “Kirby and the Forgotten Land” which was announced back in the September 2021 Nintendo Direct. What’s fascinating about this new entry in the Kirby series is that it’s actually a full on 3D platformer while 3D platformers have been around since the mid 1990s with games such as Super Mario 64 (1996) or Sonic Adventure (1998) it’s quite shocking it took this long for Kirby to get a 3D platformer of his own. Not much longer for this game considering it launches March 25.

Another shocking announcement this time from Namco is “Klonoa: Phantasy Reverie Series” while this is a remaster which are only getting more common these days what makes this one different is this is the first time Klonoa has gotten any spotlight since 2008 and this series will make it’s return on July 8.

Everyone knows Wii Sports and now Wii Sports is getting a sequel launching on April 29 called “Nintendo Switch Sports” from the brief showcase this entry in the series is a combination of sports from both Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort.

Nintendo then quickly went over some new updates about Metroid Dread and Nintendo Switch Online which were already released. For the latter Earthbound (SNES) and it’s prequel Earthbound Beginnings (NES) were announced the former stars Ness who many people recognize from the Super Smash Bros. series.

The penultimate announcement is a huge update for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe originally released in 2017. This update is huge due to the fact it is remastering a whopping 48 race courses from other Mario Kart games which is a big deal due to the game already having 48 courses so this gradual update will definitely add content the first 8 courses is coming out in March and will be gradually released until end of 2023. 

The final announcement was a reveal trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 which is a new addition to the Xenoblade series, a modern Nintendo series known for its large-scale world. Not too much was shown in the trailer but the game is set to launch September 2022.

These are the highlights revealed in the Nintendo Direct one thing definitely noticeable about this direct was there were a lot of curveball announcements such as the return of Mario Strikers or more Mario Kart updates, but overall this Nintendo Direct did leave a majority of people satisfied.

As for me personally whenever I go into any presentation I go in with a very open mind and not expect much but hope for good announcements. Personally I am excited for the return of Mario Strikers since I had a lot of fun memories playing the original games on the Gamecube and Wii and will definitely pick the game up when it comes out. 

I will say I was a little disappointed with the new designs of the Miis especially considering looking at it from a mainstream perspective. The original Wii Sports was so iconic in pop-culture that a sudden design change would definitely throw off people who grew up with Wii Sports years ago and now it won’t be easy to get the casual audience back in due to unfamiliarity. 

One big thing I am super excited for is more Mario Kart content considering I love Mario Kart whether it’s by myself or with friends I always look forward to it and now that the game will almost double in content by the end of next year is exciting to say the least can’t wait to experience it I even pre ordered the DLC already. So I think this direct had a lot of variety and curveballs for fans which was definitely a great surprise, because I wasn’t sure what would happen next after Super Smash Bros. Ultimate finished up all the updates recently, and not to mention this isn’t E3 yet who knows what will be announced this year.

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