Nintendo Direct Megathread

[Blue Blood]

3 minutes ago, DanJ86 said:

I feel like l have changed too. But for the worse. I just don't get excited about anything anymore. I do have very brief moments of looking forward to playing a game I've show interest with but that is usually a brief feeling.

When you put it like that, it makes perfect sense. I didn't even consider the length of the Direct. It's always nice to see some new IPs too, as rare as they can be sometimes. I'm not gonna criticise anyone for being excited, I'd just come across as jealous...which is kinda true.

I honestly wish I could be hyped so I could play a more comfortable role in the discussion. I'm still interested in the Direct but when I don't feel anything from the build up, it makes me think something is wrong with me. I'd call myself a Nintendo fanboy which makes my lukewarm reaction feel even stranger.

Although to be clear, I'm not the type of fan that would blindly defend Nintendo when they do scummy or dumb stuff.

Sounds like you've grown out of getting hyped on command and that you're more interested in seeing the proof before you react. That's pretty reasonable. There's a difference between being excited for or interested in something, and what the internet calls "hype". Just take whatever you're feeling for what it is.

[expansivelovestories]

e3 is virtual this year which may or may not affect what they will show today!  I think it would be an incentive to show more now rather than less, or even to release demos earlier that otherwise would be show floor only! 

[KHCast]

It was fine. I enjoyed enough of it. I don’t really expect much from these nowadays. I definitely don’t agree with everyone going “this was horrible, the worst way to return directs”. 

[Kaze no Klonoa]

Big takeaway: you all need to play Outer Wilds when it comes out this Summer. One of the best games ever made.

[Blue Blood]

If memory serves, Directs were usually somewhere between a couple of mildly interesting hits and downright unappealing all over for me. So this Direct being being 40 minutes of trash capped off with Skyward Sword HD and Splatoon 3 means that it was one of the better ones. 

I mean... Honestly, I don't game much these days. I'm very selective about what I will and won't devote any time to. So it's not that the Direct was bad, rather it just really didn't tickle my fancy very much.

[Sonicka]

Wasn’t terrible - but not enough content that held my personal interest beyond a Smash fighter, Hyrule Warriors getting a Season Pass, and Skyward Sword getting the remastered treatment. 

No More Heroes 3 looked pretty terrible (unless the feature to make it look and run like a Wii title is intentional), and I have no love for stuff like Mario Golf (which looked jarringly realistic like a PGA Golf game with Mario Characters slapped into it) nor a third Splatoon entry. 

The biggest disappointment probably came from Project Triangle Strategy. I have been hotly anticipating a followup to Octopath Traveller... and they went down the Strategy RPG route *groans*

I also have to question why something like Miitopia is being remastered for Switch from the 3DS when we have a perfectly fine library of more deserved games... I mean Metroid Samus Returns for Christ sake Nintendo? No?

But yeah, other than Aonuma appearing only to slap us in the face with a “not ready to show us anything from BOTW2”... It was simply fine. I can appreciate Zelda being held back for its own direct (and potentially meaning it’s not coming this year), but considering it’s been over a year and a half now since the first trailer - even another 30 second show off of SOMETHING would have sufficed. I guess they are keeping their cards close to their chest for a reason. But it sucks having to wait.

[Teoskaven]

Pretty sick for me: i can count on one hand the thing i didn't cared for (like the DC Super Hero Girls game or EA's Knockout City), but the real surprises were the ports of stuff like Legend of Mana, Miitopia, Ninja Gaiden and Stubbs the Zombie out of nowhere, though even the new games like Triangle Strategy are very welcome in my book, especially since it's been so long since Square had a tactical RPG on consoles, about time we got one. The Famicon Detective Club remakes being localized are also a very cool as well as the new Mario Golf or Skyward Sword getting the HD treatment.
I was expecting 20 minutes dedicated to the "Sakurai Presents" bit dedicated to Smash but no, they actually bothered to fill in the lenght with announcements of all kind.
Shame for the usual absents like Metroid Prime 4, i wish they had someone telling us they're still working on it like Aonuma did with the Breath of the Wild sequel.
 

[StaticMania]

8 minutes ago, Teoskaven said:

I was expecting 20 minutes dedicated to the "Sakurai Presents" bit dedicated to Smash but no, they actually bothered to fill in the lenght with announcements of all kind.

Dedicated Smash direct is a thing

That wasn't gonna be here

[Salamander]

I'd say that Direct worked out pretty well for me!  Of course, there were inevitably a few disappointments; I would have liked to see the 2D Metroid which is almost certainly in development, and of course a new Mario Golf means the Golden Sun dream is dead(er than ever), but otherwise there was a lot to interest me.  The Famicom Detective Club remakes are games I really should take an interest in; well, there are quite a few other mystery visual novels on Switch which I could have bought but haven't, but these ones are some of the classics and I really want to experience what they do.

Project Triangle Strategy (please don't let the working title become the final title this time) I'm very excited by; I had a great time with Octopath Traveler but felt its structure was ultimately lacking, and I've been getting curious about the old Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre series, so the Octopath team not doing a straight sequel but instead a new take on that interpretation of the strategy genre is something right up my street, and I'm looking forward to trying the demo... which saves me from having to try out the Bravely Default II final demo, frankly, as I think this tips me over the edge into not caring about that game at all.  A shame, as the original and Bravely Second were fantastic (if flawed in various ways), but there it is, they changed too much.  Similarly intrigued by the Legend Of Mana remaster, though moreso by the Saga Frontier remaster, as I've been looking to take a deeper interest in Saga for quite a while (just haven't yet gotten around to it).  RPGs!  Every time I want to get out, they just keep sucking me back in.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

I feel like the Direct could be summed up as if you really like RPGs, you’ll love it, and if you don’t, you probably won’t.

It was just eh to me. For the first big direct in ages, it felt like they were really catering to one genre, with a few smaller things shoved between. I’m not a massive RPG, not old school RPGs at least, so the first 40 minutes was immensely weak, with the only huge surprise being Stubbs of all things.

The last ten minutes picked it back up a bit with SSHD and Splatoon 3, but even then, it’s a bit lame that Splat 3 is likely at least a year off if not longer, and a ton of games we’ve been waiting utter ages to get any news is still making no shows. I get 2020 was rough and all, but lack of any news of MP4, Bayo 3, or BOTW2 was lame IMO, especially when two of those franchises have major anniversaries this year. It feels like this direct was just either if you like RPGs, or if you wanted some random EA games on Switch, you’re sorted, but otherwise you’re out of luck.

DC Super Hero Girls was pathetic though, that looked like a shovelware tie in title from 2004. The hunt for an Arkham port still goes on.

[Patticus]

Pretty good summation by Dunkey.

I don't understand this obsession Nintendo's got with JRPGs, to the exclusion of everything else. I guess their core audience might be into it, maybe, but there's just nothing there for me. Again.

[SupahBerry]

Reminding viewers how JRPG and Anime are ruining "his" Nintendo, I see. 

I hardly care for that stuff either and agree it's not the best thing to come back to after over 500 days, but there were more mature ways he could've handled that than venting his bias again. I got the hint he despises that stuff first few times, and to post trailer reactions focused around rubbing that in for daring to dash his expectations feels petty to me. Vinny was let down too but he didn't let it get to him like Dunkey did. While he admits anime ain't his favorite thing either, at least any potshots he makes are clearly tongue-in-cheek and holds no ill will or anything (this isn't getting into his real enjoyment in several JRPGS). Where as Dunkey lets his genuine distain towards them drive his disapproval, with little regard for those who'd like Pyra and the other stuff, including Sakurai himself, who loved Xenoblade Chronicles 2. 

 

There's nothing about a new direct in a long time that tells you to fully expect the majority of new announcements to be appealing to you.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Patticus said:

I don't understand this obsession Nintendo's got with JRPGs, to the exclusion of everything else. I guess their core audience might be into it, maybe, but there's just nothing there for me. Again.

After being almost anti-RPG in the N64 era, and almost permanently losing foothold in the video game market entirely in the years of aftermath, they went and did a complete reverse on that.

[Patticus]

On 2/20/2021 at 5:08 PM, Supah Berry said:

Reminding viewers how JRPG and Anime are ruining "his" Nintendo, I see.

When they're just about the only thing of substance being offered after a year of no Directs, what other reaction could you possibly expect from people for whom anime and JRPGs aren't appealing? You know, people who don't ordinarily mind their inclusion, but would like something that resembles genre variety, even if not all of the genres appeal.

Personally, I never go into Directs expecting everything to be aimed at me, I'm always just looking for something, just one thing, to grab me. I don't remember the last time that happened.

On 2/20/2021 at 5:08 PM, Supah Berry said:

There's nothing about a new direct in a long time that tells you to fully expect the majority of new announcements to be appealing to you.

The very fact that it is the first Direct in a year or more means expectations are naturally high for a slew of announcements from across the genre spectrum.

If it had been all Untitled Goose 'Em Ups, I would expect a backlash from those in the gaming community who don't want to play goose games.

[Blue Blood]

I fully agree with @Patticus on this. The Direct disappointed me until the final two reveals, and everything else felt so homogenous. It was niche and all directed at the same audience. Even if I did play Smash and was looking forward to the reveals for that game, I'd have been miffed to see characters from Anime Clothes Chronicles revealed as the next fighters amongst a dozen other Anime RPGs.

I also go into these Directs with low expectations. The Splatoon 3 and SSHD reveals were all that I needed personally, but the rest of the time was a total waste. I'm not asking for a everything to be too my tastes, not at all. All I want is some variety. That's not asking much.

[KHCast]

As expected, Nintendo super fans got mad at Jim’s take here. (Nintendo portion starts at 10:30) 

 

I mean end of the day, yeah? They make a point? It’s ultimately getting disappointed about commercials, which is in the long a bit silly. Like I get it, the industry trained it’s consumer base to expect these kind of things due to years of hype culture and empty promises commonly being broken, and being disappointed when nothing you’re interested in shows up is natural, but still, it gets a bit much sometimes when some of these people get extremely mad that they weren’t being advertised to. Like when, as Jim brought up, Nintendo tells fans about a mini direct with nothing super big being revealed, and fans still loosing it at them when nothing amazing like Bayonetta 3 or the Master Chief Collection or Kingdom Hearts switch ports shows up.
 

It really does put into perspective the state of things and how hype culture driven the marketing and consumer world is, and yeah, it gets exhausting seeing this song and dance.

 

I guess I’m just super jaded. Nintendo (or any game company or event) could just do emails at this point or press releases, I honestly think I’d find that more refreshing than Directs now due to all the expectations and hype built up around them by the masses, only for them to be let down and see the resulting salt for the next two weeks about it. Only to start it up again when the next big gaming event happens 

[Shiny Gems]

Get ready, guys! It's here!

[Salamander]

11pm in the U.K. is some unusual scheduling.  I'd almost consider saving it for the following morning... but who am I kidding.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Motobug will be streaming it for SSMB members, as usual.

As to what to expect, I imagine we'll see BOTW2 footage, the final Smash reveal, Dread footage, possibly a new big winter title (Something akin to Age of Calamity), Calamity DLC2, and some random ports. It'd be nice if we could wrap up the Zelda 35th anniversary with a re-release of WWHD/TPHD too.

[Sonicka]

2 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

Motobug will be streaming it for SSMB members, as usual.

As to what to expect, I imagine we'll see BOTW2 footage, the final Smash reveal, Dread footage, possibly a new big winter title (Something akin to Age of Calamity), Calamity DLC2, and some random ports. It'd be nice if we could wrap up the Zelda 35th anniversary with a re-release of WWHD/TPHD too.

Whilst I really want some more BOTW2 footage, I'm tempering my expectations on this front due to focus of the presentation being games coming in Winter 2021. (I also think when the time is right that they'll have an entire Direct dedicated to the blasted thing next year anyway). 

However, I'm definitely holding out hope for an AOC DLC pack 2 showcase since that's less than 2 months away, and also that WWHD/TPHD double pack combo thingy everyone has been basically expecting for ages. I never got around to picking up TPHD on Wii U, and I'm still holding out until I know for sure XD

(Also, the Prime Trilogy HD port, because god-dammit Nintendo Please!).

Maybe those rumours about the Gameboy / N64 titles coming to the online service at an extra premium will also surface tomorrow?  

I also suspect Smash Fans ears have pricked up as well. So there's also that. But 11pm... man. 

[KHCast]

Kinda surprised if they reveal the final reveal here, figured at the game awards or something would make more sense since Sakurai explicitly said it would be awhile, but then again I wouldn’t complain since I’d rather we just get it over with now. 
 

as for what else I’d expect, Zelda stuff of some sort seems likely, but outside that, it’s really up in the air. Probably some dlc/content updates for already released games. Maybe some stuff on soon to be released ones? 

[Zaysho]

I don't really expect Smash to show tbh. I get the feeling the last character will probably have something to itself, maybe with an announcement that they're on the way but not who (e.g. Minmin).

I could be wrong, of course, but Nintendo not mentioning something like "including Smash" in the announcement like they have for some other presentations gave me the impression they might be holding that card a little longer.

Don't really have any big expectations. I won't be able to watch it when it's live so I have to watch it later, but I'm sure it'll be fine either way.

[Salamander]

8 hours ago, Son-icka said:

[...] I'm tempering my expectations on this front due to focus of the presentation being games coming in Winter 2021.

It's worth noting that it's not "Winter 2021"; it's "Winter", i.e. including the first few months of next year.  Wouldn't be surprised to see the odd reveal outside of that timeframe, too.  They have forty minutes of stuff to show, after all.

But on the subject of things within that timeframe, I think it's pretty much a lock that we'll see more of the Advance Wars remake.  It was revealed five months off from release and I suspect that the graphics will have been tweaked a little, as much because they weren't yet polished as in response to people's concerns.  Speaking of the GBA, the writing's on the wall that the Castlevania Advance Collection will be revealed, given that we already know that it exists and what games are going to be in it; really, we just need the release date.  There's talk that the GeForce leak outed Silksong's release date as February, too, so that's a potential candidate.

So far as Smash goes, I think at the very least we'll get an announcement of an announcement - but the scheduling is more or less on-point for a reveal today, Sakurai livestream in a week, release at the end of the month; a familiar pattern.

[KHCast]

13 minutes ago, Salamander said:

but the scheduling is more or less on-point for a reveal today,

The problem is, by Sakurai ‘s own words, the next reveal probably won’t released in the standard time frame if he has to specifically note that it’ll be longer than usual for the next reveal and that we should be patient. And considering the anniversary of smash and the fact the deadline are both the end of the year , seems like it’d make the most sense to wait until that or around that timeframe to drop the final character. I assume Nintendo want to stretch out the marketing for this as long as humanly possible, and that likely means until December

 

however it’s certainly possible Nintendo just aren’t putting much thought into scheduling/marketing like that, the characters ready ahead of schedule, and they announce and reveal them today. Certainly possible. 

[Sonicka]

4 hours ago, Salamander said:

It's worth noting that it's not "Winter 2021"; it's "Winter", i.e. including the first few months of next year.  Wouldn't be surprised to see the odd reveal outside of that timeframe, too.  They have forty minutes of stuff to show, after all.

Yeah, that's very true. Actually to be honest thinking back now they have previously gone outside their "timeframes" in other direct showcases too. 

Here's hoping!