Nintendo Direct 2/8/22: DLC, Nostalgia, and Highly Anticipated Releases

When Nintendo started doing these small annual conferences in 2011 to talk about its newest announcements, I’m not sure they ever expected it to be so big. But nowadays gamers gather around ready to take in all the new content Nintendo has to offer, and these Nintendo Directs have become a core staple of advertising for the company.

With the wrap of this year’s announcements, it’s safe to say gamers are pretty pumped for the things to come this year. Exciting new games, DLC, and of course the welcomed nostalgia of seeing our old favorites brought back to life on screen.

Pikman 4 – New Characters!?

I never played the Pikmin series growing up but I remember my friends were into it and talked about it a lot. This trailer of Pikmin 4 caught my eye though, and I just might have to check it out finally. Takahashi brought up two new Pikmin; an ice one that can freeze water, and perhaps the most interesting new addition, one that looks like a dog that helps you get through heavy objects. It was fascinating that they introduced these new guys into the series.

Seems like the series is still going strong, definitely excited to see some more gameplay of this one.

Mario Kart Wave 4

Mario Kart… maybe one of the most iconic games on the Switch. The DLC for the new tracks has been keeping things fresh by adding many of the old classics from the various games/systems of the passed.

As someone who likes to play Mario Kart it’s amazing how these waves are being announced with my favorite tracks from when I was growing up. The announcement for the new track, Yoshi island, definitely has fans excited. The brief glimpse of the map looks like it’s going to add a lot of fun assets and things that will make each race unique with the number of options you have. Something we haven’t seen too much from the Booster Course Pass yet.

Bringing back Birdo is also an exciting choice. Hopefully this means we will see some other characters coming back soon?

Game Boy Expansion Reveal

And the most exciting announcement possibly? Game Boy coming to the Switch! This will be available for online users and will give access to some well known titles. Anything that was multiplayer will still be that way both locally and online!

Personally, the Game Boy games I am most excited about are Pokémon Trading Card Game, Legend of Zelda Links Awakening DX, and Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins.

They also will include Game Boy Advance games. The games that will be available at launch or shortly after are:

• Super Mario Advance 4: Mario Bros 3
• Mario kart: Super Circuit
• Mario & Luigi Super Saga
• Legend of Legend of Zelda the Minish Cap
• Wario Ware, Inc.,
• Tetris
• Metroid 2
• Wario Land 3
• Kirby’s Dream Land
• Gargoyle’s Quest
• Game & Watch Gallery 3

Not only can you play the old games, but you can also play them in style with different filters to change the screen from Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, and Game Boy Color.

You can catch me playing the original Metroid Prime game now.

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Nintendo wrapped Direct with one final announcement, and what many would say is the most anticipated game from them for the year. The trailer looks insane and is going to push the Switch to its full potential as it may be one of the most beautiful games on the console. Some breathtaking scenery for sure.

This great looking gameplay does come at a cost, however. It will be one of the most expensive games from Nintendo starting at $69.99 for the base version (the same price as some big names on other consoles). If you are a big fan of the series you can grab an even more expensive collector’s version that has a steel book case, artbook, poster, and pins.

When the trailer was shown fans were speculating on the internet if the voice of Ganondorf is famous voice actor, Matt Mercer. Would be awesome to see him appear in the game.

The game will released this May 12, 2023. Get those pre-orders in!

Other Various Games

The Direct announced a variety of other games from indies to remasters. Remastered games like Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective will return to the switch in full HD this summer. Other interesting games that have been announced are DecaPolice, Fashion Dreamer, and much more.

Let us know which game your excited about or ones that you like that we missed?