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Top 3 Hottest Announcements From The Latest Nintendo Direct

Today’s Nintendo Direct was a big one. Countless awesome games or updates to existing games were announced, and gamers everywhere couldn’t be more excited. Many gamers were nervous that Nintendo was beginning to wind down their efforts on Nintendo Switch as the company had done on previous Nintendo home consoles.

Today, Nintendo eased gamers’ worries with a slew of new games and updates scheduled straight through 2024. Of all the announcements in Nintendo Direct, three truly stood out. Let’s get the Elephant Mario out of the room first.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

While Super Mario Maker 2 offered 2-dimensional Mario fun back in 2019, we haven’t had a 2D Mario refresh since 2012’s New Super Mario Bros. U for the Wii U system. Nintendo has finally quenched this drought with the announcement of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which looks absolutely phenomenal! This 2D Mario platformer takes the series in a novel direction with a plethora of innovative gameplay elements. There are environment-changing items, new powerups, a multitude of playable characters, talkative plants, a completely revamped art style, and an overall tone that’s distinctive to classic Mario games. This latest entry in Mario’s long-running series of 2D platformers, Super Mario Bros. Wonder looks to be a wacky multiplayer blast, coming in October!

Super Mario Bros Wonder Official Announcement Traileryoutu.be

WarioWare: Move It!

The WarioWare series is back on Nintendo Switch with WarioWare: Move It! Players use both Joy Con controllers to take on a variety of zany microgames! Break out of jail, chop bamboo, shake hands with a dog, all in quick succession as you take on a gauntlet of microgames one after another! In WarioWare’s second entry on Nintendo Switch, Intelligent Systems shakes players up using the Joy Con controllers’ motion controls. Not only does this new WarioWare game offer 200 new microgames, but it also includes 2-player co-op as well as 4-player party modes! After the bundle of fun that WarioWare: Get It Together! brought players in 2021, WarioWare: Move It! will be a blast to play when the game launches in November.

WarioWare: Move It! - Nintendo Direct 6.21.2023youtu.be

Pikmin 4

On July 21st, Pikmin 4 will launch on Nintendo Switch although it was unceremoniously announced in 2015. It’s been an agonizing 8 year wait for dedicated Pikmin fans, but info revealed today has a ton of thrilling features for curious players. The major reveals are new Night Missions as well as the mysterious Glow Pikmin, which will assist the Player Captain as they fend off ferocious monsters which have been frenzied by nightfall. Additionally, a variety of fascinating environments were shown, including a human house and Pikmin 2-style caves. With a mission to repair the Rescue Corps’ spaceship and save all castaways a player finds, Pikmin fans and new players alike are in for an electrifying adventure when the sun rises on July 21st.

Pikmin 4 - Nintendo Direct 6.21.2023youtu.be

Today’s Nintendo Direct was certainly exciting, with rapid fire announcements and assurance that the Nintendo Switch system still has much life left in it. Plenty of other announcements brought smiles to gamers’ faces, like a remake of Super Mario RPG and an ice cream-themed Splatfest for Splatoon 3. The future of Nintendo Switch is looking bright as the system blasts through its seventh year on the market!

BONUS: high-definition versions of Pikmin and Pikmin 2 are releasing on Nintendo Switch today, allowing Nintendo Switch owners to play the entire main series on the system!

nintendo direct

CULTURE

New Legendary Pokémon (and Everything Else) Revealed So Far in Pokémon Sword and Shield

Your one-stop breakdown of every new Pokémon and game mechanic in Pokémon Sword and Shield

Pokemon

Photo by Thimo Pedersen on Unsplash

This morning, Nintendo Direct gave us a slew of new information on Pokémon Sword and Shield, including the free-roam Wild Area, the Dynamax mechanic, and two new Legendary Pokémon.

You can watch the full Nintendo Direct here, but if you're short on time, here's a rundown of everything new to the Galar region:

New Pokémon

Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble

Sword and Shield's Starter Pokémon were revealed long before this Nintendo Direct, but we got to see them playing around, and they look especially cute animated on Nintendo Switch.

Wooloo

Pokémon designs have become more derivative with each generation, but it's hard to fault them too much now that there are over 800 species. To be clear, Wooloo is a sheep Pokémon that's not Mareep, because Mareep is Electric type and Wooloo is just a sheep.

Gossifleur

This thing is just a stupid flower.

Eldegoss

Gossifleur evolves into Eldegoss, and they're cotton now? Do flowers turn into cotton? Also, they just did Whimsicott in Generation VI, so whatever, I guess we have multiple cotton Pokémon.

Corviknight

Corviknight looks pretty cool, and it seems like we'll be seeing a good deal of them since it works as Galar region's taxi system. Also, surprisingly, this is the first raven Pokémon.

Drednaw

This is just a Digimon.

Zacian

Okay, Zacian is insanely cool. It's basically Sif from Dark Souls but Pokémon-ized. They're also definitely the cooler of the two new Legendary Pokémon.

Zamazenta

The other new Legendary Pokémon, Zamazenta, is like a less cool version of Zacian, because Zacian has a sword and Zamazenta just has a weird body.

New Characters

Champion Leon

Leon may be the Champion of the Galar Pokémon League, but he also thinks that wearing a cape over a sports jersey makes him look cool. Very weird dude; steer clear.

Rival Hop

Hop is a chump, and he'll never be a worthy rival. He's also Leon's little brother, so we can all look forward to destroying his whole family.

Professor Magnolia

Women. In. STEM. Move aside, Professor Oak, the future is female!

Assistant Sonia

More. Women. In. STEM. Who says fashion and lab work can't go together?

Gym Leader Milo

The first new Gym Leader, Milo, is an absolute unit. Look at the sheer size of this lad. Too bad he uses Eldegoss, the lame cotton Pokémon. But dang, this boi hits the rack.

Dynamax

Dynamax is a new battle mechanic in Pokémon Sword and Shield that you can use once per battle in order to make your Pokémon gigantic for three turns. Their attacks obviously become super-powered, too.

The Wild Area

The Wild Area is the new open space between towns and cities where Pokémon can roam free. Unlike previous mainline Pokémon games, Pokémon can be seen on the map. Events change based on date, time, and weather, and the environment holds many interactive secrets to uncover through exploration.

Max Raid Battles

Pokémon Sword and Shield's newest multiplayer feature, Max Raid Battles, allow you and three other players to join forces in the Wild Area to fight and catch special, ultra-powered Dynamax Pokémon.

Pre-order Promotions

Amazon

Amazon is currently offering Prime members a $10 promotional credit when buying the game.

Pokémon Sword

Pokémon Shield

Best Buy

Best Buy is offering a $10 promotional credit, too, and also has a special dual-pack available which includes both Sword and Shield.

Pokémon Sword

Pokémon Shield

Pokémon Sword and Shield Double Pack

From Your Site Articles

Highlights of New Games and Announcements from Nintendo Direct

The Livestream on Sep. 13 Unveiled News, Trailers, and New Gameplay

factschronicle.com

On Sep. 13, Nintendo Direct aired with a livestream of the newest announcements, trailers and information about Nintendo, their consoles and the respective video games.

The company stated that they will focus on the Switch and 3DS as their primary topics, along with some details about Nintendo Switch Online, a paid online service that launches next week on Sep. 18.

Only small details have been shared about Switch Online so far — there are pricing tiers, and subscribers will have access to 20 games from their NES library. The company unveils more in their livestream, a week late due to a delay from Japan's earthquakes.

The official pricing tiers announced were $3.99 for a one-month membership, $7.99 for three months, and $19.99 for 12. A Family Membership is also available for $35 a year and can be shared with up to seven people. The 20 classic titles have been revealed to include soccer, tennis, Super Mario Bros., Tecmo Bowl, The Legend of Zelda, and others. Three additional games will be released each month for the rest of 2018. Switch Online will also have classic controllers that will be available for $60 for two, and the service will have the ability to save data on Cloud Saves.

One huge announcement was that the beloved game Animal Crossing will be coming to Switch — the feel-good animal simulation started out on the DS, moved its way to mobile, and now scoots its way to the Switch console, arriving sometime in 2019.

Going off of that, Isabelle — your local Animal Crossing guide — will be joining the cast of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The trailer shows Isabelle sporting some on-character attacks with a fishing rod and bucket, but we definitely don't know how powerful she is yet.

Turning over to Super Mario Bros news, Nintendo Direct also announced that a Luigi's Mansion sequel will be coming to Switch in 2019, a powerful accompaniment to the game already headed to 3DS. The livestream announced that the 3DS game will have a two player co-op option and amiibos.

Nintendo revealed a new Yoshi game, too — Yoshi's Crafted World sports a look very similar to Paper Mario animations and will be the first official Yoshi themed game on Switch. The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Bundle was also revealed — the pack will include a Smash Bros-themed dock and Joy-Cons.

Additionally, a deluxe version of New Super Mario Bros. U is coming to the console in 2019 — the Switch debut will include 164 courses, new playable characters such as Nabbit and Toadette and the Super Luigi U option.

Other non-Super Mario Bros news included Final Fantasy 7, 9, 10, 12 coming to Switch along with Katamari Damacy, Just Dance, NBA 2K19, Lego DC Super-Villains, and more. Splatoon 2 will be getting an update, and tabletop games will also be coming to Switch — titles include Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and Pandemic.

In other 3DS news, Kirby's Epic Yarn will be transitioning from Wii to handheld.

There will definitely be more releases — and probably surprises — along the way for the rest of 2018 and all of 2019. We might not know what they are but we do know this — Nintendo isn't going anywhere.

Amber Wang is a freelancer for Popdust and various other sites. She is also a student at NYU, a photographer and intern at the Stonewall National Monument.

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