Nintendo Direct Headlines: September 2017
Earlier this month, Nintendo had some big announcements during their Nintendo Direct broadcast. So what awaits fans down the pipeline? Let’s hop right in and see what the biggest announcements were!
The biggest upcoming 3DS title, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, received a spotlight which kicked off the Direct broadcast. We learned a little bit about the cover-art Pokémon for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, which are new forms of Necrozma that have fused with Solgaleo and Lunala respectively. We briefly saw a couple of new areas in the Alola region, including a valley filled with Pikachu. There will also be a new Poke Ball edition of the Nintendo 2DS XL in stores on November 3rd. Finally, for players who purchase the upcoming Virtual Console releases of either Pokémon Gold or Pokémon Silver on the 3DS, a special Celebi can be received as a bonus gift for Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, or Ultra Moon. The new Pokémon games arrive on November 17th, but we’ll need to wait a little longer to find out more.
A considerable amount of attention was placed on upcoming Nintendo Switch titles, the first of which being Xenoblade Chronicles 2, a sequel to a game which hit North American Wii consoles in 2012: Xenoblade Chronicles. Not unlike its predecessor, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 seems to have a rich narrative, coupled with an expansive game world and the same deep yet fast-paced combat fans of the first game will be familiar with. Nintendo also confirmed that the game will release here in North America on December 1st.
Zelda fans and Amiibo collectors alike will be pleased to hear that four new Zelda: Breath of the Wild Amiibo figures will hit store shelves on November 10th. The new figures are based on the four champions from the game’s story, and will each have compatibility with the game’s new story campaign coming this holiday season: “The Champion’s Ballad”.
We also learned that game developer Bethesda is supporting the Nintendo Switch with two more games in addition to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim; they plan to release both the new DOOM reboot, and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Skyrim is set for release on November 17th, while DOOM and Wolfenstein are set to follow before the end of the year, and early 2018 respectively.
For those of us who have been clamoring for Virtual Console titles on the Nintendo Switch eShop, an answer was sort of delivered in the form of what Nintendo are dubbing: “Arcade Archives”. The first among these classic re-releases will be the arcade game Mario Bros., which is available for download starting September 27th.
New details have arrived pertaining to the upcoming Kirby game on the Switch, which was first announced earlier this year. Its title is Kirby: Star Allies, and like other games in the series, it will be a side-scroller, only this time, up to four players can join in on the fun and the copy abilities can be combined, mixed, matched and shared between the four players. This new Kirby game will be arriving in Spring of 2018. On the 3DS side of the series, a new game titled Kirby: Battle Royal is landing on the 3DS this coming January. This game is a competitive 3-D beat-em-up title which also offers a multi-player component.
Another new Mario Party game is coming to the 3DS. This time around, it will be a collection of 100 mini-games spanning the entire series’ history, from the original on the Nintendo 64, up until present day. It’s called Mario Party: The Top 100, and will be released on November 10th.
Nintendo ended their broadcast with a spotlight on the massive upcoming title: Super Mario Odyssey, an open-world Mario game coming to the Nintendo Switch. In addition to a tour of some areas in the game world, we got a closer look at the new wedding-themed Amiibo figures of Mario, Peach, and Bowser. Furthermore, the Nintendo Switch will be getting a bundle with Mario Odyssey, complete with red Joy-Con controllers and a Mario-themed carrying case. The game lands sooner than later, on October 27th.
Written By: BeNjamyn Upshaw-Ruffner
