Thoughts on 3rd March 2016 Nintendo Direct

All right, the Nintendo Direct has aired and I have to say, I really liked what they had for us. I’ll include the video of it here, and I’ll just talk about my personal highlights in the post. Oh, and this is all from the European Direct.

It’s nice to see that Star Fox Zero finally has a release date, which is 22nd April – those rumours about it being further delayed have been proven false. We’re also getting Star Fox Guard, which you may remember being shown off during E3 some time ago, under a different name – it’s the one where you had the view of the different security cameras.
Anyways, Star Fox Zero and Star Fox Guard will be bundled together in a first print edition – Zero will have a physical release, and Guard will be an eShop title.

Splatoon is getting a couple of new updates to balance things out, as well as weapon recommendations – it’s nice to see that things are still happening for this game.

Continuing the update theme, Super Mario Maker will be getting new additions in the form of spiked pillars, keys, locked doors and pink coins allowing players to get even more creative. There’ll also be a new Super Expert difficulty in 100 Mario Mode, as well as 12 new Mystery Mushroom costumes – one of which is Tetra.

One of my biggest wants was fulfilled, with the announce of a release date of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE – that would be the Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem crossover game by Atlus- It will see the light of day in Europe on June 24th.

We’re also getting a new Paper Mario game on Wii U, in the form of Paper Mario: Color Splash (the fact there’s no ‘u’ in the world ‘color’ bugs me way more than it should…). It is set on Prism Island, where the bad guys are stealing the colour from everyone – didn’t this happen in Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush? – and Paper Mario has to save the day. He has a ‘Paint Hammer’, which allows him to restore the lost colour. You can also use cards during battle to unleash special abilities.
Due for release in 2016.

I’m definitely interested in Club Nintendo’s successor, My Nintendo. Hopefully we’ll be able to pick up some decent rewards using the My Nintendo Points – the European Club Nintendo had some pretty neat stuff, so hopefully that won’t change.

Hyrule Warriors Legends will be released on 3DS on March 24th – we knew this, though there will be new DLC for it. One new character making her way to the game is The Wind Waker‘s Medli. With a total of 4 DLC packs, I imagine she won’t be the only new addition.

Whilst I’m not particularly bothered about YO-KAI WATCH (I’m gonna try the demo, though), I’ve definitely got to mention something about Satoru Shibata doing the dance that goes with it. Mr. Shibata is just awesome, no doubt about it.

Metroid Prime: Federation Force is still happening, and I’m glad that it is. We learnt a little about how it came about, as well as a bit about the gameplay. I have very little care for what everyone else thinks about it, I’m looking forward to this game when it’s released in the summer.

The best news to come from this Direct was the European release date for Fire Emblem Fates – we have to wait until the May 20th to get our hands on it. More than two months away, but at least we know when it’ll arrive on our shores.

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past will be released some time this year, bringing the classic Dragon Quest gameplay to the 3DS. I love me some classic JRPG action, so this is definitely on my radar.

Continuing with the 3DS love, Monster Hunter Generations – also known as Monster Hunter X in Japan – is making it’s way west in the summer. I love me some monster hunting, and the fact that you can play as a Felyne just makes this infinitely better. Oh, and the armour set based on Fire Emblem‘s Marth is neat, too.

Since I love me some rhythm action game (I’m sensing an running theme here…), I’m ecstatic to learn that Rhythm Paradise Megamix will be released this year. It’s a 3DS title, which brings in old rhythm games from across the series together with a few new ones.

The last announcement was that of Kirby: Planet Robobot on the 3DS. I love me some Kirby, and I’ll happily welcome a new game in the series. With a multitude of copy abilities (including new ones such as Doctor) and mecha in the form of Kirby’s own Robobot armour, this definitely looks intriguing.
There’s also a boss-fight minigame you can play alone or co-op, levelling up to take on harder challenges.
And new Kirby series amiibo, as well – yeah, the 3DS game will be compatible with them. It’s release date is 10th June 2016.

Now, that was a lot of love for the 3DS. The Wii U didn’t really have much compared to the 3DS, but at least we’re getting a few games for it over the next couple of months. In my opinion, a rather solid Direct overall – the fact that my personal highlights were most of it should probably clue you in on this.