Nintendo
It was only one calendar month ago when I proclaimed that the Nintendo Switch was in its “ filler era . ” At the time , Nintendo was bait a undulation of re - releases and left - field oddities that made it clear that its console table ’s spirit was winding down . We were knee deeply in a return to the Nintendo 3DS ’ terminal days , with the console table live out quietly as developers saved their big ordnance for Nintendo ’s next system .
Now , I ’m eat my Bible . And I ’m happy to do it .
With expectations at rock bottom , Nintendo come up out swinging for what might be theSwitch ’s last consecrate Direct . The 40 - minute display case caught fans off sentry duty by revealing unexampled Mario and Zelda games , alongside a shocking first look atMetroid Prime 4 : Beyond . While we see a few ports and remasters , Nintendo made it clear-cut that it ’s not going to let its historic console drift off without a bang . It ’s an unusual move , but one that shows how serious Nintendo is about push its impulse these days .
If you miss the show , it ’s worth watching . Nintendo surprised fans correctly out the gate with the reveal ofMario & Luigi : Brothership . While fans may have expected another remaking of a Game Boy Advance classic , Brothershipis really an entirely new RPG sporting a bold new art style . That graphical detail at once place upright out . You do n’t often see companies visually overtake established franchises in the terminal stretchiness of a console ’s life . That tends to be reserved for young platform , give series a fresh start with fresh tech . Brothershipis the kind of evolution I ’d expect to see on Switch 2 . rather , we ’ll be play it this November .
That reveal set the theme for the show , as Nintendo ’s first - political party announcements all had their own tantamount jolt . The Legend of Zelda : echo of Wisdomdoesn’t just give Zelda her starring role for the first clock time ; it does so with a radical raw gameplay hook built around cloning objects . Super Mario Party Jamboreeis the solidification to be the series ’ biggest entry yet , with over 110 minigames , the homecoming of gesture - controlled play , and a 20 - participant online style . It ’s the sort of upgrade that could have been a Switch 2 launching game .
Those title will make for a meddling holiday time of year , but what ’s more surprising is that Nintendo is continuing that impulse into 2025 . We already cognise thatPokémon Legends Z - Awill hit the system next year , but we now know thatMetroid Prime 4 : Beyondis finally come too . The long - delayed Metroid title at long last amaze an impressive reveal trailer to end the show , setting the stage for what could be the Switch ’s last self-aggrandising release . The action - bundle clip looks like it could be the Switch ’s most visually impressive exclusive to appointment , press the system to its limits one last clip ( though I ’m not convinced that the footage we saw was actually run on a Switch ) .
Do n’t wait many gap between those prominent release , either . High - visibility ports likeDonkey Kong Country Returns HD , Fantasian Neo Dimension , andHello Kitty : Island Adventurewill all keep the Switch meddlesome , as willDragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake . At this point , it feels like we ’ve passed the Switch ’s expected letup and come back for its last intimation .
This is the kind of send - off that every console table merit , particularly one with an install base as big as the Switch ’s . It ’s always a shame when a party begins to set up its next console table and stockpiles biz for it , provide players who had invested in the current cabinet eminent and dry . Sometimes they ’ll get thrown one last off-white or two , but you could always find when a company wants you to start saving up for the lustrous young affair . For a while , it looked like Nintendo was doing the same , but I apprize that it ’s ante up off the Switch to its end . It ’ll get one final backlog , giving players a honest reasonableness to wait to purchase theSwitch 2rather than impatiently stimulate into it .
If that was thefinal Switch Direct , it was a send - off for the age .
