So that rumored 2/13 direct turned out to be true. This direct should set the tone for the year, while also making the spring a little more clear for consumers. Well, did this direct hit the nail on the head, or did it smash its thumb with a mighty thud? Let’s break everything down here.
Mario Maker 2
We open the show with the much rumored Mario Maker 2. We got to see some new art styles and music, but not much else. It is a nice addition, and the fact that is coming in June is a huge plus. The trailer left us wondering exactly how we are going to build levels, but one can assume we will just go back and forth from building and playing in handheld mode. We hope to see more on this game as we get closer to June, possibly in its own Direct in May.
Grade: B+
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: Black Order
MUA3 is one of those games that has us intrigued, but with caution. The initial trailer looked a bit like a mobile game, which had us worried. Luckily this trailer/gameplay video quelled some of those fears as the game looks vibrant and looks to run smoothly. They showcased Captain Marvel (for obvious reasons) which makes us wonder if this is going to skew towards the MCU characters much like Marvel vs Capcom Infinite did. The Jury is still out on this one, but we firmly implant this in the “excited for” camp.
Grade: B
Welcome back, Box Boy
Next up we welcome back the lovable square, Box Boy. Making his way on the Switch for his debut has Box Boy teaming up with Box Girl. This puzzle game looks challenging and cute as heck. It is always good to see indies get love on directs.
Grade: B
Super Smash Bros Ultimate Joker Updates
Joker is a much welcomed addition to the Smash roster, but I couldn’t help but feel like this direct could have done without this. This little update could have been a tweet or part of a larger direct focusing on the next slew of changes and DLC additions for the game in a month or two. They also did not provide a real release date for the character, just an “end of April” time. This portion just didn’t really do anything for me.
Grade: C-
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Free Update
Captain Toad gets co-op added in this fresh new update for the Nintendo Switch version. This looks like a fun way to play Captain Toad, and it is available RIGHT NOW! The second part of this is that there will be paid DLC also available right now that adds 18 new challenges. More Captain Toad is fine by me!
Grade: B-
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Update
This is one of those games that I would rather just not see anything else about until release. This info dump only confirmed that sentiment. While the game looks really pretty, did we need this update to confirm the hype? We didn’t even get a release date! “Summer 2019” is about as good as every other “release window” we have been given that never happened. It just felt like an update to remind everybody that the game really is happening. We know. Just finish it.
Grade: D
Dragon Quest Builders 2
Dragon Quest Builders is not my jam, per say, but this game does look pretty good. The visuals looks crisp and fluid, they seem to have added some co-operative play, and lots of quality of life improvements seem to be on the way too. The best part of this trailer is that we have an actual release date of July 12th, 2019. So it appears the summer is starting to look mighty packed for Nintendo Switch.
Grade: B+
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition
This started us off on a JRPG journey here for the next portion of the direct. This game looks gorgeous running on Switch. They also run down the many changes to this “definitive” edition that are exclusive to Switch. The game will allow us to switch between HD graphics and a 16-bit SNES inspired style, battles sped up, and even new character specific story-lines to play through (as if this game needed MORE content). I let the PS4 version slip by me, but I don’t think I will have an excuse this time. This game looks incredible and this bit of the direct sold me on it.
Grade: A
Disney Tsum Tsum Festival
Well…this at least looks cute. I could see my 3 year old loving to watch me play this one. Outside of that, there really was no reason to show the audience watching this direct this game.
Grade: D
Starlink: Ubisoft JUST MAKE A STAR FOX GAME ALREADY
This segment made me realize that there really is no good reason why Ubisoft can’t just make a true Star Fox game. They add the rest of the Star Fox crew to the mix with custom missions, and the ability to replay the original Fox missions in Starlink proper. They also teased an Arwing racing mode to come later on, as well. Seeing those characters again got me all tingly.
Grade: A
Rune Factory 4 Port & Rune Factory 5 in Development.
Climb aboard the JRPG train! Here we get a rundown of some Rune Factory news. I know nothing of this franchise, but it does look cute. The remaster of Rune Factory 4 called Rune Factory 4 Special is coming to Switch “later this year” so who really knows when that will be. Our guess is September or later, based on the ambiguity. They close out this segment with some hype over Rune Factory 5 being in development, but no information beyond that. I suppose this is excellent news for fans of the franchise, but this segment did little to convince me I should give it a go, personally.
Grade: D+
Oninaki
Next stop on the JRPG train: Square Enix’s Oninaki. This Action RPG looks pretty, but in that upscaled PS3 game way. Traveling between the living world and the afterlife seems to be the theme here, but we have seen that done a few times now. The lost souls you rescue on your journey become allies in battle. This system seems like a mix between Persona and Ni No Kuni, but I would like to see more information on it before getting too excited. Another summer 2019 release here, too. Man…Switch is going to smash the summer lull this year LOUDLY.
Grade: B
Yoshi’s Crafted World
By this point in the direct (about 17:00 in) I forgot we were waiting on a Yoshi game this year. I feel like Yoshi should have been at the top of the show, since we are supposed to get the game pretty soon. They show some cute gameplay here and announce a demo out now. Nothing to write home about here, but the game looks really polished.
Grade: C
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
I don’t even know where to start with this one. I will be the first to tell you that I am not the audience for this game, as I have not delved into the series, but I do love a good JRPG/Tactical RPG. I went into this one really hoping to be sold on it, but this info drop had me scratching my head and having more questions. It appears to be a school simulator in the FE universe…but nothing much beyond that was shown. You choose one of three houses to represent in their school. Is there a story we are training these student for? A quest? A hero with amnesia? I don’t really know. They set the tone nicely in this trailer, but I really just don’t know what the game is trying to do at this point. This pretty sizable info drop left me really confused. Worst part is they announced a delay to July for the game. While I liked the transparency – this segment just fell flat for me.
Grade: C+
Tetris 99
File this one under “wait…what?” For months now the joke has been “what are they going to make Tetris: Battle Royale?!” well apparently the answer is YES! Battle 99 other players, throwing garbage at each other until there is only one of you left standing! Best part is that it was available right away. These are always the best announcements and the hype was REAL here, folks.
Grade: A+
Dead by Daylight
Well this came out of the blue. Dead by Daylight is coming to the Switch. It looks like a PSP game, here, which won’t do much to convert PC or console players to pick up this version.
Grade: F
Deltarune Episode 1
Undertale is great. Deltarune looks great. This was a nice way to wash that horrid taste out of our mouths from the Dead by Daylight abomination.
Grade: A
Daemon X Machina
Next we get the producer of Daemon X Machina, Kenichiro Tsukada to talk about releasing a limited time demo out now. It looks like they are going to take player feedback very seriously here as they continue the development. This game looks smooth and very Armored Core inspired, which is fine by me. He ends with saying the game “should be out this summer”, which is a weird way to end things.
Grade: C+
GRID Autosport
Summer 2019 is jam packed and now you can add “realistic racing” to that list. With games like Forza out there, this game just looks below average at best. Luckily there isn’t much competition out there on Switch, so racing fans will probably pick it up. It looks feature rich, but it is hard to think of a great reason to own this if racing isn’t your genre of choice. Lucky for us this segment was less than a minute, saving us from slamming our heads on the desk.
Grade: C-
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Mortal Kombat 11, Unraveled 2, Assassins Creed III Remastered
So here we get a quick hit of four games coming to Switch this spring.
Hellblade is a critically acclaimed game from Ninja Theory with deep themes. The game coming to Switch is a much welcomed surprise and is an excellent addition to the catalog. Mortal Kombat we already knew about, so this seemed like a weird thing to jam in here. Unraveled is a fun title and a welcomed addition to the indies. We already knew Assassin’s Creed III was coming and I still don’t know why it is. It is one of the weaker in the franchise, though upgrades to game-play are welcomed changes to the Switch version
Grade: C
Final Fantasy VII & Chocobo Mystery Dungeon Coming | IX out now!
We knew these titles were coming too, but IX being out now is really cool. $20 for it is a little less cool, but this segment did remind me of how great these three games are. Super cool to take them on the go again, too. Overall I think all of these could have been tweets, rather than fluff in this direct. We are already a half hour in. This wrapped the “Headlines” portion of the direct.
Grade: D
Astral Chain
Look…I am a sucker for action games. Nothing excited me more than jumping around and slicing and dicing my way to victory. Astral Chain had my attention from the start and the fact that it is a new IP from Platinum Games essentially sealed the deal. This game is FULL of style and that patented combat that we have grown to love from Platinum. The game is pretty deep in development too, coming on August 30th.
Grade: A-
Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Well this got my juices flowing as the “one more thing” of this direct. A shot for shot remake of the opening of the original, Nintendo do a masterful job showing this one off. While the art direction has been a hot topic around the internet, the fact that this gem is being remade from the ground up is amazing. I instantly booted up the OG on the Gameboy (which I never played by the way). Since playing games like Blossom Tales on my Switch, I have been craving a 2d Zelda on the go. This was an excellent way to end the direct. 2019 is looking to be an excellent year for Nintendo.
Grade: A+
Overall, the pacing was good here. There was some bloat that wasn’t needed, but it didn’t feel too long, even at 37:00. Nintendo keeps getting better at keeping secretes and is doing a great job at keeping us excited for the year. Spring and Summer is all but spoken for now for Nintendo, I cannot wait to see what the rest of the year holds.
Overall: B+
