This year's Nintendo Direct featured a varied and wonderfully large number of games - some already known, some brand-spanking-new. If the excitement of the final Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC announcement somehow overwhelmed your memory banks (don't worry, we understand), fear not - we've collected here a list of all the titles that featured in the presentation.
All the titles below are listed in order of release date and, as you can see, the first two are available at the time of writing on Switch eShop so fans of Contra and the Mana series can head there immediately!
Now sit back and allow us to jog your memory...
Collection of Mana (Switch)
What you've got here are two of the finest examples of the genre, accompanied by a third likeable entry which is also well worth a look. When you consider how many titles Konami is packing into its Anniversary Collection packages – and that their retail price is almost half what Square Enix is demanding for the three games included here – it's impossible to not question the value of Collection of Mana. However, there's no denying the fact that Secret of Mana is one of the finest console RPGs of all time, and even though it's readily available elsewhere, playing it on Switch is like wrapping yourself up in a warm and familiar blanket; it's just right somehow. We could argue that Secret of Mana is merely the appetiser for the real star of this collection: Trials of Mana. It's nothing short of a masterpiece and finally getting the chance to play it officially in English is a landmark moment for SNES and RPG fans alike.
Contra Anniversary Collection (Switch eShop)
While it’s a shame that there are fewer games here than in other Konami collections – we’d have loved to have seen NES title Contra Force or the now-extinct WiiWare title Contra ReBirth – the ones included in the Contra Anniversary Collection are universally brilliant. The 8-bit and 16-bit Contra games are among the finest examples of the run ‘n gun genre, and to have almost all of them included in a single release and emulated flawlessly is an absolute treat. Whether you’re a fan of the series or a curious onlooker who’s always wanted to see what the fuss was all about, this is essential.
Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda (Switch eShop)
Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda *breathe* is an excellent game, but is it a Zelda game?
Short answer: Absolutely. Long answer: This wasn't a case of Brace Yourself Games simply swapping out the sprites of Crypt of the NecroDancer with Link and Zelda. This musical take on Hyrule and the top-down Zelda mechanics we all know so well freshened the formula while retaining all the hallmarks you'd expect in a Nintendo-developed Zelda title. You get the exploration, the discovery, the wonder, the items, the dungeons, and — most of all — the music, all shot through with a rhythm-based gameplay twist that takes a while to get used to, but is immensely satisfying once you do. It's also arguably the most replayable Zelda game ever, with each new game juggling the landscape and layout of the kingdom (cleverly playing with the notion of Hyrule's ever-changing geography throughout the series), meaning no playthrough will be quite the same.
It won't click with everyone, and if you're after 80-hour epics, you'll want to look elsewhere. But there are plenty of them already. Having a smaller Hylian experience that feels uniquely fresh and also completely 'Zelda' is a joy.
My Friend Pedro (Switch eShop)
My Friend Pedro is a violent ballet about friendship, imagination, and one man’s struggle to obliterate anyone in his path at the behest of a sentient banana. The strategic use of split aiming, slow motion, and the ol’ stylish window breach create one sensational action sequence after another in an explosive battle through the violent underworld.
Catan (Switch eShop)
One of the most popular board games ever, Catan, is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2019! In Catan, players are challenged to settle and expand their territory through clever trading and construction as tides quickly turn. The goal of this mythic board game is to become the largest colony and dominate the island. Ultimate victory is achieved by out-strategising you opponents.
Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch)
Super Mario Maker 2 took everything you loved about Super Mario Maker and turned it up to 11. It's got more of everything: the Super Mario 3D World style, enemies, gizmos, powerups, vertical levels, the Story Mode having an actual story, multiplayer, and more (and slopes, of course). The list of additions is truly massive.
There are a few small issues here and there — the online is still hilariously obtuse in a way only Nintendo could make it, and the slight awkwardness of button-based building is disappointing after how natural it felt on the Wii U GamePad — but they're overwhelmingly dwarfed by the sheer joy and unbridled freedom on offer. Free updates and tweaks to the formula evolved the experience over time, much like the original, with Ninji Speedruns and various new elements added to this expansive Mario toybox.
Stranger Things 3: The Game (Switch eShop)
Developed and published by BonusXP in collaboration with Netflix, Stranger Things 3: The Game is the official companion game to Season 3 of the hit original series. This adventure game blends a distinctively retro 16-bit art style with modern gameplay mechanics to deliver nostalgic fun with a fresh new twist. Fans will be able to experience their favorite show through a mix of exploration, puzzles, and combat.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 (Switch)
It takes a surprising amount of effort to beat Minecraft at its own game, but we’d argue that Dragon Quest Builders 2 in many ways surpasses its inspiration in fun factor and replayability. The melding of JRPG conventions with the open-ended and creatively focused sentiments of sandbox gameplay proves to go over much smoother than you’d expect, especially now that Square Enix seems to know what it’s doing with this sub-series. Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a much more confident game than its predecessor, boldly expanding on its concepts, fixing many of its flaws, and providing an overall more robust adventure experience that fans won’t want to miss out on. Charming characters, a well-tuned gameplay loop, and near endless replayability ensure that you’ll be coming back to this one for quite some time, and though the performance issues are disappointing, we’d still highly recommend you pick up Dragon Quest Builders 2.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (Switch)
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order isn’t a groundbreaking, narrative-heavy reinterpretation of the comic characters you know and love, but then again neither were the first two games. In that regard, it’s a very faithful sequel that mines the vast roster of characters from the comics while including plenty of nods to the current state of the more modern Marvel Cinematic Universe. While it doesn’t do anything particularly new or outstanding, it embraces the brainless fun of its brawler combat with gusto, and it’s at its absolute best when played with a team of player-controlled supers.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)
As soon as Switch launched it seemed like the perfect console for Fire Emblem. Portability and strategy games are a marriage made in heaven, but being able to throw the battle on the big screen in HD gives Three Houses a scope that wasn't possible on the diminutive 3DS.
Three Houses added new strings to the series' bow, though, with the Garegg Mach Monastery providing a Hogwarts-style academy to explore and enjoy as you build those ever-important relationships with your characters from the Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and Golden Deer. It's clearer than ever before that the key to the franchise is its ability to evoke feeling for your units through canny writing and charismatic characters; Three Houses created the perfect environment to foster and develop the students in your chosen house. Indeed, the huge number of options open to you, not to mention the alternatives closed off with each choice you make, might make Three Houses an intimidating prospect, but it excels in forging a vital and worthwhile experience whichever house you pick or route you take. And you don't need to buy another game to go back and travel the road not taken. Take that, Fates!
And if that's still not enough for you, there's always DLC. Did somebody say four houses?
Wolfenstein: Youngblood (Switch)
Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a brand-new co-op adventure from award-winning studio MachineGames, developers of the critically-acclaimed Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, in partnership with Arkane Studios Lyon. Play as one of BJ Blazkowicz’s twin daughters and undertake a do-or-die mission to find their missing father in 1980s Paris. Wield an arsenal of new weapons, gadgets, and power armor abilities in a fight to kick Nazis out of the city of lights.
Astral Chain (Switch)
With its amazing visuals, fantastic presentation, varied gameplay and deep, rewarding combat, Astral Chain is one of PlatinumGames' most accomplished titles. It mixes detective work with exhilarating battle sequences that are inventive, challenging and – perhaps most importantly – breathtakingly cool. The complexity of the game's myriad systems may prove intimidating for some players, but the inclusion of a co-op play and the ability to automate many of the mechanics via the 'Unchained' mode means that even complete newcomers can still enjoy the ride. Astral Chain isn't just one of the Switch's stand-out hits, it's one of Platinum's best video games.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy (Switch)
Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a wonderful love letter to a classic series, keeping everything that made the original games what they were, but slapping on a fresh coat of paint for the HD era. There are a few creaking bones showing their age here and there, but only due to the developers’ desire to keep things as accurate as possible. The Switch version looks absolutely stunning and runs surprisingly well, so if you’re looking for a classic 3D platforming experience, you should definitely give this a look-in.
The Sinking City (Switch eShop)
The Sinking City is an action/investigation game set in an open world inspired by the universe of H.P. Lovecraft. In this new type of adventure, you take on the role of Charles W. Reed, an investigator in the 1920s United States. No sooner have you arrived in Oakmont, Massachusetts, than you are led to investigate a mysterious flood inundating the city, in the hopes of shedding light on the darkness that has seized the place and corrupted the minds of the inhabitants - and yours...
Comments 37
Amazing! Nintendo Switch is getting better and better every Month! It’s unstoppable!
Nintendo has murdered my budget.
Not sure my wallet can handle this either.
It's hard to keep up with so many interesting releases every month (or week) both in terms of money and time.
It just couldn't be better! (Yes, it always could, but you know what I mean)
So many games that I'm looking forward to! Let's count em up...
Mario Maker 2
Luigi's Mansion 3
Animal Crossing
Crash Team Racing
Witcher 3
Spyro
My Friend Pedro
Wolfenstein Youngblood (on both PS4 and Switch)
DOOM Eternal (also on both platforms)
Breath of the Wild 2
Contra Collection (which I already got!)
Resident Evil 5 and 6 (not very popular, but I'm happy to get to try them)
I will consider these games :
1. Animal Crossing New Horizons
2. Luigi Mansion 3
3. Pokemon Sword
4. Super Lucky's Tale
5. Trials of Mana
6. Super Mario Maker 2
7. Dragon Quest Builders 2
And some haven't bought yet Switch games such as :
1. Crash Bandicoot NSane Trilogy
2. Captain Toad
3. LABO toy Cons 03
4. Super Mario Party
5. Little Friends : Dogs and Cats
6. Earthlock
7. 99 Vidas
etc.
These are the games I'm interested in, sorted by general interest and actual hype:
Hypelist
1. Fire Emblem Three Houses
2. Pokémon Sword/Shield
3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
4. No More Heroes 3
5. Hollow Knight: Silksong
General interest list:
1. Ni no Kuni
2. The Witcher 3
3. Trials of Mana
4. Astral Chain
5. Animal Crossing
6. Dauntless
7. Spyro Reignited Trilogy
8. Luigi's Mansion 3
Usually I have like 2-3 games from E3 that I like. This is insane lol.
Nintendo officially owns my gaming budget for the next few months. September is gonna be
when I declare bankruptcyamazing.I'm surprised they haven't shown off Crash Team Racing, considering that's coming out next week.
Swutch only game that will be a day one buy for me this year:
Mario maker 2
Marvel Alliance 3
Fire Elmblem three houses
Luigi's Mansion 3
Maybe astral chains if i got time
Pokemon sword baby!!!!!! And it will drag me all the way to animal crossing which will drag me all the way to breath of the wild 2 lol
Well better than before I guess. Luigi mansion and Hollow Knight: Silksong can fill a slot at some point. So far Pre-orders/100% buying
Jun:
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
July:
Fire Emblem
August:
Oninaki
Astral Chains
September:
???
October:
???
NOV:
Sword And Shield
DEC:
???
September is going to be rough... on my wallet!
Animal Crossing, both the DQ games, Luigi Mansion 3, Fire Emblem Three Houses and Pokemon are my most anticipated games for the next 365 days.
Edit: Forgot Super Mario Maker 2. My kids are excited for that one.
I want Ni No Kuni and Trials of Mana. Those look amazing.
Dead by daylight, have had a lot of fun with this on pc, suprised in a way that it's coming to the Switch.
That's a lot of games. Most of which I know. Much better than those weekly eShop lists.
@Agramonte Thanks for the calendar. Zelda is September 20. (Edit) MUA3 is July 19. Not 1st party but an exclusive, gotta treat those very few and far between exclusives right. Luigi should be October for Halloween, they probably didn't date it yet b/c it isn't done yet but surely that is their goal. Witcher 3 needs a date, which si an old port and not 1st party but if I were Ntineod I'd give it a wide birth. Same for Doom Eternal.
So between August 30 and September 27 we’re getting Astral Chain, Spyro Collection, Ni No Kuni, Dragons Quest XI S, Links Awakening and Daemon X Machina? Not to mention Gears 5.
Right kids, September is Beans on Toast month! Yaaaaay!
Wait, wait, Mario Maker 2, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Wolfenstein Youngblood and Fire Emblem are within 4 weeks of each other?!
Has their planning just completely fallen apart after a couple of delays?!
@Agramonte You know what, let me just fill that in for ya a bit.
And I know you were looking at 1st party, but Nintneod does need to give some 3rd party rooms some space, no reason to kill those potential sales.
Jun:
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
SMM2 6/28
July:
DQB2 7/12
MUA3 7/19
Fire Emblem
Wolfenstien 7/26
August:
Oninaki
Astral Chains
September:
Spryo 9/3
DxM 9/13
NNK 9/20
Zelda LA 9/20
DQXIS 9/27
October:
PROBABLE LM3
NOV:
Mario & Sonic Tokyo 2020 Olympics 11/11
Sword And Shield 11/15
DOOM Eternal 11/22
DEC:
???
@rjejr well, I use Metacritic to keep track. Also the Mrs has a general idea the month I am going crazy on the spending - so not a surprise 😁
Switch
https://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/release-date/coming-soon/switch/date
PS4
https://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/release-date/coming-soon/ps4/date
@electrolite77 I think after 10 years of Wii and Wii U home console games going it alone Nintneod forgot how to spread about 3rd party support. The list does fill in quite nicely.
@Agramonte I pretty much only use NL or Google things myself. Of course it's easier for me I don't want all that much, and neither do my kids at the moment. Though looking at that list, hmm
@rjejr 👉 (🤔)
Jun:
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (100% SWITCH)
SMM2 6/28 (Cool, but Not My Thing)
July:
DQB2 7/12 (Cool, but Not My Thing)
MUA3 7/19 (got Spider Man at $20 - I'll wait also)
Fire Emblem (Pre-order)
Wolfenstien 7/26 (Pre-order - PC)
August:
Oninaki (100% buying on Switch)
Astral Chains (pre-order)
September:
Spryo 9/3 (Cool, But also skipped on PS4)
DxM 9/13 (waiting on reviews, lots of them)
NNK 9/20 (Finished it. Do not replay RPGs)
Zelda LA 9/20 (ZBOTW/Twilight Princess more "my zelda")
DQXIS 9/27 (GREAT GAME!. but Finished it like NNK)
October:
PROBABLE LM3 (I would love that!)
NOV:
Mario & Sonic Tokyo 2020 Olympics 11/11 (Gift for my Niece 😃)
Sword And Shield 11/15 (Pre-order)
DOOM Eternal 11/22 (Pre-Order - PC)
DEC:
This was an insane week. Witcher 3 and Ni no Kuni, Alien Isolation and The Sinking City, RE 5 and 6 and the Mana collection, BotW sequel announced and Astral Chain starting to feel like Platinum's take on Shin Megami Tensei vibes... looks like Switch eShop will remain my primary shopping place for months and months to come. And getting such a Direct on the same day as a new Frozen 2 trailer was a borderline overkill.
Im sad shin megami tensei 5 still hasn't made an appearance but their presentation was the best along with square imo.
@Agramonte Wow, I'm still trying to figure out the dates and you got it all figured out.
The only ones I know for sure are SSM2 for my son's and Luigi whenever he releases, unless it's December then it's under the tree. MUA3 releases the day before my birthday so it might be a fun family game that weekend, my wife never knows what to get me, otherwise I'd wait on a sale as well. It is a Switch exclusive so that sale may take awhile. Most of the rest I've played or own on PS4 oe earlier systems, so not for me, but it is nice to see so many games. I also need to see some game play for God's & Monsters, preferably be fire it releases in Feb. My family has no interest in AC. Though I do have 9 AC amiibo adorning my shelves, they were cute.
This would've been a much better E3 if more of the upcoming Switch games ran at 60fps!!! There's an enormous number of crappy 30fps games on their way. I admit I'm thrilled about BotW 2, and it is among the 30 fps games, but way too many of these should be smoothly clicking along at 60fps! I count about 13 or 14 major releases that appear to target 30fps, which sucks badly. Only about 4 seem to target 60fps!!! Mario Maker 2, Collection of Mana, Contra Anniversary Collection, and Cadence of Hyrule seem to all be 60fps. Well, we can strike 3 off the list because they're already out! So, one game that is coming out in the future is 60fps, and everything else is unknown or appears to be choppy. And they overwhelmingly appear to be targeting 30fps, not unknown. It even appears that the 2D pixel art mode in Dragon Quest 11 S is running at 30fps. That's freaking horrible! Spyro, Daemon x machina, no no Kuni, dragon quest, super Lucky's tale, Witcher 3, dragon quest builders 2, Doom eternal, Wolfenstein Young blood, marvel 3, fire emblem, astral Chain, and Trials of Mana all appear to be 30fps games. This sucks! I wish TV's only went up to 600p!
0_o I must have missed something, because nowhere do I recall seeing anything about a psychotic man taking orders from a murderous banana.
Contra is the main surprise for me, and a definite purchase. Panzer Dragoon has some interest, and obviously Animal Crossing looks great. No doubt it was delayed until 20 March 2020 so the game's in-game season is spring, leading into summer. Who wants to camp during dreary winter, as would be the case for the original late 2019 tentative release? Mario & Sonic Olympics looks surprisingly quite good. Just as long as it waggling isn't compulsory. The new Zelda BOTW is so far into the distant future (likely March 2022) that the "in development" announcement was pointless. There's always a Zelda in development. They release one, start another. That's how it works. The fact Nintendo felt obliged to make such an announcement highlights the weakness for big news in this Direct, especially regarding big games to be released this year.
Honestly a real solid showing of games coming to Switch.
No real need to pay attention to PS4 or Xbone. Not for me anyway.
Not everything I wanted or expected, but that never happens. lol
Yes, Nintendo had a solid direct, and no one can deny that.
@60frames-please Obviously, 60 fps is important to you. It's your screen name after all. Maybe you'd be more satisfied with a PC, as that's the only way to have your games be consistently at 60 fps. You can even do BoTW at 60 fps on PC. Just make sure you buy a legit copy first. The Switch is basically a six inch tablet. Dedicated consoles struggle to hit those frame rates. The Switch doesn't run games horribly. Your expectations are just too high for what Switch actually is. It runs games great for those who don't mind sacrificing power for convince. These are the concessions necessary to run portable versions of console experiences. Ocarina of Time on N64 had a very low fps. It was still enjoyed by millions. It looks like you setting yourself up for disappointment.
@HexagonSun I hear you. Everything you said makes sense. I also enjoyed the N64. I can't enjoy N64 games today though, unless they're improved. Well, F-Zero is fine, but everything else should be boosted massively in frame rate and at least modestly in resolution. GameCube was awesome in comparison. So many games ran at 60 fps on that system!
I'm not even using my PC, which I originally bought used to play games, for gaming. My PC can run many games at 60fps, but it's just a clunky energy hog. I love the versatility of the Switch as well as it's form. It's practically the only game system I play. I love that there are hundreds of games on Switch that run at 60fps, and wish there were more. I understand that AAA games from the current generation won't run at 60fps on Switch, but it would be nice if they did! Nintendo has a pretty good record of releasing games at 60fps, or trying to (I've heard Mario Sunshine ran mostly at 60fps, but they couldn't optimize it perfectly so they settled for 30). Recently we've gotten Darksiders, Yoshi's Crafted World, Super Mario Bros U Deluxe, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Tetris 99, Cuphead, and Labo VR all running at 60fps. After watching a bunch of E3 footage it looks like hardly anything coming out in the second half of 2019 is going to run smoothly at 60fps. I'm just bummed about that. I wish Luigi's Mansion 3, Astral Chain, Pokemon, Daemon X Machina, and Dragon Quest Builders 2 ran at 60fps. I'm holding out hope that Link's Awakening, Animal Crossing, Panzer Dragoon, Minecraft Dungeons, and No More Heroes 3 will run at 60fps. We'll see...
@60frames-please I'm really glad framerate isn't something I really notice, unless something is running sluggishly. Before the updates, BoTW was slightly bothersome. It sounds like you could use a Switch Pro. Hopefully performance improves for older switch games. This is just the beginning of hybrid consoles really being a thing. I'm sure they'll get to a place where most everything runs smoothly. We're definitely getting to a point where each new console generation has diminishing returns for the increase in power.
@rjejr Well, some of them I had already made up my mind when first announced. "MUA3 Family Birthday Bash weekend" sounds awesome 👍
"my wife never knows what to get me"
HAHAHAHA!, She always complains I buy everything I want long before Birthday/Christmas/Hanukkah shows up!
So now, she just always gets me my PS+ renew and a game from my list for the following year. Only keeping Cyberpunk 2077 free to "help her decide" 😉
@Agramonte "She always complains I buy everything I want long before "
Yeah, I get that too. Sometimes I'll not want anything in July and buy something for myself in Sept and she'll be like "Ok, there's your birthday gift." Apparently for Father's Day she got me a cordless hedge trimmer. 😂
@HexagonSun Yeah, I went to Korok forest recently and it's horrible! That's the only place they haven't fixed the frame rate. Since I only play docked with my smart TV dejuddering the 30fps up to 60fps it ends up looking like the game is going from 60fps down to 20 or 25fps. A Switch Pro would be awesome. Yeah, but if they keep increasing he resolution of TVs we'll never get smooth frame rates... Aside from NES and SNES, the best generation was the GameCube/PS2/Xbox one. Almost every single NES and SNES game runs at 60fps, or targets it and has some slowdown. NES, SNES, Genesis, and TurboGrafx 16 are the best systems based on graphics in my opinion. So far, the GameCube and PS2 generation is the best in terms of 3D graphics. With the low resolution TVs of that era they could get many games running at 60fps. I wish we could get rid of 4K and 8K TVs! I have played Wipeout Omega Collection at 4K and 60fps. It's great, but hardly any games reach that smoothness, so I'd rather trash all resolutions above 1080p and keep games smooth. Maybe in 20 years we could move up to 4K.
My wallet hurts, seems that Nintendo owns my gaming budget for the rest of the year now, and probably into next year. I've preordered Mario Maker 2, Luigi's Mansion 3, Astral Chain, Daemon X Machina, Fire Emblem Three Houses, and Legend of Zelda Links Awakening, and that's all coming out this year still! I'll probably pick up Pokemon this year still too. I'll be preordering games coming out next year when the release dates are a little closer.
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