Overall, not a bad showing, standard of what one expects from Nintendo late in a console's lifespan. A lot of videogames were highlighted in the presentation that appeal to almost everyone, so I'd say it was pretty good. You're probably not going to play everything, but there are likely two or three titles that grabbed your interest.
Here are a few quick notes of pros and cons. This is just off the top of my head, so don't consider it the "official critic's analysis" of Nintendo Direct:
- Tekken characters added to Super Smash Brothers is very nice and seems to fit into that universe very well. I think it's a better fit than the Virtua Fighter cast, that's for sure.
- Worms Rumble surprised me a little. It appears to be more of a SSB clone than the old style. But since there have already been a hundred games in this franchise that are all exactly the same, any change is welcome.
- Sega was hit or miss. Two Point Campus is worth a look and is at least original, instead of yet another Yakuza or Sonic sequel. On the downside, do we really need another Super Monkey Ball? I guess it's fine for fans of Wii-style motion controls, but the whole premise has been played out eons ago. But is this the best Sega could do on Switch? They're sitting on a gold mine of a hundred franchise classics that are collecting dust.
Once again with feeling: Bring. Back. Megamix.
- Mario Party Superstars looks pretty good and seems to make a few changes. That said, didn't we already have another Mario Party not too long ago? I'm assuming all the games in this series are big sellers, because Nintendo just keeps cranking out more. Same goes for Mario Golf.
- Just Dance continues to keep rolling, and Ubisoft has that magic formula where they can just keep cranking out pop hits forever and make a ton of money. As always, everything depends on the song selection, so if you like the songs you're hearing on the radio or the Spotify or the Sputnik or whatever, here ya go. And at least you can continue to play the older songs via the subscription service. Yeah, this franchise is going to outlive us all.
- Nice to finally see Wario Ware show up. These are always fun. Far too short and too easy, but always lots of fun.
- Cruis'n Blast looks awesome and one I will definitely pick up. I love classic arcade games, and Eugene Jarvis is the Francis Ford Coppola of videogames. I'll play anything he puts out just because of Defender and Robotron. And the Switch is desperately in need of good arcade racing games.
- Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 & 2 is going to be awesome. I haven't played it on Sony & MS, but I'm going to assume it will rock and I'll pick it up on day one. I really should just plug in my Dreamcast and play these some more.
- Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp is the big surprise for me. I'm a huge fan of this series, and Nintendo wisely picked the best entries in the series (no, the Nintendo DS sequels just weren't as good). While I kinda prefer the original pixel art design, the new art style is terrific and promises to be a ton of fun. All I ask--all that I have ever asked of this franchise--is that Nintendo allows me to upload player maps and share with other players online. And give me more than three save slots this time!
- Zelda Skyward Sword HD looks nice, although I just picked up the Wii original and probably won't double dip on the Switch remake. It is nice to see the motion controls are being preserved, as well as the option of playing with buttons. That should keep all the fans happy and hopefully will give this game the attention it deserved the first time around.
- Zelda Game + Watch looks really good. I wasn't expecting three full games in the series, plus a host of extras. This is going to be a massively profitable hit, isn't it?
- Metroid Dread is interesting. We probably shouldn't be surprised to see it arrive, as Metroid Fusion was developed alongside Metroid Prime all those years ago. I'm assuming Yoshio Sakamoto is still "in charge" of the franchise, despite completely running it into the ground with the atrociously dreadful Other M, and that this project was offered as a peace offering in order that Retro Studios could work on Prime 4.
Note how this game is billed as "Metroid 5." The Retro series just doesn't count in Sakamoto's book, which is just petty churlishness. But what do I know? I still think the best "3D Metroid" is Powerslave on Sega Saturn, so that's what my opinion is worth.
I hope this will be good, but if there are any stupid movie scenes where Samus Aran acts like a baby-obsessed 12-year-old with daddy issues, no dice. I'll walk out.
- Nintendo has this tradition where a Legend of Zelda game closes out a game system, which suggests that if Breath of the Wild 2 is released next year, that's when they'll reveal their next home console. Whether it's simply a "Switch Pro" or something else entirely is hard to say. But critics who refer to the "Nintendo Checklist" will be betting on the latter. Personally, I'm hoping for the former because I'm honestly sick and tired of having to buy new videogame consoles. There's really no need at this point, especially where Nintendo is concerned.
