Danial Norjidi
The first Nintendo Direct presentation of 2022 streamed online on February 9, focussing on upcoming games set to make their way to the Switch console this year.
The showcase kicked off with Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. Launching on June 24 this year, this action-roleplaying game sees the return of Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude and other characters from 2019 strategy role-playing game Fire Emblem: Three Houses as players revisit the war-torn continent of Fódlan and “unleash devastating combos and striking special moves in action-packed, real-time combat”.
Next up was strategy game Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, which arrives on April 8.
“In the first campaign Advance Wars you’ll advise a colourful cast of commanding officers and use their abilities in vibrant turn-based battles. Each commanding officer is now voiced, bringing even more charm to these characters. Another full campaign awaits in Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising. More commanding officers and more diverse terrain can be leveraged for additional tactical opportunities.”
No Man’s Sky is getting ported onto the Nintendo Switch this summer. First launched on PS4 and PC back in August 2016, No Man’s Sky is a sci-fi survival game in which players explore a galaxy filled with unique planets and lifeforms.
Also announced was Mario Strikers: Battle League, which brings its unique take on football to the Switch on June 10. As described on Nintendo’s website, Strike is “a five-on-five, football-like sport with no rules”, where players “try to score the most goals by tackling enemies, using items, and pulling off score-boosting special shots”.
“Super Mario series mainstays like Peach, Toad, and Yoshi put their cleats (and stats) to the pitch and will stop at nothing to score. Customise your characters with gear that can augment their stats and appearance. Take the carnage online or pass the ball to players locally – just look out for the electric fence.”
Multiplayer shooter Splatoon 3, which arrives on Switch this summer, was also featured in the Direct, with a trailer focussed on the next wave of the upcoming title’s co-op mode, Salmon Run.
Next up was Front Mission 1st: Remake. Set for a summer launch on Switch, this strategy role-playing game sees the player engage in tactical turn-based combat using giant mecha called wanzers. It was also announced that Front Mission 2 will be coming to the Switch in
the future.
The presentation then shifted gears with a trailer for Disney Speedstorm, which is described as hero-based combat racing game, set on high-speed circuits inspired by Disney and Pixar worlds. Scheduled for a summer release, the game features a “cast of characters including Captain Jack Sparrow, Mulan, Mickey Mouse, Sulley, the Beast and more”.
Also announced during the presentation were impending arrivals of third-person action game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on April 20; Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection, a compilation of three action adventure games featuring protagonist Ezio Auditore as well as two short films, on February 17; and action role-playing game SD Gundam Battle Alliance,
this year.
Role-playing game fans will be happy to know that Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition has been announced with an April 7 release date.
Originally launched in 1999 on the original PlayStation console, Chrono Cross is described as a role-playing game “that transcends time and space, unfolding across two interlinked parallel worlds. With over 40 party members to meet, people and dimensions will intertwine in this epic drama about the planet itself”.
In this remaster, “The 3D models have been upgraded to HD, new illustrations have added, and all kinds of new features are now included. Additionally, the game that formed the bedrock of the story Radical Dreamers – Le Trésor Interdit is included in this edition.”
3D platforming adventure title Kirby and the Forgotten Land makes its way to Switch on March 25. As the Nintendo website describes, “Float off on an all-new adventure as the powerful puffball, Kirby. Explore in 3D stages as you discover a mysterious world with abandoned structures from a past civilisation.”
Baseball simulation game MLB The Show 22 was then shown with an April 5 release date, followed by action role-playing Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece for Cloud, a compilation of cloud versions of Kingdom Hearts action role-playing games, which is available now.
Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series launches on July 8, bringing a remastered collection two platform games – 1997’s Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and 2001’s Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil.
This year will also see the launch of Portal: Companion Collection, which includes puzzle adventure games Portal and Portal 2.
Role-playing game Live A Live was then shown with a July 22 release date. Previously unreleased outside of Japan, this upcoming title features a “HD-2D style” and seven different stories with different protagonists, time periods and gameplay styles.
Nintendo Switch Sports, a game featuring a collection of sports that use the Switch’s Joy-con controllers for controlled motions, is set to launch on April 29, with an online play test from February 18-20. Also set to arrive on Switch this year is rhythm drumming game Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival.
Triangle Strategy, a strategy role-playing game launching on March 4, was next up, along with the announcement of a new Prologue Demo available now and playable to the end of the game’s third chapter, where save data can be transferred to the full game once purchased.
The presentation then showed additional content for run and gun action game Cuphead, titled The Delicious Last Course, which arrives on June 30, while two free updates were then shown for side-scrolling action adventure title Metroid Dread, one which is available now bringing two new difficulties and another launching in April that brings a boss rush mode.
The presentation continued with the announcement that role-playing games EarthBound and EarthBound Beginnings were being added to Nintendo Switch Online that same day.
This was followed by a montage featuring the following games and their release dates: third-person shooter Zombie Army 4: Dead War, April 26; roguelike action title GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon, available now; action game Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles, June 10; team action brawler title LEGO Brawls, June 2022; and simulation game Two Point Campus on May 17.
The penultimate announcement was of a Booster Course Pass for racing game Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Launching on March 18, the Pass brings with it 48 remastered courses from across the Mario Kart series, where eight courses will be released at a time across six waves by the end of 2023. The pass can be purchased on its own or with no additional cost with the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.
To close out the presentation, the Direct showed a trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 3. In this role-playing game set for release on September 3, “Players will step into the roles of protagonists Noah and Mio amid turmoil between the hostile nations of Keves and Agnus.
Six characters hailing from those nations will take part in a grand tale with ‘life’ as its central theme.”
Players will also get to “explore a new world that will connect the futures of both Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2”.
