Nintendo Direct Unveils Pikmin 4, Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, GoldenEye And Much More
Nintendo Direct streams are used to reveal upcoming games to the company's platforms. These typically consist of rapid-fire teasers, and today was no exception. Today's stream covered more than three dozen game titles. There's certainly a lot for Nintendo Switch owners to look forward to in the coming year.
Nintendo Direct kicked off with a reveal of Fire Emblem Engage. This next entry in the Fire Emblem series is set a thousand years in the future as the bindings used to seal away the Fell Dragon have weakened. Fire Emblem Engage retains the turn-based tactical battle style and features a beautiful, animated art style that blends with 3D environments. It is set for a January 20, 2023 release date.
RPG players will also be delighted by the announcement of Octopath Traveler II. This sequel features eight new travelers, each with their own story to discover. Octopath Traveler II will be available February 24, 2023.
In addition, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is receiving a DLC Volume 2 expansion pass which adds a new hero, Ino, and adds Challenge Battles and new gameplay options. This will kick off next month on October 13th and include four total volumes through the end of 2023.
Nintendo Switch Online will gain several classic Nintendo 64 titles. These include Pilotwings 64, Mario Party 1 through 3, Pokémon Stadium and its sequel, 1080° Snowboarding, and Excitebike 64. In addition, everyone’s favorite
Another title, originally announced way back in 2017, is Bayonetta 3. In this sequel, she is now faced with an invasion of “man-made bioweapons called Homunculi.” Bayonetta joins forces with others from her past to fight for the world. Bayonetta 3 will launch October 28th and has a new trailer available now.
The first headlining announcement of this Nintendo Direct was introduced by “special guest” Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto first teased that it has been 20 years since the Pikmin franchise was introduced before covering Pikmin Bloom. Pikmin Bloom is an AR mobile game introduced last year in a partnership with Niantic, who also developed Pokémon GO. “It makes trips and walking very fun,” explains Miyamoto.
Then, Miyamoto introduced the world to the “main event”—Pikmin 4. The very brief trailer did not reveal any gameplay footage but did showcase its art-style. It uses some tilt-shift effects to provide a sense of miniaturization.
Miyamoto explains that rather than an overhead view as the games have had before, Pikmin 4 will be played from the titular characters’ perspective near the ground. It will feature simpler controls for strategically planning, deploying and commanding the Pikmin which Miyamoto says is called Dandori in Japanese. Pikmin 4 will launch at some point in 2023.
At the end of the Stream, Nintendo dropped another gigantic announcement. The next entry in The Legend Of Zelda franchise will be called Tears of the Kingdom. It appears to follow-on to The Breath of the Wild at least in terms of art-style and gameplay. The teaser does not reveal any particular story beats. Players can expect it to release May 12, 2023 on the Nintendo Switch.
Today’s Nintendo Direct contained many more announcements than we are able to cover in this article. If you would like more information, be sure to watch the Nintendo Direct VOD embedded above. The show starts around 29:30. Which titles are you most excited about?
