Nintendo Direct September: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Bayonetta 3, Pikmin 4 and more
Here's everything you missed from September's Nintendo Direct.
The Nintendo Direct September Showcase begins in less than an hour. You can tune in at 7 a.m. PT / 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST and watch it on YouTube. If you can't make it to the show for whatever reason, we'll be updating this article with everything going on in real-time.
The Nintendo Direct is starting now! Be sure to tune in on YouTube to catch the show. If you can't make it, keep up with our updates to get the latest news.
The Nintendo Direct opened with a first look at a new Fire Emblem game titled Fire Emblem Engage. It seems to be a new entry in the mainline series, featuring the franchise's classic strategic combat. We received a brief cinematic trailer explaining the backstory of the world before being thrown into a gameplay demonstration, showing us exploration, story cutscenes, top-down strategic combat, and one-versus-one battles.
Fire Emblem Engage launches January 20.
It Takes Two is coming to Nintendo Switch is a shockingly blurry port. Not even the trailer could make it look like it'd run good on Switch. It launches November 4.
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is a classic game in the franchise launched for the Wii in Japan, now coming to Switch for the first time next year (and for the first time in the west).
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is getting a new mechanical hero named Ino through its second wave of the expansion pass. It'll also receive new boss fights and outfits.
A number of games coming to Nintendo Switch were shown off in quick succession. These include, Spongebob: The Cosmic Shake, Fist of the North Star (March 2023), Oddballers (a ridiculous six-player party game coming early next year), and Tunic (the critically acclaimed isometric adventure puzzler coming September 27).
Both Front Mission games coming to Nintendo Switch, with a remake of the third are being remade for the Nintendo Switch.
A farming management sim game is coming to Nintendo Switch, which players can fall in love, grow old, have children, raise animals, and grow vegetables. It's called Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life and comes Summer 2023.
Splatoon 3 received a confirmation of its first splat-fest, which will be live between 9/23 5pm to 9/25 5pm. Additionally, more free updates are planned for the game in the future.
Octopath Traveler II was revealed, the sequel to the critically acclaimed pixelized RPG. We got a brief look at all the characters coming to the game and snippets of their story. As always, Octopath's art style is gorgeous and the environments are wonderfully detailed. It launches February 24 next year.
Fae Farm, another farming and life-management simulator/rpg was revealed. It seems to feature a combat system, exploration, house customization, and shifting seasons. It launches exclusively on the Switch in Spring 2023.
A new Theatrhythm is coming to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the series. It's called Theatrhythm Final Bar Line and comes February 16 next year. Players can play locally or online, and the game will come with music from Nier, Octopath Traveler, and more. There's currently over 3,000 songs available in the game.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope received a quick trailer showcasing how players could explore the world through hidden paths and side-quests. Up to 30 Sparks offer unique powers and skills to shift the tide of battle. The game launches on Nintendo Switch October 20.
Rune Factory 3 Special is coming to Nintendo Switch, where players can fish, care for monsters, turn to monsters, and battle monsters. It launches on Nintendo Switch next year, with a new Rune Factory series in development.
Pilot Wings 64, Mario Party, Mario Party 2, Mario Party 3, Pokemon Stadium, Pokemon Stadium 2, 1080 Snowboarding, and Excitebike 64 will be coming to Nintendo Switch Online over the course of the next year. Goldeneye is also coming soon, with online play available, to Nintendo 64 online.
Another batch of upcoming Nintendo Switch games were revealed, including Various Daylife (a fantasy management game coming later today), Factorio (a popular management sim being ported on October 28), Ib (a 2d exploration game with very creepy vibes, launching Spring 2023).
Mario Strikers: Battle League is getting a second update, offering Pauline from Super Mario Odyssey and Diddy Kong. It'll be available sometime this month.
Atelier Ryza 3: The Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key is a JRPG featuring stylish turn-based combat and a gorgeous fantasy world to explore. It's coming February 24, 2023.
Mario Kart 8 is getting its next update soon, featuring Merry Mountain (Mario Kart Tour) and Peach Gardens (Mario Kart DS). We weren't shown much else, but it will be coming this holiday.
Nintendo Switch Sports will be receiving a new free update adding golf, with 21 levels from the Nintendo Wii version being added. Up to eight players can play online, and it's coming this holiday.
Pikmin Bloom is a smartphone game where players can engage in the outside world while walking to plant flowers and encounters Pikmin. It's a Niantic game in the vein of Pokemon Go, so the idea is somewhat similar. It features an AR photo-feature and allows players to feed the little fellas.
We're really hoping Nintendo reveals an actual new Pikmin game, though.
Pikmin 4 was officially revealed, giving us a brief but cute cinematic trailer showcasing a garden. It launches 2023. It won't be receiving gameplay today, but we did get a screenshot of how it would look on the ground.
The latest Just Dance received a brief trailer at the show. Just Dance 2023 Edition is set to feature live-service elements, where the game will be updated throughout its life and will feature a more application-like user interface.
Harvestella, another farming simulator with RPG elements, was revealed at the show. We see a bunch of battle scenes, narrative moments, and exploration. The demo will be up on Nintendo Switch later today, and it's launching November 4.
Bayonetta 3 was given a trailer, showcasing the titular character's battle against man-made monstrosities called Homunculi. We saw a bunch of gameplay and were shown a brief snippet of story moments, it's launching October 28. Pre-orders are available now, and a new gameplay trailer will be launching on the Nintendo channel later today.
Here is the extended, eight-minute gameplay demonstration for Bayonetta 3. Finally!
A new game from the creator of Danganronpa was revealed, showcasing the mix between detective world, city-exploration, choice making, and a strange sort of battle-system. Master Detective Archives: Raincode is the title and it's coming Spring 2023.
Resident Evil: Village is coming to Nintendo Switch through the cloud. It's launching on October 28. The Winter Expansion comes to the game December 2. Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil VII and Resident Evil 3 are also coming to the cloud for Nintendo Switch later this year.
Another bombardment of new games coming to Nintendo Switch was revealed, including Sifu coming today (the martial-arts action brawler).
Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion featuring the story of what happened before the events of the original Final Fantasy VII, launches on Switch December 13.
Radiant Silvergun, a classic bullet hook shooter was revealed to be coming to Nintendo Switch (it's coming later today).
A rogue-lite game set in the Endless universe where players battle in the top down perspective against tons of monsters. It's titled Endless Dungeon and it comes to Switch next year.
Tales of Symphonia Remastered is coming to Nintendo Switch. It's a classic JRPG where players must descend the tower of salvation to save the world. It's coming Early 2023.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe is coming to Nintendo Switch. It's a cutesy, stylized 2D side-scrolling platformer. It features a new mecha-suit that allows Kirby to shoot at enemies from far away. It'll also be adding some new mini-games, seemingly Mario Party-style. It's available February 24 next year.
The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild sequel is officially titled The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and is launching May 12, 2023. Not much was shown in the trailer itself outside of Link jumping off of a floating platform, climbing trees, and soaring through the sky.
