Generally, I don’t follow Nintendo Direct events very closely, but that’s more of a personal flaw than an organizational problem on the company’s part (which maintains its solid “February-June-September” schedule). However, the latest Direct made too much noise to ignore: On one hand, we have a new Zelda game in which Zelda is effectively the protagonist, and on the other, Metroid Prime 4 returns from the shadows to provide a minimal dose of gameplay.
In its latest financial report, Nintendo not only confirmed the announcement of the Switch 2 before April 2025, but also hinted at the broadcast of a new Nintendo Direct in June. That event was held yesterday, and it’s true that it left several new things on the table. The new Super Mario Party Jamboree promises faster and more intense family fights than a game of Monopoly, the Mario & Luigi franchise will receive an original game after a nine-year pause, and then we find several re-releases, with Donkey Kong Country Returns, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, and Ace Attorney Investigations. Still… the stars of the latest Direct were the ladies: Zelda and Samus.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
It’s about time! Finally, Link becomes a “knight in distress”, and the only one who can rescue him is Zelda. Now, if we imagine the princess dealing sword blows, we’ll be disappointed: In addition to reversing roles in Echoes of Wisdom, Nintendo decided to introduce a new gameplay mechanic based on “echoes”. In other words, Zelda is a goddess of the “duplicate glitch”, creating clones of different objects “and” enemies to advance in her quest, reunite with Link, and save Hyrule. Available from September 26.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Okay, it’s been... (searches the Web)... yes, seven years! Nintendo first announced Metroid Prime 4 at E3 2017, first under development by Bandai Namco, and then with the return of Retro Studios, creator of the franchise. This reset wasn’t something Nintendo took lightly, but it talked about unmet standards at the time, and Prime 4 became a stain... until now. The gameplay feels like Prime, with good flow, and Sylux’s appearance at the end is pure hype. Unfortunately, Nintendo didn’t share the date, and only told us “2025”. I imagine the next generation of Switch already has its first game here...
