The Direct rumours (sort of) came true, and we finally got a Nintendo Direct at the end of June — but wait, what’s this? It’s a “Mini” Direct? What does that mean?
Honestly, we’re not fully sure what it means, but presumably Nintendo was trying to temper our expectations after a bombastic but Nintendo-light E3 Not-E3. Still, it was a jam-packed Direct, with a ton of JRPG news, a sprinkling of indies, and some much-awaited port announcements — but the question is, did you enjoy it? Was there something for everyone? The Nintendo Life team sat down to discuss…
Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer
Wow, how good was that Nintendo Direct?! If that’s meant to be mini, then I’d love to see what Nintendo has up its own sleeve for a full-sized showcase. There were so many cool little surprises and it’s great to see such a wide variety of games making their way to the Switch. One highlight for me is a bit obvious, but I genuinely can’t believe the Persona games are finally coming to the Switch. It felt like it would never happen, but here we are! I’ve never been much of an RPG guy, but Persona is my jam; the presentation, the music, the battle mechanics, the social system, it’s all brilliant!
I’m also thrilled to see Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection get a release on the Switch, though the news that digital copies will be split into two volumes is a bit naff. Undoubtedly, however, the biggest surprise for me was that Return to Monkey Island is coming out later this year – before other consoles, no less! I had a feeling it would eventually come to Switch, but I had no idea it would be so soon. I’m so excited to dive back into that world, and I only hope the first two titles get a release on Switch so newcomers get a chance to catch up on the story.
Alana Hagues, Staff Writer
You know what? That was pretty decent for a “Mini” Direct! A little something for everyone, a few nice surprises – even with the leaks! Sure, there were a lot of ports and remakes, but many of those things were for games that lots of people had been asking for.
I’ve already played NieR: Automata (and bought it twice), and played Persona 3, 4, and 5 in some capacity – Persona 3 Portable will likely be the only one I’ll grab from the trio – but I’m super happy for those who’ll get to experience these phenomenal RPGs for the first time ever.
The one RPG rerelease I may well be diving into is the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection – I’ve never played these games before, and I’m thrilled for fans of that series. And hey, who was surprised about Pac-Man World Re-Pac? And who played that game over and over again as a kid like I did? I wasn’t expecting to see this at all, and with a release date in August? Blimey.
New stuff was a little light, admittedly. Little Noah: Scion of Paradise looks like a totally lovely and chill roguelike, and my favourite game in the Direct – Harvestella – seems like Square Enix’s take on Xenoblade and Rune Factory? I’m a bit of a secret sucker for farming sims, and Rune Factory has never totally clicked for me, so maybe this will be the RPG/farming hybrid?
Overall, though, there wasn’t really a lot for me. But it was snappy, there were lots of little things alongside some bigger announcements, and it was nice just to see how positive everyone was being. It was a jam-packed 25 minutes and I was pretty satisfied.
Gavin Lane, Editor
After a month of feverish speculation, the ‘Mini’ in the title of this Direct felt like a canny bit of misdirection on Nintendo’s part once the presentation had wrapped. The opening four-minutes of Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak was probably the most disappointing thing about it, and only because the expansion is a pretty well-known quantity at this point. It’s launching in a matter of hours.
After that it was a brilliant third-party playlist, banger after banger. NieR:Automata has been on my list to check out for years, and I’m intrigued to see how the Switch port holds up – the promise of 30FPS at full Switch resolution seems ambitious to me, but we’ll see. Blanc looks beautiful, as does Sparks of Hope. Railgrade, a new Doraemon Story of Seasons, a Portal shadow-drop, and Harvestella, loads of full-fat Direct material right there. And then, to top it off, not only the most overdue Switch port ever with Persona 5, but also Persona 4 and 3? I’m not even a fan of the series and I got a massive buzz off that closing announcement.
For me, this Direct was a winner in every sense. It promised small, delivered big, and contained some genuinely delightful surprises that make me want to fire up the Switch immediately. You can’t say fairer than that. Pats on the back all ‘round.
Kate Gray, Staff Writer
I came away from that mini-Direct feeling a bit underwhelmed, but having read everyone else’s reactions, I think I’m just being grumpy. Then again, that’s not entirely my fault — I watched it at an airport, hundreds of miles from home, after having been shunted off my original flight onto a super-delayed one, and, well, the details are not important, I was just running on about 4 hours of sleep.
I watched it again and it’s looking pretty good, actually! I’ve already played Persona 4, so maybe I’ll give Persona 5 a go; I’ve been waiting for Portal 2 on Switch to play it with my partner; and the Doraemon Story of Seasons sequel might be the Story of Seasons game we’ve been waiting for. I’m still not massively impressed with Sonic Frontiers, but let’s be honest, I was never going to play it anyway.
As for the more intriguing new stuff, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes looks great and sounds bonkers; RPG Time miiiight be my kind of thing, but I don’t get on super well with doodle-style aesthetics; I’m hoping that Little Noah: Scion of Paradise will turn out to be an action-platformer successor to the Fantasy Life throne; Dragon Quest Treasures was a bit hard to figure out, but DQ Builders was great so I’m interested all the same; and although farmy-life sim Disney Dreamlight Valley looks a bit design-by-committee to me, it could be special.
Keeping on the farming games theme, how about that Square Enix Harvestella game, eh? I will be calling it “Final Farmtasy”, though.
(Overall, I am still feeling a little underwhelmed, but to be fair, that might just be jetlag.)
Tell us what you enjoyed, what you were less impressed by, and what you think in general of the Mini-Direct in the comments below!