The next few months of Nintendo Switch releases look a lot like the first few years of the 2000s. This afternoon, Nintendo gave us a little sneak peek at the biggest games hitting the platform this spring and summer, and while there are a handful of new titles in there (Monster Hunter Rise, yes, very exciting, very good), thereâs also a lot of âhey, I remember playing that on PS1.â
For example, 1999âs Legend of Mana is back, with lovely art. Capcomâs giving us an "Arcade Stadium," available to buy today, which includes Forgotten Worlds, Bionic Commando, Ghouls n Ghosts, and so on. And jumping forward in time just a bit, weâre getting a re-release of Skyward Sword ⌠and maybe this time theyâve fixed the control scheme so youâre not constantly frustrated by the motion control misunderstanding what you want from it?
Anyway, we can break today's reveals into two categories, âNew Gamesâ and âGames Youâve Already Played.â Iâve picked three of my favorites from each that I think are worthy of your attention.
Of everything coming out on Switch in the next few months, Monster Hunter: Rise is probably the most hotly anticipated. This series is huge huge huge in Japan, and Monster Hunter World landed in a big way in the US, bringing lots more fans into the franchise. I have a writeup over here about whatâs fun about Monster Hunter, but the short version is that itâs like a series of giant boss fights, interspersed with cute little dress-up dolls. In todayâs direct, we got a peek at some new maps (desert and volcano environments) a bunch of new monsters, and a bit more of a glimpse at the new ârampageâ mode in Rise. It looks like itâll be a tower-defense setup, with online multiplayer teams trying to stop monsters charging through gated arenas. Thumbs up all around to that.
Iâm also intrigued by Project Triangle Strategy, and not just because Square Enix has truly outdone themselves in the terrible-naming department. The game comes out in 2022, but theyâve already made a demo available to play, which is nuts; it looks like an extremely pretty tactical RPG â essentially an evolution of Final Fantasy Tactics, you play on a tiered grid with team members taking turns to choose their positions. You know, like chess, but more complicated. Go pick up the demo today; Iâll be absolutely shocked if it isnât fantastic.
The other upcoming game that caught my eye is Splatoon 3, about which we know virtually nothing. It looks like youâll be getting a âLittle Buddyâ â a small customizable lizard â which is enough to get me excited. Nintendo teased new weapons and areas, as youâd expect. This is another one coming in 2022, so no need to get too worked up about it yet.
The infrequent new titles were a bit overshadowed in this Direct by all the games youâve already played. Or, if you want to look at it more generously, games that youâve meant to play and just havenât gotten around to in the last two decades.
I think the game most folks will be excited to see is Fall Guys. Available on various other platforms, itâs finally coming to Switch this summer. Iâm not a huge Fall Guys fan; itâs all a bit too random for me, with a skill ceiling that I just find frustrating. But thatâs not really the point of the game for most players! In the last year, itâs proven an invaluable time-sink for friends who canât get together in person, and I hope it can continue to fill that need now that itâs on an additional platform. No word on whether itâll offer cross-play, so Switch players can play with their friends on PC. (Iâm skeptical that a feature like that will be available at the Switch launch, but you never know.)
Iâm also tickled to see new content coming for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. This time, theyâre dropping new Mario-themed content into the game, starting on March 1. Most of it is just very very very cute, but the true game-changer is the introduction of warp pipes. Theyâre functional! Soon youâll be able to warp around your island without having to drag your adorable ass across half a dozen bridges. Iâm looking forward to seeing the cute innovations that this will make possible. (If youâre looking for inspiration, go follow my favorite Animal Crossing streamer, Mike Cheb.)
Hades is coming to Switch as well, but not just Hades â Nintendo boasted that itâs coming with a âphysical release,â which is a coincidence because thatâs what the game has been providing me since it launched. Dropping March 19, the game will come with a lovely art book featuring pretty prints of the pretty Prince of the Underworld and all his family members. Itâs nothing you couldnât have produced yourself with some high-gloss paper and a color printer, but itâs a nice little fetish object to be able to hold.
And then thereâs Skyward Sword. When this game came out ten years ago, they really wanted to prove that the motion controllers were a vital component of gameplay, so you had to swing the controller to use the sword and poke the air with the joycon to raise your shield. It worked ⌠okay. Not great. When I played, the game always misinterpreted my inputs, making Link seem kinda sorta drunk, waving his arms around in weird ways that didnât fully make sense. With this re-release, theyâve added the option to switch from motion control to button-based control, which⌠thank GOD.
Thereâs a bunch of other games dropping over the next few weeks â almost all re-releases of back-catalog titles â and Iâll have more writeups and recommendations on those as we get closer to street date.
For now, Iâm reminded of the time I was poking around the Oculus store, looking at the games available to play in VR, and rolled my eyes (which made me extremely dizzy inside the headset) when I saw that Myst is available for $30. I feel like Iâve been re-buying that game once a decade since before some of you were born; and while I am happy to see vintage games coming to Switch, I do feel a little twinge of ânot againâ every time I open my wallet for a game I already own on another platform.