Nintendo Direct 3/8/2018 Predictions

[Von Ithipathachai]

I've been waiting for the next Direct to get revealed to make this topic and I'm finally able.

So here are my (rather conservative) predictions for the Direct's content:

Certain:

• Mario Tennis Aces (The Direct announcement explicitly mentions that more of Mario Tennis Aces will be shown off.  But do people even give a crap about Mario sports?)

Very Likely:

• New Chibi-Robo game (Why else would Nintendo go to the trouble of making that image of self-immolating Chibi-Robo if they didn't want to tease a new game?)
• Fire Emblem Switch (It's been far too long since the initial reveal last January for Nintendo to continue keeping quiet about it.  And if Prince of Iris is right, we should see it today.  Now is the perfect time to show us the game!)

Likely:

• Dragon Quest XI port (If what I heard is true, this was meant to show up in the January Direct, but got cut at the last minute.  Maybe now they'll be ready to show it off.)
• Mega Man 11 (I think a good enough amount of time has passed since the initial reveal trailer that they'll be able to show more.  Though, the most I expect to see from another Mega Man 11 trailer would be more of the new Robot Master designs and less in the way of gameplay.)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux (Strange Journey Redux may be among the Direct's 3DS content, as its US release in May is coming relatively soon.)
• Yoshi Switch (They could tell us more about it at E3 where they revealed it last year, but they might be willing to go ahead and show us a bit more beforehand.)
• Kirby: Star Allies (It's very close to release and we've been getting a lot of info about it in the meantime, so I don't know what else they could possibly have to say about it.  But of course they'll figure out something.)
• Some indie game (Nintendo really seems to love these things.)

Unlikely:

• Shin Megami Tensei V (By this point, the game should be in a similar development state to Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE when that was first revealed.  But if Strange Journey Redux is more likely to be talked about, then I doubt we're getting two MegaTen games in one Direct.  We probably won't see more of it until E3, judging from reveal patterns established by the Shin Megami Tensei IV duology.)
• Pokémon Gen 8 (I have a tiny gut feeling that we could see it, but since a mainline Pokémon game on a home console is something major and unprecedented, they could hold off on showing it until E3.)

Very Unlikely:

• Metroid Prime 4 (The teaser generated a ton of excitement, and Metroid ranks among Nintendo's most beloved franchises, so with a new mainline Mario or Zelda unlikely for E3, this will probably be among Nintendo's E3 "big guns".)
• New Super Smash Bros. game (Nintendo has never revealed a new Smash Bros. game in a Direct and I don't think they're going to start anytime soon.  If we do hear more about Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo Switch, it will almost certainly be at E3, where it will generate the most excitement.)

What do you guys think we're going to see?

Edited March 8, 2018 by Von Ithipathachai
Added Pokémon and increased likelihood of FE Switch.

[Florete]

We'll see Fire Emblem. I also expect to see Hyrule Warriors, with some new details and an international release date.

 

6 minutes ago, Von Ithipathachai said:

Nintendo has never revealed a new Smash Bros. game in a Direct

There's no notable precedent for this. Brawl happened before directs were a thing, so the Smash 4 games are the only ones so far that even could have been revealed in a direct. Given the rumors of a Smash 4 port, it certainly could happen. If they want to release it this year, then I do think it will be revealed tomorrow.

[Kazuya]

Pipe Dream predictions:

- Bravely Third

-SMT5 news

-Octopath news

Probably might happen:

-Star Allies

-SMO DLC/Update

-Unexpected random thing

-New 3ds game

-Ports

-Porty ports (ports to switch aren't bad)

 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I'm generally on board with other peoples' predictions. There's just so many things Nintendo needs to talk about regarding 2018.

As for what I'd really like to see, a port of either FF15 or the Kingdom Hearts Remix collections with the promise of a switch port for KH3. Give us the goods, Squeenix! Virtual Console - with either Smash 64 or Melee as part of the initial lineup. And Super Mario Maker 2. 

[Anacybele]

Oh yeah, I forgot about Yoshi Switch! I hope we get more info on that one too.

I don't really know what to predict other than FE Switch and Yoshi Switch though...

Edited March 8, 2018 by Anacybele

[Ycine]

My predictions are that we're going to see some Kirby Star Allies, Yoshi Switch and also some news from Splatoon and Octopath also Nintendo Lab.

My wishes though are solely for Bayonetta 3, No More Heroes 3, FE16 and Metroid Prime 4.

 

[Kahvi]

I'm hoping for at least a teaser for FE Switch but the pessimist in me is expecting to get nothing. I'd also say they would announce something new for Splatoon but since they just released a new map and new weapons, I think not. I'm also hoping to get some news for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 dlc (perhaps something related to Jin, I'd just throw money at my Switch if that were the case).

But I am expecting them to focus on Mario Tennis. They've gotta somehow convince people that this isn't another Ultra Smash (as in, bland). News on Yarn Yoshi seem quite likely as well. Nintendo seems to like indie games, so we'll probably get a sizzle reel for those. Maybe we'll get some surprise announcements too.

[Dandy Druid]

I will be stoked if we see FE Switch.

I will be more stoked if we see some sort of Zelda game (not like BOTW, something small scale. It'll probably be Hyrule Warriors but here's hoping for a LTTP or Link's Awakening remake)

Even more stoked if a new Story of Seasons is announced, and doubly so if Rune Factory 5 is unearthed.

I would cry if they announced remakes of some golden games, such as Radiata Stories.

 

My actual predictions: Mario Tennis, Hyrule Warriors, FE (both Switch and Awakening DLC), Octopath Traveler, some new fresh game off the block, and maybe Yoshi. Smash and Metroid seem like pipe dreams atm. I'm not expecting them until maybe next year.

[Armagon]

My predictions are in this bingo card

Regarding the part about a Wii U game getting a Switch port, i would really love it if one of them was Xenoblade Chronicles X. It's the only Xenoblade game i haven't played and also one of the four Xeno games i haven't played (the other three being the entire Xenosaga Trilogy). Speaking of, i would love it if a Xenosaga Trilogy remake was actually a thing for the Switch but that has less of a chance than Xenoblade Chronicles X getting a Switch port but a man can dream.

Also, i completely forgot about Yoshi so we're probably gonna be seeing it there.

1 hour ago, Dandy Druid said:

Even more stoked if a new Story of Seasons is announced, and doubly so if Rune Factory 5 is unearthed.

You know, this wasn't even on my mind but i'm with you on this. I really enjoyed Rune Factory 4 and i'd love a Rune Factory 5.

[Dinar87]

I'll SCREAM if they reveal Fire Emblem 16!! I'll scream even louder if it's a remake of Path of Radiance, one of my favorite games of all time!

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

You know, this wasn't even on my mind but i'm with you on this. I really enjoyed Rune Factory 4 and i'd love a Rune Factory 5.

The developer Neverland went bankrupt halfway into working on Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven (can't get much more anime harem than that). That puts a serious hinder on there being any more RFs.

I was into Harvest Moon as a kid, so I got into Rune Factory from that. 

I stopped myself from buying RF4 after realizing I hadn’t completed most of the games. I cleared Rune Factory 1 twice, but later sold it because it is unplayable compared to everything that came after it. RF2- I insisted on completing a year in the 1st Generation, which burnt me out at the start of the 2nd Generation, which is the heart of the game. Frontier I completed, but I never fought the optional Kraken and Serpent bosses. RF3- I lost my motivation for some reason around the time of the third boss, and finding out marriage is necessary at the very end of the plot and not quite as justifiable as RF2’s need for marriage, helped kill my will to finish it. Tides of Destiny- made it to the final dungeon, but for some reason stopped there, I don’t know why I did.

Rune Factory, well it was generically anime in some ways, and the plots of 1 and 2 had potential but Frontier's, 3's, and ToD's were all bad and held back by the fact the series lets you play at any pace. The series didn’t give many good reasons to continue playing after the story was over and post-marriage life had nothing to it. Farming never played that significant a role, and combat always seemed rather too simple and easy. The series at times felt like it was very budget- small games from a small company that could have been amazing with more resources but which it stood no chance of ever having. But somehow… I… liked… it.

RF4 never seems to be going down in price either, another barrier to me getting it presently. That and me having become a little too critical nowadays would likely stop me from enjoying the games as much as I did in my more relaxed youth. 

[Armagon]

41 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

The developer Neverland went bankrupt halfway into working on Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven (can't get much more anime harem than that).

That reminds me, i need to finish that game. I stopped at some point near the final boss and i keep meaning to go back to it but the Switch won't let me. It's a decent game, even if the plot is very anime as fuck (actually, i didn't care that much for the plot but the gameplay was fine).

Also, didn't a different developer buy RF after the previous developers went bankrupt? I remember reading something about that.

43 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

The series didn’t give many good reasons to continue playing after the story was over and post-marriage life had nothing to it.

This is true. The last meaningful things i did in RF4 were the post-marriage events. After that, i kinda just stopped. I occasionally go back to it to check it out but yeah, there's pretty much nothing once your done. It's why i can't really get into life-sims in general. RF at least has a story and character events, which give me motivation to keep playing. I've been meaning to start a new playthrough in RF4 to see if my opinion of it still holds up but i never do and, as i've mentioned before, the Switch has taken over. My 3DS is actually collecting dust. I had to wipe it off.

But yeah, as much as i enjoyed RF4, it does feel like it's a one-time game..

 

[Tuvy]

14 hours ago, Von Ithipathachai said:

I've been waiting for the next Direct to get revealed to make this topic and I'm finally able.

So here are my (rather conservative) predictions for the Direct's content:

Certain:

• Mario Tennis Aces (The Direct announcement explicitly mentions that more of Mario Tennis Aces will be shown off.  But do people even give a crap about Mario sports?)

Very Likely:

• New Chibi-Robo game (Why else would Nintendo go to the trouble of making that image of self-immolating Chibi-Robo if they didn't want to tease a new game?)

Likely:

• Dragon Quest XI port (If what I heard is true, this was meant to show up in the January Direct, but got cut at the last minute.  Maybe now they'll be ready to show it off.)
• Mega Man 11 (I think a good enough amount of time has passed since the initial reveal trailer that they'll be able to show more.  Though, the most I expect to see from another Mega Man 11 trailer would be more of the new Robot Master designs and less in the way of gameplay.)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux (Strange Journey Redux may be among the Direct's 3DS content, as its US release in May is coming relatively soon.)
• Fire Emblem Switch (It's been far too long since the initial reveal last January for Nintendo to continue keeping quiet about it.  Now is the perfect time to show us the game!)
• Yoshi Switch (They could tell us more about it at E3 where they revealed it last year, but they might be willing to go ahead and show us a bit more beforehand.)
• Some indie game (Nintendo really seems to love these things.)

Unlikely:

• Kirby: Star Allies (It's very close to release and we've been getting a lot of info about it in the meantime, so I don't know what else they could possibly have to say about it.)
• Shin Megami Tensei V (By this point, the game should be in a similar development state to Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE when that was first revealed.  But if Strange Journey Redux is more likely to be talked about, then I doubt we're getting two MegaTen games in one Direct.  We probably won't see more of it until E3, judging from reveal patterns established by the Shin Megami Tensei IV duology.)

Very Unlikely:

• Metroid Prime 4 (The teaser generated a ton of excitement, and Metroid ranks among Nintendo's most beloved franchises, so with a new mainline Mario or Zelda unlikely for E3, this will probably be among Nintendo's E3 "big guns".)
• New Super Smash Bros. game (Nintendo has never revealed a new Smash Bros. game in a Direct and I don't think they're going to start anytime soon.  If we do hear more about Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo Switch, it will almost certainly be at E3, where it will generate the most excitement.)

What do you guys think we're going to see?

Let me add something

Very Unlikely:

• Valkyria Chronicles 4

[Von Ithipathachai]

Well.  Not only did barely any of my predictions come true, but we got a freaking Smash reveal!

Screw me.

[Dandy Druid]

15 hours ago, Armagon said:

You know, this wasn't even on my mind but i'm with you on this. I really enjoyed Rune Factory 4 and i'd love a Rune Factory 5.

It's a shame they went bankrupt. RF5 was already given the green light and in the early to mid stages of development. I'm still hoping some company like Nintendo just buys the rights to Rune Factory and keep it going. If it had proper marketing backup (like being featured in a Direct!) it would probably appeal to many people and sell well.

12 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

RF4 never seems to be going down in price either, another barrier to me getting it presently. That and me having become a little too critical nowadays would likely stop me from enjoying the games as much as I did in my more relaxed youth. 

I still don't have the game. I didn't know it came out until WAY after the fact due to a mixture of other games coming out + never seeing it ONCE in stores. One of the only games that doesn't depreciate in value.

From what I've heard though, the gameplay is the best of the series so far, and from what I've seen on YouTube, the story is reminiscent of RF1, but I think they had more world building in this one.

My main problem with the game was the bachelorette selection. I'd rather date Linfa than her daughter tbh. At least the bachelors had a decent selection.