9/14/23 Direct announced

[vanguard333]

37 minutes ago, Punished Dayni said:

Any particular genre?

For a Princess Zelda game? A few different genres could work, but I suppose an action-adventure game with far less emphasis on exploration and a lot more on puzzle-solving would be ideal. Since Zelda usually has powerful magic, the game could have her rely on magic for puzzle-solving & exploration rather than the many dungeon items Link has to carry.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

1 hour ago, Hrothgar777 said:

Right. When you say "full Direct", did that mean the June direct was shorter than normal?

No, the June Direct was a "full Direct". Usually, there are only three a year, and I'd expect the next to be in February 2024. However, we may still get a Direct mini - or a major non-Direct announcement - before that time.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

Here I am, ready with my clown makeup for that Genealogy of the Holy War remake announcement.

[Fabulously Olivier]

So Peach is now Kirby. No, I don't apologize for that mental image.

[Saint Rubenio]

Well, I got my wish already.

I was about to say "of course her weapon is a silly ribbon, God forbid we give Peach a cool weapon", then they threw Swordpeach at me. The transformation thing looks absolutely awesome, I can't wait to hear more about how it works.

[Fabulously Olivier]

I legit thought Unicorn Overlord was FF Tactics Remake until the title dropped. But it has my full attention.

[Zanarkin]

Paper Mario Thousand year door is getting released 😮

 

I was so excited when I saw that. I still have to see the rest of the nintendo direct, but that was good.

Also, anyone know where peachette comes from? I understand its some mix between toadette and peach, but it is a strange addition to MKD8

Edited September 14, 2023 by Zanarkin

[Punished Dayni]

Well, we have another one. Will it be any good?

Spoiler

We start with a cold open onto Splatoon 3, so I'm going to just ignore this very sterile looking environs and skelefish. But it's apparently a tower-style mode for the game? It's out next year. Next up is Mario and DK minis, Oh boy people will be pissed at this. It's a remake of the old one too? Yeah, people will be miffed. Co-op will not fix that people weren't fond of Mario Vs. DK. It's out in February. Then we get the next Prince of Persia and it's apparent it's taken a bunch of ideas from other 2D platformers here, guess we'll see if it works out when it comes out. It's out January 18th. Next is a montage of racing games with Horizon Chase 2 (Out today, has 4-player), Super Crazy Rhythm Castle (Not a racing game, I'm foolish, it's a rhythm puzzle game with Konami music, it's out next month? I missed it), SpyxAnya (A game based in SpyxFamily where you play the kid just living life, out next year). Then we get Super Mario RPG, which has an overview of how the game works (Perfect hits hit all enemies? Really?), the Triple move is tied to the new metre and of course is tied to party comp and a full roster of boss rematches, with no change to the date.

Next we wake up to an old man on a boat and this announces the Another Code remake that I know someone hinted at. It's 3D exploring of the island and puzzles that look like they would have worked on DS and we see a bit of how the game looks. Honestly, this seems alright to me visually and both come out together. It's out 19th January. Seeing some of the other footage I must rescind my compliments. Next we see the Peach game where they go to a theatre and someone causes a scene and Peach has to resolve the wrecked play. Ribbons and outfit changes are apparently essential for this. She gets a Musketeer outfit that I anticipate will get art (Minds out of the gutter!). Wait, there's more than the one show? And Peach Holmes? Okay, there's a bunch of issues in the place and you face each one with a preset outfit? A little oh well, but I'm probably being stupid. It's Princess Peach Showtime!, out 22nd March. We get a new SaGa game called Emerald Beyond, which is not what I anticipated to be honest. The game pushes playing a bunch of times over and over again and well I don't think I'm interested with this one. It's out some point next year. Then there's Tomb Raider 1-3 getting a remaster (Lara's breasts aren't triangles 0/10- Oh wait the original style's an option) It's out 14th February (That sounds like a terrible present). Then we get a Detective Pikachu 2 overview. It looks like it'll play like the first one again, but it's 2.5D and with other Pokemon able to help out? I mean, it could be worse there and it's still out 6th October. WE GET TROMBONE CHAMP. How does this even work on Switch? It's got gyro and IR as options, but it not having mods will be a shame. It's out today too!

Next up is Battle Crush, a 10 team moba? out next Spring and the arenas collapse over time? Wartales is an RPG where you command a force to do tasks and it's a timed exclusive out today. Then we get a Contra Remake out next year, which is such a weird pick but at least Wayforward are the devs so it's probably at worst meh (And has 4-player). Then we get a game that looks like FFT to me if it was Vanillaware before the gameplay pushes it more in the latter direction. There's a lot here I should have been listening too and I'm sure there's a lot to cover. Unicorn Overlord is confirmed to be out 8th March and is indeed Vanillaware. Then we get Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, going over how the game works that I think I'll not worry about. It's out in the Summer (WHY tell us about it then?). Then we get 2 announcements. The first is a bit of Mario music playing over a question block, which reveals it's a Nintendo Museum informercial, which of course. And release dates for the TotK and XBC3 amiibo, along with Sora (Took long enough, but still next year). Let's move on. Then we get F-Zero. Is it time? Its a BATTLE ROYALE AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I mean, this can work, fair is fair, but I think we all know GX would have been preferred if you just took a style. They do an overview of how this'll work and it's confirmed to be out today. Poor F-Zero and DK fans, getting debatable crumbs.

Next is Bandle Tale, which is an isometric adventure game focused on stitching the world back together after it got blown up by a party. It's another LoL title out next year. Alongside another one which is a 3D platformer, but Song of Nunu is out 1st November. Next up is Warioware Move It!, which is another one of these but the motion is dealing with joycons and we'll have to see if that holds up. It's out 3rd November. Next up is Eiyuden Chronicles, which it's about time we heard from. It confirms who are the main protags, the 3D esque background and the power of friendship. And a release date at last, 23rd April. Eastward: Octopia is next, going into farmsim for this RPG? It's also standalone in game? Wargroove 2 is next with a Mouse faction, hyper powers, extended campaign editors and it's an exclusive out 5th October! Jeez. Next is Dave the Diver, which is about diving in a dangerous sea to get seafood for his restaurant at night, out 26th October. It has a demo. We get the last Mario Kart 8 DLC news, including Funky and Diddy Kong along with Pauline and Peachette. Oh boy. Next is Among Us news. Oh no. We see a fungus infect the ship we see before it blows up. Turns out it's a new map for the game out in October. We get a montage with some games mentioned before (Most of them) and others like SV DLC or Pikmin 1+2 just thrown in, before the lat announcement. This has more Mario but in a book, only for the book to open up and it's Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door getting a port (They listened to the mobs), with new music that it might not have needed honestly from what I've heard. There's also bonus Bowser platforming in it I guess? I can see why people are fans from the footage in fairness. It's confirmed for next year, nothing else.

TL;DR: So Mario fans be eating a lot today. Some pleasant surprises in the strategy genre though (Seriously, Wargroove 2, Unicorn Overlord and Eiyuden Chronicles all in one is pretty solid offerings), I'll admit I expected SV wave 2 to get promoted here but it didn't really, SaGa getting a new title is also surprising. The amount of remakes in this one don't quieten down the idea that the next console is on the horizon imo either and fewer ports from other consoles kinda says the time is nigh to me.

[Sire]

Unicorn Overlord and Eiyuden Chronicles caught my attention.
-- Unicorn Overlord being Vanillaware and reminding me of Ogre Battle is a Day One purchase for me.
-- Eiyudne Chronicles just looks interesting and I want to look into it more.

Although, after the initial interest wore off, I am puzzled with the decision to remake Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
-- Remaking Super Mario RPG makes sense as that was on the SNES (despite its somewhat timeless aesthetic). Paper Mario: TTYD was a Gamecube title and I think still holds up to modern day due to its style. Unless new stuff is added, I'm not sure if I'll pick it up as I can just play the original instead.

Other titles of personal interest...
-- Warioware: Move It! (I enjoy the Warioware games, although I don't really get the chance to play them.)
-- Luigi's Mansion 2 HD (Never got to play 2, so having an HD version more easily accessible is nice.)
-- Contra: Operation Galuga (It's Contra, although I myself never played any of the games.)
-- Splatoon 3: Side Order (I don't own Splatoon 3, but I did enjoy my time with Splatoon 1 and 2. Perhaps one day I'll pick up 3...)
-- Saga: Emerald Beyond (Seems like an interesting RPG, but I don't know if what was shown is enough to get me to buy it.)

Edited September 14, 2023 by Sire

[Punished Dayni]

Oh, we got an RPG that was made by the Moon devs that seems to by continuing down that road exclusive to Japan by the looks of it. (Also Hatsune Miku Fit Boxing, shh)

22 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

I legit thought Unicorn Overlord was FF Tactics Remake until the title dropped. But it has my full attention.

I jumped to that too, but I mean this looks like a lot itself.

33 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

I was about to say "of course her weapon is a silly ribbon, God forbid we give Peach a cool weapon", then they threw Swordpeach at me. The transformation thing looks absolutely awesome, I can't wait to hear more about how it works.

Musketeer Peach was not what I expected, but neat.

13 hours ago, Fire Emblem Fan said:

Here I am, ready with my clown makeup for that Genealogy of the Holy War remake announcement.

Me too!

13 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

For a Princess Zelda game? A few different genres could work, but I suppose an action-adventure game with far less emphasis on exploration and a lot more on puzzle-solving would be ideal. Since Zelda usually has powerful magic, the game could have her rely on magic for puzzle-solving & exploration rather than the many dungeon items Link has to carry.

All good, you saying this makes me think what could be the equivalent gimmick to the Oracle titles for her to be dealing with regularly?

1 minute ago, Sire said:

-- Remaking Super Mario RPG makes sense as that was on the SNES (despite its somewhat timeless aesthetic). Paper Mario: TTYD was a Gamecube title and I think still holds up to modern day due to its style. Unless new stuff is added, I'm not sure if I'll pick it up as I can just play the original instead.

We saw some Bowser platforming in it, but I couldn't say what else could be.

[Florete]

That's a lotta remakes and remasters. Hardly any actually new games.

[vanguard333]

Well, I correctly predicted more info on the Super Mario RPG remake, and nothing else. 

I was hoping to see a Fire Emblem remake; instead, I saw multiple JRPGs that looked kind-of like Fire Emblem, with kingdoms and wars and the heroes wearing blue while antagonists wear red. Does that count?

A Splatoon 3 expansion seems really obvious in hindsight; I'm surprised I didn't predict that. I'm sure people who play Splatoon will probably enjoy the expansion.

Neat that we saw more about the Princess Peach game. I probably won't be playing it, but it does look neat. Also, I do like that she seems to be left-handed in this game; it's a small thing, but it's always nice to see Nintendo remember that left-handed people exist.

I am not an F-Zero fan, but, when it showed the original F-Zero game, part of me did wonder if it meant that they were making a new game. I don't know if actual F-Zero fans are angry that the 'new' game is just the original game remade for battle royale, delighted that Nintendo at least remembered F-Zero, or both. I'm genuinely curious as to which it is.

 

...I could not believe my eyes when I saw that final announcement; Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, remastered for the Nintendo Switch. I have never played a Paper Mario game, but I know the series' history and how Thousand-Year Door is considered to be the best one, and how the most recent games in the series aren't JRPGs, unlike the first two games. Between this and the Super Mario RPG remake, this is a real chance for fans who miss the Mario JRPGs to show Nintendo that these are the games they want. As for me, I have played Bug Fables and I enjoyed it a lot, and I will probably get the Mario RPG remake, but I'm not sure about Thousand-Year Door; mainly because there's already a lot on my plate.

7 minutes ago, Sire said:

Although, after the initial interest wore off, I am puzzled with the decision to remake Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
-- Remaking Super Mario RPG makes sense as that was on the SNES (despite its somewhat timeless aesthetic). Paper Mario: TTYD was a GameCube title and I think still holds up to modern day due to its style. Unless new stuff is added, I'm not sure if I'll pick it up as I can just play the original instead.

I imagine the decision is mostly to gauge audience interest in the old Mario JRPG titles by seeing how well the two games sell.

Plus, as you said, Thousand-Year Door was a GameCube title, and, like most acclaimed GameCube titles, it undersold, and used copies are worth a lot today to the point where the Switch remaster will be a bargain by comparison. Seriously; I just did a quick search and immediately saw four TTYD copies, each priced at over $100.

 

11 minutes ago, Punished Dayni said:

All good, you saying this makes me think what could be the equivalent gimmick to the Oracle titles for her to be dealing with regularly?

Yeah; something like the Oracle games, with one central magical gimmick and then some other useful spells, would be a neat idea for a Princess Zelda game, especially if were like Oracle of Ages, as that game was most focused on puzzle-solving where Oracle of Seasons was most focused on action.

[Punished Dayni]

I missed Trombone Champ having Local multiplayer.

Game of the decade folks, calling it now.

31 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

Yeah; something like the Oracle games, with one central magical gimmick and then some other useful spells, would be a neat idea for a Princess Zelda game, especially if were like Oracle of Ages, as that game was most focused on puzzle-solving where Oracle of Seasons was most focused on action.

That's just it, what would replace seasons or jumping between two times?

[Zanarkin]

54 minutes ago, Punished Dayni said:

We saw some Bowser platforming in it, but I couldn't say what else could be.

Those sections were part of the original game

[Fabulously Olivier]

So to sum up my thoughts:

 

If you're a Mario fan, this is as much of a god-tier direct as the Fire Emblem Direct of 2017 was for us. Probably more so, honestly, because none of those Mario games is an awful mobile game, and no one is concerned about the roster of a Mario game (probably).

 

If you're not a major Mario fan, it was probably a trash tier direct. Most of the best games showcased were those we very much knew about already. 

 

For my personal part:

 

Unicorn Overlord looks great.

Eiyuden Chronicle will probably be one of the best games of next year (but we already knew about it)

SaGa isn't the ugliest JRPG franchise in the world for once, so maybe it will be interesting.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Fabulously Olivier

[vanguard333]

38 minutes ago, Punished Dayni said:

That's just it, what would replace seasons or jumping between two times?

Good question; I honestly don't know.

 

18 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

Unicorn Overlord looks great.

Eiyuden Chronicle will probably be one of the best games of next year (but we already knew about it)

Yeah; Unicorn Overlord does look neat. That said, it's a bit weird that they advertised it as "The rebirth of tactical fantasy RPGs"; tactical fantasy RPGs never died; they're arguably more popular than ever before. The closest they came to dying occurred when Fire Emblem was at risk of being cancelled, back in the early 2010s.

I didn't know about Elyuden Chronicle; the direct was the first time I heard of it. What is it? Is it brand new or part of an established franchise?

Edited September 14, 2023 by vanguard333

[Punished Dayni]

Apparently Wartales has gotten great critical reception from those who've played it, so that's another strategy title to look at again because I didn't take it in during the direct. Farm Sims got replace by strategy titles this time for sure.

Just now, Zanarkin said:

Those sections were part of the original game

See, I'd know that if I played it before, I assumed you didn't control Bowser in it at all.

2 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

I didn't know about Elyuden Chronicle; the direct was the first time I heard of it. What is it? Is it brand new or part of an established franchise?

From what I recall it's something of a homage to Suikoden I/II and it's looked solid over the years but only now do we actually get a date for it.

[Fabulously Olivier]

9 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

Good question; I honestly don't know.

 

Yeah; Unicorn Overlord does look neat. That said, it's a bit weird that they advertised it as "The rebirth of tactical fantasy RPGs"; tactical fantasy RPGs never died; they're arguably more popular than ever before. The closest they came to dying occurred when Fire Emblem was at risk of being cancelled, back in the early 2010s.

I didn't know about Elyuden Chronicle; the direct was the first time I heard of it. What is it? Is it brand new or part of an established franchise?

I'd argue that tactical RPGs DID very much die, and FE was the last major holdout, until it also revitalized the genre and we started getting a bunch of them over the last few years. So it's not a bad tag line - it's a very late tag line.

 

Eiyuden Chronicles is a crowdfunded spiritual successor to Suikoden.

[Hrothgar777]

Welp. Monkey saw no action, neuron was not activated. Back to coping bitterly.

[vanguard333]

27 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

I'd argue that tactical RPGs DID very much die, and FE was the last major holdout, until it also revitalized the genre and we started getting a bunch of them over the last few years. So it's not a bad tag line - it's a very late tag line.

 

Eiyuden Chronicles is a crowdfunded spiritual successor to Suikoden.

I suppose; you do have a point. I would just argue that a very late tagline is still a bad tagline in this case, as the rebirth of the genre has already happened.

 

I see. What's Suikoden?

Edited September 14, 2023 by vanguard333

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

A few thoughts:

Gotta love that Nintendo themselves forget the subtitle "Dark Moon" on the Luigi's Mansion sequel. Still, neat to see the whole series become playable on Switch.

Princess Peach: Showtime actually looks really impressive. Swordfighter Peach has got me feeling a way. The "stageplay" design theme is welcome, hearkening back to either SMB3 or TTYD, take your pick. Speaking of which...

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door on Switch. What a development! It shows that "new" and "old" Paper Mario can effectively coexist. As someone who owns the Gamecube original, I'm both delighted to see this port happen... and unsure whether I will pick it up. If nothing new is added, I will most likely pass up on it.

I haven't played the original Wargroove, but nice to see that it's getting a sequel. Looked like a great game, modeling itself off of FE and Advanced Wars.

Not into Amiibo myself, but the Sora Amiibo is swell news for those who are. Glad to see he's climbed his way out of the Disney Vault.

Another Code sounds really interesting, as someone who has enjoyed Ace Attorney and Uchikoshi's games. Oh, wait, I still need to play the aI sequel. And Great Ace Attorney. And Ghost Trick. Huh.

F-Zero 99 is surely what fans have spent two decades waiting for. But really, it looks like some good fun.

Unicorn Overlord looks... so busy. There is just so much happening on the screen at any given time. There's likely a good game there, but I'm not sure it's one I could handle, personally.

Glad to be wrong about any sort of "Switch 2" announcement here. While it could technically happen in October - 7 years after the Switch was announced - I'm not expecting any announcement until next year.

[Fabulously Olivier]

26 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

I suppose; you do have a point. I would just argue that a very late tagline is still a bad tagline in this case, as the rebirth of the genre has already happened.

 

I see. What's Suikoden?

Suikoden was a PS2-era JRPG loosely based on Water Margin. Published by Konami. It was known for having a LOT of playable characters, and you could view the modern day Trails series as scratching that itch.

[lenticular]

My usual standard for Directs is "if there's at least one game that actually excites me, then it's a good Direct". By that standard, this was a great Direct for me, with a full three games that excite me. (Not that I actually watched the Direct itself, but picking out interesting looking trailers afterwards.)

First, there's Unicorn Overlord. Of my big three, this is the one I'm least sure of. The trailer didn't really give me a good impression for how it will play, but it's a fantasy trpg and I do like unicorns, so it at least has my interest.

Princess Peach: Showdown looks like a lot of fun. The aesthetic and general vibes seem great and right up my alley. Gameplay looks like it's going to be on the easier side and keep things fresh by changing up the play-style a lot. I'm totally here for it.

And then there's F-Zero 99 which I have actually specifically asked for. Less than two months ago. Definitely going to be trying to make some time to play that asap (even though I will suck at it).

[Interdimensional Observer]

3 hours ago, Punished Dayni said:

I jumped to that too, but I mean this looks like a lot itself.

I could tell right away this was Vanillaware, the aesthetic is unmistakeable. Unicorn Overlord is a must-buy for me.😄

Vanillaware has some experience in Strategy games with GrimGrimoire (need to start this tomorrow), and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (although it's primarily a Visual Novel). Though nothing like what looks to be on display here, which might have some Ogre Battle inspiration???

Vanillaware has done medieval fantasy plenty before as well- Odin Sphere, Grand Knights History, Dragon's Crown. If you prefer feudal Japanese, Muramasa: The Demon Blade covers that.

In terms of narrative capabilities...

• Vanillaware has done story-lite gameplay-heavy games as in Dragon's Crown and Grand Knights History.
• They've also gone story-focused as with 13 Sentinels, most players seem to have been astounded by the sci-fi plot.
• Odin Sphere aims for operatic grandiosity at times -it was originally going to be The Ring Cycle as a video game. Although it's closer to a balance of narrative and beat 'em up gameplay. Muramasa is lighter on the story than OS, but still tries to have one, and Muramasa's story has some nice Japanese stylings in it.

Odin Sphere, Muramasa, and 13 Sentinels are all character-focused perspective-wise. Five heroes on individualized journeys in OS, two in Mura + four DLC short-story characters in the Vita port, and 13 Sentinels has... thirteen sentinels. The stories are fairly separate (though certainly not entirely) in Muramasa, they're a bit more interconnected in OS, and 13S has story-interweaving all the time. Unicorn Overlord may be Vanillaware's first attempt at a strong, single constant-perspective story.

Just saying all this to provide an idea of how up-to-the task Vanillaware may be for creating a medieval SRPG that satisfies in every way.🙂

And, 

not the first time they've drawn a unicorn either. Just a mid-boss, a kind of soldier in the fairy kingdom's army.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Interdimensional Observer

[Fabulously Olivier]

So, I do find myself a little baffled at Koei, because they've really missed a trick on their Nintendo Warriors games.

 

Another licensed game on the Switch with sequel potential for the next console just makes sense. Xenoblade would be cool, sure, but you couldn't really follow it up well until the next Xeno game. But something like Pokemon you could basically keep going forever. Double dipping with one huge success on the Switch and another huge success on the next console. Seems like a missed opportunity.