Nintendo Direct - February 2022 Roundup

It’s two months into the new year and it’s time for a new Nintendo Direct that’s meant to mainly focus on games and content launching in the first half of the year. Although this is the first big Nintendo Direct where we won’t all be speculating who might be a new character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, there was still plenty of fun stuff to hope for and surprise us.

The first announcement was for Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. Set in the same universe as Fire Emblem: Three Houses, this new title tells a new story and follows in the vein of other Dynasty Warriors-style games such as Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. It’s set to release on June 24th, 2022.

More information was also shared on the Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp. Some exciting additions include voice acting for commanding officers, fast forward gameplay and reset turn options, custom maps, and of course local and online multiplayer. The game will be available on April 8th.

A pretty fun announcement is that Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky will be landing this Summer. As complicated as the game can be, it will be exciting to see how it runs on the Nintendo Switch, especially as this isn’t a cloud version.

I can’t deny this is probably my favorite announcement in the whole direct, and I do like a lot of latter stuff they announced. After nearly 15 years since the last entry, there’s a new Mario Strikers game incoming! Mario Strikers: Battle League does look a bit less gritty than its predecessors, but the aggression is still there as players can tackle, use items, and score more points using special cinematic moves called Hyper Strikes, which score 2 goals.

There’s also a gear system that changes the look of characters and affects gameplay stats. While the game is 5v5, up to eight players can play against each other in 4v4 games. The online mode will also support player-made clubs that can have up to 20 players join. Mario Strikers: Battle League will launch on June 10th.

Splatoon 3 was shown off next, specifically showing off the returning Salmon Run co-op mode from Splatoon 2. It looks as chaotic and definitely sounds as chaotic as one would expect. For now, the game still has a release date of summer 2022.

A remake of Square Enix’s tactical mecha RPG was also announced. FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake is coming this summer. Players will be able to customize their Wanzer mech and cripple their enemies by attacking specific body parts. Seeing as the game came out in 1995, the visuals have also seen a wonderful upgrade for the remake. Fans of the series and newcomers will be able to enjoy this title and look forward to FRONT MISSION 2: Remake that’s set to come to the Nintendo Switch later on in the future.

Disney Speedstorm is a kart racer that features various Disney and Pixar-related characters and tracks. If you’ve ever wanted to race as Mulan against Mickey Mouse on a Pirates of The Caribbean map, consider your dreams come true. What’s intriguing is that the game is F2P with additional characters and tracks being added within seasons over time. Cross-platform play and split-screen have also been confirmed. It will be available this summer.

Next, it was time for some classic games to make their debut on the Switch. First up was Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which is heading for an April 20th release and will support the motion controls from its Wii version. Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection will also be heading to the Nintendo Switch next week on February 17th, bringing along three games and two bonus short films centered around one of if not the most well-received protagonist in the series.

For those that love Gundam and chibi-like characters, SD Gundam Battle Alliance looks to be a fun entry in the SD Gundam franchise. Players can control a team of 3 suits in battle alone or together with friends in online Co-op. I know I can’t wait to take on a super-deformed version of Big Zam when it launches this year.

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is a remaster of the popular Chrono Cross. New players can look forward to experiencing all of the 40+ potential party members and different endings. New and old players alike can also enjoy new features like being able to turn off enemy encounters and the newly enhanced soundtrack. The text-based adventure Radical Dreamers. is also included and will be available on April 7th.

As expected, we did get to see more of Kirby and the Forgotten Land. The focus of this new trailer is the new Mouthful Mode which allows Kirby to inhale everyday objects in addition to enemies. You can turn Kirby into a car, vending machine, scissor lift, or into a giant adorable light bulb. All of the Waddle Dees that Kirby rescues will lead to Waddle Dee Town growing and offering more resources. One of these will be a weapon shop that will upgrade Kirby’s copy abilities. The game will launch next month on March 25th.

Another big surprise is the official announcement that MLB The Show 22 will be the first entry of the popular Baseball series on the Nintendo Switch. As strange as it was to see the series stop being a PlayStation exclusive with the previous game coming out on Xbox consoles, this latest iteration is expanding to even more consoles. The best news is that the game will have cross-progression and cross-platform play. It’s set to release on April 5th.

Game collections were the theme for the next set of games. First was Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece for Cloud which will be available starting February 10th. This collection includes the following games, which will also be available individually:

KINGDOM HEARTS HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX
KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
KINGDOM HEARTS III + Re Mind (DLC)

Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series is another collection for side-scrolling platforming fans to look forward to when it launches on July 8th. It includes Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and its sequel, Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil. Both titles have been remastered with noticeably updated visuals.

The Portal: Companion Collection was another collection announced. Both Portal and Portal 2 will be available later this year, with the local, online, and split-screen multiplayer from the latter game still intact.

The Live A Live RPG finally makes its debut outside of Japan and with remastered pixel graphics. Different storylines follow characters from different eras like the Wild West, Edo Japan, The Present, and the Future. It’s set to release on July 22nd.

A big surprise that people have certainly been wanting for quite a while now was announced next. Nintendo Switch Sports is a new entry and follow up to the famed and popular Wii Sports series. Previous sports such as Tennis, Bowling, and Chambara are joined by Soccer, Badminton, and Volleyball. The game will support local and online play.

A physical leg-strap for a Joy-Con will be included in the physical edition of the game for players to use their legs in the Soccer shootout mode. A free update in the summer will allow whole soccer matches to be played with the leg-strap accessory, while a second free update in Fall will be adding Golf. It will launch on April 29th, 2022, but Nintendo Switch subscribers can try it early in an online playtest from February 18th-20th.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival was announced and will be available later this year. While it does have some fun stuff already with 76 total songs, a four-player mode, and Undertale’s MEGALOVANIA, it will also have a paid in-game subscription service at launch that offers over 500 songs.

A final trailer was shown off for the highly-anticipated Triangle Strategy. A new prologue demo that lasts up to Chapter 3 and can be transferred to the full game is available on the Nintendo eShop now.

While a short trailer for the Cuphead DLC, The Delicious Last Course, was briefly shown, it was easy to miss with it being sandwiched between Triangle Strategy and the sure-to-be exciting news about Metroid Dread receiving free updates. A Rookie Mode that allows Samus to recover more health and a Dread mode that means just one-hit will cause a game over is being added to the latter game today. In April, a second free update will add a Boss Rush mode.

The beloved EarthBound and its predecessor EarthBound Beginnings (a.k.a. Mother) have been added to Nintendo Switch Online’s catalog of games through their Super NES and NES catalogs respectively. Players can download and play the titles now and hopefully convince Nintendo to finally bring Mother 3 outside of Japan.

It was also time for Nintendo to blitz through a montage of games coming out soon. These were:

Zombie Army 4: Dear War – releasing on April 26th
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon – available now
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles – releasing June 10th
Lego Brawls – Releasing June 2022
Two Point Campus – Releasing May 17th

Rumors have been circling about the next entry in the Mario Kart series, especially with whether it would include a focus on other Nintendo characters. Those rumors and theories will have to take a backseat though, as Nintendo has announced paid DLC courses for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

The Booster Course Pass will release six waves containing eight courses each over time until the end of next year. These 48 total courses will all be remastered courses from previous games. The first wave will be available on March 18. The entire Booster Course Pass will cost $24.99, or be available to those with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass subscription.

Ending on a big note for its last announcement, the next entry in the Xenoblade Chronicles series, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, has been announced for a September 2022 launch. It will follow a new cast of characters, chiefly supported by two protagonists. The title is expected to bring together the futures of both worlds of the previous games.

All in all, this was a pretty fun Nintendo Direct. I’m especially happy that Twitter fan art of Rosalina in the Mario Strikers style has manifested a new game and I suppose I’ll finally have to buy Mario Kart 8 Deluxe because it’s certainly never going on sale now. Kirby turning into a car was also something I didn’t know I always wanted to see and I’m downloading the Triangle Strategy demo right as I type this. February already looks like a busy month for gaming, and it seems Nintendo isn’t letting up for the rest of the year.