Nintendo, in their infinite and impressive wisdom, typically announces a Nintendo Direct one day in advance. This tactic spawns the same reaction every time. It’s like waking up and becoming told that—surprise!—tomorrow is your birthday and you’ll be getting a bunch of presents. You don’t know what those presents are. They could be deeply disappointing. But the thrill of opening them and the hope one of them may be exactly what you wanted makes you excited all day—and possibly unable to sleep that night.
And so it was this morning, when Nintendo announced there will be a Nintendo Direct tomorrow, February 9, 2022, at 5PM ET / 2PM PT. Now that the explosion of pure, childish excitement has died down somewhat, Nintendo heads everywhere are placing their guesses as to what we’ll see tomorrow. As a professional Nintendo head myself, here are my best guesses.
Breath of the Wild 2’s real title
This Nintendo Direct will focus on games releasing in the first half of the year. If the Direct features The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, which is easily Nintendo’s most anticipated title, that means it will probably come out in June. It’s fully possible, since Nintendo promised at 2021’s E3 that BotW2 is coming out this year, but such proximity feels too good to be true. I will probably need to be pinched if Legend of Zelda series project manager/producer Eiji Aonuma graces my television screen tomorrow.
Other than a specific release date, the biggest announcement around Breath of the Wild 2 would be its actual title. We’ve all been using the BotW2 shorthand for lack of a better option, but Nintendo has very, very carefully been calling it “the sequel to Breath of the Wild.” After all, Legend of Zelda subtitles often say a lot about the game’s central mechanic: consider Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, or Majora’s Mask. Is Link venturing into a far-future Skyloft? What kind of time travel shenanigans are happening? What will the subtitle tell us?
One thing I do feel confident about is that if we get the subtitle, we’re also getting the release date. It will likely be all or nothing with our beautiful, free-flowing-haired hero boy.
A new Fire Emblem
I’ve been seeing a lot of whispers about a new Fire Emblem game recently. Nothing’s been confirmed, but enough media people in auspicious positions have said something to the effect of, “Hmmmm, what if we got a new Fire Emblem game this year?” that I’m starting to think we really are getting a new Fire Emblem game this year.
A new Fire Emblem game would be incredibly welcome news. Three Houses came out nearly three years ago—which feels hard to believe, given the game’s incredible replay value. But three years for even just an announcement is starting to get into the longer side of the franchise’s timing between new releases, so a new game is due.
I don’t think I can properly emphasize how much Three Houses rules, which means there’s a lot at stake for whatever Fire Emblem follows it up, whether it’s an entirely new game or a remake. Honestly, now I just want to continue my Edelgard run of Three Houses. Excuse me.
Kirby’s 30th Anniversary Celebration
Nintendo’s been awash in big anniversaries in the last few years. We had Mario’s 30th (in 2015) and Pokémon’s 25th (2021) anniversaries, which were celebrated, and The Legend of Zelda’s 30th anniversary (2016), which was almost completely snubbed (I’m not mad, Nintendo, just disappointed). This year, it’s Kirby’s turn to have a 30th anniversary, and it’s already shaping up to at least outpace Zelda’s.
We know we’re getting Kirby and the Forgotten Land on March 25, which will be Kirby’s first 3D action game. Forgotten Land is being regarded with near-universal thrill among game critics, but Nintendo has hinted there are “various projects” in addition to this lovely new game. What will they be? Reissues of old favorites for the Switch? A Game and Watch hardly anyone will buy?
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 announcement
A prominent Nintendo leaker named Samus Hunter called weeks ago that there would be a 30-40 minute Nintendo Direct in February. They also pointed out a series of convincing evidence which leads to the conclusion that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is nearing completion and could have a 2022 release. They were right on the nose about the Direct; who’s to say they’re not onto something about Xenoblade? After all, the much-beloved Xenoblade Chronicles 2 came out five years ago, in 2017. We’re overdue!
Splatoon 3’s release date
Of everything I’ve mentioned, Splatoon 3‘s release date is perhaps the closest to “guaranteed” we can get. There’s no way this game isn’t coming out in the first half of this year. We’ve already seen some amazing trailers. It feels quite imminent. Prepare yourself for glorious paint fights.
There could be much more. We could hear more about Bayonetta 3, which was officially revived from the dead with a reveal trailer last year, but my guess is that will be a Q4 release. And then there’s Metroid Prime 4, which has been lingering in development hell since its announcement in 2017. We’ll all find out tomorrow, when the Nintendo Direct streams on YouTube and Twitch.
(featured image: Nintendo)
Published: Feb 8, 2022 01:51 pm