As per tradition, this month of February brought us a new Nintendo Direct. Nintendo Directs are semi-annual live streams home to announcements about new games, DLCs (downloadable content), and expansions to Nintendo’s classic gaming library. 

We’re blasting off into the year with an announcement of Pikmin 4! Featuring new mechanics, a new protagonist, and a doggo buddy, Pikmin 4 is a welcomed addition to the Switch system. 

“Hey, Listen!” After years of waiting, Nintendo finally announced more information regarding the much-anticipated sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In the last direct, Nintendo finally confirmed a release date for the sequel, which goes by the name The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. “I’m so happy there’s finally a release date, and it’s the day the capstone starts too, I’m so excited,” senior Aastha Sharma states. The game is planned to be released on May 12th, 2023. 

Hold on to your splat rollers because new Splatoon info is INKOMING. Nintendo also dropped some fresh and splatastic info about a new Splatoon paid DLC. Wave 1 of the DLC features characters and locations from the original Wii U Splatoon. Wave 2, titled ‘Side Order,’ was teased as a mysterious new adventure for the squid kids to embark on. These DLCs are planned to be released sometime during the spring of 2023. 

Mario Kart 8 drifts into this year’s direct with the announcement of a brand new DLC. While the previous Mario Kart 8 DLC provided us with some fan-favorite courses from previous Mario Kart games and a few new additions, this DLC provides us with a brand new course “Yoshi’s Island” along with a recurring character “Birdo.” While that may seem like a wrap for Mario Kart, there is always more to come.

Shake your maracas and get your groove on with the new upcoming dancing-based rhythm game, called Shake It, Amigo! Fight upbeat opponents while dancing to high-energy songs. See if you can beat them and show off your dancing skills. Shake it, Amigo! Is to be released this summer.

Even with all the new content Nintendo is releasing, they haven’t forgotten about their past. Metroid Prime, a 2002 GameCube Classic and first-person shooter, is getting remastered and being released on February 22nd. Through the Nintendo Online subscription, a select few GameBoy games were just added to Nintendo’s emulation software. For even more games, players can purchase the Nintendo Online + Expansion Pass to gain access to their GameBoy Advance library.

Along with all those headliner games, some smaller games were announced too.  Overall, the Direct has been receiving positive feedback. “It’s definitely the best direct they had within the last 2 years,” states junior Jack Brodsky, a classic Nintendo gamer. Seems like Nintendo is making great strides to help support the future of gaming. 

For more information on these announcements, head to Nintendo’s Official website.