Another Nintendo Direct is behind us. This Direct wasn't perfect, but it brought several concrete and welcome news. We got a good overview of what awaits us on the Switch 2, a few interesting third-party ports, a bit of JRPG madness, some FromSoftware fog, a splash of Splatoon color, a touch of Star Fox nostalgia, and one announcement that, at least for me, completely stole the presentation. Below are the games we liked the most!
Orbitals looks like a pleasant surprise
Orbitals immediately caught my eye. It is an intergalactic co-op adventure for two players, with a retro anime aesthetic and an emphasis on cooperation. It sounds like one of those games that can either be a lovely little thing or a chaotic test of friendship after which you never talk to the person you played with again. Presentation-wise, it looks very charming. It has that morning cartoon vibe, nostalgia, and good fun, and that's enough for me to add it to my wishlist.
Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave finally has a clearer shape
We also got a new look at Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave. As far as we know, this is a new entry in the series, a new story, and a new context, but the feel of modern Fire Emblem is there: big drama, characters that seem to carry too much personal tragedy, tactical battles, and of course, the inevitable possibility of getting too emotionally attached to someone who can die because we made one stupid move.
I love when Fire Emblem strikes a good balance between strategy and soap opera. Three Houses was particularly strong in this regard because you really felt like you were living with those characters, getting to know them, and then life, war, and writers with questionable moral intentions throw them into a blender. Fortune’s Weave so far seems to be targeting that audience, just with a bit more production splendor on the Switch 2.
If the battles are meaty enough, and the characters good enough to make me spend 12 minutes again thinking about whether to move someone one space left or right, we have a potentially strong title.
Lies of P Complete Edition – Pinocchio sowing chaos
Lies of P on the Switch 2? Yes, please. Personally, this is one of my favorite soulslikes. It has great style and atmosphere, and combat that can be brutal without constantly hating yourself, and it’s still a game where Pinocchio walks through gothic chaos and tears everything apart, which is a sentence that civilization probably shouldn't have produced, but here we are.
The Complete Edition includes the base game and the Overture DLC, which is great news. The only remaining question is the price. I hope they won't slap a full price on it as if the game just came out on a golden puppet thread. Although, I reluctantly admit, I would probably pay for it again. My financial responsibility is deceased, once again.
Xenoblade Genesis – anime JRPG to lose hours, weeks, months
Xenoblade Genesis was also showcased, and honestly, there's no need to philosophize too much: big worlds, overly dramatic characters, huge sentences about fate, life, gods, swords, memories, and three more concepts that I probably won't understand until 40 hours of gameplay pass. So, Xenoblade.
Additionally, it's interesting that the entire Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy is coming to Switch 2 editions, which is a good thing for people who missed the series. Those games deserve better technical performance, a more stable framerate, better resolution, and less feeling that the console in the background is begging for mercy, which is already a solid gain.
Genesis arrives only in 2027, but the teaser did what it needed to do: reminded fans that they will once again disappear into the JRPG hole that can only be escaped with a vacation and understanding from family members.
Star Fox – the return of a cult classic
Star Fox 64 is a cult classic. It's a game that has its place in Nintendo history, and it's clear why the remake has sparked a reaction. What they've shown seems like a faithful remake, with modernized graphics, but without trying to turn the original into something it never was. And I respect that.
Nintendo sometimes tends to keep its old IPs under a glass bell. That's why it's nice to see Star Fox back. I don't know if this will be my title, but I'm happy for the fans, and Fox deserves a bit more than to be remembered only when someone shouts "do a barrel roll."
Final Fantasy Resonance – finally something new and wild
Final Fantasy Resonance looks interesting. And I say that as someone who is weak for HD-2D aesthetics. What excites me about Resonance is the feeling that this could be something new from the Final Fantasy world. After years of Square Enix seemingly glancing at Final Fantasy VII every now and then and saying "can we squeeze at least one more project out of this?", it's nice to see something that doesn't look like yet another attempt to get Cloud to pull out his credit card again.
If Resonance truly combines the older JRPG spirit with modern presentation and a few bolder ideas, it could be one of the more interesting titles from the Direct. Not necessarily the biggest, but definitely one of those I'll be keeping an eye on.
Final Fantasy XIV on Switch 2? Bold, but interesting
Final Fantasy XIV on Switch 2 sounds really good, but it also raises a big question: how will it run? FFXIV is one of the better MMOs of today. It's huge, content-rich, has a ton of expansions, a community that seems to be simultaneously saving the world and collecting outfits for the fashion runway, and enough content to consume your life if you're not careful. And you're not. No one is.
Coming to Switch 2 is a big deal because it further expands the audience and gives the console a serious MMO title. I just hope the performance won't be compromised to the level where it technically works but is meh in practice. Switch 2 is obviously more capable hardware, but FFXIV is not exactly a small indie game that fits in a drawer. If the port is stable, this could be a huge plus for the console.
The Duskbloods – FromSoftware still loves the dark
The Duskbloods has received a new showcase, but FromSoftware still keeps us in complete darkness. They've shown enough for us to know that the game exists, has atmosphere, blood, and style, but too little for me to say that I really know what I'm looking at.
I'm not a fan of such reveals. I don't like when a trailer feels like a mood board that someone has shown to the public. I know that FromSoftware has a godlike status in the gaming world and that they could release a picture of a wet wall and someone would write a 40-minute analysis, but I would still prefer a bit more concreteness.
On the other hand, we have a network test date, which means we'll soon see how the game actually breathes. And that's the most important thing, because with FromSoftware, gameplay is where everything breaks down.
Splatoon Raiders – identity in place
Splatoon Raiders looks cool. It has energy, style, colors, music, and that Nintendo feeling that someone in the room said "what if we make a shooter, but with squids and ink!?"
Raiders seems like a good thing for fans, especially since it looks like a new adventure with a concrete single-player focus. Splatoon has always had a strong identity, but personally, I'm more interested in attempts to expand that world a bit beyond the standard multiplayer madness. If we get more interesting locations, better structure, and enough quirky enemies, this could be very charming.
Metaphor: ReFantazio – an excellent JRPG, if Atlus doesn't get lazy
Metaphor: ReFantazio on Switch 2 is great news. It's one of the better modern JRPGs, with fantastic style, a strong identity, and that Atlus signature where even the UI design looks brutal.
But, this is Atlus, and Atlus and ports on Nintendo hardware can be… well, let's say, creatively relaxed. I hope the Switch 2 version won't disappoint. Metaphor deserves a good port, stable performance, and decent technical presentation. If we get that, this is a huge title for everyone who hasn't played it.
Kingdom Hearts IV – fans on machines
Kingdom Hearts IV has been announced for Switch 2, and collections of earlier games are coming too. In other words: fans have exploded, the timeline has become unreadable again, and somewhere in the distance, Nomura is probably designing another patent lock.
Kingdom Hearts is a series that you either love or watch from the outside as a complicated family feud between Disney and Final Fantasy. But it can't be denied that it has a huge audience and that the arrival of the fourth installment on Switch 2 is a big deal.
For the Nintendo console, this is further proof that third-party support is seriously strengthening. Switch 2 is clearly no longer just “you'll get a port when we manage to sacrifice enough textures,” but a platform that major publishers want to feed seriously.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake – the rumors were true
And then, Zelda.
The rumors were true. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is getting a remake for Switch 2. And yes, I watched the trailer practically without blinking, like a child who has just been shown that fairy tales do exist, they just cost 70 euros.
The introduction is beautifully done. Tapestry, fairy-tale tone, that feeling of a legend being told again. And then Link, a nightmare, more realistic graphics, and that moment when you realize that Nintendo is clearly going in a different direction from the cell-shaded style that has long characterized modern Zelda.
I think it's the right move. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have their identity and their visual language. Wind Waker has its own. But Ocarina of Time is a different beast. It's a game that for many was the first true feeling of a grand 3D adventure. The forest, Hyrule Field, temples, Ganondorf, time, childhood, growing up, loss. All the reasons why people still act like someone has touched their family album when you mention the remake.
That's why it's dangerous to touch Ocarina. This isn't just another game. This is a sacred cow, just with an ocarina and traumas, but the trailer gave me hope. Not because it showed a lot, because realistically it didn't. It showed enough to get our pulse up, and then ran away when it needed to provide concrete information, but the tone is spot on. If the whole game manages to maintain that feeling of fairy tale, mystery, and slight discomfort, we could get something special.
If the rumors about a Christmas release are true, Nintendo could have the perfect holiday title. And yes, I know, I'm already emotionally invested. There's no help for that. Some people have vices, I have the Ocarina of Time remake.
And where is Mario?
And now we come to the question that hangs over the entire Direct: where is Mario? I know, we had Donkey Kong Bananza. Kirby also got his moment. Nintendo hasn't just been sitting with its arms crossed staring at the wall. But a new mainline 3D Mario is what we are waiting for. That's the big thing that could further define the Switch 2.
Mario Kart World was a good launch title, Bananza showed that Nintendo still knows how to create pure fun, but a real new 3D Mario? That's another league. That's a game that isn't announced casually. That's a game that has to come when Nintendo decides to press the big red button that says “sell more consoles” again.
Maybe they're saving it for 2027. Maybe they've simply decided that this year we'll have Zelda, Star Fox, Fire Emblem, Splatoon, Xenoblade, and a bunch of third-party titles so we can stop being ungrateful. Difficult, but possible.
Conclusion
All in all, third-party support looks much healthier than in previous Nintendo generations. Lies of P, Metaphor, Final Fantasy XIV, Kingdom Hearts IV, Stellar Blade, Devil May Cry 5, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and the rest of the crew clearly show that publishers no longer view the Nintendo console as a cute little device for indies and exclusives, but as a real platform worth being present on.
From Nintendo's side, Star Fox and Fire Emblem fill 2026, Splatoon Raiders seems like a safe bet for fans, Xenoblade Genesis is already enticing the JRPG audience for 2027, and the Ocarina of Time remake was, realistically, the moment of the evening.
Mario was absent, and you can feel it. But if Nintendo decided to build the year around the return of one of the most important games of all time, then I can at least understand them. Now we just have to wait. And hope that the Ocarina remake won't just be a nice nostalgia trip, but a really good modern interpretation of the classic. Because if Nintendo gets it right, Hyrule will eat the internet again.
