By John Christopher Aquino and Jonas Ryan Nitura
The E3 Nintendo Direct for this year which was broadcast Wednesday (Philippine time), spotlighted a bounty of new games and reboots of classics that will come later this year and beyond.
The 40-minute video presentation garnered a peak live online audience of more than 1 million viewers across the world.
Nintendo fans waited for the sequel of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as the first game was released in 2017 and a trailer for the sequel last 2019 has been released, after two years the second game has been given a gameplay trailer featuring new mechanics and stunning visuals. Nintendo is aiming for a 2022 release for the players who are excited to play as Link, also known as the Hero of Hyrule.
Samus Aran sees a return in the 2D platformer genre as she hops back in her Varia Suit in the newly announced Metroid: Dread, with a new story after 19 years.
Shinya Takahashi, Nintendo’s general manager of the Entertainment Planning & Development Division and the presenter at the time, also mentioned that their developers are still working on Metroid Prime 4 which was announced last E3 2017.
Nintendo Switch exclusive Shin Megami Tensei 5, which has the same developer as the highly acclaimed franchise Persona, will be released on Nov. 12 but will be available for pre-order on June 21. The game will be set in Japan, featuring battles with the supernatural in an RPG style.
Kazuya Mishima, an iconic villain from the Tekken franchise, brawls his way into the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate universe as he is set to be the game’s 11th DLC and guest character joining the ranks of Sephiroth from the Final Fantasy series and Joker from Persona 5 among others.
Wario also makes a return to the gaming space through WarioWare: Get It Together!, a game franchise known for its wacky minigames and multiplayer fun. The game is slated for a September release.
To commemorate The Legend of Zelda’s 35th anniversary, the company also showcased the Zelda-themed Game & Watch which will contain the classic NES games of the franchise such as 1986’s The Legend of Zelda, 1987’s Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, and the Gameboy game Link’s Awakening from 1993. The system will be launched in November this year for $49.99.
“That’s a wrap on Nintendo at #E32021! Thanks to all who tuned in to #NintendoDirect and #NintendoTreehouseLive,” tweeted Nintendo as they thanked the fans who tuned in to the stream.
“Today, we showed a sampling of what’s coming to #NintendoSwitch. We look forward to sharing more games with you all in the future.”