Nintendo Direct June 21, 2023: Information and Reactions

EDIT (10:41 PM): after finishing updates to the Zelda article, I’ve edited the article to make it clear that yes, the internet is wrong about Will Arnett starring in Detective Pikachu Returns.

The field of summer gaming news has been in full swing thanks to Summer Games Fest and unrelated shows. “E3” season is dead; it’s now time for us to come up with a new name (that isn’t just calling it “Summer Games Fest”). Nintendo was a bit of a straggler, this year, only bringing up the rear with a Nintendo Direct today. But with forty minutes of time, there was time for a lot of announcements, especially ones that were rather unexpected. Here they are:

Game news:

A short trailer was released about Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’s two part downloadable expansion, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, showing off environments like an underwater Terrarium in the second story, The Indigo Disc. No release dates for them, bizarrely.
- A special event for Scarlet & Violet also released doay, in which players can catch Shiny Gimmighoul and put in a code for items. The former goes from June 21 – July 2; the latter from now until July 31.
Announced at Summer Games Fest, Sonic Superstars features new Chaos Emerald powers and 4-player co-op. Releases “fall 2023.”
Palia, a free-to-play adventure sim that’s been in various stages of playtests and early releases, announced for Switch. Releases “holiday 2023.”
First announced at the Xbox show and announced for Switch, Persona 5 Tactica was shown. Releases November 17; pre-orders begin today.
MythForce, a first-person roguelike adventure inspired by 1980s Saturday morning cartoons, announced. Releases “this year.”
Splatoon 3 has a new Splatfest: “which flavor of ice cream, vanilla, strawberry, or mint chip is best?” It’ll take place from July 14 – July 16. Additionally, “more events” are planned.
After far too long since its initial announcement, Detective Pikachu Returns has been formally revealed! Features new mysteries, Mimikyu, and who the internet incorrectly thinks is Will Arnett as the new voice of Detective Pikachu (it’s Kaiji Tang, as he was in the first game). Releases October 6.
A remake of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the original Mario RPG from 1996, announced. Just titled Super Mario RPG, it releases November 17.
In addition, an untitled new game starring Princess Peach was announced, as was a visually enhanced version of 2013’s Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon.
Batman: Arkham Trilogy—the compilation of Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Knight (as always, Arkham Origins isn’t included)—has been announced for Switch. Releases “fall 2023.”
Gloomhaven, a 2021 adaptation of the 2017 board game, announced for Switch, releases September 18. Pre-orders begin today.
Just Dance: 2024 Edition, announced, featuring 40 new tracks. Release October 24.
Silent Hope, an action RPG, announced. It’s set in a gigantic abyss and features crafting and farming aspects. Releases October 3.
Fae Farm, previously announced at the September Direct, releases as a console exclusive September 8. Pre-orders are open, as are new pre-order bonuses.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged, previously announced at the Xbox show, releases October 19.
Manic Mechanics, an Overcooked-esque car engineering co-op game, releases July 13 as a timed console exclusive on Switch.
Mario + Rabbids Sarks of Hope’s second DLC, The Last Spark Hunter, launches today!
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, the next installment of the franchise’s monster-catching side, announced. Releases December 1.
Another overview about Pikmin 4 included substantial new information. Significant game time is spent outdoors, in houses, and in the caves of Pikmin 2, where you look for treasures and castaways. New features are night expeditions with the Glow Pikmin species, battles against a rival explorer where you compete to see who’s the most efficient, and upgrading elements. Rock Pikmin are also returning. As was announced in the February Direct, the release date is still July 21.
- A demo will be released June 28.
In addition, HD versions of Pikmin and Pikmin 2 release today!
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.1, previously announced at the PlayStation 5 Showcase, is coming to Switch. It contains Metal Gear Solid 1 through 3, the Japanese and American versions of Metal Gear 1 and 2, and several bonus features, Releases October 24; pre-orders now open.
- In addition, the three Solid games will be available separately on Nintendo eShop.
Vampire Survivors, the 2022 roguelike, announced for Switch. Releases August 17.
Headbangers Rhythm Royale, a pigeon rhythm battle battle royale initially announced at the Future Game Show Summer Showcase, releases October 31.
Penny’s Big Breakaway, a 3D platformer from “the team behind Sonia Mania,” announced. Much of the gameplay involves moving with a giant yo-yo. Releases “early 2024.”
Wave 5 of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass releases “summer 2023.” Features a new course, Squeaky Clean Sprint, and returning characters Piranha Plant, Wiggler, and Kamek.
Star Ocean: The Second Story R, a remake of 1998’s action-RPG Star Ocean: The Second Story, announced after being inadvertently leaked by Square Enix. Features new elements to the original’s gameplay, such as chain attacks and letting party members who aren’t in the battle attack. Releases November 2.
WarioWare: Move It!, announced. It’s themed around using the JoyCons and features local co-op, over 200 microgames, and a dedicated party mode. Releases November 3; pre-orders begin today.
Nintendo also provided another advertisement for Nintendo Live 2023, which will take place from September 1 – 4 in Seattle.
Amiibo of Zelda and Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are planned for release this holiday.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the latest 2D Mario in eleven years, was announced. It features slightly Sonic-esque running, an elephant transformation, and reality-warping “Wonder Flowers” that alter the environment when touched. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Daisy are all playable for four-player co-op, and there are a cavalcade of visual and gameplay highlights. Releases October 20.

Highlights from the Direct:

Wolfman’s Soapbox: Without a lot of real “blockbusters”—perhaps Nintendo wants to hold off their bigger projects for the officially nonexistent Switch successor, something they’d done in the past—this Direct was a triumph of the smaller, humble B-lister. Arguably the biggest games, the DLC for Pokémon and Mario Kart, got little and mostly obligatory attention. Instead, the presentation was packed with a lot of remakes, remasters, and chibi art styles. The shadowdrops were for things like Pikmin re-releases (still very good, to be clear!), not a remaster of Metroid Prime or Hollow Knight. There’s a small-ish looking new 2D Mario that appears to answer “how do make a Sonic game appeal to Wolfman?” with the answer “make it a Mario game.” Actually, with that, the remake of Super Mario RPG, and the two new games, we managed to get a significant boost for the plumber, who otherwise hadn’t even had a game at all for the past half-year.

These smaller projects were, for the most part, very charming to me. I enjoyed the personality and vibes of Detective Pikachu for all its blandness as a strict mystery game, and it’ll be nice getting to spend more time with Nintendo’s most avuncular rodent. It’s great that WarioWare is getting to play with the JoyCons. And the transformations and craziness of Mario Bros. Wonder seems to be pushing a theory I’ve been having ever since playing Bowser’s Fury, that the next era of Mario is gonna be about altering the world itself. These are not exactly “system sellers” and they do fit that pattern of Nintendo being skittish about supporting aging hardware, but they look nice. As always, the publisher is most fun when they’re being weird, and with most of the attention taken by them, there was plenty of opportunity for weird. Though it would be nice to get a greater sense of what their next real, big direction is now that Zelda is finally out.

Anyway, as a person who gave up on those games after slogging through Arkham City, as always I find it kind of funny and sad that Rocksteady is so passionate about completely obliterating Arkham Origins from the series’ history.