Nintendo Direct September 14, 2023: Information and Reactions

EDIT: 11:29 PM ET: Changed the coverage of Another Code Recollections to clarify that the original Another Code R was released in PAL territories, not just Japan.

A Nintendo Direct in mid-September? Quelle surprise! Yep, this is one of those presentations that’s all but legally mandated, since Tokyo Game Show is close by and many of these games’ll be shown off there. Ah, game industry politicking. But that’s good; it gives Nintendo’s fall slate a chance to shine. And shine it did. Hoo boy did it.

Game news:

The second and final of Splatoon 3’s Expansion Pass waves, Side Order, takes place in a hyper-advanced robotic Spire of Order—a clear reference to the side that lost in the last game’s final Splatfest. The main new feature is the ability to create the levels you play in, like the Chamber Dungeons of the Link’s Awakening remake, but Pearl also has a drone.
The original Mario vs. Donkey Kong is getting a remake of the same name, twenty years after the release of the original GBA game and eight years after the release of the last Mario vs. Donkey Kong installment. Features local co-op with Toad as the second character. Releases February 16; pre-orders begin today.
Prince of Persia – The Lost Crown, the Metroidvania reboot of Prince of Persia, got shown off. Still releases January 18 along with the over versions of the game, with a bonus outfit available for preorders.
Horizon Chase 2 announced for Switch after first being announced in 2022; releases today!
Super Crazy Rhythm Castle, an action rhythm game previously announced in August, features co-op, boss fights, and music from classic Konami games. Releases November.
SPYxANYA, an adaptation of the extremely popular slice of life spy anime SPYxFAMILY, is a lfe simulator / photography game about a child photographer who’s also a spy. Releases on Switch next year.
The Super Mario RPG remake features the original pioneering Action Commands, but with additional bonus action commands and “Triple Moves” whose effects are based on the people in your party. There’s now a postgame feature where you can challenge the original bosses, now significantly upgraded, and the classic “Beware the Forest Mushrooms” song was teased. Releases November 17; pre-orders are available now.
Trace Memory, the early cult classic Nintendo DS title, is being remade as Another Code: Two Memories. Like the original, it features the same story about a teenager trying to uncover a mystery with ghosts on an island, and the same puzzle gameplay, but with voice acting and direct character control. It’s actually part of the Another Code: Recollection, now using the series’ Japanese title, which will also include a remake of the Wii sequel Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories, which was only released originally in Japan and PAL regions. Releases January 19; pre-orders are available now.
The previously announced Princess Peach spinoff has now been formally revealed as Princess Peach: Showtime! It features Peach trapped in a theater under the dominion of an evil watch, who has made the plays come to life. The main mechanic is that each play has different gameplay, with Peach taking on different outfits and roles in the play—swashbuckler, detective, patissiere, martial artist—that turn the game into a 3D brawler, puzzler, adventure game, or mini-game collection. Releases March 22; pre-orders available now.

Image: Nintendo. Princess Peach: Showtime! mixes genres and themes in a way that’s rare to see, and it seems to be doing it well. Very “3D platformer”-y, in a good way.

SaGa Emerald Beyond, the latest entry in one of Square Enix’s many storied JRPG series, announced. Like previous games, it features an array of eccentric characters, worlds, and branching paths—apparently more than ever explored before. Releases 2024.
The first Tomb Raider games have been remastered as the Tomb Raider I – III Remastered: Starring Lara Croft, announced first in this show. This is the first time Tomb Raider II has been released since 2015 and the first Tomb Raider II has since 1999. Features all the original games expansions, bonus levels, and the ability to play with the original polygonal graphics. Releases February 14; pre-orders begin today.
Detective Pikachu Returns, still releasing October 6, got another trailer highlighting the ability to use Pokémon to aid in puzzle solving. Very little new was shown and yet, it still feels as though we got more than we got and got better here than in its much longer segment in the Pokémon Presents.
Trombone Champ, a Wii Music-inspired 2022 rhythm game that takes a Surgeon Simulator approach to rhythm challenges, announced. Features a variety of genres represented with the songs, and the Switch version will offer unique and zany JoyCon controls. Releases today!
Classical mythology-inspired free-to-play battle royale Battle Crush, announced earlier in March, releases “next spring.” A closed beta test will also be released in October.
Wartales, a tactical RPG first released in April, releases as a timed Switch exclusive today!
Contra: Operation Galuga, the last Contra since the hated Rogue Corps and WayForward’s second entry in the series, announced. Has four-player co-op. Releases “early next year.”
Unicorn Overlord, Vanillaware’s latest tactical RPG since 13 Sentinels, announced. Features “over sixty” unique characters and a beautiful HD-2D-esque art style. Releases March 8.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD got a more extensive highlight after its tease in the June Direct. Includes the original game’s Scarescraper. Releases “next summer.”
Nintendo’s self-made museum, which had been announced in 2021, has officially been named the “Nintendo Museum” and will open in Kyoto with a planned March 2024 release.
Amiibo corner: the Zelda and Ganondorf amiibo will release November 3, the Noah and Mio will be released as a pair in January 19, and Sora will finally release at some point in 2024, finishing the entire Super Smash Bros. series since its introduction in 2014 as one of the very first amiibo lines.
The original F-Zero has been remade as the next retro battle royale: F-Zero 99. It features additional features, most notably a “Skyway” you can use to bypass other racers, along with a number of optional cosmetics. Exclusive to NSO members, supporting the SNES Controller, it releases today!
Bandle Tale: A League of Leagues Story, a pixelated life simulator spin-off the incomprehensible League of Leagues franchise, announced. Releases on Switch “next year.”
- In addition, League of Legends is getting another similarly odd spinoff: Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story, which releases November 1.

Image: Nintendo. Games like Another Code / Trace Memory were a big part of what made the Nintendo DS’s early life exciting and fascinating. It’s great to have this one, and its sequel, back.

WarioWare: Move It! (still releasing November 3) got another showcase showing off the motion control gameplay in more detail and Wario’s new, still as-of-yet unnamed voice actor. The multiplayer features additional gameplay modes.
Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes, a new JRPG and sequel to Suikoden spiritual successor Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, finally got a release day after its 2022 announcement and 2023 delay: April 23.
Eastward: Octopia, a paid expansion for Octopia, announced; it’s available as a separate purchase as well. Releases “this holiday.”
Wargroove 2, which had been initially announced in March, has among other things a wild new feature: a full Cutscene & Campaign Editor. Launches October 5 as a console exclusive; pre-orders now available.
A Switch release of Dave the Diver, a fishing / sushi cooking mashup from 2022 that’s become one of this year’s biggest indies, was announced. Features underwater combat and puzzles as you dive to find fish to prepare as food. Releases October 26.
While ostensibly having only space for two characters on its character selection screen, the sixth and final wave of Mario Kart 8 Booster Course Pass is instead adding four: Diddy Kong, Funky Kong, Pauline, and Peachette. One course, Daisy Circuit from Mario Kart Wii, was also revealed. Releases “this holiday.”
Among Us is getting a new map, The Fungle, in which the crew is marooned on a lost island. Releases this October. Of course, right now the real Among Us story is that Innserloth may have to delist it for a time, given the damage it and many other major indie developers will incur as a result of Unity’s horrible new, upcoming monetization policy.
For possibly the first time I can remember, the Direct’s sizzle reel—Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk, F-Zero, Pikmin 1 + 2’s physical release, Detective Pikachu, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, WarioWare, Mario RPG, the Booster Course Pass, Another Code, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Princess Peach, Side Order, Luigi’s Mansion—was specifically for Nintendo’s own games, not third parties.
In a truly spectacular final stinger, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, one of my favorite games of all time, is getting a full-ass remake. A remake! Features a remade soundtrack, gorgeous graphics, and that impeccable action-RPG gameplay. Release 2024.

Videos:

Wolfman’s Soapbox: So this is definitely among the most excited I’ve ever been by a “just one more thing.” I mean, a great-looking remake of a GameCube classic that’s also my second or maybe even actual favorite Mario game? Damn! Not at all the GameCube re-release or two I was expecting… but I suppose that’s just another thing with this very, very good presentation. I mean, there’s a reason Phantom’s delightful header is just stuffed with exciting releases.

Once again, I’m struck by how different of a tack this took. I mentioned releases of GameCube games, one of Nintendo’s best and most cruelly ignored consoles, and there are a few that by all rights “should” (insofar as anything “should” be released over anything else) be out now. There’s remasters of Metroid Prime 2 and 3, whether those are as sumptuous as Metroid Prime Remastered or much simpler like the ones for Pikmin 1 and 2. There are the Zelda HD re-releases that still haven’t happened despite having been rumored for years and probably in some form of development. There are plenty of reasons any of them weren’t shown off—development issues and delays, Nintendo wanting to drag out its list of games, concerns about having already released three separate GameCube titles—but whatever. It’s not about the purple lunchbox.

It was crazy getting an F-Zero retro battle royale, something I’m a hundred percent sure I predicted in Sunday’s “Good Morning, Source Gaming” prediction video mostly as a tossed-up if sincere joke. It was crazy getting remakes of an entire Nintendo adventure game franchise, and crazier that this isn’t even the first time this happened. And while I’m sure the selection screen’ll look a bit weird, getting twice as many Mario Kart drivers as we all expected was a lovely surprise. It’s a great way to keep Pauline in the main cast, give some look to silver screen stars Dixie and Funky, and add one of those absolutely charming “loser characters” like Peachette. A lot of fans hate them, but I love them.

But this seems to come up every time. I suppose that I should talk about something new this time, so… Mario! There was a lot of Mario junk, and a ton of it looks great! I did mention last time that Nintendo was going hard on the plumber, and while they are absolutely supporting other IPs—we’re getting the first new F-Zero in like two decades, and a totally unique one at that—Mario is getting a lot of love. Like, a lot. Mario had two games in 2022; his first for 2023 isn’t even out yet. That’s extremely small of a list for a character who’s used to many new games a year. But the floodgates are opening, the “end of the Switch’s life before the new thing eventually comes out” games are ready, and we’re suddenly in a deluge of great looking remakes, sequels, and spinoffs. Almost all of which look great, by the way. I’m actually mildly interested in a Mario vs. Donkey Kong game for the first time in my life (though it’d be nice if it was actually on the Game Boy Advance collection on NSO; in another example of stringing us along that’s almost completely unsupported as of yet). Showtime looks fantastic and wonderfully imaginative. And my god, The Thousand-Year Door. That game means damn near everything to me.

Image: Nintendo. The jump to HD has done TTYD very well. It looks just as beautiful as The Origami King.

I mean, it makes sense that they’d give so much attention to Mario since he’s, you know, their mascot and “Mr. Video Game” and incredibly popular and the star of a movie that made more money than God. It’s just surprising to see it play out in this gigantic burst, especially after a year that was pretty fallow. But I’m excited. I like Mario, many of these look from good to great, and we all know that more Zelda and Metroid is waiting in the wings. Maybe it’s better for safer Mario to bring up the year before we finally, eventually, get to see the new machine. And I’m cautiously optimistic it’ll be just as fun, judging by this presentation.

Suppose it’s a bit odd we don’t a “big” holiday game, no offense to my man Wario. Eh.