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Everything announced at February’s Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase

Giovanni Colantonio
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Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase 2.21.2024

It’s become a bit of a tradition for Nintendo to drop a Direct presentation every February. That held up this year, but not in the way that some fans expected. Rather than dropping a 40-plus minute presentation highlighting upcoming first-party games, Nintendo released a more casual Partner Showcase today. The 25-minute video, which did not air live, instead highlighted upcoming third-party releases.

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While it was certainly a “B show” by Nintendo standards, the presentation still contained some notable tidbits. It finally gave us a look at some of the Xbox games coming to other platforms, as well as showing off a new, complete edition of Shin Megami Tensei V and a new Endless Ocean game. If you don’t feel like scrubbing through the show for details, here’s everything that was announced in Nintendo’s Partner Showcase.

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Pentiment, Grounded jump from Xbox to Switch

A bonfire rages on during a Tassing celebration in Pentiment.
Obsidian Entertainment

After weeks of speculation and rumor, we finally got some details of Xbox’s multiplatform plans. Both Grounded and Pentiment are coming to Nintendo Switch. Had that announcement dropped before Xbox’s Business Update last week, it would have been bombshell news. Instead, it came as a bit of a foregone conclusion, taking a bit of bite out of the announcement. Even so, it marks a major moment for Xbox as it begins to experiment with traditional console exclusivity. Grounded is coming to Switch on April 16, while Pentiment will launch tomorrow, February 22.

Endless Ocean makes a surprise return

Endless Ocean Luminous - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch

Nintendo Wii cult classic Endless Ocean is getting a new installment on Switch. Endless Ocean Luminous is a new underwater exploration game that features 30-player online play. A relaxing trailer showed off divers swimming underwater, cataloguing fish, and sharing their discoveries with other players. Endless Ocean Luminous launches on May 2 for Switch and pre-orders are open today.

Atlus serves up Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

Overhead shot of character from Shin Megami Tensei V.
Atlus

After receiving a rating in South Korea this week, we got official confirmation that Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is Switch-bound. It’s essentially a “complete edition” of the 2021 RPG that will add new content. While the trailer didn’t go into too much detail on what’s included, it confirmed that it’ll launch on June 21.

Epic Mickey Rebrushed brings back a Disney classic

In one of the show’s true surprises, 2010’s Epic Mickey for the Nintendo Wii is getting a remaster. Dubbed Epic Mickey Rebrushed, Nintendo describes the release as a faithful remake of the original with improved graphics. Its certainly looking like a visual improvement so far based on its trailer, and we won’t need to wait too long to see it in action. Epic Mickey Rebrushed is set to launch this year.

Star Wars: Battlefront is making a nostalgic return

If you’re a fan of the original Star Wars: Battlefront games, you’re in luck. Nintendo Switch owners are getting ports of the series’ first two games in the form of Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection. The package will include online play, 64-player battles, and even some new characters and maps. It’ll hit the Switch’s eShop on March 14.

Everything else

  • Ender Lilies sequel Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is coming this year.
  • Puzzle game Arranger: A Role-Playing Adventure is coming this summer.
  • Unicorn Overlord got a new trailer ahead of its March release date. A demo is out today.
  • The first Monster Hunter Stories is getting an HD Switch port with full voice acting.
  • South Park: Snow Day got a new gameplay overview trailer.
  • Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream will bring 20-player co-op this year.
  • Gundam Breaker 4 is coming to switch this year.
  • Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble brings a 16-player online mode on June 25.
  • World of Goo 2 will launch as a Switch console exclusive on May 23.
  • Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is coming on October 10.
  • Crustacean Soulslike Another Crab’s Treasure got an April 25 release date.
  • Penny’s Big Breakaway is available on Switch right now.
  • Suika Game is getting a paid multiplayer DLC today.
  • The Devolver-published Pepper Grinder launches on March 28 and a demo is out today.
  • Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! comes to Switch today.
  • A sizzle reel showed off upcoming games like Tales of Kenzera: Zau, Kingdom Come Deliverance: Royal Edition, and Snufkin: Memory of Moominvalley.
  • Switch Online is getting a handful of classic Rare games, including Blast Corps.

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Giovanni Colantonio
Giovanni Colantonio
Section Editor, Gaming
Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…
5 cool Nintendo Direct announcements you may have missed
Klonoa and Huepow jump together in the key art for Klonoa: Door to Phantomile.

Nintendo Directs are always exciting because they contain some of the year's most notable game reveals. While the Nintendo-published headliners of the show are what everyone typically talks about, there are plenty of other third-party announcements that round out these shows. Though some of these games might seem like filler during the presentation, they are sometimes the most meaningful parts of the showcase when one looks back after the fact.
The February 9 Nintendo Direct was no different in that regard. It contained significant first-party reveals like Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, Nintendo Switch Sports, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3. However, five other announcements from the show felt just as significant, even if they were much more niche. From games that are getting a second shot at life to ones that are much more experimental, these are five atypical games from the Nintendo Direct that players should pay attention to. 
Live A Live
LIVE A LIVE - Nintendo Switch
Not only did this game lay the groundwork for RPGs like Octopath Traveller and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, but it's a win for the fan translation community as well. Live A Live is the next game to use the HD-2D style Square Enix created for Octopath Traveler, but it's actually a remake of a Super Famicom JRPG that never came out in North America. 
It follows seven different protagonists across different time periods, from prehistory to the Wild West to the distant future, before they all come together to fight the King of Demons. Its segmented story structure was a bold narrative choice in the 1990s and influenced the structure of many modern JRPGs. I recommend watching Did You Know Gaming's Region Locked video to get a complete sense of what this game is about and why it never came to the West.
Previously, the only way to play this was a fan translation from the group Aeon Genesis, and their efforts have kept this cult classic relevant since its release. This release is a huge win for fans who've worked hard to preserve these lost JRPGs and gives new players a chance to experience an innovative JRPG story.
Live A Live will launch for Nintendo Switch on July 22.
Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series
KLONOA Phantasy Reverie Series - Nintendo Switch
Klonoa is an obscure platformer franchise from Bandai Namco Entertainment. While Klonoa games have been well-received thanks to satisfying platforming mechanics and surprisingly engaging stories, games in this series haven't sold very well. As such, Klonoa was largely ignored as the North American versions of its games skyrocketed in price. As a result, it became more difficult for new players to find out what makes Klonoa so great.
During this Nintendo Direct, Bandai Namco Entertainment confirmed the Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series, a remaster of console platformers Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil, is coming to Nintendo Switch soon. This package will introduce Klonoa to a whole new generation and possibly revive the series if it sells well enough.
Platformer fans should keep an eye on Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series when it releases for Nintendo Switch on July 8, 2022.
The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story
The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story | Announce Trailer
Missed this one? Don't worry, it was only in the Japanese Nintendo Direct. While North American viewers missed out on this live-action video game's reveal during the Direct, it's still releasing in the  West and looks wild. The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story follows two characters named Haruka Kagami and Eiji Shijima as they try to solve four Shijima-related murders that have taken place over the last 100 years.
It's like Last Night in Soho meets Sherlock, and a unique take on the choose your own adventure game split into three phases. In the incident phase, players watch the murder unfold and look for clues to help them solve the mystery. In the reasoning phase, players come up with a hypothesis for who committed the crime using all of the information they have before seeing how their choices play out in the solution phase.
This game's experimental narrative structure and development team consisting of people who've worked on Metal Gear Solid V, Nier: Automata, and The Naked Director make it one of the boldest games to come out of any of the Nintendo Directs on February 9.
The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story will hit Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and PS5 on May 12, 2022.
Front Mission remakes
FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch
Remakes of the first two games in the Front Mission series were confirmed during the Nintendo Direct. Front Mission is a classic strategy game series from Square Enix, though Forever Entertainment is handling these remakes. Players command squads of mechs called Wanzers in a future conflict between the fictional Oceania Cooperative Union and Unified Continental States. These remakes are more shocking than they might initially seem when one considers that the last game in the series was Left Alive.
Front Mission never garnered worldwide appeal, so the series was dormant for some time. In 2019, Square Enix released Left Alive, a stealth action game set in the Front Mission universe. Critics panned Left Alive because of its bad story, lots of glitches, and clunky and frustratingly hard gameplay. Most franchises could never recover from something as terrible as Left Alive, but Forever Entertainment is trying to make Front Mission relevant again with these remakes. A new generation of players will finally learn what made this series unique and, hopefully, Front Mission's reputation will be restored.
Front Mission 1st will launch sometime this summer, while the sequel's remake is still in development. 
Disney Speedstorm
Disney Speedstorm - Nintendo Direct 2.9.22 - Nintendo Switch
While many of the blink-and-you'll-miss-it reveals during the Direct were from Japanese studios, Disney Speedstorm is a more mainstream title to keep an eye on. The reveal of a Disney and Pixar racing game might seem negligible, especially in lieu of the Mario Kart 8 DLC news, but it might be a surprisingly successful title on the platform. It's no secret that Mario Kart 8 has been extremely lucrative on Switch, and it's a full-price title. Disney Speedstorm will be free-to-play and features lots of Disney and Pixar characters that might be even more recognizable to children than Mario and his friends.
For parents that don't want to spend money on Mario Kart or kids looking for free games to try on their Switch, Disney Speedstorm will be a very appealing option. It seems like a solid racer regardless of its price point. While Disney Speedstorm is the kind of game hardcore gamers roll their eyes at this, don't be surprised if a free-to-play Disney racer with local and online multiplayer becomes one of the most popular games on Nintendo Switch when it launches this summer. 

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Everything announced at the February 2022 Nintendo Direct
Callie cheers and the player and Marie look off into the distance.

Nintendo Directs are some of the most exciting events for video game announcements each year, sparking wild speculation, rumors, and predictions. With games like Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Splatoon 3, Bayonetta 3, and the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the horizon, 2022 is poised to be a busy year for Nintendo. 
Nintendo Direct - 2.9.2022
When announcing the Direct for February 9, 2022, Nintendo said it would highlight "roughly 40 minutes of information mainly focused on Nintendo Switch games launching in the first half of 2022." When it arrived, we got a mix of new reveals, remasters, and revivals of classic Nintendo concepts. 
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Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes announced
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes arrives June 24th (Nintendo Switch)
The first reveal during today's Nintendo Direct was Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. This intense action game is not only a follow-up to 2017's Fire Emblem Warriors, but 2019's Fire Emblem: Three Houses as well. It will be released on June 24. 
Mario Strikers: Battle League revives the classic sports spinoff
Mario Strikers: Battle League – Announcement Trailer – Nintendo Switch
Mario Strikers: Battle League is a 5v5 soccer game with flashy Mario-inspired mechanics. It's a successor to a sports spinoff series that has been dormant since the Wii era. Battle League supports online play, and players can form clubs with up to 20 players. It will be released on June 10, and it can be pre-ordered now. 
Splatoon 3 debuts Salmon Run: Next Wave
Splatoon 3 – Salmon Run Next Wave Trailer – Nintendo Switch
Splatoon 3 made another appearance at today's Nintendo Direct. It showcased a reworked version Splatoon 2's Salmon Run called Salmon Run: Next Wave. Players can now toss eggs to each other and will have to fight giant kaiju. Splatoon 3 will launch this summer, but is still without a release date.
Kirby is a car now

A new trailer for Kirby and the Forgotten Land debuted during the Nintendo Direct. In it, Nintendo debuted that oddly-named "Mouthful Mode." By using this, Kirby can swallow large objects and gain new powers. Forms seen include Car Mouth, Vending Mouth, Cone Mouth, Scissor-Lift Mouth, Ring Mouth, Light-Bulb Mouth, Arch Mouth, Water-Ballon Mouth. It launches on March 25. 
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Shin Megami Tensei 5’s exploration is the RPG’s secret weapon
shin megami tensei 5 preview exploration smt overworld

After a little over a week with Atlus's new role-playing game Shin Megami Tensei 5, it’s clear to me that the team behind it stepped up everything that I expect from the series. The character models are gorgeous, the story is louder and more intriguing than ever, the battles are fun and retain their challengingly-strategic nature, and the various pieces of demon lore have been expanded upon. But two surprising things that stand out to me are the movement and exploration of the game.

Shin Megami Tensei V - Official Bethel Trailer

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