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Felt like putting that question in the title since this is something Arlo brought up in a recent video on his TopicArlo channel.

Also I know I've been slacking a bit since the Sony State of Play as I didn't make threads for Summer Games Fest (Kups did that one) or the Xbox Showcase earlier in the month, but I know Directs in particular often gain a lot of traction on KYM.

Funny enough the date of the Direct was likely leaked early by Among Us of all games as Innersloth accidentally posted a video about an update happening tomorrow, and then unlisted the video not long after it went up, which lead people to wonder if this update announcement was meant for a Nintendo Direct (previous Directs also had Among Us update announcements).

The one thing we do know for sure is the Switch 2 will NOT be here as Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa already confirmed this. The big question though is that, with Nintendo winding down the generation as they're planning on revealing and likely releasing the Switch 2 by next spring, what exactly do they have left for the current Switch? Honestly I expect the Direct will likely mainly focus on updates for games already released, and then remakes and/or remasters. For example remasters of Metroid Primes 2 and 3 might be announced as we already got Prime 1 last year and Nintendo likely wants to keep Prime in the mind of players as I expect Prime 4 might genuinely not be too far behind (my guess is Prime 4 could actually be a cross-gen launch title on Switch 2).

Xenoblade Chronicles X might also finally hit the Switch, finally giving the console the entire Xenoblade series. My biggest hope is that at long friggin' last Wind Waker and Twilight Princess HD hit the Switch as a double pack for the fall, and I can finally remove the clown wig (I keep bringing this mythical "Zelda double pack" up every damn time a Direct is announced and it just keeps not happening, but with Tears of the Kingdom having been out for over a year and it being confirmed it's not getting DLC the only other Zelda thng I can think of Nintendo can do for 2024 is just get Tantalus to do quick Switch ports of the Wii U remasters of the two Gamecube Zeldas). A "super left field" announcement would be something like remasters if the two Zelda DS games but now with traditional controls, but with Luigi's Mansion 2 releasing soon on Switch we could also see A Link Between Worlds get a remaster.

If anything Nintendo Switch Online related is announced I'm simply expecting it to be a new roadmap of titles for the existing consoles on NSO as I imagine if Nintendo is gonna add new platforms to NSO, like the Gamecube, then they're saving that for Switch 2 (they managed to strike a deal with Sega for Genesis on NSO, so it'd be neat if they could strike a similar deal for Saturn and/or Dreamcast too).

A remaster for Metroid Prime 2 would be amazing, i have yet to play Corruption but from what i've heard, Echoes is considered the best of the Prime trilogy. I also haven't yet played Wind Waker but did play Twilight Princess, if it releases on the Switch it would be the fourth release of the game, right? Gamecube, Wii, WiiU HD and now a Switch version.

I don't expect anything but updates to existing games, yeah.
It's been a special hell to be in, with so many remakes, remasters and porting things to the Switch during the second half of its life so here's to one last direct where there might not be much of even that.

I just hope there's at least going to be a sense of optimism and direction with this direct.

The cope in me says Golden Sun.

I think video games will be shown, some people will be excited at video games and others will be disappointed because they wanted other video games.

Crud, accidentally deleted my comment. Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom looks neat. Definitely a good shakeup on the usual formula.
Also, excited that Metroid Prime 4 is happening!
Honestly didn’t expect much from this Direct given it’s the last Direct before the Switch 2 is announced, but I think it’s beaten out Sony and Microsoft’s events

New Mario and Luigi game!
And while I'll miss the 2d sprites, It looks pretty good!

LMAO never mind that, how about actual fucking Metroid Prime 4 instead?

Pretty happy to see DKC Returns get remastered. I do wish it added Dixie, Cranky, and Funky though. They would've made an already fun game even more fun.

Can't believe it. After all these years, they finally put Turok on NSO.

…Oh hey, Metroid Prime 4.

If that was indeed the final Switch focused Direct then boy was it a big one! Just when I keep thinking "okay this game is the Switch's swan song" Nintendo keeps surprising me! Gonna do my recap in order of announcements:

-Mario and Luigi: Brothership
Yep the M&L series is back! No idea who's making it, but supposedly Nintendo did hire on a lot of AlphaDream staff after they went under so it could still be a lot of the same people. Mario RPG fans have been having a FEAST this past year! Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door both get excellent remakes, and now Mario & Luigi is back with a new game!

-Now the first set of quick headlines:
*reminder that Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is launching next month, it's a competitive speedrunning game inspired by the tournament Nintendo held first back in 1990.
*Fairy Tale 2 is the latest game based on the popular anime, coming this winter.
*Fantasian: Neo Dimension is the latest game from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, and with music composed by classic FF composer Nobuo Uematsu. It's a turn based JRPG where you can manipulate your attacks to hit multiple enemies, and you can send enemies to another dimension to battle them later in huge battles (probably a good way to grind). Coming this holiday season.
*Nintendo Switch Sports is getting a FREE update this summer that adds basketball to the game.
*Mio: Memories in Orbit looks to be a new metroidvania from a small studio, has a really neat looking watercolor aesthetic. It's coming in 2025.
*Disney's Illusion Island is getting a FREE expansion added today where Mickey and pals have to solve a mystery.
*Hello Kitty Island Adventure basically looks like "Animal Crossing: Sanrio Edition" so if you love Sanrio characters this will be up your ally.
*Looney Tunes: Wackey World of Sports is a sports game compilation featuring Looney Tunes characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Lola Bunny. It's a Gamemill published title so I'm not expecting much out of it. Kinda looks like a throwback to licensed games from the Gamecube era.
*Among Us is getting a free update today that adds new roles to the game (yep they did indeed accidentally leak the date of the Direct, lol).
*Farmagia is a game that combines farm sim elements and monster raising, looking like what you'd get if you crossed Pikmin, Story of Seasons, and Pokemon all in one.
*Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a remaster of the classic Wii game, but it also includes all the new content from the 3DS port so this will definitely be the definitive edition of the game. Coming January 16, 2025.

-Dragon Quest III HD-2D remake finally has a date, coming November 17, 2024 (only a week after M&L Brothership to boot). The HD-2D remakes of DQ1 and 2 are coming in 2025 as one big game, and since chronologically 3 comes before 1 and 2 this should make for an interesting way to reexperience this trilogy.

More headlines:
*Funko Fusion is this rather strange crossover game where Funko pop versions of licensed characters all go around multiple franchise worlds. It's a neat crossover idea I just wish wasn't attached to freaking Funko pops of all things.
*Reminder that Luigi's Mansion 2 HD is out next week.
*The New Denpa Men is a free-to-play successor to the 3DS Denpa Men game, looks like it might be quirky fun.
*Metal Slug Attack Reloaded is a card based tower defense spin-off in the Metal Slug series shadow dropping today. I'm more interesting in the upcoming Metal Slug Tactics game, but this might be a fun way to hold fans over.
*Darkest Dungeon 2 is hitting the Switch next month, masochists rejoice.

-NSO is getting some updates today:
*First on GBA they are putting Link's Awakening GBA on there, which means the original Four Swords is finally playable on a modern console and with online play, and Metroid: Zero Mission, the remake of Metroid 1, is also finally on Switch.
*The N64 app meant specifically for games rated 17+ is finally heading to countries other than Japan and the two games to kick things off are two classic FPS titles. First the original Turok, which is surprising as an HD remaster is also being sold on the eShop. But the biggest one IMO is the original Perfect Dark is hitting NSO today! Everyone please brush up on the original game before the reboot launches on Xbox Series consoles in the future! With this 17+ app finally available everywhere I hope this means we'll also see stuff like Conker, Mortal Kombat, and OG Resident Evil 2.

-Headlines once more:
*Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is the latest entry in this series from the same studio as Disgea. Framerate looks pretty rough, but this is also a 2025 game so my guess is this might be a case of "poor performance on Switch 1, but will run smoothly on Switch 2."
*MAHVEL BAYBEE! SEVEN classic Marvel games made by Capcom are hitting Switch later this year! Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection is the name and it'll mainly have all the classic Capcom fighters with Marvel characters, but also the Punisher beat-em-up is included!
*Super Mario Party Jamboree is the latest Mario Party and I expect it'll be a good one given the post-Hudson era finally become good on the Switch. Will even feature the return of Western Land from Mario Party 2 which I love. it'll even have a 20 player online mode so I can already see this being a collab game for Hololive, lol. Coming October 17, 2024.

-A brand new top down Zelda! And the twist? You get to play as Zelda in this adventure! It's called The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and Zelda's main ability is she wields a staff that can create "echoes" of objects and enemies, with all of them being useful for navigation and combat. It looks like the devs found a way to incorporate some of the freedom of Tears of the Kingdom in to a classic 2D Zelda! It's also using the toy artstyle seen in the Link's Awakening remake. Furthermore, it's coming quite soon too! September 26, 2024!

Final batch of headlines:
*Just Dance 2025 Edition coming this year, of course.
*Lego Horizon Adventures coming this year to Switch, and it was interesting to see it did pop up with "PlayStation Publishing" as the company publishing it, lol
*Stray is coming to the Switch this holiday.
*Tales of the Shire is a cozy game based in the Lord of the Rings universe, where you play as a hobbit living a cozy life.
*Ace Attorney Investigations Collection! These two games are finally coming to a modern platform, and this marks the first official release of Investigation 2 in English. You can even swap between the classic pixel look or an updated hand drawn look. Coming September 6, 2024.
*The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is a new tactical RPG from the Danganronpa team, you control students in an academy that you have to defend for 100 days, and looks to have the visual novel elements from Danganronpa as well. Coming Early 2025.
*One of Square's more underrated 16-bit RPGs, Romancing Saga 2, is getting a remake and coming October 24, 2024. Looks pretty neat!

-AND NOW THE BIG FINISHER: METROID PRIME 4: BEYOND
AT long, long, long, last the fourth Metroid Prime game has finally had footage shown! The fact this is still coming to Switch is quite astounding, but also further plays into my theory this is absolutely a crossgen launch title for Switch 2. I also feel Prime Remastered was absolutely Retro showing off the engine they made for Prime 4 as it also looks like this will indeed be running at 60 fps. All we know right now is yes it's set for 2025, but again I fully expect this is going to be a crossgen release.

AND THAT'S IT! man this is probably my longest recap! Maybe I'll need to get better at formatting going forward, lol.

NEW MARIO AND LUIGI

NEW GOOD MARIO PARTY

MAHVEL VS CAPCOM COLLECTION

HD-2D DRAGON QUEST 1-3

LINK TO THE PAST AND FOUR SWORDS ON NSO

NEW ZELDA GAME WITH ZELDA AS THE PROTAGONIST

PRIME 4

LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Man Butters must of really loved this direct!

-ALL of the 2D Marvel vs Capcom games, ALL OF THEM, will be, for the first time in forever, sold to the masses, and it's absolutely guaranteed they'll be on physical edition considering the story of the collections that came before.

-Zelda is finally, after centuries, the protagonist of her own series. I'm honestly intrigued, not gonna lie.

-Of the games shown for the NSO, Metroid Zero Mission is the only one I never got to play. I have Four Swords and Perfect Dark for my 3DS and XBO respectively, but it never hurts to try them again. I also got two versions of Turok, one for PC, the remastered version, and the other, the original one, for the N64, and yet, I never finished the game legitimately, I always used cheats.

-Metroid Motherfucking Prime 4: Beyond. The dream is alive, and all you have to do to experience the miracle is being patient. I for one am ready. Perhaps a launch title for the Switch successor? Time will tell.

-Mario & Luigi Brothership is one of a kind because, isn't Alpha Dream dead? Because it feels like Alpha Dream has been always here, most likely the original team shifted to another studio or they straight up created a new one. Either way, I'm in for the ride.

-Now, this is the first time I have seen Metal Slug Attack in action. I was aware of it but didn't care because of its mobile format. But now? Now I care.

Now that AA Investigations 2 is finally getting a western release, I wonder if the names that were given to the new characters will change or be kept from the fan translation; the clips we saw didn't exactly show.

This was pretty much the last chance MP4 had to be announced, and man did it deliver. I hope that someday, MP2 Echos will get a remaster like MP1 because MP2 was such a good game. The commercial for that game was pretty awsome.

The new Zelda game has my interest, although I'm not a fan of the art style all that much.

Ace attorney was a surprise to see, am excited for it.

Mario and Luigi was a suprise too.