What may be one of the last Nintendo Direct presentations entirely focused on the Nintendo Switch has arrived. While Nintendo was still not ready to talk about its popular platform’s successor just yet, this Direct showed that there are still plenty of compelling Nintendo Switch games on the way. We already knew about titles like Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD and Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, but we also learned about new games like Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Super Mario Party Jamboree, and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.
We also finally got a look at Metroid Prime 4, which now has the full title of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Third-party companies showed up as well, with Square Enix unveiling some HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest games and Capcom revealing Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. To help you keep track of everything that got announced, here’s a full recap of everything shown during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct.
The Mario & Luigi series returns with Brothership
Nintendo’s Mario & Luigi series had been on hiatus since developer Alpha Dream closed, but it’s finally making a comeback. Mario & Luigi: Brothership kicked off this Nintendo Direct with a trailer that showed a mix of cinematics, conversations, and gameplay. It looks to once again be an RPG where players control Mario and Luigi, whose actions are mapped to different buttons. Mario & Luigi: Brothership will be released on November 7.
Donkey Kong Country Returns is coming to Nintendo Switch
Nintendo announced Donkey Kong Country Returns HD partway into the Nintendo Direct. Donkey Kong Country Returns was originally released on the Wii and later came to the 3DS. The Nintendo Switch remaster finds the middle ground between the two as it has both local co-op and additional levels from the 3DS release. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD launches on January 16, 2025.
Square Enix unveils beautiful remakes for 3 classic Dragon Quest games
Square Enix first teased an HD-2D remake of NES RPG classic Dragon Quest III several years ago, but we hadn’t seen it in action again until now. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake will launch for Nintendo Switch on November 14. We also learned that Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is also in the works and will come out sometime in 2025.
Super Mario Party Jamboree launches on October 17
Nintendo announced the next entry in the Mario Party series today. It’s called Super Mario Party Jamboree and features several new creative party boards with more dynamic gameplay elements. Mario’s Rainbow Castle and Western Land, both of which are courses from previous Mario Party games, will also make their return here. There will be over 110 minigames and a 20-player multiplayer Koopathalon mode. Super Mario Party Jamboree launches on October 17.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom stars Zelda, not Link
Nintendo is finally making a The Legend of Zelda game starring Zelda instead of Link. It has a similar visual style to The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake and is called The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. The main gameplay gimmick is that Zelda can create “echoes” of objects and enemies she comes across, which can help her navigate and solve puzzles in the game’s overworld. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom comes out for Nintendo Switch on September 26, and it will get a themed Nintendo Switch Lite system.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond comes out next year
To close out the Nintendo Direct, we got our first look at Metroid Prime 4. Nintendo wasted almost no time getting right into gameplay, showing Samus as she enters a fortress under siege. We see her spar against Sylux, who seems to be using Metroids for something. We learned that the game’s full title is Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and that it won’t be out until sometime in 2025. Although that’s disappointing for fans hoping it would be out soon, it’s also nice to see Metroid Prime 4 in action for the first time since its announcement in 2017.
Everything else
- Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition got an overview ahead of its release next month
- Fairy Tail 2 was announced and launches this winter.
- Apple Arcade exclusive Fantasian is finally coming to Nintendo Switch. It now has the subtitle Neo Dimension and launches later this year.
- Basketball is coming to Nintendo Switch Sports as part of a free update this summer.
- Mio: Memories in Orbit was unveiled and launches in 2025.
- Disney Illusion Island is getting an update later today.
- Hello Kitty: Island Adventures comes to Nintendo Switch in 2025.
- Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports launches this fall.
- A free Among Us update comes out later today.
- Marvelous USA revealed Farmagia. It comes out on November 1.
- Funko Fusion got a dedicated Nintendo Direct segment.
- Nintendo showed off Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD ahead of its June 27 launch.
- The New Denpa Men was announced. It launches for free on July 22.
- Metal Slug Attack Reloaded got a surprise announcement and release today.
- Darkest Dungeon II is coming to Nintendo Switch.
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords, Metroid: Zero Mission, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, and Perfect Dark are all coming to Nintendo Switch Online today.
- Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero comes out in 2025.
- Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics brings several classic Marvel Comics games from Capcom to Nintendo Switch sometime later this year.
- Just Dance: 2025 Edition received a trailer.
- Nintendo reaffirmed that Lego Horizon Adventures is coming to Nintendo Switch.
- Stray comes to Nintendo Switch sometime later this year.
- Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game comes to Switch later this year.
- Ace Attorney Investigations Collection launches on September 6.
- The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy was announced and received an early 2025 release window.
- Romancing SaGa 2 is getting a full remake. It’s called Revenge of the Seven and comes out on October 24.
