Everyone who regularly follows along with Nintendo’s online presentations (Nintendo Direct) is used to one or two disappointing omissions, but today’s Direct didn’t leave much out. There may not have been any mention of Metroid Prime (the upcoming fourth game or otherwise), but many big names were included in the lineup. A new Fire Emblem, called Fire Emblem Engage, is headed for the Switch on January 20, 2023, and brings back the turn-based tile-driven combat of the classic series. And the popular Switch RPG Octopath Traveler is getting its own sequel a month later, on February 24. Even Final Fantasy is making a comeback—sort of—with rhythm action game THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE, expected to release on February 16. Outside of the role-playing and role-playing-adjacent, it looks like fan favorite Golden Eye 64 is headed to the Switch “soon” by way of the Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. Nintendo Direct also surprised viewers with a teaser for Pikmin 4, due out sometime next year. Bayonetta 3 received a release date, and it’s much closer than expected: October 28. There were also a few scary games in the mix, with Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse out in early 2023 and cloud versions of the Resident Evil 2 and RE 3 remakes, RE 7, coming later this year. Resident Evil Village is also getting a cloud release due out on October 28, but a playable demo is also available now. But of course, the new Legend of Zelda had to wrap up the presentation with another brief teaser, but this time it included a full title and release date. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is expected to land on the Switch on May 12, 2023.
