Metroid Prime 4, Zelda as heroine, Mario and Luigi return… 8 games to remember from the Nintendo Direct

Announced the day before, the Nintendo Direct on June 18, 2024 is there to reassure players who are wondering if new games will still arrive on Nintendo Switch, while rumors around the Nintendo Switch 2 are becoming more and more pressing. And to put an end to the noise around the successor to the Switch (expected for 2025), Nintendo had planned this: in the announcement of the Direct, it was made clear that there would be no question of the “Nintendo Switch 2”. We have been warned.

A few surprises however, with the presence of the Arlesian Metroid Prime 4but also the first game Zelda where we end up playing Zelda. Without forgetting, of course, the usual ports of old glories. To help you see more clearly in this June 2024 Nintendo Direct, we have selected eight games to watch!

1. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Unquestionably, this is the bomb dropped at the end of this Nintendo Direct: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, announced at the launch of the Nintendo Switch, is finally a reality. After being pushed back, rethought, started from scratch, it should finally see the light of day in 2025. The game has not been revealed much, but the few environments glimpsed can only make you want to. And once again, bounty hunter Samus Aran will have to face space pirates in tense confrontations.

Still a little patience : Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is not expected before 2025… Will it actually be released on Nintendo Switch? Time will tell us. In the meantime, we can console ourselves with Metroid Prime Remastered …

2. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

That’s it, finally! Peach had her moment of glory with Princess Peach Showtime. It’s now Princess Zelda’s turn to become the heroine of her own game, which takes over the artistic direction of the remake of Link’s Awakening on Nintendo Switch. In this new adventure, the sovereign will have to save the land of Hyrule, devoured by faults which engulf everything (including Link!).

The gameplay deliberately moves away from the main saga: helped by her new friend the fairy Tri, Zelda can reproduce objects to solve environmental puzzles and explore the region. To fight, the princess also be resourceful, either by using the objects around her or by copying enemies using her magic scepter so that they fight alongside her. The release is scheduled for September 26, 2024.

3. Mario and Luigi: The Brotherly Epic

Clearly, between Mario and RPGs, it’s true love at the moment! After the revised versions of Super Mario RPG at the end of 2023 and Paper Mario: The Millennium Door last month, Nintendo resurrected the license Mario and Luigi. However, we imagined this series doomed since the disappointing results of the last remastered episodes, and especially since the disappearance in 2019 of the AlphaDream studio, which was at the origin.

This new adventure of the plumber brothers, called Mario and Luigi: The Brotherly Epic, is expected for November 7, 2024, nine years after the last new adventure. We especially remember, for the moment, the artistic direction which leans towards the cartoon side, for a refreshing effect, in accordance with the previous episodes of the saga. Exploration and confrontations seem as dynamic as they were back then, and that’s all we want! Without forgetting the essential touches of humor in the saga…

4. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD

You remembered the portage of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze remastered on Nintendo Switch? This time it’s the previous episode, Donkey Kong Country Returns, which is coming to the hybrid console. Originally, the title was released on Wii in 2010, and was ported to Nintendo 3DS with new levels. Good news: they will be part of this new port, expected for January 16, 2025.

5. The first three Dragon Quest in HD-2D remake

In the Japanese RPG family, if there are two families (formerly enemies) to know, it’s Final Fantasy And Dragon Quest. The game Dragon Quest III, originally released in 1988 on Super Nintendo, will therefore be given a second lease of life thanks to this HD-2D version which will please pixel enthusiasts. And surprise: the first two Dragon Quest also return, with the same treatment, in 2025.

6. Super Mario Party Jamboree

Yet another new one Mario Party ! After the excellent anniversary episode Mario Party Superstars And Super Mario Partythe Nintendo Switch is preparing to welcome Super Mario Party Jamboree, which we are promised is very rich in content. Seven sets are planned: five are new, and two come from old episodes (Mario Party 1 And Mario Party 2).

We should therefore find gameplay closer to the original games, which is good news as the license ended up being lost on Wii and Wii U. As always on the menu: a variety of mini-games and lots of different modes. See you on October 17, 2024 for the party.

7. Perfect Dark

Unofficial sequel to GoldenEye 64 , Perfect Dark returns to the Nintendo 64 offer in the Nintendo Switch Online additional pack. Released in 2000, this first-person shooter puts us in the shoes of secret agent Joanna Dark, embarked on a surprising adventure against an evil corporation. And for the first time, the title will offer an online multiplayer mode.

8. Lego Horizon Adventures

A PlayStation game on Nintendo Switch? Yes. Lego Horizon Adventureswhich transforms the PlayStation license Horizon made of bricks, will make its way to the Nintendo Switch during winter 2024. We hope to find all the usual ingenuity and lightness of Lego games. 

But what we expect from a Lego game, of course, is also and above all its two-player local coop mode, which will obviously also be there! Lego Horizon Adventures is expected for this winter, on Nintendo Switch.