Nintendo Direct June 2024: 10 Highlights
Fans of the Big N will be eating good for the rest of the year and into 2025.
If you are a dedicated consumer of video games like me, Nintendo Direct presentations which show off the company’s upcoming titles are some of the most anticipated events of the year. While not all of them are guaranteed to be interesting, Nintendo’s showcase this week arguably marked one of its strongest software lineups seen in years.
Considering that the Switch is now entering its twilight years as Nintendo prepares to unveil the next iteration of the hybrid hardware, it’s perhaps not a surprise that the company is aiming to have a robust library of new games to maintain interest. If you do not own a Switch yet, I would personally hold off on buying one now as what will be revealed later this fiscal year is practically guaranteed to be backwards compatible.

While Nintendo did not reveal anything new about the “Switch 2” or whatever it will eventually be called, it certainly delivered on the games. I’ve never written about Nintendo Directs before, but this presentation was so full of interesting content that I felt compelled to do an article summarizing my thoughts on what I’m most excited for. Based on this theme, I’ve assembled a list of ten games shown arranged in the order of my own level of interest.
It goes without saying that this is my own personal selection of what spoke to me and that it likely won’t match everything that interests you, dear reader. For a full list of all software that was shown, I recommend checking out Nintendo Life’s comprehensive article. This piece offers musings on each selected game, an explanation of why I think they’re important, some potential concerns, and if I think it will ultimately be worth checking out. Feel free to chime in with your own anticipated games in the comments section.
All titles listed are for Nintendo Switch with other platforms noted if applicable. Without further delay, let’s dive into the Nintendo Direct for June 2024.
10. New Games for the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack
With the death of the Virtual Console for 3DS and Wii U, the only place to legally play some of Nintendo’s library of retro games is through its Nintendo Switch Online and Expansion Pack service. Fan response to what’s essentially the company’s version of Netflix was initially very mixed and while the emulation quality has since improved, there are still concerns over the service’s pricing and release schedule of new games.
But those problems aside, the announcement that The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords and Metroid: Zero Mission are now part of the library of playable GBA games on Switch is legitimately big news. These are two of the most sought-after and expensive games on their original handheld, but now the masses will have easy access to them. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Perfect Dark are also very welcome additions to the service’s paltry offering of Nintendo 64 games, with the latter having previously been tied up in legal issues since Microsoft now owns the rights to titles developed by Rare.
Release date: Out now!
Will I play it? Likely not. I’m an original hardware guy and have little interest in playing games I don’t actually own. I’m not really a Nintendo 64 guy, but I thankfully already have both of the GBA cartridges. For the average consumer with access to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service though, I can wholeheartedly recommend them.
9. Fantasian Neo Dimension
Here’s one that completely slipped my radar. Fantasian was initially an RPG released exclusive through Apple Arcade for iOS devices in 2021. As I’m not subscribed to that service, I wasn’t aware of it until Nintendo unveiled the updated Neo Dimension this week for Switch, and it’s also planned for Windows, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. The original game was divided into two parts, but notably featured no microtransactions and already had full controller support. Everything being included here should make this the definitive version.
As his first narrative-driven game in years, Fantasian boasts an impressive pedigree of having been written and produced by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Longtime collaborator Nobuo Uematsu also contributed the music. While the overall gameplay and story appear to be typical JRPG fare that the duo is known for, they haven’t really done anything like it since 2011’s The Last Story, so the familiar territory isn’t unwelcome. It’s great that this game is going to be released from its mobile phone shackles and will get the full console treatment it deserves.
Release date: Q4 2024. Will also be available on PS4, PS5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.
Will I play it? I already have a considerable backlog of RPGs to get through, but I’ll keep an eye on this one. There is no physical release currently announced, so I’ll either wait or hold off for an eShop sale.
8. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
This one was a surprise. Nintendo somehow managed to get even the fighting game crowd excited with Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. When I first saw it, I assumed that this was going to be a dual-pack of Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, which would have been exciting on its own. Nope. In addition to those games, X-Men Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, and The Punisher will also be included in what could become one of the greatest game compilations ever made.
The original arcade versions for many of these games have never been given a proper home release, while their Sega Saturn and PlayStation ports are often some of the most expensive titles available on their respective systems. Even if this ends up costing $60, that will be a steal considering the sheer amount of content present. It remains to be seen how good things like the emulation quality, controller lag, and online features will be, but this is exciting stuff indeed.
Release date: 2024. Will also be released on PS4 and Steam. Oddly enough, no announced native PS5 release or port to Xbox consoles. Perhaps later down the line.
Will I play it? Hell yeah! While I’m not the best at fighting games, I’ve always been fascinated by these crossover titles. The bonus features which will highlight their gorgeous artwork and music are of particular interest to me. Japan at least is getting a physical edition, so I’ll be happy to add it to my collection.
7. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
Another out of left field announcement, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder why it’s taken this long for Donkey Kong Country Returns to get ported to Switch. Originally released in 2010 for the Wii, by the time DKCR comes back it will already have been 15 years (!) since then. Man do I feel old.
But why an early 2025 release date when Nintendo could probably release this one next week? Simple, this is what I like to call a “stopgap game.” You know, those quick and dirty titles major publishers put out when they have nothing else during a rather barren window or are otherwise busy with more important projects. Come January 2025, you can bet dollars to donuts that Nintendo is going to be firing on all cylinders preparing for the Switch successor. The holidays will be over and I strongly believe we’ll see the new console around March 2025 similar to the original Switch’s release date of March 3, 2017. Eight years will have passed. Again, man do I feel old.

As for Donkey Kong Country Returns itself, what can you really say? It’s Donkey Kong Country Returns! It did everything a proper platformer reboot should do and then some. The biggest issue with the Wii release was the shoehorned motion controls which made the tougher levels a headache to play, but the 2013 3DS port thankfully got rid of them and even added eight new levels. Unfortunately, the buttery smooth 60fps framerate was cut in half to 30. The Switch port looks to be combining the best of both worlds. No bad motion controls, all the levels, and the original 60fps restored. What more could you ask for?
Release date: January 16, 2025.
Will I play it? For sure. I never actually finished the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy, so the long wait will give me an excuse to boot up my Super Famicom and properly go through them. My biggest concern is that Nintendo will likely try to get away with pricing Donkey Kong Country Returns HD at $60 when I really think $40 would be more appropriate. But that’s the Nintendo tax for you.
6. Mario & Luigi: Brothership
Mario and Luigi are back! In fact they’ve been gone so long, it’s been nearly ten years since the last one. The series got its start back in 2003 with Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, a nostalgic classic for the GBA and one of the first video games yours truly ever played as a child. From there, the series was followed up on the DS with Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story to strong reviews, making it a rather tight trilogy of accessible RPGs. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team was a serviceable fourth game on the 3DS, but the fifth entry Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam failed to make much of an impression.
A now-defunct Japanese company called AlphaDream developed all of these titles, but filed for bankruptcy in 2019, which probably accounts for their unfortunate decline in quality. Bringing us to the present, is Mario & Luigi: Brothership — the sixth entry in the series and the first to be made without AlphaDream’s involvement. It appears that Nintendo themselves are developing this game, and the engine has been transitioned fully into 3D with brand new artwork.
It’s rather surprising that this one is just around the corner, but the animation and moves seen in the trailer look incredible. I initially thought that it was going to be a 3D remake of a previous Mario & Luigi, but I’m glad that Nintendo has decided to do an original game instead. Superstar Saga already got a 3DS remake and the one for Bowser’s Inside Story was completely unnecessary. This is the logical step forward, but hopefully we’ll see some of the same quirky magic we saw all those years ago from that original RPG trilogy with Brothership.
Release date: November 7, 2024.
Will I play it? Yes, eventually. As I mentioned already, I have a pretty big backlog of RPGs to get through and have only played a handful of the ones from this series. October and November are already looking to be a pretty packed month with new game releases so I’m not sure if I’ll have time for this one, but I’ll certainly get to it one day.
5. Kamaitachi no Yoru Triple
This one requires a bit of extra context to explain, so bear with me for a minute. I’m assuming that most people reading this article watched the English language stream of the Nintendo Direct which was aimed at overseas audiences. Living in Japan, however, I always watch the Japanese ones, and some of the games shown are released for this country only. Kamaitachi no Yoru Triple was one such announcement you wouldn’t have seen outside of Japan and probably would know nothing about even if you did.
Back in 1994, Chunsoft (long before it merged with Spike to become Spike Chunsoft as we know it today) released a video game exclusively for the Japanese market called Kamaitachi no Yoru or “Night of the Kamaitachi” on Super Famicom. A kamaitachi is a fictional Japanese yokai which roughly translates as “sickle weasel.” There’s a lot of lore behind it which we won’t get into, but from the name itself you can probably gather that it’s a very culturally specific thing to Japanese folklore.
Back to the game though, Kamaitachi no Yoru was the second entry in Chunsoft’s line of “Sound Novels.” This was the company’s trademarked name for visual novels — games that are entirely story-based with little actual gameplay apart from making text-based choices that often result in multiple endings. There isn’t much real practical difference between a “Sound Novel” and a normal visual novel, but Chunsoft claims that theirs rely heavily on music, sound effects, and overall aural ambience to tell a compelling narrative. The company’s first Sound Novel was Otogirisou in 1992, also for Super Famicom.
Otogirisou and Kamaitachi no Yoru were horror-themed and pioneers in video game storytelling, giving Japanese players stories on par with novels or films. The latter was especially notable for utilizing digitized artwork of real-world locations in Nagano Prefecture, which made the game’s intimate mountain lodge setting unlike anything else that had come before it. Neither were released outside of Japan, likely because there was no market for visual novels in the West and due to Nintendo of America’s strict censorship rules on mature content.

Kamaitachi no Yoru did receive one limited English release on iOS in 2014 under the localized title Banshee’s Last Cry. My friend Jeremy Blaustein was behind the English translation, but he controversially removed the Japanese setting and changed all the character names into Western ones. While I disagree with that decision, it’s somewhat understandable given that Spike Chunsoft was trying to market an extremely niche game to international audiences. Jeremy told me that he’s still proud of the work he did, but if asked to do it today, he would probably keep the Japanese setting. In any case, Banshee’s Last Cry was delisted from the iOS Apple Store years ago and its announced Android port never even came out.
This brings us to today with Kamaitachi no Yoru Triple, which will be released later this year in honor of the franchise’s 30th anniversary. To make a complicated backstory even more complicated, this appears to be a remaster of the series’ third game originally released for PlayStation 2 in 2006. The official website mentions that the “main story” of the first two games will also be included, but that suggests that their dozens of alternate endings won’t, which I think is a shame.

At this point, Kamaitachi no Yoru has multiple mainline entries and ports that add or remove story elements, with the second game being particularly infamous for its meta-narrative and references to other Chunsoft titles. This new version of Kamaitachi no Yoru Triple appears to have the objective of telling one streamlined story across the entire trilogy while having less focus on the odder endings, such as the protagonists playing their own game within the game. It gets very weird, trust me.
Unfortunately like the rest of the franchise, this one appears to be intended for Japan only and it seems very unlikely that the West will ever get it. This would have been the perfect opportunity to finally bring Kamaitachi no Yoru outside of Japan, but even in 2024 with a ton of visual novels and dating sims available on Steam, some games are still too niche to be commercially viable. Chunsoft’s other major Sound Novel, 428: Shibuya Scramble, did get an English release, but available data suggests it sold very poorly in relation to the amount of time it must have taken to localize such a massively long text-heavy game.

That was a very long explanation for a game that most reading this will probably never be able to play, but I do hope to explore the history of such niche Japanese video games and visual novels in future articles. Titles like Kamaitachi no Yoru, while having considerable cultural resonance in Japan, are all but unknown outside of it and I think that information is at least worth preserving in English.
Release date: September 19, 2024. Also will be available on PS4 and Steam. Japan only though, I’m afraid.
Will I play it? Yes, and my wife is especially a huge fan of this series as a horror aficionado. I got most of the endings on the PS1 port of Kaimaitachi no Yoru a few years ago when we both played it, but will probably go back to get the rest before this one comes out. I also want to play the original full version of Kaimaitachi no Yoru 2 on PS2 to get the weird endings that likely won’t be present in the upcoming Triple release.
4. Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
Ok, here’s a visual novel you can actually play. The remaining two games in the Ace Attorney series previous locked to the original Nintendo DS and mobile phones are finally coming to modern platforms with the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection. This is less of a surprise announcement and more of a “finally” announcement. Now all the games in the series are easily accessible.
While the Ace Attorney series usually puts players in the shoes of defense attorneys, the Investigations spin-off games revolve around fan-favorite prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. Like the title implies, the gameplay focuses more on crime scene investigations, making the overall experience closer to a traditional point-and-click adventure game. This collection is notable, however, for including the second Miles Edgeworth game in English. Released as Gyakuten Kenji 2 for the Nintendo DS in 2011, sales of the first localized Investigations game were deemed too low by Capcom to justify the translation costs for the sequel.

That was a shame too, because having played the excellent fan translation of Gyakuten Kenji 2 back in 2014 when it was known as Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth: Prosecutor’s Path, I think it ranks among one of the best stories in the entire series. Capcom has changed the subtitle to Prosecutor’s Gambit and the character names are likely going to be different, but better late than never either way.
For those to Ace Attorney, I would recommend at least playing the original trilogy since it provides crucial backstory for who Miles Edgeworth is and begins his complex character arc. After that, you’re all good to go to the other side of the courtroom and become the prosecution.
Release date: September 6, 2024. Also will be available for PS4, Xbox One, and Steam.
Will I play it? Yes. I’m still currently playing the prequel game The Great Ace Attorney and then intend on going through the entire series in chronological order in Japanese since until now I’ve only experienced the English localization, which changes things considerably. But after replaying the original trilogy, I will move onto the Miles Edgeworth games which come next in the series timeline. I’ll be curious to see how Capcom localizes that second title.
3. Dragon Quest Trilogy HD-2D Remake
Another “finally” announcement. We first learned of the existence of a full Dragon Quest III remake back *in 2021* and until this week heard nothing new, leading some to speculate that perhaps the entire project had been cancelled. Thankfully not so. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake looks better than ever and not only that, the first two games in the series will also receive the same gorgeous treatment next year!
Dragon Quest is a cultural phenomenon in Japan, to the point where it’s arguably more popular than Mario or Final Fantasy over here. The West has been slower to embrace the series, but the positive overseas sales and reception to Dragon Quest XI have shown Square Enix that there is newfound demand outside of Japan for these games. Until XI took things back even further, Dragon Quest III was chronologically the earliest point in the series’ timeline and told the origin story of the legendary hero Roto (Erdrick in the localized North American version) who is constantly alluded to in the first two games.
While III has always been highly acclaimed in Japan, it was never as popular overseas as some of the other games in the series, so this is the perfect opportunity for it to be properly revisited. The updated graphics, which look like they’ve taken a page from Ocotopath Traveller, look fantastic, and the symphonic suite arrangements of the late Koichi Sugiyama’s legendary score are as beautiful as ever. Full remakes of the first two Dragon Quest games are planned for 2025, but they lack a precise release date.
I’m a bit apprehensive of new players starting with III due to the considerable gameplay evolutions that the previous two games lack. Additionally while the third game is a prequel, I’ve always been of the belief that one should play or watch everything in chronological order, as some story references will only be apparent if you know the full context behind them. Still, Square Enix believes that III is a good place to begin, so I’m sure it will be for many. It certainly beats those awful eShop ports of the Dragon Quest mobile games, which is currently the only way to play this original trilogy on Switch. Don’t. Be patient and play the remakes instead.
Release date: November 14, 2024. Also will be available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam. Interestingly there appears to be no PS4 version, which I hope Square Enix won’t skip on. There’s no reason why this game couldn’t run on that system and there are still plenty of PS4-only consumers who have not upgraded to PS5 yet. Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake will follow for the same systems sometime in 2025.
Will I play it? This one is tough because I just beat Dragon Quest III on iOS last month and am currently making my way through Dragon Quest IV on DS. I have a horrible habit of starting games, putting them down, and not coming back to them for years. I originally beat the first Dragon Quest game back in high school, meaning that it’s taken me over 13 years to finish the first trilogy alone. While I don’t plan on taking nearly as much time in playing the other games in the series, that would still mean the remake of III would be years away for me.
I might not be able to finish it right away, but I’ll still support this release and at least play through the first few hours before deciding what path to take. If I find the overall experience considerably different from the original, I’ll continue with it. If not, I’ll enjoy my time soaking in the new presentation before returning to the Dragon Quest games I haven’t played. I’m also planning on writing an article that will cover my experiences with the first Dragon Quest trilogy around the time the remake comes out, so stay tuned for that.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
You’d forgive me for thinking that Nintendo was remaking the The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages Game Boy games from the first 45 seconds of this trailer. After all, it appears to be using the exact same art style and game engine as 2019’s remake of Link’s Awakening. But no, this is a completely new title called The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and not only that, you actually play as Zelda herself!
It’s a bit of a running gag that non-gamers unfamiliar with The Legend of Zelda series automatically assume that the protagonist’s name is Zelda, despite the hero being almost exclusively our elf-eared hero Link since 1986. Sure, you could sort of play as Zelda in Spirit Tracks for the DS, and yes, Zelda was the protagonist in two of the series’ games for the Philips CDi. But you already know how awful those were, so I’ll let the Angry Video Game Nerd do the rest.

This is the first proper game in the series where the protagonist is Zelda and by all accounts it seems to be exactly the kind of game you’d expect from the series. I was a bit disappointed to see the reuse of the elements seen in that Link’s Awakening remake, but remember what I said about stopgap games with Nintendo. It’s very likely that the company wanted to put out some kind of Legend of Zelda game in 2024 while they’re busy with bigger titles, so using what’s already available makes sense.
Despite using the same engine as Link’s Awakening, I’m optimistic that the new gameplay elements with Zelda herself will keep Echoes of Wisdom fresh and that the world map will be far bigger. Link’s Awakening was originally a Game Boy game and the remake’s staff likely did not want to stray too far from its roots, but those restrictions are no longer here. Also, let’s hope the performance issues are fixed this time around.
Release date: September 26, 2024.
Will I play it? As I said, I’m absolutely horrible with starting games and finishing them. This will anger many, but I never got very far into Breath of the Wild and I haven’t even touched Tears of the Kingdom. I have played most of the series, but I’m missing some notable ones like Majora’s Mask and the Oracle Game Boy games. Oh, and remember Link’s Awakening? Yeah, I never finished that either, the original or remake.
So before I get to Echoes of Wisdom, I still have a considerable Zelda backlog to get through. I know, I know, it’s my own fault for not being consistent. But that’s what you get when you’re a busy graduate student who also works part-time and tries to deliver regular written content to you lovely people. I’ll get back on the Zelda train soon.
1. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Come on, was there really any other game that could take the top slot? It’s the featured image of this article and Nintendo intentionally saved it for last in their presentation fully knowing that the hype was immeasurable. Yes dear readers, Metroid Prime 4 is still happening, and now with the subtitle Beyond.
It’s hard to believe that Metroid Prime 4 was announced all the way back at E3 2017. Apart from Nintendo revealing that Retro Studios would not be involved in the project, few other details were known at the time. To give you an idea of how different things were, the Switch was brand new and E3 was still a thing. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X were three years away. With that in consideration, it’s all the more impressive that the Nintendo Switch is still the more successful console despite the weaker hardware and rapid advancements the video games industry has seen.

But something had to have gone catastrophically wrong with Metroid Prime 4 because not only did Nintendo reveal in 2019 that Retro Studios would in fact develop the game, the entire project was being restarted from scratch. We can only assume that Nintendo realized the error of their ways in not initially working with the team behind the original Metroid Prime trilogy. So despite the long development time, I doubt the wait will have been in vain.
I personally think that Metroid Prime 4 is going to be a launch title for the Nintendo Switch successor. The game has been in production for far too long for the company not to have considered moving it to better hardware. The current footage shown in the trailer looks very impressive, but whether the current Switch will be able to handle it remains to be seen. We may end up having a Breath of the Wild situation where the older hardware does get a port of the game, but the real focus is on the newer, shinier version.
Release date: Sometime in 2025. Very likely at or around the launch of Nintendo’s next console.
Will I play it? I’d be foolish not to. With that said, I’m currently making my way through the entire Metroid series and playing most of them for the first time. I beat the Famicom Disk System version of the original game last year on actual hardware and since the games aren’t that long, I should be able to clear the rest in time for the release of Metroid Prime 4.
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