Sure, yesterday’s Nintendo Direct was a little disappointing for some people. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some really nice stuff to come out of it! In our Nintendo Direct highlights, we’ll be focusing on the good, and ignoring the meh. Life’s too short for the mediocre, so let’s get right to the interesting.
Metroid Prime 4
First announced in 1963 (kidding), Metroid Prime 4 is finally ready for release. Almost. The game looks pretty good graphically, considering it is releasing on 2017 mobile technology. It’s also incredibly faithful to the first three Metroid Prime games, almost seeming like no time at all has passed since the Wii’s Metroid Prime 3. The original Metroid Prime is one of the best games ever made, so if this fourth installment is even 20% as good, it’ll be a must-play later this year.
Nintendo Direct Excitement Grade: 8.5/10
Check This Out: The new box art for Metroid Prime 4 is looking attractive, too. Although, if I’m being honest, I don’t think any Metroid Prime game has box art that’s good enough to convey the excellence of the titles.
Virtual Game Cards
Okay, this isn’t a game. But it is a way for families to share their purchased digital games (relatively) easily. I’ll never use this feature, not even once in my long life, but for those with loving families (and very close friends), this feature will make your digital games more valuable. Just in time for Nintendo to make them less valuable by removing Gold Points.
Nintendo Direct Excitement Grade: 6/10 (hey, I just don’t care, but I know some people do)
Pokemon Legends: Z-A
While we already knew about this game, the new footage was welcome. I mentioned in my eee reaction that this looks to be the best Pokemon game in a few years. That’s not saying much, but any improvement at all is very nice to see. I haven’t finished Legends Arceus, so this one may have to wait a bit. That said, for Pokemaniacs, this one is shaping up to be worthwhile. It’ll release in 2025.
Nintendo Direct Excitement Grade: 6.5/10
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
Tomodachi Life fans are living the dream, since after a decade long hiatus the 3DS smash hit is back. This one looks outrageous just like the prior games, and the ending of the trailer with the giant Mii made me laugh out loud in my live reaction video. I’m not that giant of a Tomodachi Life fan, but you bet I’ll be picking up this game to have some stupid fun. Bring it on… in 2026 (yeah, that’s unfortunately a year away or more).
Nintendo Direct Excitement Grade: 8/10
Rhythm Heaven Groove
My friend loves Rhythm Heaven, and I certainly enjoy it too. It’s been a while since the last installment, and I can’t wait to go wild with new rhythm mini-games. The series is similar to WarioWare, although not quite as weird (nothing is). In fact, I’d call this the more mainstream WarioWare. Make no mistake, though, you’ll still need a sense of humor to enjoy the game. This game will release in 2026 too.
Nintendo Direct Excitement Grade: 8.2464/10 (trying out a new scale for this one entry)
High on Life
Nintendo did this game dirty by keeping it in a montage trailer. This was one of the funniest Xbox Game Pass titles, featuring the talents of the voice actor behind the TV show Rick and Morty. The gameplay itself was decent, but it was really the writing and voice acting that made it so cool to play. The Switch version looks downgraded heavily graphically, but if you must play it on Switch, you’ll have a good time. Maybe. It really depends on your sense of humor. This game will release May 6th, 2025.
Nintendo Direct Excitement Grade: 6.5/10 (or 7/10 if I didn’t already play it)
Nintendo Today App
This new app for Android and iOS aims to replace Nintendo fansites (hey, that’s me). Luckily, this app will never be honest with you, so I feel safe in my job security. (You’re not exactly gonna go to Nintendo Power for bad news about Nintendo, are you?)
That said, if you’re in the mood for corporate propaganda (and who isn’t) then go ahead and download this show-stopping app. It’s only fitting I end this editorial with Nintendo Today. Nintendo literally concluded the Nintendo Direct with this app, which really just goes to show how truly mediocre the digital presentation was.
Snark aside, I actually don’t hate this app. It’s fairly cute. But so far there’s little on it that you can’t find on Nintendo’s YouTube channel.
Nintendo did use this app to announce the release date of the Zelda movie, but since every website on the Internet will quickly copy and paste whatever comes from this app, it does render it little more than a public-facing press room.
Nintendo Direct Excitement Grade: 6/10
Conclusion
This concludes the Nintendo Direct highlights for March 27th. You can check out the full presentation below, just in case there’s something else you might be interested in.
On April 2nd, 2025, there will be a Nintendo Switch 2 Direct that’ll hopefully be a lot better than this Nintendo Switch Direct.
I hope you enjoyed these Nintendo Direct highlights. What do you think? Let me know in the comments down below!