Well, E3 might have bitten the dust but it’s nice that Japan is still carrying the torch for gaming conventions as Tokyo Game Show will coming later on in the week. Which is weird as to why Nintendo decided to release their Nintendo Direct the week prior to Tokyo Game Show. I know Nintendo has been doing the Nintendo Direct shows on a regular basis. But I’m just questioning the schedule as they could’ve done it during the same week as the Japan gaming convention.

Oh, well. What does it matter, though? If Nintendo can show me some stuff that’ll make me want to break out my Nintendo Switch, that’s always a good thing, right? So, let’s go check out this month’s Nintendo Direct and see what was good. I usually try to talk about the other side but, honestly, I do have to say this Nintendo Direct showed off a lot of really good games they have out on the horizon. So, why not just look at the good stuff this time around?

I guess the biggest and best announcement of the show was more footage of the upcoming remaster of Super Mario RPG. I already talked about how much I loved Super Mario RPG when I finally played it. It was a pretty good RPG but still filled with a lot of Mario charm. I will say I’m kind of concerned that it does look like Nintendo is making it easier in an effort to make it less grind-y. This is done by making your perfectly timed attacks hit all enemies instead of just doing additional damage to a single enemy. I appreciate the sentiment but I kind of wish they didn’t make battles too easy. Then again, they are adding a mode with more challenging bosses so this might be the thing to balance it out.

Speaking of remasters, Nintendo is releasing Another Code: Recollection, which will have two old Nintendo DS games, Trace Memory, and its sequel, which was never released in Western territories, will be coming to the Nintendo Switch. As it looks like a more laid-back game, focused mostly on puzzle solving, I can see myself getting it… if the price is right.

While both of the previous games I’ve talked about in the Good section are remasters, Princess Peach: Showtime! is not. While it’s basically a platformer, it does seem it’ll be one of those variety games where Princess Peach will don different costumes and the game’s mechanics will change depending on the level. Sometimes, she’s a sword swinging swashbuckler while, in other levels, she becomes a detective or a baker. I’m curious to see how this all works out together.

We do have to talk about remasters again as they’re porting over the original Tomb Raider trilogy of games to the Nintendo Switch. However, if you don’t like those rounded polygons with all the fancy anti-aliasing and whatnot, you can switch back to original blocky models! While I am excited to play the old Tomb Raider games again, I have a sneaking suspicion this won’t be a Switch exclusive. I might get it but probably for my other gaming systems. Still, it’s nice of Nintendo to let me know this exists.

I know it looks like a big cash grab as Spy x Family became one of the biggest anime franchises of the year when the first episodes were air earlier in the year. So, it was indeed only a matter of time for someone to try to exploit Spy x Family’s popularity by making a cheap looking game based on it. Even so, as a fan of both the anime and the manga, I’m still excited for Spy x Anya: Operation Memories. They only showed off a teaser and it’s almost impossible to figure out what the game will actually be like with what they did show. I’m just hope they capture the charm of the show and the manga.

I might hate Konami now for what they’ve become, but I do love myself some Contra. Well, the old Contra games, anyway. I’m also a fan of WayForward, who are behind such games as the Shantae franchise, and Advanced Wars and Ducktales remasters. So, Konami giving them the Contra franchise does seem like a very good idea indeed. The trailer did look like it does capture a lot of the magic that made the original Contra games so fun. So this is indeed something I need to take a deeper look at.

Now, I’m not a fan of the F-Zero franchise but I cannot deny how cool looking F-Zero 99 looks. Yes, it looks very simplistic graphics-wise but I love the twist they put into the traditional racing game as it’s more of a battle royale. The goal is still to win the race but you can also get knocked out when you take out too much damage. And the idea of racing against almost a hundred of actual people online is a pretty cool idea. Even though it’s free, I won’t be getting this as this isn’t quite my thing. But the ones who love this kind of thing will probably have a blast with it.

While I might not be getting F-Zero 99, I will definitely get WarioWare: Move It! I loved the first WarioWare and their ingenious collection of silly minigame and this one seems no different. But it does have the extra feature of trying to make you look incredibly stupid in the process of playing it. It looks like a fun game to bust out at parties.

Finally, it looks like Nintendo is double dipping into the Super Mario RPG salsa as they announced they are also remaking Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the spiritual successor to Super Mario RPG. Now, this I actually played on the Gamecube back in the day and I can safely say this was a really fun game! It’s great that Nintendo recognizes how good it is and they’re making it available on the Switch as well. I’m not sure I’m as excited for this as Super Mario RPG but I’ll definitely get this one as well.

Overall, this Nintendo Direct was pretty good. I’m sure there are some folks who are miffed I didn’t include announcements for the next SaGa game or that VanillaWare strategy game. I mean, they looked good but they’re just not for me. Still, the show did reveal enough to get me hyped for Nintendo’s future. It wasn’t exactly a home run as, besides Super Mario RPG, which I already knew about, there wasn’t a killer reveal. However, it does feel more like all of the smaller reveals did add up to make it a show that was much greater than its parts.

Still, I’m expecting a little bit more when Tokyo Game Show actually rolls around. I hope Nintendo still has some surprises up its sleeve then.

What did you think of this Nintendo Direct? What was the show’s biggest reveal? Let me know in the comments section below!