The September 2018 Nintendo Direct was Really Good

Nintendo Directs almost always leave me disappointed. They usually spend a long time talking about something that I don't care about, such as Xenoblade or Fire Emblem. This time, however, Nintendo managed to surprise me.

The September 2018 Direct was delayed by a full week due to an earthquake in Japan. As a result of the delay, there were a few pieces of information that ended up being revealed. This lead many to believe that we already knew the majority of the information in the Direct. That was far from the truth.

The Remakes:

We certainly live in a time where companies love remaking their older games, but they often leave out certain features or releases that end up being annoying. Final Fantasy and Katamari are getting remakes for the Nintendo Switch, which opens up a few new experiences to longtime Nintendo fans. I personally am really looking forward to trying Katamari for the first time.

Animal Crossing:

I never expected a random Direct to have the announcement that a new Animal Crossing was coming. Sadly we know only a few minor details about the next game in the series. Namely that it's a 2019 release, it's coming to the Switch, and it's a mainline Animal Crossing game (not Happy Home Designer or amiibo Festival).

I like New Leaf, but I hate that I can't play it on the TV. I'm happy that an Animal Crossing game is coming where I won't have to force myself to play on either the TV or on a handheld. I also hope that the Switch Animal Crossing releases on the same day worldwide, as we knew New Leaf information months before it came out in North America, which made it hard for new discoveries to be made.

3DS:

The 3DS may not be dead, but it's easy to see why many think it's on its way. The 3DS had very little presence in this Direct, and even the Luigi's Mansion remake was overshadowed by Luigi's Mansion 3 being announced. That being said, adding co-op to Luigi's Mansion on the 3DS was a strange move. The game is not only very short, but is also rather easy. I'm glad the feature exists, but it doesn't feel like the feature was added because it would benefit the game, it feels like a feature that was added for the sake of having another selling point on the back of the box.

Smash Bros Ultimate:

Super Smash Bros Ultimate had very little time, which I'm grateful for. They announced that a Switch bundle was coming, and that Isabelle from Animal Crossing New Leaf was joining the game as a playable character. Very little else is known about her inclusion, but I do hope that Digby is included as an alternate costume.

Switch Online:

People aren't happy with this service, and I can see why. It offers very little compared to services like PlayStation Plus, and we still don't know everything about the service, despite it launching this month.

I honestly don't hate the service. It's annoying that you have to pay for it, but it's $20 per year, or $35 per year for up to eight people. It's simply not expensive enough for me to get angry about. That being said, I'm not you, so go ahead and voice your frustrations.

Conclusion:

Overall I walked away from this Nintendo Direct very happy. Nintendo's offerings for 2018 are looking enjoyable to me, and 2019 is guaranteed to be a good year if Animal Crossing doesn't get delayed. I've enjoyed my time with the Switch so far, and it looks like it'll continue to get quite a bit of use.

If you're interested in anything I mentioned earlier check out some relevant links:

Super Smash Brothers Ultimate: Amazon | eShop
Animal Crossing: Unavailable
Luigi's Mansion (3DS): Amazon | eShop
Nintendo Switch Online: Amazon