Month: February 2019

A demo for Yoshi’s Crafted World is coming to Switch soon–later today, in fact. During the February 2019 Nintendo Direct (see all the news from it here), the company announced the demo with a short trailer that also showed off some gameplay and a preview of Yoshi’s adorable costumes.

Nintendo didn’t specify exactly what today’s new demo will include, but the trailer featured Yoshi rafting, racing solar cars, and flying a plane. It also detailed how you can use in-game coins to craft cardboard costumes for Yoshi, which function like armor. This includes a Nintendo Labo-themed outfit in the shape of the piano.

Yoshi’s Crafted World was first revealed during E3 2017. It appears to play similarly to previous Yoshi games and features a perspective-shifting mechanic in a cardboard diorama-like world. It is set to release on Nintendo Switch on March 29.

Nintendo opened the Direct with the announcement of Super Mario Maker 2 for Switch. The company also announced Fire Emblem: Three Houses’ release date and gave more details about the game in an extended trailer.

Nintendo’s latest Direct presentation has concluded, and–as promised–it brought plenty of information about new Switch games. In addition, we got welcome updates on existing Switch games, with new free and paid DLC coming to a bunch of our favorite titles. Let’s get in to all the biggest news from the Direct.

Super Mario Maker 2

Super Mario Maker 2 has been announced, with a release window of June this year. Read more: Super Mario Maker 2 Announced For Nintendo Switch.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s 3.0 update has been detailed, and we also got a confirmed release date for the upcoming DLC character Joker. Additionally, three more Smash-themed Amiibo figures are on the way, depicting Pokemon Trainer, Metal Gear Solid’s Snake, and Castlevania’s Simon Belmont. Read more: Smash Bros. Ultimate 3.0 Update And Joker Release Detailed; New Amiibo Revealed.

BoxBoy + BoxGirl

BoxBoy + BoxGirl is a brand-new game with 270 stages, including two-player co-op. It’s the first Switch game in the BoxBoy series, which began and 2015 on 3DS and was most recently seen in 2017 with Bye-Bye BoxBoy. Read more: BoxBoy + BoxGirl Announced For Nintendo Switch.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

The Switch version of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is getting new DLC, some of which is paid (new challenges and courses) and some of which is free (a new co-op mode, which will be live in a few hours). Read more: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Switch Is Getting Free And Paid DLC.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

New details and characters were revealed for this upcoming brawler, and we now know the Defenders squad will be included. Read more: New Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Characters Revealed.

The Legend Of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Nintendo has revealed a remake of the Game Boy classic The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening for the Nintendo Switch. Read more: The Legend Of Zelda: Link’s Awakening Remake Announced For Switch.

Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night

We got an update on the progress of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, whose release date will fall in summer 2019. Read more: Castlevania-Like Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Release Date Narrowed, Slightly

Tetris 99

Tetris 99 is a new, free-to-play twist on classic Tetris that pits–you guessed it–99 players against one another. Read more: Nintendo Switch Gets A New Battle Royale Game Today, And It’s Tetris

Assassin’s Creed 3 Remaster

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed III Remaster will be available on Nintendo Switch on May 21. It will include a remaster of PlayStation Vita title Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, and the Tyranny of King Washington DLC. Read more: Assassin’s Creed 3 Remaster’s Nintendo Switch Release Date Confirmed

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Fire Emblem: Three Houses got an extended trailer showing off a bunch of narrative details about the game. On top of that, we got to see combat learned more about how characters will form bonds. Nintendo also confirmed a release date for the game, as well as a special edition. Read more: Nintendo Switch’s Fire Emblem: Three Houses Details Revealed, Nintendo Switch’s Fire Emblem: Three Houses Release Date And Special Edition Revealed

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

Ninja Theory’s acclaimed action game, which explores mental illness through the lens of a Norse mythology setting, is coming to Nintendo Switch and has a release window of Spring 2019. Read more: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Announced For Nintendo Switch

Deltarune

Toby Fox’s Deltarune is coming to Switch on February 28, with Chapter 1 of the Undertale follow-up being downloadable for free. Additional chapters, which are “currently in development”, will not be free, however. Read more: Deltarune: Chapter 1 Announced For Switch, Will Be Free

Yoshi’s Crafted World

A demo for Yoshi’s Crafted World is coming to Switch today, giving Nintendo Switch owner a free taste of the little dinosaur’s next big adventure. Read more: Yoshi’s Crafted World Demo Available Later Today On Nintendo Switch

Final Fantasy 9 and Final Fantasy 7

Final Fantasy VII is launching for Switch next month, on March 26, but Final Fantasy IX will be available in the Switch Eshop later today. Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy, meanwhile, is set to arrive next month, on March 2. Read more: Final Fantasy 9 Out Today On Switch, Final Fantasy 7 Coming Next Month

If you haven’t already, you can catch up on all the biggest news from the latest Nintendo Direct here, but the showstopper was new Zelda game for the Switch. Nintendo closed out its latest Direct presentation by unveiling a remake of the beloved Game Boy game The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which is being “reborn as a new experience” on the hybrid console later this year.

Nintendo didn’t share many details about the Link’s Awakening remake, but it retains the same top-down perspective as the original, making it the first new 2D Zelda game for Switch. It also features a visual style reminiscent of A Link Between Worlds, the 3DS follow-up to A Link to the Past.

Link’s Awakening originally launched for Game Boy back in 1993, with an updated color version (dubbed Link’s Awakening DX) following in 1998. Unlike most other games in the series, it isn’t set in Hyrule, but rather the mysterious Koholint Island. After being shipwrecked, Link washes ashore the island and can only escape by retrieving eight magical instruments and waking the isle’s guardian, the Wind Fish.

Nintendo announced a ton of other Switch games during its latest direct presentation, including Super Mario Maker 2, which is slated to launch this June. As promised, we also got a closer look at Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which is now coming to Switch on July 26.

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed III Remaster will be available on Nintendo Switch on May 21. The confirmation was provided during the Nintendo Direct, and confirms rumors from earlier in the year. The game has already been confirmed for release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 29.

Alongside an updated version of Assassin’s Creed III, the package will include a remaster of PlayStation Vita title Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, and the Tyranny of King Washington DLC. For those that have Assassin’s Creed Odyssey‘s season pass, this remaster will be available at no extra cost. The Switch version will have new gameplay features such as aiming using motion control, and some touch-based gameplay too.

Assassin’s Creed III was first released for PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and Wii U in 2012. We awarded the game an 8.5/10 in our Assassin’s Creed III review; critic Kevin VanOrd said it “expands the series’ gameplay in enjoyable and sensible ways.”

He added: “Assassin’s Creed III is a big game that gives you a lot to do, some of which is fleshed out relatively well, and some of which isn’t. It is not, however, content to rest on the series’ laurels. It takes chances with its opening, with its story, and with its characters.

“As with many ambitious games, not every arrow fired hits the bull’s-eye, yet this big, narratively rich sequel is easy to get invested in. Other games stimulate emotion with manipulative music and teary monologues; Assassin’s Creed III rouses your mind and your heart by giving you a glimpse into its characters’ souls and letting you judge them on their own merits.”

Back in September, Square Enix announced it will bring a slate of modern-era Final Fantasy games to Nintendo Switch (as well as Xbox One) in 2019, including the classic PS One entries Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy IX. The former was recently featured in a new Switch commercial that teased it would hit the console “soon,” and now we know exactly when.

During the latest Direct presentation, Nintendo revealed that Final Fantasy VII is launching for Switch next month, on March 26. The spin-off Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy is also set to arrive next month, on March 20, but fans won’t have to wait that long to play Final Fantasy IX; that game will be available in the Switch Eshop later today, February 13.

Beyond those titles, Square Enix is also bringing Final Fantasy X, X-2, and XII: The Zodiac Age to both Switch and Xbox One this year. The X and X-2 HD Remaster collection will arrive on April 16, with Final Fantasy XII following several weeks later, on April 30. The publisher has also previously announced a PS4 and Switch port of Final Fantasy: The Crystal Chronicles, but no release date has been confirmed yet.

That wasn’t the only Square Enix news to come out of the latest Nintendo Direct. We also learned that Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition will launch for Switch this fall, while the Minecraft-like spin-off Dragon Quest Builders 2 is coming on July 12.

During the February 2019 Nintendo Direct, the company announced that Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice will be getting a Switch release. The acclaimed action game, which explores mental illness in a Norse mythology setting, has a release window of Spring 2019.

Nintendo didn’t provide many details about the port during the presentation. Hellblade was originally a PlayStation 4 console exclusive (that was also available on PC), and it came to Xbox One in April 2018.

GameSpot awarded it an 8/10 in our Hellblade review, calling it “a spellbinding and sympathetic game about loss and redemption.” It was also one of GameSpot’s top 10 games of 2017.

Stay tuned for more news from the Nintendo Direct, which began with the announcement of Super Mario Maker 2 for Switch. We also learned a lot more about Fire Emblem: Three Houses, including a release date.

During a Nintendo Direct packed with big Switch news, the company also revealed that Toby Fox’s Deltarune will be coming to the handheld and console hybrid. Chapter 1 of the Undertale follow-up will be available for free, while later chapters–which are “currently in development”–will not. In true Toby Fox fashion, the announcement was made with “a censored, spoiler-free trailer” featuring tons of Undertale’s Annoying Dog, which was later confirmed to not be in Deltarune at such high quantities.

Undertale, which first released on PC in 2015, came to Switch in September 2018. Deltarune: Chapter 1 is getting its port much more quickly; it first released late last year on PC to a very excited Undertale fanbase. Toby Fox stated that the game is far from finished and that Chapter 1 is a demo for what’s hopefully to come.

Deltarune: Chapter 1 will release on the Switch Eshop on February 28. We loved what we saw when we first played it on PC.

In other Direct news, Nintendo has announced Super Mario Maker 2 for Switch and given far more details about Fire Emblem: Three Houses.