Today, February 9, 2022, Nintendo had their February Direct presentation. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I certainly didn’t expect that every single game ever made is coming to Nintendo Switch. Okay, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But this Direct was jam-packed with great older titles that are finally coming to Switch.
Early on, we saw some footage from Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp. Sure, we knew about this one already, but it’s absolutely wild to think that we’re finally going to get these classics on a modern Nintendo console.
The real head-scratchers started after that, with the WTF? moment of seeing No Man’s Sky on Switch for the first time. I audibly gasped when that happened, but I never expected the trend to just keep going and going and going, like the doggone Energizer bunny. But it did.
Later, we saw the reveal of Front Mission 1st, which is a remake of the original Front Mission game. I never played the first two games in this series, but Front Mission 3 on the PSOne was my jam. Grid-based tactical battles between mechs? I love this stuff! While there was no news about Front Mission 3 at this Direct, Front Mission 2 was teased for a later date.
And then Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was revealed for Switch. There’s plenty of great nostalgic Star Wars content already on the Switch, but The Force Unleashed really was one of the recent high points of the franchise’s long love affair with the gaming world. It will be in good hands on the Switch, I think.
Not long ago, I purchased an imported copy of the Assassin’s Creed: Ezio Collection for PS4. It worked just fine, but I certainly can’t take it on the go with me. That changes with the Ezio Collection on Nintendo Switch, which launches February 17. Okay, with COVID and all, I probably won’t be going on the road any time soon, but when I eventually do, this might be a neat companion to have along for the ride.
So who remembers Chrono Cross, the sequel to the beloved Chrono Trigger? Well, that’s coming to Nintendo Switch as well, with Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers, which is a remastered and enhanced version of the classic RPG. And did anyone else notice that they made sure to include the word “Trigger” in the trailer?
Are sports games more your speed? Well, you might be excited about the fact that MLB: The Show ’22 is also coming to Switch. Yeah, we knew about this one already, but Nintendo certainly doesn’t want us to forget about it.
Now, it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that a collection of Kingdom Hearts games is coming to yet another console, but it’s nice to see Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece on Switch, bringing a hearty portion of KH goodness to their cloud platform. Yeah, you’ll need to be connected to the internet to enjoy this one, folks.
Another series that seems right at home on the Switch is Klanoa, so I guess this next one just makes a lot of sense. Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series bundles together Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, and it will be releasing on June 8.
And then Portal? What the Mario is even going on anymore? Portal? Really? So, I love Portal and Portal 2, and I’ve honestly been thinking about replaying those lately. Now that they’re coming to Nintendo Switch with the Portal: Companion Collection, I guess I’m going to do it. But man, I haven’t played those in forever.
This next one is really exciting, because 1994’s Live A Live was never released outside of Japan, and it’s supposed to be a freaking classic. I don’t know a ton about it, of course, because I never played it, but I will be able to experience its classic goodness when it comes to Nintendo Switch this July. And I mean, check out the trailer; it looks absolutely gorgeous.
This next one isn’t a port so much, but it’s essentially a reimagined version of Wii Sports designed for the Nintendo Switch. Yeah, if you miss waggling your controller to play sports against your friends, enemies, and A.I., then Nintendo Switch Sports should be on your wish list.
You want to know how you can tell Nintendo has no soul? They absolutely refuse to bring Mother 3 to the west. They are, however, bringing EarthBound and EarthBound Beginnings to the Nintendo Switch (those are the western titles for Mother 2 and Mother, respectively). This would have been the perfect time to announce Mother 3‘s official release in the States, but alas, Nintendo proves once again that, if they do have any sort of soul, it’s a rotten husk of a thing that’s festering in a joyless world. But, I mean, I’ll take the first two Mother games on Switch, I guess.
And speaking of things that are rotten with no souls, this wouldn’t be a video-game event without zombies. And here we go, Zombie Army 4: Dead War is coming to Switch this April.
At this point, we’re looking at some rapid-fire announcements, where we see Switch reveals for GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon (later today), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles (in June), and LEGO Brawls (also in June).
I love older games, and I love the Nintendo Switch, so it’s great to see so many games get a new life on Nintendo’s handheld. But after all this, oh man, am I ever tired.
