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News video games 18 February 2021, 12:04

author: Matt Buckley

First 2021 Nintendo Direct Highlights: Here’s What You Missed

In the first full fledged Nintendo Direct since 2019, Nintendo had some big announcements. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, a new Mario Golf, Xenoblade characters in Smash Ultimate, and a whole lot more.

The first full Nintendo Direct in nearly a year and a half brought a lot of excitement back to the world of Nintendo. But did they deliver?

The presentation was about 50 minutes long, but, if you’re interested, you can watch it here.

First 2021 Nintendo Direct Highlights: Here’s What You Missed - picture #1

The first announcements as a new Super Smash Bros Ultimate character. This time, it’s Pyra & Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The characters seem interesting in that they are two different characters in one, perhaps similar to how Sheik and Zelda used to share a character. They won’t launch in the game until March, however, so there is still some time to wait.

Some other exciting announcements included Fall Guys arriving this summer, along with Outer Wilds, Legend of Mana, a physical release of Hades, Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection and plenty more.

First 2021 Nintendo Direct Highlights: Here’s What You Missed - picture #2

Unfortunately Nintendo didn’t have anything to announce about the Breath of the Wild sequel, other than it is still in progress. But Nintendo did have one exciting Legend of Zelda announcement. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be coming to the Switch on July 16th. The game features optional motion controls with the right Joy-Con representing Link’s sword and the left his shield. They also announced a pair of Joy-Cons specifically designed for this game.

There was a lot to cover for this long Nintendo Direct, so here’s a list of everything that was announced along with their respective release dates:

  1. Pyra & Mythra in Super Smash Bros Ultimate - March 2021
  2. Fall Guys - Summer 2021
  3. Outer Wilds - Summer 2021
  4. Famicom Detective Club - May 14th (Pre-orders available today!)
  5. Samurai Warriors 5 - Summer 2021
  6. Legend of Mana - June 24th
  7. Monster Hunter: Rise - March 26th
  8. Mario Golf: Super Rush - June 25th (Pre-orders available today!)
  9. Tales from the Borderlands - March 24th
  10. Capcom Arcade Stadium - Available Now!
  11. Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse - March 16th (Pre-orders available today!)
  12. No More Heroes 3 - August 27th
  13. Neon White - Winter 2021
  14. DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power - June 4th
  15. Plants vs Zombies: Battle For Neighborville - March 19th
  16. Miitopia - May 21st (Pre-orders available today!)
  17. Super Mario Themed Animal Crossing Items - March 1st, after February 25th free update
  18. Project Triangle Strategy - 2022 (Demo available now!)
  19. Star Wars: Hunters - 2021
  20. Knockout City - May 21st
  21. World’s End Club - May 28th
  22. Hades (Physical Release) - March 19th
  23. Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection - June 10th
  24. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Expansion Pass - June & November 2021 (Pre-orders available today!)
  25. Bravely Default II - February 26th
  26. Ghosts and Goblins: Resurrection - February 25th
  27. SaGa Frontier: Remastered - April 15th
  28. Apex Legends - March 9th
  29. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - July 16th (Pre-orders available today!)
  30. Splatoon 3 - 2022

With upcoming anniversaries for The Legend of Zelda (February 21st) and Pokemon (February 27th), there might be more big announcements in the coming weeks.

What excited you most about this Nintendo Direct? Leave a comment letting us now!

Matt Buckley

Matt Buckley

After studying creative writing at Emerson College in Boston, Matt published a travel blog based on a two-month solo journey around the world, wrote for SmarterTravel, and worked on an Antarctic documentary series for NOVA, Antarctic Extremes. Today, for Gamepressure, Matt covers Nintendo news and writes reviews for Switch and PC titles. Matt enjoys RPGs like Pokemon and Breath of the Wild, as well as fighting games like Super Smash Bros., and the occasional action game like Ghostwire Tokyo or Gods Will Fall. Outside of video games, Matt is also a huge Dungeons & Dragons nerd, a fan of board games like Wingspan, an avid hiker, and after recently moving to California, an amateur surfer.

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