Jun 292022
As we discussed on Monday, we have another cluster of video game events and showcases this week.
The first two have now taken place, the Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase on Tuesday and then Square Enix’s Star Ocean: The Divine Force broadcast early this morning.
So let’s dive into what was shown, starting with the Nintendo Direct.
Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase
Despite not being a full-blown general Nintendo Direct, this week’s Partner Showcase was actually quite good. In fact, this might be the best Partner Showcase they’ve ever had, although I’d have to go back to refresh my memory on the others.
The Partner Showcase, which you can watch here, began with another look at Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.
Next, however, they announced that Nier Automata will be coming to the Switch. I enjoyed Nier Automata, so if you haven’t had a chance to play it, this is a great opportunity. (Meanwhile, the question of how Square Enix got Automata running on the Switch but could only manage cloud versions for Kingdom Hearts remains a mystery.)
They announced an adventure game called Lorelai and the Laser Eyes that could be interesting, and then Super Bomberman 2. They followed that with the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, which includes all 10 Mega Man Battle Network games.
Pac-Man World is also be remade as Pac-Man World Re-Pac. I wasn’t familiar with Pac-Man World at all before, but it looks like it could be fun.
The next games were a cute co-op game called Blanc, a brand-new Monkey Island game called Return to Monkey Island, and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, which got an October 20 release date. Sparks of Hope also got its own gameplay showcase today.
After that, they showed side scrolling roguelite Little Noah: Scion of Paradise, train simulation game Railgrade, and RPG Time: The Legend of Wright, which we may have mentioned in the past. That game looks interesting, and it’ll be out on August 18.
They devoted a fair chunk of time to Sonic Frontiers, which I’m not interested in personally, although I know it’s a big game. Disney Dreamlight Valley got a new trailer, and so did Live A Live – which has a demo available now, too!
Remember when Story of Seasons got a Doraemon crossover? I guess it did well for them, because it’s getting a sequel, Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom. After that was a new trailer for Minecraft Legends and then one I’d been waiting to see more of for a while now, Dragon Quest Treasures.
We first discussed Dragon Quest Treasures when it was announced during the Dragon Quest anniversary event, but we didn’t know much about it. From the new trailer, it looks like a monster-collecting action RPG with a focus on searching for treasure. It will be out on December 9.
Then they had a short montage of Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, No Man’s Sky, A Plague Tale: Requiem (cloud version), and a game called Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions.
Oh, and Portal 1 & 2 are now out on the Switch in the Portal Companion Collection. Those are also great games you should check out if you haven’t had a chance to before!
Surprisingly, Square Enix stole the spotlight with a farming life sim RPG, of all things! It’s not one of my favorite genres, but Harvestella looks beautiful and interesting enough that I’m really curious about it. It will be out on November 4.
Ah, the five seasons… winter, spring, summer, fall, and DEATH.
(Seriously, though, Harvestella looks impressive. You also can choose between a male and female protagonist, although they look so similar I wouldn’t be surprised if you missed that.)
Finally, they wrapped up the Direct with the announcement that no, the Switch has not been left out after all! Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal are all coming to the Nintendo Switch. Like with the Xbox announcement, Persona 5 Royal will be first, on October 21.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force Broadcast
Meanwhile, Square Enix held a broadcast this morning to share new trailers and details for Star Ocean: The Divine Force.
And you know what? It looks really good!
The characters’ faces look a little odd, but overall the new trailer is impressive.
In addition to the new trailer, they also released a video focusing on the characters and combat, and another showing the first 8 minutes of the story from Raymond’s perspective. You’ll be able to choose between either Raymond or Laeticia to follow as the main character.
Although the broadcast was only in Japanese, these videos were made available in English as well.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force will be out on October 27, and I’m definitely interested now.
(It will be available for pretty much everything except Switch, so maybe I shouldn’t have paired them for this post. Then again, maybe it balances it.)
What are your thoughts on the Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase and the new details about Star Ocean: The Divine Force? Which games from the Direct are you most interested in?
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Lots of interesting games coming for Switch, glad to see classics like the Persona and Portal series finally making the way over! Of the new games, Lorelai looks most interesting to me, and if it’s published by Annapurna that usually increases my trust in the final product.
Yes, that one looks like it could be pretty interesting.
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