Nintendo had their third direct of the year on Sept. 23, 2021. Nintendo directs are a way Nintendo delivers information about projects currently in the works. It had lots of exciting announcements on new games and even more news on previously announced games. It also included information related to other projects. Without further ado, here are the highlights of the third Nintendo Direct of 2021. 

The day kicked off with a trailer for a Monster Hunter Rise dlc (downloadable content). This package, which game developer Capcom is calling Sunbreak, will be released in summer 2022. Not a bad way to start off the direct, but a little odd since this will only appeal to Monster Hunter fans. Still, it’s great to see Monster Hunter becoming a household name for Nintendo. 

A trailer for a new Kirby game titled Kirby and the Forgotten Land was shown. This new entry to the Kirby series, set to release in spring 2022, will be the first to take place in fully 3D environments. It also looks to be taking inspiration from Mario Odyssey. This is all very intriguing since a 3D Kirby has been asked for since the 90’s when 3D gaming was starting to get good with the release of the Nintendo 64. 

Then, an expansion to Nintendo Switch Online. The expansion will include games from the Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis. This is quite exciting, since many classics will be released through this platform. Unfortunately, it’s going to launch later in October with minimal games and the promise of more games coming later. That means that fans will have to wait before certain games can be played.

Nintendo preceded by revealing the cast for the animated Mario movie, which will be releasing in North America on December 21, 2022. Some notable casting choices included Chris Pratt as Mario, Jack Black as Bowser, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. They also said that Charles Martinet, the original voice actor for Mario and many other characters from the Mushroom Kingdom will be hopping on the film as well. 

A new trailer for Splatoon 3 was presented which showed off new weapons, maps and abilities. It also gave a taste of what the new campaign will be like. The game, entitled Return of the Mammalians, will hopefully take inspiration from the Octo Expansion from Splatoon 2 for its level design to make a fun and entertaining campaign.

And the final trailer to end the direct was for Bayonetta 3. This game was first announced all the way back in December of 2017. Many thought that it had been cancelled or delayed indefinitely. But now here it is! And with a release window of 2022, it’s safe to assume more news about the game will be shown off in the near future.

This Nintendo Direct was excellent. While there were no massive developments, specifically in the Mario or Zelda series, many smaller games were showcased, which overall contributed to quite a pleasant viewing experience. Hopefully Nintendo will take this and be able to replicate it for other directs in the future.