What were the highlights from the winter 2022 Nintendo Direct? | Team Talk

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Nintendo has graced us once again with a treasure trove of game announcements for the rest of this year. Breath of the Wild 2 was conspicuous by its absence, all but confirming its release slips to 2023.

There were few first-party surprises for their most well-known characters, but plenty of goodies have been raised from the distant past for Switch owners to enjoy this year.
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We've cherry-picked our favourites, but let us know what you're excited for in the comments.

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by James Michael Parry

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@James_Parry

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by Team PTC

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@pass_controller

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Mario Kart 8 tracks | James

While I wasn't hit with a feeling of there being an absolute must-buy in this winter Direct, there were still a few things which sparked some interest, namely more content for the already well-stocked Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as well as a new Rookie difficulty update to Metroid Dread.

I’ve spent many many hours enjoying Mario Kart in the past, not just the initial release of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (five years ago if you can believe it), which already boasted 48 tracks at the time. Now we’re getting another 48 tracks, split over six seasons from now until the end of next year.

While Super Smash Bros Ultimate pushed for including as many fighters as possible in particular, it seems the Kart side of the fence is opting for more varied play experiences, which I’m all for. While we might have expected to see Mario Kart 9 at this point, instead Nintendo are doubling down on the nostalgia factor.

The pricing is a little on the steep side, but it seems there will be new courses in the mix as well, so perhaps £24.99 isn’t too bad. Plus, if you’ve forked out for the Expansion Pass, that just became better value for money, since the tracks are included within that.

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​Kirby and the Forgotten Land | Chris

As someone who hasn't owned a Nintendo console since the golden age of the N64, it's interesting to watch the Direct as an outsider. I've thought of Nintendo as the most innovative of the Big Three for the longest time and, although they don't always hit the mark (looking at you, Nintendo Labo), they've usually got something up their sleeves. Something fresh, something different, something weird (again, Labo. Why, Nintendo?).

This time, the main draw seems to be games you've already played on other systems. No Man's Sky, The Ezio Collection, The Force Unleashed and both Portal titles can provide many hours of entertainment but they probably aren't new for most players. At least Disney Speedstorm (which I will be referring to as Mickey Kart from here on in) is something almost new, even if it's made redundant by the existence of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. If there's any console in need of a kart racing game (and we can never have enough), it's one of the consoles that doesn't have some version of the definitive kart racer.

Granted, Kirby and the Forgotten Land would be a must buy if I owned a Switch, and some other first-party titles did catch my eye, but Nintendo haven't done enough to impress me with the re-release of games I grew tired of before the Switch was even conceptualised.

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Mario Strikers: Battle League | Liam
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I never played the original Super Mario Strikers on GameCube, but I did have the sequel, Mario Strikers: Charged Football, on the Wii, which was excellent. By this point in time, most of my friends were on Xbox or PlayStation and my brothers had moved out, so I never really got to try the multiplayer, but I did play a lot of the solo tournaments which were a blast.

Mario Strikers: Battle League looks like it’ll be just as fun, if the trailer was anything to go by. They’re sticking with the over-the-top, arguably quite brutal take on the beautiful game, which I like, and the addition of new power-ups, such as the one that lets you score two goals at a time, could add some spice to the competitive side.

While I’ll be getting this mostly for the solo offering, the option to jump online for some competitive multiplayer is a nice bonus, because as I mentioned before, it’s an aspect of the series I’ve previously missed out on.

The only downer was the lack of any more Zelda news; not BOTW2, which I’m happy to wait for, but ports of the excellent Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD. They’re right there, Nintendo, make it happen!

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What was your Nintendo Direct highlight?