Reviews R(h)ate the Direct (June 2024, General Direct Edition) - Nintendo Direct Review Thread™ -- POLL CLOSED, RESULTS ARE IN

[switchum]

I'm kinda curious how people rate this Direct compared to the legendary Directs from 2018 until 2021. The last few years have had the quieter showcases compared to the earlier years.

I remember the Sept 2018 one being fantastic. Opening with Luigi’s Mansion 3 and closing with Animal Crossing made for a fantastic showcase

 

[Irene]

I'm kinda curious how people rate this Direct compared to the legendary Directs from 2018 until 2021. The last few years have had the quieter showcases compared to the earlier years.

I think this is my second favourite Direct ever.

I compared it to my favourite Direct, E3 2019, using this template:

Opener
Hero in Smash < Mario & Luigi

First-party games shown (as trailers)
Link's Awakening > Donkey Kong Country Returns HD

4 favourite Third/second-party games shown
Astral Chain > MIO: Memories in Orbit
FE: Three Houses = Ace Attorney Investigations
Silksong = The Hundred-Line: Last Defense Academy
Daemon X Machina < Perfect Dark etc. on NSO

Spotlights
Luigi's Mansion 3 < Dragon Quest Trilogy HD-2D
Animal Crossing < Echoes of Wisdom

Closers
Banjo in Smash > Romancing SaGa
BotW2 reveal > Prime 4


6 points each.


E3 2019 slightly edges it out because as amazing as Prime 4 is, BotW was my favourite game ever and BotW2's announcement was a sheer sense of shock factor.

 

[Candescence]

Marvel Vs. Capcom collection alone is unfathomably enormous. Nobody thought we'd be getting any of the pre-MvC3 Marvel Vs. games ever again, nevermind all of them - some of the most beloved fighting games of all time, especially Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Everyone wrote it off as being impossible. The Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection alone elevated the direct to 4 stars at minimum, that's how incredible that announcement was by itself.

But then we get a 3D Mario & Luigi game that looks fantastic, a new mainline Zelda staring the princess herself, both Ace Attorney Investigations games in one collection (seriously, it feels like Capcom was the third party MVP this direct, nobody else came close), and finally Metroid Prime 4. The rest was passable at minimum. Five stars, one of the best Directs of the Switch era.

 

[Supreme Bum 01]

Ok slow down, boss. They did an arcade compilation of MvC not long ago. It made sense they would let that stand on the market for a couple of years before selling a cheaper alternative. It's a great package but you are laying it on a little thick here.

 

[Torraduke]

This was a very solid 5/5 to me. Probably one of the best Directs since E3 2019's Direct, and there was some strong ones since then, like E3 2021, September 2021, February 2022, and June 2023.

We had a very strong opening segment with the surprising reveal of a new Mario & Luigi game. Super Mario Party Jamboree was kind of expected, but still very awesome to see. There was some nice 2nd/3rd paryy stuff like Ace Attorney, Marvel vs Capcom, and Stray as well. I was genuinely shocked by the Echoes of Wisdom reveal also and after 7 long years, we FINALLY get our first look at Metroid Prime 4.

I went in expecting a very slow Direct that was very port/remake heavy, but I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[shoptroll]

Ok slow down, boss. They did an arcade compilation of MvC not long ago. It made sense they would let that stand on the market for a couple of years before selling a cheaper alternative. It's a great package but you are laying it on a little thick here.

Wasn’t that compilation like two games? And was released two generations (12 years) ago?

This is by far a better package and contains some of the games people genuinely want like MvC2 which hasn’t had a home version since Dreamcast era.

There are good reasons people are greatly excited by this announcement.

 

[Supreme Bum 01]

Wasn’t that compilation like two games? And was released two generations (12 years) ago?

This is by far a better package and contains some of the games people genuinely want like MvC2 which hasn’t had a home version since Dreamcast era.

There are good reasons people are greatly excited by this announcement.

Marvel vs Capcom 2™

Wi-Fi Enabled for Online Play! Challenge and battle against your friends from around the country! Claw like Wolverine and master the art of Ansatsuken with Ryu in the Marvel vs Capcom 2™ Arcade Game from Arcade1Up! Bringing you authentic arcade experiences in an affordable midsize form factor...

arcade1up.com

 

[MisterSpo]

I think for me the lasting impression of this Direct - and its major strength and factor in building excitement and positivity - were the headline games coming so late in the generation but also coming in a way that addressed fan frustration or expectation.

Not enough content in Mario Party? Addressed.
Mario & Luigi disappearing? Addressed.
Zelda never being playable, and new top-down Zelda not present? Addressed.
Metroid Prime 4 not being shown? Addressed.

Four out of five major first party announcements were new titles that fixed long-standing issues in the Switch era. DK was a bummer, but a predictable one for me, and while much third party content fell into the void of Filler for me, Zelda, Mario, Metroid plus Fantasian, Dragon Quest and to an extent Mio made this Direct massively exciting.

I don't even care about when I next hear about new hardware. Switch is going out with a bang.

 

[Edengamer23]

I am late here lol but this was a solid direct, 2D Zelda looks really great and reminds me to replay the other games before in the 3 month wait.

The 2nd half of the direct was the best. First half was good but had some kind of filler third party games that slowed the pacing. I havent tried Mario and Luigi but that was a strong opener and the artstyle looked great! As someone not really a fan of Fire Emblem I think this was a better opener. 4.5/5 for me.

I think for me the lasting impression of this Direct - and its major strength and factor in building excitement and positivity - were the headline games coming so late in the generation but also coming in a way that addressed fan frustration or expectation.

Not enough content in Mario Party? Addressed.
Mario & Luigi disappearing? Addressed.
Zelda never being playable, and new top-down Zelda not present? Addressed.
Metroid Prime 4 not being shown? Addressed.

Four out of five major first party announcements were new titles that fixed long-standing issues in the Switch era. DK was a bummer, but a predictable one for me, and while much third party content fell into the void of Filler for me, Zelda, Mario, Metroid plus Fantasian, Dragon Quest and to an extent Mio made this Direct massively exciting.

I don't even care about when I next hear about new hardware. Switch is going out with a bang.

They really delivered, I was worried this was going to be a pretty mid direct. But I hope they show a new DK finally next year lol

 

[shoptroll]

Marvel vs Capcom 2™

Wi-Fi Enabled for Online Play! Challenge and battle against your friends from around the country! Claw like Wolverine and master the art of Ansatsuken with Ryu in the Marvel vs Capcom 2™ Arcade Game from Arcade1Up! Bringing you authentic arcade experiences in an affordable midsize form factor...

arcade1up.com

It made sense they would let that stand on the market for a couple of years before selling a cheaper alternative.

“Cheaper alternative” is putting it mildly. Very few people were probably willing to pay $600 for a replica cabinet (I think these aren’t even full size?) for a handful of games.

So like, yes you are right that this was already available. But I think you are understating how unattainable that release actually was for most consumers. Hence why there’s a lot of excitement about this incarnation.

 

[Triistan]

For me it was a 3 stars. Zelda was peak and Mario Party seems a well crafted game. Metroid Prime 4 is finally here and I can’t be happpier. Mario & Luigi looks fantastic but I found superstar saga boring so probably not my cup of tea. Glad that DKCR is getting ported, already loved on Wii, happy that new players will have the chance to try it. Third party… nothing for me* and more than 40 minutes was too much, very bad pacing imho.

If they made a show with this direct first party announcement and the third party from the march partner showcase would have been an easy 5 stars.


Edit: *except Fantasian.

 

[Magic-Man]

I still find it absolutely hilarious that the least hyped General Direct in the Switch Era turned out to be one of the best ever. Everyone thought it would be port and remake city, instead we only got one port and four brand new big games. Nintendo never ceases to amaze.