Lagging behind a strong State of Play from Sony and an excellent Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase from Microsoft, Nintendo has now held a presentation of its own. It’s not a full-blown Nintendo Direct, though. Instead, this June 28 presentation is a Nintendo Direct Mini Partner Showcase, the first of its kind since 2020. As the showcase’s name suggests, this is shorter than a typical Nintendo Direct and mainly focused on what third-party developers and publishers are bringing to Nintendo Switch in the coming months.
As Nintendo has said that this presentation would contain “roughly 25 minutes of info on upcoming third-party #NintendoSwitch games” on Twitter, don’t expect the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 or Metroid Prime 4 to show up here. Still, there are plenty of cool games like Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope that make an appearance here, and we have a clearer idea of what the biggest third-party Nintendo Switch games of 2022 are. We kept track of everything announced during the Nintendo Direct Mini Partner Showcase, so you can look below and see everything Nintendo and its partners revealed throughout the event.
Nier Automata is coming to Nintendo Switch
In one of the most notable announcements of this Partner Showcase, we learned that the critically acclaimed Nier Automata is finally coming to Nintendo Switch. It’s one of PlatinumGames’ best titles and has an amazing story, so be sure to check this out on Switch if you haven’t already. It’s also a native port, and not a cloud version either. Nier Automata: The End of YoRHa Edition launches on October 6.
First look at Return to Monkey Island gameplay
After it was confirmed earlier this year, we finally got a deeper look at Return to Monkey Island’s story and gameplay. It’s got a distinct and pretty new art style and looks faithful to how the old Monkey Island games play, so hopefully, it lives up to series fans’ lofty expectations. It will be released in 2022.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope release date confirmed
Although the Nintendo Direct Mini’s biggest announcement lost a bit of its thunder because of a leak, it’s still cool that we finally got a release date for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. We got a general gameplay overview to learn how its turn-based strategy battle works and learned that Bowser will be a party member. It’s definitely going to be one of the most notable Switch releases this fall. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope launches on October 20, 2022.
Live A Live gets a demo
Ahead of its launch next month, Nintendo and Square Enix released a demo for Live A Live. It contains the start of three chapters: Imperial China, Twilight of Edo Japan, and The Distant Future. Any progress made in this demo can be carried over to the full release of this HD-2D remake.
Dragon Quest Treasures gameplay revealed
We actually learned how the interesting spin-off Dragon Quest Treasures would play during the showcase. It blends the Dragon Quest series’ traditional RPG elements with those of a platformer or adventure game as players look for treasure and engage in real-time action combat. Dragon Quest Treasures will be released on December 9.
Persona 3, 4, and 5 are coming to Nintendo Switch
Following up on the exciting Xbox announcement earlier this month, we learned that Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal are all coming to Nintendo Switch as well. These ports have been demanded for a long time, so it’s nice to finally get them. Persona 5 Royal releases on Nintendo Switch on October 21, while Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable don’t have release dates just yet.
Everything else
- Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak got a launch trailer
- Puzzle adventure game Lorelei and The Laser Eyes was announced as a 2023 launch exclusive for Nintendo Switch.
- Super Bomberman R 2 was announced with a 2023 release window.
- Megaman Battle Network: Legacy Collection announced with 2023 release window.
- Pac-Man World Re-Pac, a remake of the classic 3D platformer, was announced and launches on August 26.
- Text-free animal adventure game Blanc announced with a February 2023 release window.
- Little Noah: Scion of Paradise was announced and released today on Switch.
- Railgrade was announced by Epic Games and launches later this year.
- RPG Time: The Legend of Wright will get ported to Nintendo Switch on August 18.
- We got a look at the more traditional Cyber stages in Sonic Frontiers.
- Disney Dreamlight Valley got a gameplay overview and will launch on September 6 as one of the platform’s first early access games.
- Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom was announced and launches later this year.
- We got a look at Minecraft Legends gameplay on Nintendo Switch.
- Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimension got a July 28 Nintendo Switch release date.
- Portal: Companion Collection releases for Nintendo Switch today.
- Harvestella was announced by Square Enix with a November 4 release date.
