Why Nintendo's 2021 Is A Sequel To 2019 (Part 1)

Finally, I promised this article awhile ago, it's time to finally get this going, as I said, this isn't going become a Sonic blog, I promise! lmao. While we're still waiting for announcements from SEGA on that...

Let's get on to a much bigger player here, Nintendo. I decided to wait on the article a bit longer because I was curious to see how sales would turn out, and unsurprisingly, the usual suspects have become even bigger juggernauts, with no signs of slowing down. Mario Kart has remained the king of Nintendo sales, and I'll be elaborating on it's future a bit below, I'll also give  bit of what I know about BOTW2, but it's nothing most haven't heard already.

2021 is what I consider to be a pretty crazy year for Nintendo. They've handled this pandemic in particular just about as well as they could have, and the fruits of their resilience this year is already showing. This year is packed with quality and quantity. To specify what I mean by 2019-2, I mean that for the most part, Nintendo's lineup will mostly consist of secondary franchises, and to some, that's actually preferred, given how some are more into the secondary franchises rather than the marquee franchises.

This will be split into two parts. First part will be on their lineup from now until December. Second part will go over predictions for E3, with some educated guesses thrown in. Sound good? Let's go.

First off, let's look at what of what they've got announced so far:

Miitopia:

Well, this was a surprise. This game didn't do so hot on 3DS, but it's being given another chance on Switch, and while it may not be my thing, it looks great and I foresee this version being a pretty big success, going by hype on social media.

Famicom Detective Club:

Now, THIS is a surprise I can get behind. Bringing these games to the west day and date is a fucking awesome move on Nintendo's part. They've always been mysterious (ha!) artifacts of Nintendo's past, and I've always been a big supporter of seeing games like this get a worldwide release. It's also interesting because to many in Japan, these are considered nostalgic classics from over 30 years ago. I'm extremely excited to get a chance to finally play these obscure pieces of Nintendo history for myself.

If you want some evidence that Nintendo has so many games for this year that they don't know where to put them all, just look at June. 3 titles, count em', three! 

Game Builder Garage: 

Nintendo never ceases to amaze me. You get a game maker tool, in one month. It also just happens to look incredibly fun and intuitive to use. EPD in the Switch Era have been at their most creative and unique, and I hope they continue with things like this.

DC Superhero Girls:

Uh. Okay. Yeah. Cool. Moving on...

Mario Golf: Super Rush:

FUCK YEAH! Not to say I didn't say it was coming, but I did, haha. Honestly, this is probably my most anticipated Switch game at the moment. A new console Mario Golf game has been long requested by many. It looks fantastic, the single player mode looks promising, I'm digging the new golfing attire, and speed golf is something I'm going to be doing MANY hours of with friends. It also comes out on my birthday, I'm fuckin' stoked.

Skyward Sword HD: 

Oh boy. One of the more controversial Zeldas is getting a remaster, for 60 bucks. I know this is a hard pass for many, but as I said in my Zelda article before, I'm a fan of this game, and it's going to be a big hit on Switch. I'm genuinely hoping that they make improvements to make it a smoother, less hand-holdy experience, but that seems unlikely. 

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl:

The most obvious, saw-that-coming announcement ever. Regardless, I'm gonna say something unpopular...

I like the visuals. 

They're cute, charming, and I feel they capture the feel the original DS games. I'm happy they're not touching Sword and Shield's frankly, underwhelming visual style. What I've wanted Pokemon to do is go back to a simpler, less complicated time, so this is right up my alley. Gen 4 has always been one of my favorites, so as long as there's QOL improvements, the Pokedex is beefed up, and online is the way I remember it, count me in.

This is the part where I beg for the Battle Frontier to return. Please?

The Unannounced Games:

Here we go, the part people are always mainly interested in. I'll split this into two parts so that there's no confusion. What I know and what I don't. Mario Kart will be at the end because that's the biggest talking point here.

What I know: 

2D Metroid:

Feels like just yesterday, this is one rumored game I became partially famous for. (or infamous, depending on who you ask.) But yes, a new 2D game from Mercurysteam two hundred percent exists, and is in fact, done. All Nintendo needs to do at this point is announce it. Nintendo (and by extension, Sakamoto.) internally is extremely happy with how the title turned out. The only other thing I've heard recently

 is that the game is running at very smooth 60FPS. My hard read/prediction is an announcement at their E3 direct next month. Have some patience, bounty hunters, we're almost there. 

Donkey Kong:

It's the big ape's 40th anniversary, and while I'm not sure how Nintendo is celebrating the occasion, there is a new 2D DK game being developed by EPD Tokyo. Retro is obviously busy with other things, so Nintendo has taken it upon themselves to bring DK back in as internal series. Don't expect the "Country" moniker to return, as EPD Tokyo are not interested in making a sequel to games they didn't make. Diddy, Cranky and the Kremling Krew should all be returning in this installment. It sounds like this game is launching before the end of the year. An E3 announcement seems very likely.

Edit 05/12/21:

Just to reiterate this point again. Every person that has told me about this game have told me that it is a 2D GAME.

2D.

TWO DEE.

Update 05/13/21:

I have to update this again in order to inform people who didn't know this or didn't do the proper research to find this tidbit out. We know for a fact that EPD Tokyo are making a 2D game:

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/jobs/project/tokyo_sec1.html#ld_2d

It's even referred to as a "2D action game", AKA a platformer.

It also doesn't take a genius to realize that you're also getting a follow-up to Super Mario Odyssey sooner rather than later, that's also well into development. 3D World - Bowser's Fury was just a side thing. EPD Tokyo are very capable of doing multiple projects at once.

Fire Emblem:

I'll be frank, I'm not much of an FE guy, but I'm seriously impressed with how much the franchise has grown in the last five years. It's become a pretty big deal for Nintendo, and I hope that continues. Now, from what I've heard, Intelligent Systems has been working on an FE title that they're developing seperately from Three Houses on their own that is very close to nearing completion. While I haven't been told this part as of this writing, the fans seem pretty sure that this is going to be a remake of the Japan-only Super Famicom title, Genealogy of the Holy War. This makes total sense to me, and it would serve as a nice in-between title while Koei Tecmo works on the follow-up to Three Houses. Given that it's nearly complete, an E3 announcement is incredibly likely.

Super Mario Party 2:

This is the most obvious sequel in the history of the universe, lmao. The original 2018 game has sold far better than anyone could ever have expected, including Nintendo. It's gone on to the be the best selling Mario Party ever, by a wide margin  Not only that, but here's another way to look at it's massive sales: It's outsold every Mario Kart, pre DS, every Animal Crossing, pre New Horizons, as well as every Smash Bros. game, pre Ultimate. Mario Party is a big deal at Nintendo now, they're taking this series seriously, which is why you mysteriously saw that online play update a few weeks ago. I and numerous others see it as a test for SMP2's online. From all accounts, the game should be ready for a holiday release, an E3/summer announcement is once again, extremely likely.

More "99" games:

Tetris 99 was a huge success, it's only natural that these will continue, and I've heard that is indeed the case. I wasn't told which games are next, but I was told that they'll be focusing on more 8-bit arcade/NES games. Donkey Kong 40, anyone? 

What I don't know:

Zelda 35th Anniversary:

This is a tricky one. Going by other reliable sources, there's a Wind Waker/Twilight Princess HD bundle coming, which is obviously happening, but other than that, uh. Beats me. There's been talk of an Ocarina/Majora bundle as well, but I haven't personally heard anything about that. Regardless, I'd bet we'll hear about all of this at E3. 

Detective Pikachu: 

The Pokemon Company is weird, man. What the hell happened with this? It was announced with a literal JPEG two years ago at a Pokemon conference, and not a single thing since. Regardless, I'd bet this is probably ready to go soon, if I were to guess. There's obviously going to be a Pokemon Presents in a few weeks, so I'm guessing we'll see it there.

The big ones:

So... Breath of the Wild 2. Many are wondering if this is THE year it releases, after all, it was announced about two years ago. I'm gonna go and say...

No. If any Nintendo game was affected by the Pandemic, it was this one. From what I heard, the game is nearing completion, but a release by the end of the year just isn't seeming feasible. The game needs a bit more time, and with the last year in mind, that's entirely understandable. 

What I foresee Nintendo doing at E3 is finally busting down the doors on the game and giving fans and the press tons of details on it, with a "Spring 2022" date attached to it. But that's just my prediction on it.

A New Mario Kart:

It's amazing how controversial this topic has become, isn't it? Nintendo making a new game in their best selling series, who would've thought? I have a simple answer to the people who repeatedly ask "Why would Nintendo make a new game when the current one is selling so well?" Simple. They're a business, they're in it to make money. Call of Duty, Battlefield, and numerous others do this all of time. Do these people think others won't buy another entry series as powerful as Mario Kart? The argument absurd, and Splatoon 3 threw a giant wrench into said argument.

Regardless. I've heard multiple times that Yabuki's team are hard at work on a new Mario Kart of some sort, and have been for the last 3 years. I also made sure to specify that this project wasn't Mario Kart Tour, Live Circuit or the Universal theme park ride. Now, what is it, exactly? Another expansion of 8? Mario Kart 9? "Nintendo Kart"?  I That I'm unsure of. All accounts are making it sound like whatever this  is, is something that's coming this holiday-early next year.

Again, it's sounding like Nintendo's got quite a year planned out if this all hits.

TL;DR NINTENDO HAS TOO MANY FUCKING GAMES!!!!!

2022 is looking even crazier, somehow. I'll get into that a bit with part 2 of this article. Hope to see you there! 

H