Hello hello and welcome to yet another round-up of the latest Nintendo news for the week. Despite it seeming like a rather quiet few days a lot of things have happened in the world of Nintendo. We've learned of some upcoming Switch games, seen some highly-anticipated indies shadow release on the eShop, and also got to see that someone at Nintendo has a scholarly sense of humor when it comes to Kirby. Let's dive into it.
Voice actor accidentally reveals Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Who'd have guessed that Doctor Who alumni Jenna Coleman, who played the role of Clara Oswald opposite Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor and Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor, would be the fountainhead of a Xenoblade Chronicles 3 reveal? Turns out she voiced Melia, one of the characters from the first game, and could be appearing in the third one, so this isn't just out of left field.
So where did we learn about this? On Monday, Imran Khan of Fanbyte reported on a two-month-old Youtube video in which Coleman was interviewed by a gaming channel called Din's Meteorite. Near the end of the interview, Coleman said, "God, when was the first game? Ten years ago? It was a long time ago, I did it pre-Doctor Who days and when they did the second one, they asked me to come back. And I think they're going to do another. Common knowledge? Don't know. Yeah, I think they're going to do another. Not sure if I'm allowed to say that."
Since Din's Meteorite is a smaller channel, it took a while for the news to spread and finally exploded this last weekend. Fanbyte's sources have determined that Monolith Soft, the developers behind the Xenoblade Chronicles games is in fact working on the third entry in the series and had planned on releasing it Winter 2021. However, due to the pandemic, it's very likely the game won't release until next year at least.
Darksiders 3 hacks its way to Switch
This week, we learned that THQ Nordic's hack and slash action-adventure is not only coming to Nintendo Switch on September 30th but that it's also getting a physical release. It will include both DLCs that have released so far and sell for $40. This is possibly a smaller launch that won't be as easy to find as some other physical games. If you're a physical copy collector, you'll need to keep an eye out for it and snatch it when you can.
Boyfriend Dungeon and Axiom Verge 2 shadow drop on eShop
Wednesday morning gave us the wonderful pleasure of experiencing the latest Indie World Showcase. A total of 19 titles were shown, some of the highlights being the long-awaited Boyfriend Dungeon and Axiom Verge 2, which both released on Switch that same morning. This sudden arrival on the eShop is rather surprising as there really wasn't any ceremony to the release. Who knows why things are done the way they are, but at least we don't have to wait any longer for these sweet games.
Many of these Indie Direct titles are coming to Switch next year, adding to the existing lineup of highly-anticipated Switch games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus releasing in January and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel aiming for a 2022 release (though we'll have to see if the Zelda team can stick to that goal). One thing's for sure, if nothing gets delayed, 2022 will be an awesome year for Nintendo Switch owners.
Kirby is Kafka
On Thursday morning, some eagle-eyed fans noticed that a Kirby page on Nintendo's official website went live with lots of placeholder text and imagery. The Kirby page was then updated an hour or so later. What makes this worth mentioning is that in addition to the standard Lorem Ipsum fare that designers use as placeholder text, the page also had the beginning few sentences from Franz Kafka's most recognizable work, The Metamorphosis, a story about a man who wakes one morning to discover he's been turned into a giant insect.
This seems like a clever little inside joke Nintendo has for its pink hero, seeing as how Kirby is a character who can inhale enemies and transform into them. So who knows, maybe Kafka's work is always used as Kirby placeholder text, or perhaps this was just a random little occurrence by someone with a good sense of humor. Either way, I approve.
Pokémon Switch news incoming
On Friday morning, The Pokémon Company announced that a special Pokémon Presents will take place Wednesday, August 18 at 6:00 AM PT/9:00 AM ET. Apparently, the presentation will center around upcoming Switch games, Pokémon: Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, which comes out in November as well as Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which is slated for a late January release.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are remakes of older Pokémon games that originally released on the Nintendo DS in 2006. There's been some controversy over the new top-down chibi design since it looks like a 3D version of the original games, rather than a completely overhauled style with more detail. I personally like the look as I think it pays homage to the original titles, much like how The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on Switch pays homage to the original Zelda game.
But as far as the presentation goes, I'm far more interested in hearing about Legends: Arceus. From the limited details we've learned so far, it seems this adventure breaks away from the core Pokémon RPG mold by taking place in ancient Sinnoh and revolving around players creating the first-ever Pokédex. I've personally been wanting a more open-world Pokémon game ever since the Gamecube era, and I'm dying to know if this new game will finally scratch that itch.
Seeing as how it's already been a couple of years since Pokémon Sword and Shield released on Switch maybe we'll finally hear about the next core Pokémon games. Undoubtedly Game Freak is already working on Gen 9, it's just a matter of when they're ready to present it to us.
Well, that wraps up this week's Nintendo recap. I'm sure I'll have plenty to talk about next week after the Pokémon Presents. If nothing else, this week has helped me get more excited for 2022, as it's already shaping up to be an awesome year for Nintendo Switch owners. What upcoming game are you most looking forward to? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Until next time.
- Rebecca Spear
