What was the best game during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct?

The Wednesday Letters page is very upset that the Nintendo Direct was so good, as a reader plans to spend the weekend with Shadow Of The Erdtree.

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Unpredictably good
I know they always say you shouldn’t try to predict Nintendo, but who would have thought this week’s Nintendo Direct would be this good? I knew when it started with Mario & Luigi that it would be good, because no one leaked that and they could have ended with it, but then they kept announcing more stuff, and only one remaster – and even that wasn’t one of the the one people expected.

My favorite announcements were Zelda and Metroid Prime 4. Zelda, where you actually play, as Zelda is long overdue and I love the sound of the new echo mechanic. It seems very clever and should allow for some great sandbox-style puzzles. I also like that Zelda not only does Link stuff, but also has her own gimmicks. It’s much more like a real game than that recent Princess Peach game.

Metroid Prime 4 looked great too. However, there’s not much to judge other than the graphics: were they Switch 2 or not? I saw arguments for both sides, and that’s probably exactly what Nintendo was counting on. Overall a great show and I love that the Switch isn’t dying slowly, but going out with a bang.
Baskin

Annoyingly good
I’m slightly annoyed with Nintendo because of that Direct. Firstly, because I had prepared myself for the fact that nothing special would be on the horizon until the Switch successor came out, so I would save some money in the meantime. There are now at least three games that I will probably end up buying.

Secondly, I was happy to spend time filling out my log on Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, but they added Turok, Perfect Dark, and Metroid: Zero Mission to the online expansion. I haven’t played the first two in decades and have never played Zero Mission before, so they all probably mean the log won’t be filled for a while.
John Atkinson

Expansion backlog
Thanks Nintendo for emptying my piggy bank!

There I was, thinking Sony has nothing and I don’t have an Xbox so no need to worry about that, and I have a nice little backlog of Switch games to tide me over until next year when they suddenly have a Direct and blow me away. Again.

Metroid! Zelda! Dragon quest! Fantastic! Mario & Luigi! And much more…

I have no idea how I’ll afford it or how I’ll have the time to play it all, but whichever way you look at it, Nintendo has once again shown that they have the magic and they didn’t even have to mention a single one . new console, and even went so far as to tell us they wouldn’t even talk about it beforehand. Thought that was overconfidence, but no, they had more to drop than anyone else and virtually nothing had been leaked.

How on earth they will surpass Direct with the new machine in 2025 is beyond me.
ZiPPi

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Female protagonists
Nice to see that the two biggest announcements on the Nintendo Direct both involved female leads, in a way that I don’t think any reasonable person would complain about. Samus looked badass as usual and a proper Zelda game is long overdue.

I also really liked the Tri Rod gimmick for Zelda. It means that not only will she be Link but with a different appearance, but she will still be able to fight and puzzle in new and interesting ways. A very good Direct, with many more interesting games than I expected. Maybe it wasn’t better than Xbox, but it definitely beat Sony’s event and the boring Summer Game Fest.
Zeiss

Slowly but steadily
Bravo FromSoftware, bravo. You have outdone yourself. As I’ve said before, I literally just started Elden Ring, but I will continue to make progress no matter how long it takes and it will take a long time. The routine always does that. Hopefully I’m skilled enough to beat Radahn and Mohg, then I can see what Shadow Of The Erdtree has to offer.

That’s why I’m not going to buy it right away, because I understand that the DLC will be more difficult and I’m not the best player. Believe me. I make it a point to hide behind my shield and dodge as much as possible. But it’s on my list and I definitely can’t wait to dive in. Black Myth: Wukong, you are the first.
Shahzaib Sadiq

Universal praise
Not at all surprised to see the universal praise for Elden Ring’s Shadow Of The Erdtree, but it’s reassuring to know that FromSoftware is among that rare group of developers who’ve never quite made a dud. I’d put them in the same company as Naughty Dog, Nintendo EAD, and Larian Studios.

Sure, some of their games are better than others, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them make a really bad one. From is perhaps the most consistent, as I think only Dark Souls 2 has been even remotely a disappointment.

As someone who thoroughly enjoyed Elden Ring, there wasn’t much that would stop me from purchasing Shadow Of The Erdtree, other than perhaps universally bad reviews. Unsurprisingly we got the opposite and I couldn’t be more excited.

I’ve made sure I already have full access to Mohg’s little mausoleum and will be traveling to the Land of Shadow on Friday after work. It may be a while before I leave!
Austin
PS: Once again we see that the best games have a review embargo that lasts several days before the game is released. That show of confidence is almost more convincing than the reviews themselves. And the opposite is also true, with publishers who clearly know they are in for a flop.

May to December
So I see Microsoft and Nintendo should still be on good terms if Nintendo does a port of Perfect Dark, and it even has online multiplayer.

Normally I would welcome cooperation in the games industry, but I can’t help but feel that Microsoft is taking on the role of the two-faced young upstart trying to take advantage of an older relative. I imagine they’re trying to get Nintendo to bring cloud gaming or get Game Pass on the Switch 2. However, I have every confidence that Nintendo won’t fall for that.
Trepsils

Show, don’t tell
An absolutely great Nintendo Direct and with some real surprises, even if the Zelda was already somewhat known. I really like the echo concept though and I think this could be a very distinct game, which is nice to see.

I really respect the fact that Nintendo didn’t just make it a Link-esque adventure beyond the name, but actually created an entirely new gameplay style that justified the change in character. I really liked the look of it and will almost certainly get it.

For me, though, the most exciting game was Metroid Prime 4. Not just because I’ve been waiting for it all this time, but because it looked really fun and… I’m convinced it was the Switch 2 version.

I really don’t understand how you can get graphics like that on the Switch, so it was either a pre-rendered trailer with ‘in-game assets’, which Nintendo doesn’t normally do, or it was running on a Switch 2 Or more likely a PC running a Switch 2 emulates, because that’s how games are made.

Some of the texture work and detail looked way too good for the current Switch and yet overall it looked perhaps a little better than a PlayStation 4, which I think is where the rumors say the new console is located.

Nintendo said they wouldn’t talk about the Switch 2, but they never said they wouldn’t show it, and I think that’s the case. I think we can now book Metroid Prime 4 as a cross-gen Switch 2 launch title and I can’t wait!
Ashton Marley

Inbox is also running
I’ll be honest: I had no idea an Uncharted movie existed. Aren’t the two leading actors both a bit too young for the roles? Neither of them resemble their character.
Barclay

Kudos to the Elden Ring director who wants to protect his employees. I’ve always liked Japanese games more than most Western ones, but now I have a good reason for that on principle.
Caliban

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