Where To Pre-Order All the Games

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD | $60 | Best Buy
Mario Golf: Super Rush | $60 | Best Buy
No More Heroes 3 | $60 | Best Buy

Well, what a night, huh? Nintendo dropped its first big Direct presentation since 2019 and fans got exactly what they wanted. Breath of the Wild 2 is out in 3 days! Metroid Prime 4 shadow dropped and it’s available now! Mother 3 is fully localized and it’s under everyone’s chair right now! Okay, none of that happened. In fact, it was probably a slightly underwhelming presentation than fans had been hoping for after over a year of waiting. Unless you really love Stubbs the Zombie, in which case, wow what a show.

Still, the show did have plenty of new (and old) games to get excited about. Between a new Mario Golf, an HD re-release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and No More Heroes 3, this summer is looking like it’ll be a fun time to be a Switch owner. (That is, if all those games actually make it out on schedule, which isn’t a surefire bet during these COVID days.) Sure, it might be another year until we get exciting games like Splatoon 3 and Project Triangle Strategy, which is a title that makes me laugh out loud every time, but we need to keep our Switch busy with something until then.

If anything from yesterday’s evening particularly tickled your fancy, here’s a quick guide to pre-ordering some of the biggest announcements.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD | $60

One of the biggest reveals from yesterday’s stream is that The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is getting an HD version. The polarizing Wii game already has fans split, but there’s reason to be curious here if you didn’t like the original game. The biggest change is that you’ll be able to play the game without motion controls, which was a sore spot for some players. Those who do still want to waggle will get some updated controls, so in general, it should be a cleaner experience on Switch.

Mario Golf: Super Rush may have seemed like a somewhat soft announcement at first, but it’s kind of a big deal for fans. Look back at the franchise’s history and you’ll see that there hasn’t been a console Mario Golf game since the GameCube. Heck, there hasn’t been one in general since 2014! The latest installment looks particularly strong with a proper RPG campaign and a Speed Golf multiplayer mode where players all tee off at the same time and race to the end of a course. Chaotic and good.

Here’s a simple one. Did you love Hades? Yes? Well, now you can get a physical copy of it. The package comes with a download code for the game’s excellent soundtrack and an art book. Those two extras are almost worth the price alone, frankly. The fact that you also get 2020’s game of the year with that really makes this a must-have package, especially for those who have yet to try it.

After a long wait, No More Heroes 3 finally has a release date. Fans have been waiting years for this moment and it’s finally going to happen on August 27. The latest installment of the action series features Travis Touchdown fighting aliens, or something. It was a very weird trailer, and that’s exactly what we want and expect out of this series.

Okay, this one isn’t a “big” game, but I couldn’t resist including it. For some strange reason, Nintendo is giving the Nintendo 3DS game Miitopia a Switch version. It is unclear as to why, of all 3DS games, this is the one getting brought over, but it tickles me no less. Miitopia is an RPG/life-simulator hybrid where you fight monsters and live out your life as a Mii. Considering Miis aren’t as prevalent on the Switch as they were on previous consoles, it’s just nice to see these weirdos back at it.