We all knew a Nintendo Direct was coming this month; the company said as much in May. The real question is what will actually be shown. Nintendo’s release schedule for the rest of 2024 and beyond is barren (with the exception of Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD and Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition), and the company itself has offered no hints as to what can be expected, leaving all of us free rein to predict what could be announced.
Below, we’ve collated every potential announcement we think could be made during the June Nintendo Direct, including some of the more popular rumors that have been making the rounds. Although we can most definitely rule out anything to do with the Nintendo Switch 2 (or whatever Nintendo’s next console is) being shared since Nintendo’s announcement for the Direct emphatically ruled it out, there are still plenty of games that could make an appearance.
Every rumored or theorized game that could appear in Nintendo’s June 2024 Direct
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime 4 still remains an enigma among Nintendo’s line-up of upcoming titles. Zero information on the game has been shared since that 2017 reveal, barring confirmation that development had started from scratch at Retro Studios. And that was five years ago. It wouldn’t be surprising if Nintendo’s opted to hold it back for the Switch 2 but, if not, maybe Nintendo will finally have something to share at this Direct.
Even if Metroid Prime 4 is MIA again, there have been claims in the past of Metroid Prime 2 and 3 seeing remasters, especially in the wake of the first game’s remaster from February 2023. Although Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb has claimed the Prime 2 and 3 remasters won’t be as much as an overhaul compared to the first one (via Metro). Still, it’d make a lot of sense for Nintendo to at least make the whole Prime trilogy available in the run-up to Metroid Prime 4.
Legend of Zelda
After the Switch release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, it was widely claimed/assumed that Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker (both of which saw Wii U ports) would follow suit. Those rumors were especially popular towards the end of 2022, but nothing ever came of them. Still, these rumors haven’t completely gone away, with some speculating that Nintendo is simply waiting for a good time to release them. With how empty the rest of its 2024 is, this year may see at least one of them come out. At the very least, you shouldn’t expect any Tears of the Kingdom DLC since producer Eiji Aonuma ruled it out last year (via IGN).
Fire Emblem
Another longstanding and popular rumor has been for a remake of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, the fourth mainline entry in the series. To date, it was only ever released in Japan, but considering how much more popular the series has become since then, it’d make a lot of sense for Nintendo to at least re-release it. Especially since it’s considered one of the best Fire Emblem games ever made and introduced a lot of longstanding elements to the series. Plus, the first three Fire Emblem games have all seen remakes (though only the first two ever came to the West), so it only seems natural for Genealogy of the Holy War to follow suit.
Donkey Kong
Between Donkey Kong’s presence in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Nintendo’s theme park getting a whole Donkey Kong themed area, it does feel like Nintendo’s looking to push its gorilla mascot in a big way. The Mario vs. Donkey Kong remake was a quaint throwback, but DK serves as the antagonist, meaning we’re overdue a new adventure where he’s the star. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Donkey Kong Country series and while Nintendo skipped out on celebrating the character’s 40th birthday in 2021, a new game reveal for this year would make for a great anniversary present.
Xenosaga
This one might be the most esoteric pick on the list, but I and plenty others genuinely feel like developer Monolith Soft, the studio behind Xenoblade Chronicles, could bring its Xenosaga games to the Switch. The reasoning for this would take a separate article to fully explain, but the short version is that Xenoblade Chronicles 3‘s story DLC, Future Redeemed, contained direct references to the plot of the Xenosaga series, with its ending basically confirming ties between Xenoblade and Xenosaga.
Admittedly, Xenosaga is a Bandai Namco IP, so it’s not like Monolith Soft took it when it was acquired by Nintendo. However, Nintendo and Bandai Namco have a strong working relationship, with the latter aiding development on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and making a couple of Pokémon spin-offs. Plus, all three worked together on the Baten Kaitos remasters from 2023, and Monolith likely couldn’t have had direct Xenosaga references in Future Redeemed without Bandai Namco’s involvement. Not to mention Xenosaga protagonist KOS-MOS already made a cameo in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It really feels like the stars are aligning for Xenosaga to make a return, though whether it’s at this Direct or a future one is another question entirely. Otherwise, Wii U fans are holding out hope that Xenoblade Chronicles X might finally make a leap to Switch.
Lego Horizon Adventures
Lego Horizon Adventures may be a spin-off, but Sony putting Horizon, one of its main IPs, on Nintendo hardware is still a big deal and was one of the standout surprises from Summer Game Fest. Given this unexpected partnership, we could see more of the game at the June Direct, if not at least a reminder that it’s happening. Then again, considering Sony withheld Lego Horizon Adventures from its own State of Play showcase, Nintendo may omit as well just so it can avoid promoting a rival company’s IP.
Another Wii U port
There are still a handful of Wii U games that remain locked to Nintendo’s abandoned hardware that fans would love to see find new life on Switch. As mentioned before, some want Xenoblade Chronicles X to get a Switch port, but a trademark from earlier this year points to another possibility. As spotted by Vooks back in May, Nintendo filed a new trademark for Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush, or Kirby and the Rainbow Curse as it’s called in the U.S., sparking assumptions that it will see a Switch release very soon. There was also a new trademark for 3DS puzzle game Fullblox, also known as Stretchmo in the U.S., which would be a random but not unwelcome IP for Nintendo to revisit after so many years.
Sonic X Shadow Generations
Moving onto third-party announcements, a trailer for the next Sonic the Hedgehog game feels like a safe bet, especially with it launching in October. Despite it coming to Switch, there’s been little to no focus on that version of Sonic X Shadow Generations, so it’d be nice to see how it runs on Nintendo’s hardware. Ideally, we’d even get to see details not shown in Sega’s Summer Game Fest preview, like its new open world area or maybe another new level for the Shadow portion.
Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D
The HD-2D remake of Dragon Quest 3 fell off the map after its 2021 reveal, but Square Enix finally acknowledged it was still in the works with this Twitter post this past May. It didn’t really confirm anything aside from it being multiplatform, but the accompanying message, “The legend of Erdrick draws near,” got people thinking the reason it’s taken so long is because it’s now a remake of the first three Dragon Quest games, which are regarded as the Erdrick Saga Trilogy. Considering Square Enix’s previous HD-2D games, like Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy, debuted on Nintendo hardware, it’s not unreasonable to believe the Dragon Quest 3 remake could make its return in a Nintendo Direct.
Beyond Good & Evil
While nobody expects Beyond Good & Evil 2 to come out any time soon (if at all), a remaster of the first game made to celebrate its 20th anniversary should be on its way, especially since the anniversary was last year. Ubisoft had promised it would share details on it in early 2024 and yet it’s said nothing since the 2023 reveal, with the remaster also bizarrely absent at Ubisoft’s latest showcase. Recently, however, trophies for the PlayStation 5 version popped up on tracking site Exophase, suggesting a release is imminent. With the Nintendo Direct the only major summer showcase left, Beyond Good & Evil will hopefully make an appearance there.
Ace Attorney
Capcom spent Summer Game Fest hyping up Monster Hunter Wilds and Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, but a very recent rumour points to something Ace Attorney related being shown at the Nintendo Direct. The series started out on Nintendo platforms so it’d be fitting for a new game to be announced during the Direct, although a comment by Twitter user Pyoro (a common and reliable source of Nintendo leaks) has some fans thinking it’ll be a collection of the two Ace Attorney Investigations spin-offs. While I’d personally prefer an Ace Attorney 7, an Investigations collection would be a big deal. Not only are both games not available on modern hardware like the rest of the series, but the second game never launched outside of Japan.
Darkest Dungeon 2
Since the original Darkest Dungeon eventually made its way to consoles after its PC launch, it was always safe to assume its sequel would follow suit. PlayStation versions of Darkest Dungeon 2 were eventually announced in April but, just a month earlier, Gematsu reported that Darkest Dungeon 2 had been rated in Brazil for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. So, a Switch port could get a brief acknowledgement in the Nintendo Direct in-between the bigger reveals.
Silksong
Honestly, this is here out of obligation. Silksong fans can’t help but hope this long-awaited sequel to 2017’s Hollow Knight will make an appearance with every gaming related showcase, and are forced to put on clown make-up when it doesn’t show. Developer Team Cherry did previously aim for a 2023 launch, but wound up delaying it, and the last ‘real’ update was when a listing for it appeared on the Xbox store this past April. This could be a sign of Team Cherry gearing up for a release, but there’s otherwise nothing to suggest Silksong will appear at this Nintendo Direct. By that same metric, there’s nothing to suggest it won’t appear, but we’ll be keeping the clown wig and face-paint on stand-by regardless.
Published: Jun 17, 2024 12:29 pm