The Best Nintendo Direct?

First, watching Nintendo Directs is only something I’ve been doing for the last two years. I wouldn’t know what makes a good direct versus a bad one. My bias lies in only being interested in a certain franchise of games and if it’s not present I don’t care. I’m the kind of gamer who knows what I like and will basically never try anything new. And the franchises I like are based purely on nostalgia.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way you’ll forgive me if I loved this Direct and for one reason only: the Nintendo Switch Online section.

Ever since my return to Pokémon I decided I wanted to try for a Living Dex. And if that wasn’t hard enough, a Female Living Dex. The only problem I could see was:

• Lack of National Dex beyond Gen IV in any games (specifically the new ones)

• Games in DS & 3DS can only be connected to Home by playing them on those handhelds and transferring using the Bank app.

• Bank is going away in March.

This left me needing to find a 2DS (which I did) and then getting the games (which I also did). I also used Virtual Console to get the older GB and GBA games.

Turns out I acted too hastily and should’ve relaxed. I should’ve known that The Pokémon Company wasn’t going to make the hurdles so difficult for newcomers to the franchise to “catch’em all.” It is their tried and true catch phrase and if they are to stick by it, giving us over 1k Pokémon to catch, the best solution is to utilize Nintendo Switch Online. I will have more on my Pokémon Day predictions but I will say I hope to see not only the original games but maybe the next handhelds introduced by end of year as well. One can dream…

Who needs a new console? I don’t. I could go another two years (maybe more) if they continue to update their back catalog…

Going back to the Direct briefly, there was nothing else compelling to me. All I have to do now is prepare for the drop of games on GameBoy and GBA.

But I will mention this Metroid Prime remaster has me mildly intrigued. I know I said I don’t try anything new, but this shooter game interests me slightly. And with a price point of just $40 for the physical copy, I can’t lose if I should not like it. And speaking of price points…

I know there are some who are huffing and puffing about the $69.99 price set for the new Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom game coming this May. Is it pricey? Yes, but when I think of the $100 I spend every year on the latest Call of Duty game for the X-Box I’m not too bothered. Now, if all of the games I want start to cost $69.99 each then it might give me pause. But I’m already expecting any expansion or DLC that comes in the future for the games I play to essentially be free since I have NSO + Expansion Pass family subscription. It’s been more than worth it to pay $80/yr for the extras. And speaking just from a content perspective, Zelda has given me hundreds of playing hours. For that kind of lasting power, Nintendo can take my $70 without question…