Shack Chat: What's your reaction to the February 17 Nintendo Direct?

It's Friday and there's a heavily hyped video game presentation filled with announcements and reveals on the way in just a bit. That probably means the Shacknews staff should get their reactions from the last heavily hyped video game presentation filled with announcements and reveals out of the way. With that said, we're here to react to the latest Nintendo Direct with excitement, sarcasm, and everything in-between.

We're also sending our best wishes to Guides Editor Josh Hawkins, who is among those affected by the ongoing emergency in Texas. We hope to have him back soon and, in the meantime, hope he and his loved ones remain safe.

Question: What’s your reaction to the February 17 Nintendo Direct?

"You wanted Breath of the Wild 2 news? LOLOLOLOLOL!" - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Hero of Courage

I liked what I saw out of the Nintendo Direct this week. A lot of focus on third-party games (Monster Hunter Rise), a focus for 2022 (Splatoon 3 and Square Enix's Project Triangle), some surprises (a new Mario Golf), another sword character for Smash (rapidly becoming one of our favorite running gags here), and some exciting indie news. Of course, I know the first thing I was there for. I was ready to hear some news for the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel.

Nothing made me shout on our Discord channel more than seeing Producer Eiji Aonuma pop up and basically say, "You're probably expecting news on Breath of the Wild 2. Our news is, we have no news." What a tease.

A remastered Skyward Sword wasn't going to lift me up after that letdown, I'm sorry. (That's not to say I'm not excited for Skyward Sword HD. Getting that game with real button controls? I'm in. Can we do the same for Star Fox Zero, please?)

Mario Golf! - Donovan Erskine, FORE!

I thought the Nintendo Direct was fine overall. A lot of stuff I was hoping to see wasn’t there, but the things they did show were pretty neat. One of the reveals that really took the cake for me was Mario Golf: Super Rush. It’s been so long since we got a new Mario Golf game and it’s one fans have been clamoring for since the Switch launched. Like plenty of others, I love the Mario sports titles, and can’t wait to jump back into some golf this Summer.

Dat Monster Hunter console though - Blake Morse, Wants that Monster Hunter Switch

I’ve already pre-ordered my collector’s edition of Monster Hunter Rise, but I’m very tempted to snag an additional copy of the game along with that very shiny, fancy new Monster Hunter Switch. Really dig that gold embedding on the dock and the designs on the Joy-Cons. Give it to me, please and thank you!

Nintendo thinks I’m a clown - Chris Jarrard, Has better opinions than other staffers

Aside from a mild itch to try out Mario Golf, I found this week’s Nintendo Direct presentation to be another lackluster showcase of old cash-in ports and random RPGs. Admittedly, I’m not the target audience for the Switch, but it would be cool if these presentations provided me something to look forward to. I still love my Gamecube to death, but I think that Nintendo and I stopped seeing eye to eye somewhere along the way. I’m clearly the idiot here, though, as they can’t keep the handheld console in stock and people seem to be maintaining a rabid fervor for getting to play random games from the past on an uncomfortable controller with drifting sticks.

Exiting 2017, my outlook on the Switch was pretty high following Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey, and the delightful Mario: X-Com. I mistakenly assumed that we would get more stuff like the Ubisoft collab and less sword DLC for Smash Bros.

Nintendo what now? - Sam Chandler, On Holiday, Mate

(Editor's Note: Sam is on vacation this week. He'll be back next time!)

Yay for Mario Golf Super Rush - Bill Lavoy, Co-EIC

It looks like Nintendo is in for another great year, and I’m personally most excited about Mario Golf Super Rush. Golf games in general are a lot of fun, but I tend not to dig into the ones that are closer to simulation. I played a lot of golf in Grand Theft Auto V, and for some reason this trailer reminded me of that. Not in graphics or gameplay, but just in the way it’s something I can hop into casually and enjoy without having to invest too deeply.

Nice first half of 2021 ya got there, Nintender - TJ Denzer, Wanted Metroid (will wait)

I get that a lot of people had expectations of things like Zelda and Metroid (me too), but I think it’s well worth mentioning that the focus of this Direct was for games coming out in the first half of this year. With that in mind, Mario Golf Super Rush and Splatoon 3 were pretty great announcements. Mario Golf looks lush, fun, and my little Mii representation of myself will go on an adventure, playing approximately one million percent more golf than I have ever touched in my life. Splatoon 3 is going to be an all-in for me. I love that series and I’m going to delight in getting back into it.

There were some neat surprises in there too. As a fan of puzzle and story games, I think Famicom Detective Club really caught my attention. I could always use a new brain teaser and the fact that these games come from an early bit of Nintendo history is very cool to me. There was more than enough there to keep me satisfied till we see what Nintendo has up its sleeve later this year.

Feels like Nintendo kicked me in the balls - Greg Burke, Head of Video

No F-Zero, no Metroid, No Breath of the Wild 2 news, a lackluster smash add-on and you ported Skyward Sword before Ocarina of Time? I’m at a loss for words.

It was interesting - Steve Tyminski, Stevetendo show host.

It was finally time for another Nintendo Direct and these always get the Internet buzzing. The question at hand was “how good was it?” There were some interesting announcements like Pyra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 getting an invite for Super Smash Brothers Ultimate as a DLC fighter. Mario Golf on the Switch was a nice surprise as I always enjoy Mario sports games. It was also nice to see Fall Guys finally getting on the Nintendo console so Nintendo gamers can get in on the fun.

There were a few other games that look like they deserve a look. Miitopia, No More Heroes 3, Neon White, and Knockout City all look like games that could garner attention. Mario items getting into the Animal Crossing game was known prior but now we have a date for when we could actually have them. This might be one of the few ways Nintendo gets me back onto My Animal Crossing Island. That being said, Nintendo didn’t have any info for the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel other than info should be available later this year. However, it was announced that Skyward Sword HD will be coming to the Switch and I’m mixed on this one. Skyward Sword in my opinion is one of the lesser Zelda games and it looks like the HD remake doesn’t fix one of the major issues the Wii version had, motion controls. Time will tell if this is fixed in the actual game but I’ll hold most of my displeasure with this until release.

It was ‘fine’ - Bryan Lefler, long-time Nintendo apologist

Another full-fat Nintendo Direct has come and gone after 18 long months of Mini and Indie Directs. My reaction as a lifetime Nintendo fan was “This is fine”. It’s easy to get swept along in the speculation and hype cycle that surrounds such a momentous occasion in games media. I, myself, am quite guilty of that. With not one, but two speculative pieces on Nintendo recently, I’ve been making a lot of calls on what Nintendo might do this year and I was wrong on a lot of counts! And that’s fine!

I didn’t see Mario Golf Super Rush coming although that was a wiffleball of an announcement with Camelot Software Planning having finished up Mario Tennis Aces and all planned DLC. More Mario sports is definitely a good thing, but I bet Camelot would love to work on Golden Sun again, at least I would love it if they did. I also didn’t see Splatoon 3 on the way so soon with Splatoon 2 Splatfests making a small comeback after their ‘cancellation’ with the ‘Final Fest’ back on July 18, 2020. Personally, I think Splatoon is the best arena shooter out of the entire previous console generation and more of that is always a good thing.

There were plenty of other announcements to be excited about, and I think everyone complaining about the lack of Breath of the Wild 2 or Metroid Prime 4 details just needs a little more patience. I was also a little let down but then I reminded myself, this Direct was only focusing on the first half of 2021 and we’re a third through that first half! Sorry for the fractions but what I’m trying to say is, I bet Nintendo will be back in June or July with another Direct and that’s when we’ll get the heavy holiday season hitters.

Chatty, you made your thoughts known in the real-time thread. But now that you've had a few days to think about it, what are your thoughts regarding this week's Nintendo Direct? The same? Different? Somewhere in-between? Join the conversation and let us know. And if you're a reader who isn't part of the Chatty community, create an account today and join the fun!

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.