Cliff Notes – Nintendo Direct March 2025 – Every trailer and everything you need to know
- Nintendo announced a variety of new titles during the Direct, including a HD-2D remake of Dragon Quest 1 & 2 and a new entry in the Metroid series, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, showcasing impressive visuals and new gameplay mechanics.
- The company revealed a new method for sharing games called Virtual Game Cards, allowing players to lend titles across multiple Switch consoles for a limited time, hinting at a potential June launch for the anticipated Switch 2.
- Other notable announcements included the remaster of SaGa Frontier 2, the quirky life sim Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, and a new 2D scrolling beat ’em-up titled Marvel Cosmic Invasion, set to release this winter.
Nintendo Direct March 2025 – Every trailer and everything you need to know
GameCentral runs through all the key reveals from the Switch 1 focused Nintendo Direct, from the next Dragon Quest remake to a brand new Gradius game.
With all of Nintendo’s big name reveals being saved for next week’s Nintendo Switch 2 showcase, it was peculiar to learn the company also had a Nintendo Direct for the Switch 1 scheduled for Thursday.
Once it was announced, speculation ran rampant for what could be featured. Metroid Prime 4 was a given, as one of the only first party Switch titles left for 2025, but other popular rumours included a Kirby: Planet Robobot remaster, something Super Smash Bros. related, and a new trailer for Silksong.
Those rumours didn’t prove correct but others, such as the return of a beloved niche franchise, did. In case you missed it and need catching up, here’s every announcement Nintendo made during the showcase.
Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake
This had already been announced ahead of the release of the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, but the first two Dragon Quest games will be getting the same treatment. The trailer appears to tease a brand new party member, with the game slated only for a 2025 release.
No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI The Somnium Files
The third entry in the AI The Somnium Files series, this sees the first game’s protagonist, Date, return to the spotlight, to rescue a kidnapped internet idol. While it retains the series’ investigation mechanics and dream world puzzle sections, it’ll also feature traditional escape rooms when it launches on July 25.
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery Of The Soulless Army
It’s not Persona 6, but Shin Megami Tensei fans are being treated to another Atlus remaster. Unlike Shin Megami Tensei 5, this is an action role-playing game, but you’ll still be summoning demons to aid you in battle when this game launches on June 19.
Shadow Labyrinth
Announced during The Game Awards 2024, this 2D Metroidvania is essentially a grittier, almost horror themed take on Pac-Man. Launching on July 18, you’ll be fighting and munching on all manner of bizarre monsters with the aid of a yellow orb called Puck.
Patapon 1+2 Replay
One of two PlayStation properties to appear during the Direct, Patapon 1+2 Replay is a collection of the first two entries in Sony’s quirky rhythm game series for the PlayStation Portable. It launches on July 11 for Switch, as well as PlayStation 5 and PC.
Story Of Seasons: Grand Bazaar
There was only one farming game announced at this month’s Direct, namely the newest entry in the Story Of Seasons series (formerly known as Harvest Moon). Titled Story Of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, it promises all the usual hallmarks and is slated to launch on August 27.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
New gameplay for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond shows off its fantastic visuals and fancy new psychic powers for Samus, including the ability to change the trajectory of her shots. Strangely, Nintendo still won’t specify when the game launches this year, fuelling the theories that it’s a Switch 2 launch title.
Disney Villains Cursed Café
Someone at Disney must really like indie visual novel Coffee Talk because the company has made its own take on the idea; one that has you making and serving potions for a variety of classic Disney villains. It’s slated to drop on Switch later today.
Witchbrook
Hogwarts Legacy 2’s not going to be out any time soon, but indie studio Chucklefish is offering the next best thing: Witchbrook. Described as a witch life sim, you can craft potions, run your own business, and play with friends when it launches this winter.
The Eternal Life Of Goldman
A new 2D platformer from This Is The Police developer Weappy Studio, The Eternal Life Of Goldman sports some lovely looking animation and some obvious influences from the DuckTales NES game. It launches this winter.
Gradius Origins
One of our personal highlights of the Direct, Gradius Origins brings together multiple versions of six classic arcade shooters from Konami. Most excitingly of all though the compilation includes a brand new game: Salamander 3. The arcade conversions are by M2, who are the best of the best when it comes to this sort of thing, but we’re not clear who’s making the new game. We’ll hopefully know more before its launch on August 7.
Rift Of The Necrodancer
A spin-off of Crypt Of The Necrodancer, this game ditches the roguelike elements and is a pure rhythm action game. It already launched for PC last month but is out now for Switch alongside a DLC crossover with Celeste.
Tamagotchi Plaza
Described as a continuation of the Tamagotchi Connection series from the days of the Nintendo DS, Tamagotchi Plaza is a new life sim that sees you run your own store. It will feature over 100 Tamagotchi characters and launches on June 27.
Pokémon Legends Z-A
Nintendo’s other big Switch game for 2025 saw new gameplay footage, revealing night-time trainer battles and the Z-A Royale tournament. Still no word of an exact release date or a dedicated Switch 2 version.
Rhythm Paradise Groove
There was a rumour Nintendo would announce a new entry in one of its more niche franchises, but instead the company revealed two of them. The first is a new Rhythm Paradise game called Rhythm Paradise Groove, with its collection of rhythm mini-games slated for 2026.
Virtual Game Cards
Nintendo didn’t just have new games to share. It also unveiled Virtual Game Cards, which serve as a new method for sharing your games across multiple Switch consoles. You can also lend them to friends, although only for two weeks at a time. It arrives in late April (which also hints at a June launch for the Switch 2).
SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered
Square Enix continues to make older entries in its SaGa series of role-playing games more readily available, with this remaster of 1999’s SaGa Frontier 2. Originally made for the PS1, this remaster features updated visuals and new story scenarios and is available as of today.
Monument Valley
All three of the delightful Monument Valley puzzle games are slated for Switch later this year. The first two games will arrive on April 15 while Monument Valley 3, which was initially exclusive to Netflix, will follow in the summer.
Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots
The other surprise PlayStation related announcement, Everybody’s Golf is getting its first new entry in years and it’s going multiplatform. Amusingly titled Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots (Hot Shots Golf is what the series was called in the US), Bandai Namco is publishing it for Switch (as well as Patapon) while Sony handles bringing it to PlayStation 5 and PC.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion
One of the best third party surprises of the Direct was this brand new 2D scrolling beat ‘em-up from DotEmu, makers of the excellent Streets Of Rage 4. To be honest you almost don’t need to know any more than that, given that pedigree, but the game features 15 characters, with the ability to tag team between two of them at any time. The main bad guy appears to be Annihilus, who is primarily a Fantastic Four villain. The game will be out this winter on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC, as well as Switch.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
The final game reveal of the Direct turned out to be a new entry in Nintendo’s series of life sims starring the Miis. Scheduled for 2026, Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream looks just as wacky as previous games though we hope it offers more interactivity than its predecessors.
Will you be using the app? (YouTube)
Nintendo Today!
The actual final announcement of the Direct was not for a new game but Nintendo’s own bespoke news app called Nintendo Today! Doubling as a calendar, it’s a way for Nintendo to deliver updates and announcements directly to its fans. It’s available right now on iOS and Android, but only for those with a Nintendo account.
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