Nintendo keeps it compact this year for the E3 2021, but that's better than nothing. On June 15th, 6PM CEST, they will start things off with a 40 minutes long Nintendo Direct about upcoming Nintendo Switch titles. Then a "Nintendo Treehouse: Live" event will showcase some gameplay for about three hours. (Source: Twitter)
That's really it, but the online E3 event ends on that date anyway. Nintendo wants to save the best for last, it seems. But with that there isn't much room, so don't expect anything extensive, like with Breath of the Wild in 2016. In any case, let's go over some potential topics of interest for Hyrule Blog.
The New Super Nintendo Switch Plus Pro U Deluxe?
Well, if you follow any Nintendo news at all, you will have noticed the rumors about an upgraded Nintendo Switch model coming 2021 with 4K upscaling, improved hardware, improved dock, etc.
And it seems like this will already be showcased before E3, maybe even as early as tomorrow. And if a "Nintendo Switch Plus" or whatever it may be called truly were to happen this year, then this would make sense. The E3 Nintendo Direct only has 40 minutes, where they will want to focus on the games and the games alone, so it's best to get this right out of the way and then put the focus on the new games. And if any other publisher already were to present their "Nintendo Switch Plus" software at E3, then Nintendo's presentation would be too late.
More on this topic once this is actually happening...
The Sequel to Breath of the Wild?
In the Nintendo Direct from earlier this year, Aonuma said that we can expect news about this title later in 2021. And E3 is arguably the best place to do so, where it's likely that we'll at least get a new trailer.
However, with only 40 minutes of a Nintendo Direct and only three hours of Nintendo Treehouse: Live, it doesn't really feel like it might become a big part of the showcase. After all, Breath of the Wild got an entire E3 dedicated to itself. While the sequel might not get as much promotion, since this is only a sequel and it a lot of it will be already familiar from the first game, it's probably not something that will be processed next to many other titles, like Splatoon 3 or even Skyward Sword HD.
It's more likely that the sequel to Breath of the Wild might get its own dedicated showcase later this year or even next year. In any case, don't expect a 2021 release just yet. We're still getting another filler year with Skyward Sword HD and the DLC for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, where both of this will most likely part of the Treehouse gameplay presentation. Speaking of...
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity – Pulse of the Ancients
We got the Expansion Pass bonus last week for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, but we still don't know what exactly the upcoming first DLC wave will entail. This will probably be shown at E3 and then released later this month.
It's likely that the first DLC will focus on Robbie and Purah, but we have yet to see them in action, where the Nintendo Treehouse: Live showcase will be the perfect opportunity to get more into the first DLC, where they can present the new character(s) and weapon types, while taking on the "Ancient Lab Challenges".
Skyward Sword HD
While the upcoming Skyward Sword HD probably won't be a big topic in the Nintendo Direct, since they've already announced this title and its merchandise, it could be that there's still one new, big feature that they haven't shown yet. This could be something like a new dungeon, e.g. a trial cave, or maybe even expanded night-time exploration. Something more interesting.
With all certainty they will play the remaster during the Treehouse stream, so they can show us in person how the new controls work and so on. This might even be the place where they show a new feature.
35th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda
This is where they have to announce things, right? Right...? Well, not necessarily... Since Skyward Sword HD doesn't seem to be tied to the 35th Anniversary so far (much like Twilight Princess HD in 2016), they might wait until after July before they announce more for Zelda overall. This could even finally lead to a dedicated Zelda Direct after all these years...
If we're truly getting The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD on the Nintendo Switch as well, as part of the 35th Anniversary, it's probably best to wait with such an announcement until after the release of Skyward Sword HD anyway, to not steal any attention. However, we still could see some other related announcements at E3, for example a new top-down game based on Link's Awakening, like a dungeon builder, a multiplayer title, remakes of the Oracle games (maybe not those yet) and so on...
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: The Final Challengers
With all certainty one of the upcoming two Challenger Packs for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will get a reveal trailer at E3 and might even be released soon after, since this is somewhat overdue. The other could also be revealed as well, similar to Hero and Banjo at E3 2019.
Since Sakurai has stressed the fact that these will be the last two fighters in a recent column, we really shouldn't expect more here, though it would be nice to get a bonus Echo Fighter and some additional stages to fill some gaps.
In any case the identity of the final two fighters will already be very exciting, where there are still a lot of possibilities. Maybe Bandai Namco finally gets another fighter after all this time and effort, where Dark Souls seems like the most popular candidate. And let's not dismiss the possibility of getting a Sword & Shield Pokémon, like Cinderace. Or we could be really getting the Master Chief, as arguably the most iconic rep from Microsoft.
I'm personally hoping for the Doom Slayer instead, as well as for Dixie Kong (with a Tropical Freeze stage), while a newcomer from Zelda would also be awesome, where the Champions would be my most wanted here. But the latter is a lot to ask and I'm already quite satisfied with the DLC, so I'm not expecting too much.
Metroid
As for Metroid, it's probably best not to expect anything about Metroid Prime in general, whether if it's a first real trailer for Metroid Prime 4 or a Metroid Prime Trilogy HD announcement. Both would certainly be awesome, however, and a new Metroid Prime could even be used to showcase the new Nintendo Switch hardware. If there's one Nintendo game series to push graphics, it's this one.
Otherwise we could see the announcement of a new 2D Metroid on Nintendo Switch, following Metroid: Samus Returns from four years ago. This could be a remake of Super Metroid or even the long-awaited Metroid 5.
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