Nintendo has announced the June Direct for tomorrow, 4PM CEST, so in exactly 22 hours. We already knew that we would be getting a Direct in June from the last business update (see here) and that it won't contain any information about the Nintendo Switch successor, so it will be one last rodeo focused on the current system. And here are my hopes and predictions from last time:
- Xenoblade Warriors / Xenoblade Chronicles X
- Remake of Oracle of Ages & Seasons
- The Wind Waker HD / Twilight Princess HD
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Remastered
- First glimpse at Metroid Prime 4
So, I'm not keeping my expectations low here – quite the opposite, I expect this Direct to give me a lot to talk about. But that's mainly because that this marks the last major Direct focused on the Nintendo Switch, where there are quite some open gaps to fill...
A remake of Oracle of Ages & Seasons is the first that comes to mind for me personally. They have the Link's Awakening remake on the Switch and this is the natural follow-up. It makes sense to have this before any other Zelda remake, because they have everything in place for it. Also, I haven't seen or heard anything about GREZZO working on Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, which means that they should be free to have worked on Zelda instead.
My hopes are up in this case, also because this is something I really, really want. I loved the Link's Awakening remake and would like to see more like it. It would be just the right thing after the massive Tears of the Kingdom, something small and cozy to enjoy. And the Oracle games would profit a lot from being remade into one shared experience, instead of being split into two separate games that need to be connected via passwords.
In any case, I expect that we will get something for Zelda for this year, but not a new game, nor a remake of any other game, like Ocarina of Time for example, because they will likely keep those for the next system. So, this leaves us with ports of The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD otherwise, but you've heard that hundreds of times before... I suppose, a remake of A Link Between Worlds is also possible, since the remake of Link's Awakening borrowed a bit from the 3DS game and this could now go full circle, but I wouldn't expect this before Oracle of Ages & Seasons.
Best case scenario is getting an Oracles remake and the Wii U remasters. It's really now or never for those ports, because on the next system they won't get away with simply porting them over. It just won't be good enough. But since they also won't be bringing anything new on the table right now, it can be treated as a side release.
With Metroid Prime 2 it's similar. We have the remaster of the first game on the Nintendo Switch, so they should at least also give us the second to not have a cut between the two. The main difference here is that it won't be able to share as many assets, for enemies and so on, because those were vastly different between the games. So, just because they have fully remastered Metroid Prime, doesn't mean that this heavily lends into remastering the sequel as well. But these two games really belong together nevertheless, since both originated on the GameCube and have a lot in common. It would be weird if they were to skip the sequel or to remaster it later in even better quality, but not impossible...
In the very least, we should hear something about Metroid Prime 4, because this game was announced seven years ago, right when the Nintendo Switch was still new. And while the development got rebooted at some point, this was also over five years ago. So, people still expect this to become a Nintendo Switch title and even if Nintendo decided to make this one of the launch titles for the Switch successor, I still would expect to see a Nintendo Switch version to fulfill their "promise" and show off that version tomorrow.
Otherwise, there is also the possibility that they will release an HD remaster of Metroid: Samus Returns. So, I'm expecting some Metroid news, just like I'm expecting some Zelda news, it's really just the question of what it will be.
Another game in the genre, which has been announced for the Nintendo Switch many years ago and is awaited by many fans, is Hollow Knight: Silksong. And I know that I have to put on a clown mask for this prediction, because the whole internet goes crazy about this game with every new presentation and nothing ever happens, especially during the Nindie Showcases.
But since it was originally meant to be DLC for Hollow Knight, it was also announced for Nintendo Switch. They even had a demo running on the system at E3 2019, five years ago. Of course, the Nintendo Switch won't cease to exist when its successor launches and nothing will stop Team Cherry from releasing it on the older system in a couple of years still. But I doubt that it will take them all too much longer. If 2024 is the year, then we will likely hear something tomorrow, in the last major presentation for the Switch.
Plus, they've recently featured Hollow Knight as the free game trial for Nintendo Switch Online. This doesn't happen without the consent from either side, where maybe this was good timing for Team Cherry. However, there was also recently an Xbox Games Showcase and if there are news about Silksong inbound, then it will be a bit weird that this wasn't already featured there, unless Team Cherry has some sort of deal going on with Nintendo right now.
Otherwise, I've already seen predictions for a new Hyrule Warriors based on Tears of the Kingdom. And while I'd love that, it's way too early, this will take at least another two years. Instead, I think that Koei Tecmo has been cooking up "Xenoblade Warriors", now that the trilogy has concluded on the Switch...
Update: If there's something about Tears of the Kingdom, then it will be Master Mode. They have said that the game won't get any DLC, so I'm not expecting it, but if they have changed their mind and they are going to add the much-requested mode after all, then this will be announced tomorrow. This would also explain why it takes them so long to get the Master Works artbook out, because naturally it will include any existing concepts for this as well.
In addition, we will likely see some other ports, remasters, or remakes of Nintendo titles, especially from the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Kid Icarus: Uprising and Xenoblade Chronicles X come to mind here.
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