Expectation Management for Tomorrow

So, Nintendo announced their upcoming Double Trouble Directs already last week on Friday, giving us the entire weekend to run wild with speculations. And now they must have realized that these speculations are getting out of hand, at least when it comes to the Legend of Zelda Direct. Who would have thought?

To be fair, I'm guilty of this as well, always drunk on the possibilities. In case you haven't seen it: I have updated my initial speculation post with some additional ideas. This includes a free Switch 2 update for Skyward Sword HD, some Hyrule Warriors news (either a Ganondorf campaign for Age of Imprisonment, or a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition for Age of Calamity), or something wacky for Nintendo Switch Online, like "Forty Swords Adventures".

None of this is likely to happen, however. Nintendo of Japan has elaborated in an additional tweet this morning of what to expect from the The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct:

We will share non-game initiatives related to the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, as well as details on the Nintendo Switch 2 software "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time."

They wanted to make it clear that there won't be any additional game announcements. Don't expect to see the next 3D Zelda from Nintendo, don't expect to see the next 2D Zelda from GREZZO. The focus will be on Ocarina of Time, and that's understandable. They don't want to distract too much from their big holiday release. Aonuma will probably confirm that a new Zelda game is in development next to this remake, but they won't show it yet.

Still, even with other game releases taken out of the equation, we have a good idea of what could await us. We know that the movie is coming and will play an important role in the Direct, even though it's not a direct initiative for the 40th Anniversary.

The leak from last month is basically confirmed, in case you still had any doubts, because Nintendo of Japan is using the exact same Triforce pattern for their Direct announcement. So, we will certainly see all that limited edition hardware for sure.

And I'm fully expecting there to be a new line of amiibo as well, one for the 40th Anniversary. This could include some figures based on the classic Ocarina of Time, or the remake could get its own collection of amiibo, using the new character designs. Either way, the new Ocarina of Time will likely support amiibo in some form, so that there is a direct use for them, other than more fabrics in Tears of the Kingdom.

There is also a good chance that we will see a new LEGO set, maybe the biggest one so far, e.g. some changeable iteration of Hyrule Castle. Imagine a build where you can swap between Twilight Princess and Tears of the Kingdom, or something like that.

And after listening to the Breath of the Wild vinyl record collection this weekend, I think doing something similar for the 40th Anniversary would be a neat idea, where the records cover fan favorite tracks from all over the series, from the original The Legend of Zelda to Echoes of Wisdom (excluding the four Capcom games).

Of course, there are lots of other things that they could do a second time, like reviving the live concerts or releasing more art and lore books. They could also announce a Legend of Zelda addition to their Universal theme parks, which could be exciting to some people. But overall I'm hoping for something fresh, something that they haven't done before in any way before with Zelda or Super Mario.

Part of me still hopes that we're going to see some top-down Zelda release tomorrow, even if it's just some crazy remix of the first game or of Four Swords Adventures. But I'm not expecting it any longer and I simply hope that the Ocarina of Time remake and the movie will blow our minds so much that we don't care about anything else.

Donkey Kong Bananza

Donkey Kong Bananza has been my game for the rest of the Summer, where it's arguably one of the two must-have titles for the Nintendo Switch 2, the other being Mario Kart World. Still, I was hesitating for a long time whether I really want this game or not, for reasons explained later, but ultimately I do not regret the purchase and my time with it.

Not only is this game the actual successor to the beloved Super Mario Odyssey, but it's also taking some inspirations from Zelda. The game's core mechanic, however, may even be something to be copied by Zelda in the future, so let's take some notes... Read more for a deep dive into the adventure of Donkey Kong and Pauline.

Got the Breath of the Wild Vinyl Collection (Limited Edition)

This item has arrived on Friday and now adds to the plentiful collection of different things to have all around The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It's the game's soundtrack, or at least a part of it, on vinyl, making this more of a high quality collectible.

If my girlfriend didn't have a small record player, I probably wouldn't have bothered with this, but I'm glad that I got this. It looks as pretty as it sounds. They made great use of the different official artworks for the slipcases and the sleeves. The discs are also wrapped in additional paper sleeves, which make use of various character artworks, like Mipha or the Bokoblin.

There are eight records in total (though, a cheaper 2LP variant also exists), covering the highlights, including the beloved Nintendo Switch Presentation Trailer music. See the Nintendo Store page for the full track list.

And while I'm not a big vinyl lover myself, I can hear the difference in sound quality, and there is a certain prestige about listening to music like this. It's much more active. You don't just turn on some fan-uploaded playlist on Youtube or the Nintendo Music app, while you go and do something else. You place these records into the player to really listen, while maybe enjoying a glass of wine. And Breath of the Wild certainly offers some tasteful ambience with its music.

Let's see if Nintendo will follow up on this. Actually, now that I'm thinking about this, a 40th Anniversary vinyl collection could be one of the things announced on Tuesday, featuring tracks from all over the Zelda series.

Nintendo Direct September 2026 Predictions

This is going to be a unique Nintendo Direct, because we will have gotten The Legend of Zelda already covered with its 40th Anniversary Direct the day before. So, us Zelda fans can simply lean back and enjoy the show about what else might be in store. And I wouldn't dismiss this Nintendo Direct so easily. The fact alone that they wanted to separate this from Zelda is quite promising, where will get another 45 minutes on top of the 30 minutes of the Zelda Direct.

There will also be a Treehouse Live stream afterwards, where I'm sure that this will show us Ocarina of Time in action. It simply has to. Anyway, here are some of my hopes and predictions for this Zelda-free Nintendo Direct.

 

New Metroid Game by MercurySteam

This isn't even a prediction at this point, because this was already leaked back in July. But now it's finally time for the official announcement of this potential sequel to Metroid Dread, which is very exciting and may even be one of the big highlights of the Nintendo Direct. The release date could even lead to a surprise, where it may not even be that far away, potentially December or early 2027.

You probably shouldn't expect a big fanfare, however. I would be surprised if they even mentioned the 40th Anniversary of Metroid, since they will want to focus on the Zelda anniversary going forward, but there is a small chance. Especially if those rumors about a Super Metroid pixel remake turn out to be true as well...

 

Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave - Expansion Pass

This is more of a sinister prediction, but the same thing happened with Fire Emblem Engage: they will already announce paid DLC for the new Fire Emblem game, even though it's not even out yet. Usually, Nintendo likes to wait until their next big title has been released, before they publish another Nintendo Direct, so there might be some more news about the game. And this makes sense, for better or worse. Still, I would like to be wrong about this and finally get a Fire Emblem game that is complete from the get-go.

Mario Kart World DLC

Now, here's a game where I would love to see DLC. In the very least, we should be looking at the next free update, where theoretically there should be three more of them coming to add all the new Knockout Tour Rallies. The last update offered a new use for the collectible stickers, where I'm guessing that each update will add some additional features, potentially even new outfits or drivers, and finally the much-wanted 200cc mode. The latter would even be worthy to be showcased in a Nintendo Direct.

These free updates can be announced and released anytime, however, and what people are really waiting for is a real expansion to the world of Mario Kart World with new courses. This will happen eventually, but with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe now enhanced for Nintendo Switch 2, Mario Kart World will have to catch up sooner than later, to not be left in the dust.

 

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

Speaking of updates to Nintendo Switch games, this one is pretty much on top of my wishlist. It will be years before a new Super Smash Bros. game comes out, so Nintendo will have to bridge the gap by making Super Smash Bros. Ultimate even more ultimate.

The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition could feature a new mode similar to Smash Run, which can be played with up to eight players at once in 4k resolution. And a free update to the game could add some of the missing stages, as well as more Echo Fighters, like Impa, Dixie Kong, or Jeanne.

 

Other New Game Announcements

This is always the most difficult part to predict. But there have been some rumors about a new Wario Land game, which I would love to see. Though, I'm more of a fan of the original Wario Land and not the games with those transformations.

There is also talk about a new 3D Mario, which surprises me a lot, because the 3D Mario team is behind Donkey Kong Bananza, which is the successor to Super Mario Odyssey. For them to have made another 3D Mario game already seems unrealistic, but maybe we're talking about a remake of Super Mario 64, which would complete the big three early 3D hits from Shigeru Miyamoto, before he eventually retires. Even so, I'm not sure that they would announce this already, as long as Ocarina of Time is still in the pipeline. But you never know with Nintendo. 

The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct Announced

Nintendo is always good for a surprise. For the first time ever, we're getting a dedicated Direct presentation for The Legend of Zelda, for its 40th Anniversary no less. I would have expected this to be part of the general Nintendo Direct, which is scheduled for the day after (on September 9th), because this is how they did it for the 40th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros. a year ago. Both Super Mario and Zelda are the big crowd pleasers that draw in attention, but with a total runtime of 30 minutes they probably wanted to keep this separate and not overshadow the other Nintendo news.

It's also surprising that they are announcing this on a Friday, giving us the weekend to digest the news and speculate as much as we can. Normally, they would have announced this next Monday, leaving you with little time to mentally prepare.

Anyway, with 30 minutes this sure is going to be beefy, where people are wondering what else could there be next to the Ocarina of Time remake. A deep dive into the already announced title will most likely be the start of the Direct, where I'm still hoping for this to be a true re-imagining co-developed by Monolith Soft.

With all certainty, they will give us the exact release date, probably in November or December. Maybe they will also announce some sort of Collector's Edition for the game, or even a series of new amiibo.

Speaking of, people have been speculating that it will release November 12th, mainly because Nintendo is presumably shipping some Kirby Air Riders amiibo on that day. But we also got the Chef Kawasaki just yesterday, with no new Nintendo game to coincide, so this is rather weak evidence. It still could be November 12th, or maybe it's November 19th or later. Unlike the rest of the gaming industry, Nintendo doesn't care about Grand Theft Auto VI. They are doing their own thing, like they always did, and the nostalgia for Ocarina of Time is so strong that it can beat anything.

After said nostalgia trip, Nintendo will have to talk about the 40th Anniversary itself. There already was a leak about some upcoming merchandise, where this could become an expensive Christmas for any Zelda fan. Other than that, we could be looking at more amiibo, a new LEGO set, or other goodies...

A 40th Anniversary amiibo line could lead to updates of some existing Zelda games to support them, in the very least new paraglider fabrics for Tears of the Kingdom. But wouldn't it be lovely to get some more outfits for Zelda in Echoes of Wisdom, or new special chambers for the Chamber Dungeon? 

And I also see the middle segment as a strong chance for another game announcement. Yes, I'm convinced that this Nintendo Direct will bring more on the release table than Ocarina of Time and I'm not talking about the next 3D Zelda. That one is likely still a couple of years away, where they might want to wait with an announcement until after the movie hype, so June of next year or later.

Instead, I'm hoping that we will also see GREZZO's next project, where we have a number of options for a new top-down title. This could be a multiplayer sequel to Echoes of Wisdom, or it could be another remake. Unlike Ocarina of Time, however, this one would be more faithful, based on what they did with the Link's Awakening remake. This could either be the Oracles, scheduled for 2027, or maybe even a remake of the original The Legend of Zelda, which could even come out as early as next week.

Alternatively, I could see Nintendo do something with the original game in some other form, like some remixed version of it, a multiplayer variant, or even a whole Zelda Maker. I've already went over these ideas in more detail in past blog post, so check them out if you're interested to learn more about them:

• New Multiplayer Zelda
  
• Oracle of Ages & Seasons Remake
• The Legend of Zelda Remake
• The Legend of Zelda - Anniversary Edition

But one of these could be a strong possibility for next Tuesday, where I'm personally hoping for the Oracles to come out next year. This would be the most interesting scenario and also the strongest option, as this would give us two Zelda games in one.

Of course, remaking games is not the only way to bring back classic Zelda titles. Twilight Princess will celebrate its 10th anniversary later this year, where this will be the perfect timing to bring it onto the Nintendo Switch 2 via the GameCube Nintendo Switch Online library. Sure, getting the HD remaster onto Switch and Switch 2 would be even better, but this would distract too much from the new Ocarina of Time, so I'm not expecting this at the moment.

screenshots by u/EruditeWho

Another interesting NSO title could be Four Swords Adventures, especially if we were able to finally play it online. This was a big deal with Four Swords two years ago, where I'm hoping that Four Swords Adventures will get the same spotlight eventually, because this is the oldest Zelda game to never come back in any way or form. They could even try to localize Tetra's Trackers for the first time ever, or at least make it accessible in all regions.

Update: They could also go crazy with Four Swords Adventures and do a special Anniversary Edition of the game, like they had done with Four Swords fifteen years ago. How about a game called "Forty Swords", where up to 40 players can play together? (Kudos to u/Adept-Butterfly642 for the idea.)

As for the HD remasters, Skyward Sword HD might receive a free update for Nintendo Switch 2. This should be a "simple" thing, because the game's art style is always ready for an upscale. But it would offer a nice headline in between.

Update: the Zelda Direct could potentially also show some love for Hyrule Warriors, even though there won't be coming a new game any time soon. There probably also won't be any conventional DLC for Age of Imprisonment, because the free updates made things very much final. They could, however, add a whole other game mode in form of a Ganondorf campaign, where you play as the Demon King and only the Demon King.

Alternatively, we might be looking at a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. The game could really use the upgrade and there is some potential for additional content and improvements.

The 40th Anniversary Direct will likely be concluded with a first trailer for the upcoming The Legend of Zelda movie, which technically won't really be part of the 40th Anniversary any longer, because the series will already be 41 years old when the movie launches on April 30th... But Nintendo probably doesn't care and will want to use the anniversary to hype up the movie, because that's the biggest thing for Zelda in the next years – not the Ocarina of Time remake, not the next open world Zelda game, and certainly not some other remakes or goodies. This movie will be the largest investment around the franchise in its entire history and they will want this to be a huge hit, ideally the next Lord of the Rings, maybe even spawning two sequels.

If the recent casting rumors are to be believed, things are already looking quite promising. They will likely announce all of that cast and then leave us with a trailer that will hopefully blow everyone's mind.

Both the movie and the Ocarina of Time remake are in a similar position here. They already have been announced and we have seen very little about them. Both of them have the potential to be really good, but there is also the worry in the air that they might not be. Next week the curtains will fall.

PS: I just came back from a vacation, so I'm a bit overwhelmed by today's announcement and had some catching up to do with this blog. But there are worse reasons to be overwhelmed. 

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Switch 2 Update Released

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe joins the list of games that have received a free update for the Nintendo Switch 2, which is quite incredible in a number of ways. Most importantly, it comes with a big new feature: local split screen support for up to eight players, instead of just four. It's adding a whole new meaning to the "8" in the game's title.

You want a really big TV for this one, because it will be hard to see where you're going in any case. But I have been in the situation multiple times where we had a group of more than four players. The only way to play together locally would have been to set up a second TV and a second Nintendo Switch... So, this new solution is certainly a lot more convenient, which adds another selling point over Mario Kart World.

It's a simple scenario: you want to play together with five people in the same room. Do you take turns, so you can play Mario Kart World, or do you simply play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which also happens to have three times as many courses? The answer seems clear.

And this is what makes this update so remarkable. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best selling Nintendo Switch game by a long shot, with 71.5 million copies as of today, and the most extensive Mario Kart game in existence. Upgrading it to 4k resolutions and with a local eight-player-mode may even be a reason to finally buy into a Nintendo Switch 2 for a number of people. However, this is fierce competition for the new game, Mario Kart World.

They've also added the CameraPlay feature from Mario Kart World to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with this one. Though, I don't know of any people who actually use this... With Nintendo I'm usually okay with sharing some of my data, but being filmed by a camera while playing goes too far with the privacy intrusions. A voice chat is more than enough for online play.

Anyway, Mario Kart Word is also bound to get some more free updates for the upcoming Knockout Tour Rallies. I suspect that these updates will also have some nice surprises in store, just to keep Mario Kart World interesting next to its older and beefier sibling.

Update: 

They also made the game slightly faster, giving you the equivalent of one coin as a speed boost. And this is crazy, mainly because this screws all the world records in Time Trials, giving players an incentive to do them all over on all 96 tracks in both 150cc and 200cc.

Apropos 96 tracks, there is now the option to play a total of 96 races in the VS Race mode, which was an often requested feature after the conclusion of the Booster Course Pass. You will only get this option if you own said expansion, however.

You can find all the patch notes of version 4.0.0 on nintendo.com.