With Nintendo Switch 2 rumors piling up, the Nintendo Switch is in an interesting position. How much more support would this console be getting before the next-gen system arrives? The recent Nintendo Direct,  livestreamed on Sept. 14, answered that, revealing a mix of ports, remasters, remakes, DLC, expansions and new games coming to the system.

The show kicked off with the newest expansion to “Splatoon 3,” Wave 2 of “Side Order.” The expansion will be sold separately from the base game and is releasing spring 2024. Next up was a remake of the 2004 GameBoy Advance game “Mario vs Donkey Kong.” The remake will be adding local co-op and will release Feb. 26.

As for the next few announcements, “Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown” was given a spotlight along with “Horizon Chase 2,” “Super Crazy Rhythm Castle,” “SPY x ANYA: Operation Memories,” “Another Code: Recollection” and “Super Mario RPG Remake,” which had a new gameplay trailer with a release date of Nov. 17.

“Princess Peach Showtime!” got a new trailer showing off the gameplay and mechanics of the game with Princess Peach being able to take on different transformations. This will release on March 22. For the next influx of announcements, “SaGa: Emerald Beyond” was shown along with “Tomb Raider I-III Remastered,” “Detective Pikachu Returns,” “Trombone Champ,” “BATTLE CRUSH,” “Wartales,” “Contra: Operation Galuga” and “Unicorn Overlord.” “Operation Galuga” is a reimagining of the original NES game, and “Unicorn Overlord” is an RPG collaboration between Atlas and Vanillaware.

“Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD,” a remaster of the 3DS game “Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon,” was shown off with cleaner visuals and a new online four-player co-op mode. It releases summer 2024.

Nintendo also announced that a Nintendo Museum is currently being constructed and will be ready by March 2024. Amiibo figures were shown, including Zelda and Ganondorf from “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” Noah and Mio from “Xenoblade Chronicles 3,” and Sora as part of “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.”

Up next was the return of the F-Zero series with “F-ZERO 99.” With SNES graphics and new gameplay mechanics, it was another take on the 99-player battle royale, akin to games like “Tetris 99” and “PAC-MAN 99”. It was released later that day, exclusive to Nintendo Switch Online members. Another influx of announcements included “Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story,” “Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story,” another look at the upcoming release of “WarioWare: Move It!,” “Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes,” paid DLC for “Eastward” titled “Octopia,” “Wargroove 2,” “DAVE THE DIVER” and the new “Among Us” map,  Fungle.

Wave 6 of the Booster Course Pass for “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” was shown for the first time, announcing Diddy Kong, Funky Kong, Pauline, and Peachette as playable characters and Wii Daisy Circuit being added as one of the tracks. It releases this holiday.  To close the show, Nintendo revealed the long awaited remake of “Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.” It showed off better visuals and had a release window of 2024 with more information coming next year.

Overall, it was not a bad Nintendo Direct. But it would not be surprising if the audience response was fairly middling. Nothing big was shown, just smaller titles and older games. Nonetheless, there were quality titles shown and it is clear the big stuff is being prepped for Nintendo’s next-gen system.

Image from Eric Van Allen via destructoid.com