[Let’s Talk] February 2024 Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase reactions
The first Nintendo Direct of 2024 is in the books with this week’s Partner Showcase. It may not have been the general presentation with many first-party announcements that some may have wanted, but there was still plenty of news.
Nintendo did manage to have an announcement of its own with the reveal of Endless Ocean Luminous, the first entry in the series since the Wii era. Speaking of Wii, Epic Mickey is back with a remake titled Epic Mickey: Rebrushed. Xbox made some announcements with ports of Grounded and Pentiment, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble and Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist were revealed (plus others like Gundam Breaker 4 and Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream), and we got a number of shadowdrops including five Rare titles on Nintendo Switch Online, Penny’s Big Breakaway, and Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On. You can catch up on the full recap here.
What did you think of the Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase? What was your favorite announcement? Let us know in the comments.
Highlights from last week’s topic: What’s your favorite amiibo?
Narrator 1
Smash Bowser. It wasn’t particularly special, rare, or sought-after. In fact, it was usually littering the overstock aisles right along with Mario and the Animal Crossing characters.
But it was the first one I bought, the one I trained well enough to beat two of my friends in a two-in-one match in Smash 4, and it helped immensely in 100% Completion of Super Mario Odyssey. Also, I unwittingly broke street date by purchasing it at a retail Gamestop one day before its official release.
DeRosset
I don’t have a favorite, but right now, I’m really liking my Urbosa figurine.
Lord Drieg
This is such a tough request. Honestly, how do you pick from 100+ representatives of games that define not just one’s personal gaming history but gaming history as a whole (And that’s just the Smash amiibo, according to you, NE)?
And how can you pick just one amiibo as your favorite when there are myriad reasons for favoritism? I could say Shovel Knight because it was the first 3rd party amiibo ever, Yarn Yoshis & Poochy because they were plushies with amiibo functionality, the Skylander cross-miibo because they were both amiibo and Skylander toys, the Metroid amiibo for Samus Returns because of the squish {Don’t start about Fusion Mode. This is about the joy & fun of amiibo}, the Boo amiibo I wish I’d gotten cause it glows in the dark; I could go on and on and on.
Amiibo has such a rich life that I’m sad to suspect that amiibo will likely end after Sora’s release. But what I will cherish & share are the good times & memories amiibo have given me (And even a few bad memories. F you, line cutter who stole my ticket for a Robin amiibo).
Kevin Ramirez
Wolf Link is my all-time favorite. The fact you can summon Wolf Link in BOTW blew my mind and would do that any time I’d play it and have him travel with me. It is such a shame in TOTK though.
Zelda & Loftwing Amiibo, and Pyra and Mythra Amiibos
NotAlwaysYou
I think Wolf Link really was my favorite use of amiibo between games, and its a gorgeous figure.
While I’d prefer the dungeon not have been locked behind it, left digital and used players behind, it was still a great addition to the game that really got my excited.
I loved setting a High score in TPHD that would benefit me in BotW, that was so much fun! Honestly I wish more games utilized similar ideas…. especially if your character wasn’t in Smash. (But if it was, give a bigger bonus for a level 50 ai!)
