YOU GUYS — this June 2026 Nintendo Direct was a masterclass in pacing, and I can't get enough of it! They opened with Rhythm Heaven as an homage to the old Switch and set the stage perfectly for one of their biggest showcases in years. Then came Pokémon Pokopia DLC (so much content!), Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave with its September release date already locked in, and a limited-time Donkey Kong challenge event that gave current owners some exclusive love before things ramped up. The real showstoppers were the Xenoblade bombs — Chronicles 1 through 3 all getting Switch 2 editions plus a brand new entry called Xenoblade Genesis! After that, Koizumi even took five minutes to have an impromptu thumb war during the Nintendo Switch Sports Resort segment, which was honestly one of my favorite moments in years.
But it didn't stop there — they also announced Star Fox with a demo out right now (no trailer yet!), confirmed Splatoon Raiders and added new Joy-Con colors, and then dropped the absolute bombshell that everyone knew was coming: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time remake is real! They teased it with an epic cinematic retelling of the 1998 opening moments on screen and a simple "2026" graphic. That's enough for now but I know there's so much more to come this year, which is the kind of confidence you can only get from Nintendo at this point in their hardware cycle. It was one thing after another until it felt like they were showing off as much content as humanly possible before calling time.
The third-party showcase matched them beat for beat with a sheer quantity that I'm genuinely shocked by: Vanillaware’s Muramasa returns in Revenant Blades, Final Fantasy Resonance debuts HD-2D on the series, Pikuniku gets a sequel, and Kingdom Hearts 4 was announced despite everyone already knowing it existed. They also shadow-dropped Rise of the Tomb Raider for instant download — go get it now! Then came Metaphor: ReFantazio from Atlus, RuneScape's DragonWilds, Lies of P and Stellar Blade both getting Switch versions, DMC5 Remastered, Big Walk, Onimusha, even Dragon's Dogma 2 was mentioned. It's a colossal lineup — arguably too much to keep track of - but you can't argue with the quality. And if you're like me I might have asked for something more radical than just another paintover of Ocarina, but this is still one of Nintendo's best shows in memory.
Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/features/reaction-a-direct-that-picked-up-pace-for-a-breathtaking-finish
But it didn't stop there — they also announced Star Fox with a demo out right now (no trailer yet!), confirmed Splatoon Raiders and added new Joy-Con colors, and then dropped the absolute bombshell that everyone knew was coming: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time remake is real! They teased it with an epic cinematic retelling of the 1998 opening moments on screen and a simple "2026" graphic. That's enough for now but I know there's so much more to come this year, which is the kind of confidence you can only get from Nintendo at this point in their hardware cycle. It was one thing after another until it felt like they were showing off as much content as humanly possible before calling time.
The third-party showcase matched them beat for beat with a sheer quantity that I'm genuinely shocked by: Vanillaware’s Muramasa returns in Revenant Blades, Final Fantasy Resonance debuts HD-2D on the series, Pikuniku gets a sequel, and Kingdom Hearts 4 was announced despite everyone already knowing it existed. They also shadow-dropped Rise of the Tomb Raider for instant download — go get it now! Then came Metaphor: ReFantazio from Atlus, RuneScape's DragonWilds, Lies of P and Stellar Blade both getting Switch versions, DMC5 Remastered, Big Walk, Onimusha, even Dragon's Dogma 2 was mentioned. It's a colossal lineup — arguably too much to keep track of - but you can't argue with the quality. And if you're like me I might have asked for something more radical than just another paintover of Ocarina, but this is still one of Nintendo's best shows in memory.
Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/features/reaction-a-direct-that-picked-up-pace-for-a-breathtaking-finish