Nintendo Direct Event recap: Bayonetta 3, Kirby and the Forgotten Land and all the new announcements and trailers

According to Nintendo Life, a new Kirby game was leaked on Nintendo's Japan website. If true, there's a decent chance it could make an appearance during the Direct later today. The game is scheduled for Spring of 2022. Using Google Translate, Nintendo Direct found the title to be Kirby Discovery of the Stars or Kirby's Dream Land Discovery. Of course, if any of this is true, the name could change for its Western release. 

Some on Twitter are also pointing out that today is Nintendo's 132nd-year anniversary. Happy Birthday Nintendo!

Yup. Nintendo is over a century old. Before Nintendo got into video games, it actually made playing cards, which were commonly used to gamble with. In 1886, the Meiji government legalized hanafuda playing cards, which is how Nintendo got its start. But by 1907, the Japanese government made gambling illegal, pushing the industry underground. I wrote about Japans evolution with gaming and gambling for ESPN back in 2019. 

If you need a refresher course on the Nintendo Switch OLED, it goes on sale October 8. It's essentially the Nintendo Switch, but a larger screen; there's an OLED panel instead of an LCD one.

In addition to the 7-inch handheld, you can also expect gray-white JoyCon controllers with a dock in matching colors.

The Nintendo Switch OLED will cost $349. Check out our guide on where to buy the Nintendo Switch OLED.

According to a Reddit thread, along with the supposed Kirby leak we posted earlier, Nintendo's Japanese website accidentally let loose Bayonetta 3. Of course, we knew the game was in development, we just didn't have an exact release date. But if this apparent (and rare) screwup by Nintendo holds true, then Bayonetta 3 would not be making it to holiday 2021, and instead will be set for sometime in 2022.

Both Kirby and Bayonetta have since been taken down from Nintendo's site.

Okay! We're 30 minutes out from the start of the Direct. Have your snacks and sodas ready. Also, Nintendo is putting on a Blockbuster sale on its eShop. There are deals on Monster hunter Rise, Hades, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, The Witcher 3 and more. 

Nothing new to report yet. But the YouTube stream has officially gone live. We're just waiting for the video to start. Over 140,000 people are already watching. 

Okay, we're five minutes out! No leaks as of now. Guess everything we're gonna see will be during the show.

The stream has officially started. Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak, a new expansion, is set for release in Summer 2022. 

It will include new stories, locales and hunting actions. 

Mario Party Superstars has been announced. It's a new Mario Party game that looks like what fans would expect. It launches on October 29th. 

Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars by Square Enix has been announced. It's being made by Yoko Taro and Yosuke Saito. The game had long been rumored. Right now it's uncertain if it's in the NieR universe.

It launches October 28th. Demo available today.

Disco Elysium The Final Cut launching on Switch on October 22nd. Physical versions will arrive in Early 2022

Nintendo announced the new Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity Expansion Pass. It takes place in the Breath of the Wild universe, with some cameos from what looks to be Monster Hunter games. 

Nintendo also announced a new racing game from Square Enix called Chocobo GP. It looks cute, but how will it stack up against Mario Kart 8 Deluxe?

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we'll be seeing the final DLC character for Smash Ultimate today. But Nintendo did announce that a Sakurai direct will take place on October 5. 

Kirby and the Forgotten Land has been announced for Spring 2022. This looks to be the largest update to the Kirby franchise in years. 

It's not an open world, but more akin to Super Mario 3D World, where levels are more open. So, it's not as linear as 2D Kirby games.

There will also be an Animal Crossing New Horizons direct taking place in October. Free content will arrive in November.

There's a new and free Mario Golf Super Rush update. New characters and courses will be made available. The update goes live later today.

Disney Magical World 2: Enchanted Edition looks to be a port of a 3DS game. 

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic will be making its way to the Nintendo Switch. It's not the new remake, but a port of the original Xbox or Mobile version. It's not quite clear yet. 

Dying Light 2: Stay Human Cloud Edition has been announced. It's odd that Nintendo is touting a game that can't be natively played on the system. Either way, it's set to release on February 4, 2022. 

The first Dying Light will be coming to Switch. It won't be streaming. It'll arrive on October 19. 

Project Triangle Strategy is still in development. But based on a demo, Square Enix has made improvements to the user experience. It's set to launch on March 4, 2022. 

Nintendo gave us a new trailer for the much anticipated Metroid Dread. It included a new trailer and new footage of actual gameplay. We also got a greater insight on the lore in Dread. It's still set for an October 8 launch. 

Nintendo just dropped some major news for retro gamers. Nintendo 64 games and Sega Genesis games are coming to Nintendo Switch online. This will be a new membership tier. Nintendo did not announce how much more this membership tier would cost. 

Nintendo also unveiled that wireless Nintendo 64 and Genesis controllers will be put up for sale on Nintendo's online store. 

N64 games include Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64. Majora's Mask will be coming later. 

Genesis games include Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and Ecco the Dolphin.

All four fan beloved Castlevania Game Boy Advance games will be making its way over to Switch. These games have become highly sought after over the years. 

Shigeru Miyamoto also jumped on to the stream to discuss his new movie with Illumination, the studio behind Despicable Me. The Super Mario movie is set for December 21, 2022 for North America. Key cast members include Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad and Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong. Charles Martinet will also be involved in surprise cameos. Other actors include Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek. Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike.

Nintendo finally gave some actual gameplay of Splatoon 3, the paint-based third-person multiplayer shooter. It looks like past Splatoon games honestly, but with a cyberpunk twist. It's also a little weird. It also looks as if there will be a story mode called Return of the Mamalians. The story will involve the return of mammals into the Splatoon universe. 

The game will take place in Splatsville, a chaotic Hong Kong-like city. There are new special weapons and robots. 

Nintendo ended the direct with Bayonetta 3 from Platinum Games. Watching the trailer, it's clear that the Nintendo Switch is graphically being pushed as it needs to maintain a constant 60 fps. It definitely looks like an early Xbox One or PS4 title. But Bayonetta 3 is exclusive to Switch as Nintendo is publishing the title. 

Bayonetta is back with a new haircut. She's now wearing a skirt instead of her skin-tight leotard. Her dance moves return as well. Unfortunately an exact release date was not given. But it's coming 2022.