I was lucky enough to have a day off for when Nintendo announced they'd be airing a Direct with new information on the upcoming Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I was ready and waiting in front of my TV, ironically preparing to watch the Direct on YouTube through my PlayStation 4. I was excited but tempering my expectations. I have plenty of games to play as it is, after all, and if for some reason Fire Emblem was the only game that still sparked my interest, it wasn't going to be the end of the world. I'm happy to report that it was a really great presentation overall!
Let's talk about some of the games that were featured. First up was Super Mario Maker 2, which looks really good and I'm sure will be very well received and popular. I never got around to playing the first game for a couple of reasons. I tend not to get super engrossed in games that encourage user-created content and based on what I've seen from streams and YouTube, the primary value of the game is in playing through absurdly tough levels meant more to frustrate than to entertain. Even when that's not the case, I struggle with the goal of the game sense I tend to like games that allow you to make progress toward an end goal. I'm glad the game exists for the people that are really into this kind of thing, though.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 was already announced a bit ago, but the footage the Direct teased looks pretty good. The roster is really impressive with the number of very recognizable Marvel heroes it features. I was worried it might fall prey to some of the issues Marvel vs Capcom Infinite did with its cast. I've never played through one of the Ultimate Alliance games in their entirety but they are fun action RPGs and I expect I'll definitely give this new one a try if the reviews are solid. Boxboy + Boxgirl seems like a really solid puzzle platformer that I might try but it's not really in my typical wheelhouse. I am interested in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night but if I'm being honest I don't love the visual style and if I do play it, it'll probably be on PlayStation 4 instead. What can I say? I really dig trophies.
I'm really intrigued by both Dragon Quest XI S and Dragon Quest Builders 2. I have access to DQXI for PS4 but haven't gotten around to playing it yet, so I have to wonder if I should just wait until the Switch version is available since it seems to feature a lot more content overall. Dragon Quest Builders looks like a really solid game too and I would definitely consider playing through both of them based on what gameplay I've seen so far.
Rune Factory 4 Special also looks great. I think that would be a great pickup for me in particular because I'd always heard great things about the original version of the game on 3DS and never got around to playing it! I think I might try to sample some of the older games before giving this one a shot but it's certainly on my radar. I really do dig the hybrid of action RPG and life/farming simulation concept. Oninaki also looks really interesting, even if Tokyo RPG Factory's last two games were met with a sort of mixed reception. I did a video review of I am Setsuna where I talked about that in a lot of detail, but never got around to playing Lost Sphear. Oninaki looks pretty interesting on the surface but it's another title I may wait for reviews on before I decide to make the purchase.
Daemon x Machina somewhat interests me only because I really enjoy mecha in general, but I'm not completely sold on the gameplay from what I've seen so far. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for that one. The Nintendo Direct also teased very briefly a new Chocobo Dungeon game which I'm actually pretty excited about! Although I've never managed to finish one of the series, I do really like them a lot and I'd be more than happy to pick it up and give it a try.
Now, what looked most interesting to me in the whole Direct (aside from Fire Emblem, of course) was a new IP from the creators of Bayonetta and Nier Automata called Astral Chain. It looks to be a straight-up action game in which the two protagonists are linked together by a chain. It looks really flashy and fun, which is exactly what I'd expect from Platinum Games. That'll be a must-play for me.
Finally, the main thing I was looking forward to was hearing more about Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It's looking really good! I'm really glad to hear that the protagonist isn't royalty for once, which has only happened one other time in the series with Ike from Path of Radiance. The fact that he or she is also a teacher at a military academy is really interesting and feels like a unique take on the series. I'm really intrigued to find out more about the difference between the three different nations, their themes, and the personalities of all the game's various characters. The gameplay itself seems a lot different than the norm since so much of it is concerned with training these students and developing their skills. I'm really excited to finally try it out when it comes out in July.
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