When Nintendo said that its E3 2018 Nintendo Direct stream would focus heavily on the new Super Smash Bros., it wasn’t joking. More than half of the 45-minute long presentation was dedicated to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which will be the biggest game in the series by a long shot. But that wasn’t all that Nintendo announced at the event, as the first half of the presentation was filled with plenty of surprises and sneak peeks at other new games.
We’ve included all of the trailers that Nintendo dropped during the stream below, although it was a surprisingly tame event to kick off year two of the Switch. That’s not to say that Smash, Mario Tennis Aces, and Super Mario Party won’t be huge, but it’s not looking like 2018 is going to be stuffed to the gills with first-party blockbusters either.
Daemon X Machina
The first trailer of the stream comes courtesy of Kenichiro Tsukuda, who is perhaps best known for his work on the Armored Core series. As such, we weren’t surprised to see giant anime mechas flying around blowing each other up in the trailer. Daemon X Machina, with its customizable powered suits, will be out in 2019.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country
If you didn’t get enough of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 the first time around, this DLC should add hours to the already massive experience. Torna ~ The Golden Country follows a new group of legendary warriors 500 years before the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and introduces a refined battle system. Download it on September 21st.
Super Mario Party
Finally, the Mario Party franchises makes its way to the Switch. Although Super Mario Party generally follows the formula of the other Mario Party games, it also adds a few interesting new elements, including Dice Blocks for specific characters, Joy-Con minigames, and the ability to pair two Switch consoles to play minigames in the new Toad’s Rec Room mode. It’ll be available for Nintendo Switch on October 5th.
Fire Emblem Three Houses
That brand-new core Fire Emblem game that everyone has been waiting for made its debut at E3 2018. Fire Emblem Three Houses features the same turn-based tactical RPG gameplay that veterans of the series crave, with upgraded visuals and gameplay to take full advantage of the new hardware. Out in spring 2019.
Fortnite
The leaks were real, as Fortnite on Switch was both announced and released on Tuesday. As long as you have a few gigabytes free, you can go and download Fortnite for free from the Switch eShop right now.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Finally, the moment everyone was waiting for. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate isn’t a completely new game, but it’s not just a port of the Wii U game either. It features every character that has ever appeared in a Super Smash Bros. game, bringing the total number of characters on the roster to about 65, if I did my math right. Every character from previous games, dozens of fan favorite stages, upgraded graphics, reworked moves for many of the characters, the return of eight-player battles, and some tweaks to make the characters match up with their most recent appearances.
Plus, Inkling and Ridley join the fight this time around. It’ll be out for Nintendo Switch on December 7th, 2018.
