
Image courtesy of Nintendo
Nintendo is releasing “Metroid Dread," the series' first new 2D game in 19 years, the company announced today during its E3 presentation.
Why it matters: Nintendo’s catalogue is so expansive — thanks to its long history — that even some of its most popular go missing for years and then return to great fanfare. The game will be released on October 8th.
- The game follows series heroine Samus Aran and takes place after “Metroid Fusion,” a game released on Game Boy Advance in 2002.
- The “Metroid Dread” name has been kicking around since 2005, when word first leaked of a potential project with that title. But in today’s presentation, Nintendo described the game as “brand new.”
- Nintendo is also releasing a pair of amiibo for Samus and E.M.M.I., a robot featured in the trailer.
Other highlights from today include:
- “Mario Party Superstars” (Oct 29) is a compilation of classic boards and games from the series’ past.“
- Life is Strange Remastered Collection,” (Sept 30) is a trio of games that includes "Life is Strange," "Life is Strange 2," and "Life is Strange: Before the Storm."
- “WarioWare: Get it Together!,” (Sept 10) is a series of microgames you can play solo or with a friend.
- Kayuza from the Tekken is joining the "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" roster.
- “Shin Megami Tensei 5” launches for Nintendo Switch November 12. A November release date was leaked earlier this month.
- Cult classic murder series Danganronpa is coming to Nintendo Switch for the first time as “Danganronpa Decadence,” a package of four games.
- “Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water” (2021) is yet another Wii U game Nintendo is bringing to Switch.
- “Advance Wars 1 + 2 Re-boot Camp” (Dec 3) is a remaster of a pair of classic strategy games from the Game Boy Advance
- A look at a new Game & Watch series featuring the first two Zelda games, the GameBoy version of "The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, "and a special version of "Vermin" starring link (November 12th).
- A new trailer for “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2,” which is slated for 2022, focused on sky travel in the game’s huge world.
Absent: The Switch Pro. Nintendo previously said it would be “focused exclusively on Nintendo Switch games mainly releasing in 2021,” but the upgraded console has been rumored for months.
- Nintendo has also been quiet about "Metroid Prime 4" — just sayin today they are still “working hard on it.” Although it was announced in 2017, the game was rebooted in 2019 and passed to a new studio.
For more E3 2021 news, sign up for the Axios Gaming newsletter.