After months of speculation regarding what's next for Nintendo in 2020, we've finally received our biggest update in quite some time. It's been four months since the last Nintendo Direct Mini (and nearly a year since the last full-fledged Nintendo Direct), so the announcement of a Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase was nice to see. After all, while there are a few major games with general 2020 release dates, Paper Mario: The Origami King was the last first-party title that we had a release date for.
Of course, as the new "Partner Showcase" branding suggests, today's announcements all came from third parties rather than Nintendo itself. Additionally, the presentation itself was just eight minutes long (though the Japanese version had about four minutes of extra content), making it significantly shorter than March's nearly half-hour Direct Mini. Still, there were some interesting and exciting announcements packed into the short video, and Nintendo has promised more Partner Showcases are coming this year. Here's what we learned in today's presentation.
Cadence of Hyrule DLC
Last year, Nintendo shocked fans when it announced a collaboration with indie developer Brace Yourself Games on a crossover between the flagship Legend of Zelda franchise and the roguelike rhythm game Crypt of the NecroDancer. Now, just over a year after its launch, the game is receiving three DLC packs. The first one, which is out today, is the Character Pack. This adds Impa, Aria, Shadow Link, Shadow Zelda and Frederick as playable characters, each with their own abilities.
The second and third packs will be available sometime before the end of October. Pack Two is the Melody pack, which will add 39 new songs, among them new remixes of the background music. Pack Three adds new story content: Symphony of the Mask. This adds Skull Kid as a playable character, as well as a new map and new story. Skull Kid will be able to change his abilities based on whatever mask he's wearing, a mechanic that will surely bring exciting gameplay changes.
Additionally, there will be a Season Pass available today that gives purchasers access to all three as they are released, as well as bonus costumes for Link and Zelda. Finally, the game is receiving a physical release that includes all of the DLC. This launches October 23.
Rogue Company
After first being announced during the September 2019 Nintendo Direct, we got another look at this online multiplayer third-person shooter. Rogue Company appears to combine competitive third-person shooter elements with hacking in a high-tech world, making it something of a cross between Fortnite and Watch Dogs. It was confirmed that the Nintendo Switch version will support cross-platform play and cross-progression from the start, which is good news as the game has also been announced for PC and other current-gen consoles. The Direct also teased more updates to the game, as well as more information coming today via Rogue Company's Twitter.
Since the Direct, we have learned that the game is now available in closed beta. While the game will eventually be free-to-play, those who want to start now can purchase one of three Founder's Packs, which provide immediate access to the game. There are three levels: Starter ($14.99), Standard ($29.99) and Ultimate ($59.99), each of which has additional bonuses like Rogues, cosmetics emotes and Rogue Bucks, the in-game currency.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds
The next update we got concerned WWE 2K Battlegrounds, this year's only WWE game following the cancelation of WWE 2K21 following the poor reception to last year's game. Unlike the realistic looking 2K games, Battlegrounds features a cartoonish and exaggerated art-style and animations, which includes wrestlers spinning opponents over their heads, hitting someone with a motorcycle and even someone getting tossed out of the ring and eaten by an alligator. The gameplay was intercut with footage of WWE stars Asuka and Cesaro and New Day playing the game, with New Day winning and Cesaro asking for a rematch.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds will launch on September 18. Preordering the game will get you the "Edge Totally Awesome Pre-Order Pack," which adds the Hall of Famer as a playable character.
Shin Megami Tensei
The final announcement (or announcements) had to do with Atlus' popular RPG franchise. The Shin Megami Tensei franchise has spawned a variety of games and spin-offs, including the Persona series. The Direct first announced an HD remaster of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, a 2003 game released for the PlayStation 2. Nocture follows a Toyko high school student who is transformed into a half-demon following an apocalyptic event. Just like Persona, the game features turn-based battles and allows players to recruit the demons they find in the Votex World to fight alongside them. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster will release Spring 2021.
Then, perhaps most excitingly, came an announcement three-and-a-half years in the making. After being revealed during the first Nintendo Switch event back in January 2017, Atlus has said next to nothing about Shin Megami Tensei V. That changed today with a cinematic trailer that revealed a little more information about the upcoming game and its story. Following in the vein of Noctune, Shin Megami Tensei V will take place in a demon-filled world where order has collapsed and chaos reigns. A character, who looks to be the protagonist, is asked to choose their destiny and is offered a hand by a demonic-looking figure. After hesitating for a moment, they take it, and the two seem to fuse together.
Shin Megami Tensei V was announced for a simultaneous worldwide release in 2021, a surprising announcement considering Atlus games typically launch in Japan months before the come to the West. Persona 5 Royal, for instance, released in October 2019 in Japan, but March 2020 for the rest of the world, and Persona 5 Scramble launched February 2020 in Japan but no Western release date has been announced yet.