Nintendo Direct March 2025 - Living the Dream

Posted on 2024.03.31

So. Nintendo Direct, huh? Yeah...

The timing of this one is quite interesting. We didn’t get the typical February Direct, and out of nowhere Nintendo announced this Direct for March (never done before afaik) and one week before the Switch 2 Direct. Very very strange, but I can kinda see where they’re coming from with this. Maybe Nintendo is trying to get conversations going to gather more attention for the Switch 2 Direct? Anyway, let’s talk about it, because this Direct turned out to be quite special.

> My two dreams come true

Rhythm Heaven Groove

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

After nine long years, the Rhythm Heaven series (my super ultra beloved) is BACK! I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS!!! If you’ve been seeing my Bluesky page, you know how much I’ve been freaking out about this (and if you haven’t, all you need to know is I am absolutely not normal about Rhythm Heaven). Dude, that sound effect, the one that advances dialogue, you know the one, yeah? The moment I heard that sound effect I think my heart stopped. Seeing that little fairy girl already made me pay attention (cuz the art style was familiar), and then that sound just punched me in the gut. I was still half-awake so I didn’t scream, but it definitely woke me RIGHT up and I was smiling ear to ear the WHOLE trailer. I’m so happy dude. The wait until 2026 is gonna be agonizing though…

Rhythm Heaven is so important to me. It was a staple of my childhood, combining silly humor with my love of music into something perfectly made for me. Also the fact that the series is somewhat niche (especially back then) made me feel like I was part of a hidden community, which felt kinda cool for younger me. I always found joy in sharing the magic of Rhythm Heaven with my school friends, and I hope to continue sharing the magic with everyone now. The series is a bit more popular now, and I hope the fanbase keeps growing to show Nintendo that this series deserves a higher level of recognition.

But yeah, I’m SO SO SO happy that Rhythm Heaven is alive. Also I’m really glad that Tsunku♂ is still working on the series! Looking forward to experiencing this new era of Rhythm Heaven with old and new fans alike. If you’ve never played one of these games before, GO PLAY THEM!!! Get this game when it comes out and support the franchise, or go play any of the other four games through whatever means you like. And if you have played them before, GO PLAY THEM AGAIN!!!!! Personally, I will be replaying all four games and going for 100% on each :).

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream

WOOOOOOOOO TOMODACHI LIFE YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Since Rhythm Heaven woke me up, this announcement is the one that made me burst into screaming laughter like a madman. WHAT A CATHARTIC ANNOUNCEMENT!! The wackiness is back. The crusty TTS voices are back. The Miis have never looked better; the cel shading works great and I spot some new features like colored highlights in hair. Can’t wait to learn more about this game!

Much like Rhythm Heaven, Tomodachi Life is another game I played a heck-ton as a kid. I’ve played it twice in fact! I made an island when I was in middle school, and another island in high school. Now though, it’s been a long time since I’ve played this awesome little 3DS game (I’m about to graduate from college, for context). Even though I’ve gotten the urges, one of the biggest reasons for why I’ve held off replaying this game is that I feel like I’ve already experienced it enough. For as much as I love the game, I feel like I’ve already seen everything it has to offer. Additionally, it does have some flaws that get amplified the more you play it, such as repetitive minigames/activities and limited Mii customization. And well, now I have a definitive excuse to not play the 3DS game and just wait for the sequel :D! I’m so excited to have a fresh experience with new stuff to do, as well as a new cast of Miis. I gotta start cooking up a list of islanders…

> Everything else in the Direct

Other than these two announcements, the Direct was kinda unimpressive. But that’s fine because 1) we’re at the end of the Switch’s life and there’s a Switch 2 Direct soon, and 2) these two announcements completely stomp over anything else shown here. I don’t care about what else was shown, I won! But regardless, I figure I’d still give my thoughts on the rest of the games really quickly. (Titles where I don't give any good comment are grayed out to make the ones where I do stand out)

DRAGON QUEST I & II HD-2D Remake - Not sure why they’re opening with this. This is a game we already knew about. Was it to reveal the release date? I’m not in the loop…

No Sleep For Kaname Date - From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - not interested.

RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army - not interested.

Shadow Labyrinth - not interested. Still not sure what Namco is going for with this, and also we’ve already seen this previously.

PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY - ooo, a rhythm game! I saw a lot of buzz about this after the announcement, so congrats to the fans of this. Looks pretty cool.

STORY OF SEASONS: Grand Bazaar - not interested. I thought this was gonna be “another farming game” before the title reveal and I went “oh wait, this is *the* farming game”.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - This game looks great! Glad this trailer showed the more relaxed, atmospheric side of things compared to the last action-packed trailer. Samus’s new suits look amazing! Even though I found Prime 1 Remastered to just be okay, you bet I’m picking up this one. I’m still a Metroid fan, and come on, this is the legendary and long-awaited Metroid freakin’ Prime 4, I gotta be there!

Disney Villains Cursed Café - not interested.

Witchbrook - The pixel art of this game looks GORGEOUS!!! Not sure if this style of game is for me but it definitely has me curious. It sounds so cute and charming... Some of my friends are going crazy for this, so who knows, I might give it a shot! But yeah, that game looks stunningly beautiful.

Eternal Life of Goldman - not interested. The hand-drawn visuals look cool though.

Gradius ORIGINS - not interested.

Rift of the NecroDancer - another rhythm game! This is the Direct for rhythm games it seems. I should probably play Crypt of the NecroDancer sometime… I only played 2 hours of it five years ago.

Tamagotchi Plaza - not interested.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A - Ohhh, so that’s why it’s called Z-A (lol). Anyway, not my thing.

Virtual Game Cards - This is a cool idea. Not really for me cuz 1) I’m a physical game collector, and 2) I don’t really have anyone to share games with. Regardless, I hope this feature is good for the people who need it. I’m a bit concerned about its limitations (especially comparing it to something like Steam Family Share), but I still think it’s a net positive. Also I really like that the feature is optional and users can stick to the old version of managing digital games, that’s great and consumer-friendly.

High on Life - not interested.

Star Overdrive - not interested.

The Wandering Village - not interested.

King of Meat - not interested.

Lou’s Lagoon - not interested.

FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time - not interested. Also WHY DID THEY SHOW SUCH AN UGLY GAMEPLAY CLIP, WHAT

SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered - not interested

Monument Valley / Monument Valley 2 / Monument Valley 3 - these look like cool games. I remember playing the first game on my iPod Touch when I was a kid. Maybe one day I’ll get them.

EVERYBODY'S GOLF: HOT SHOTS - golf!!! I don’t know much about this series, except that it’s more of a PlayStation and that it’s beloved by many. I may not be interested in it now, but if I ever get an itch for golf then I can see myself getting this (probs on Steam though). I like golf.

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion - not interested but it looks cool.

Nintendo Today! - LMAOOO Nintendo was so fed up with Twitter that they made their own news channel. Interested to see how this plays out. Also I like that it’s also a calendar app and supports showing in-game events.

> Closing Thoughts

This Direct was the stuff of dreams. It may not have been for everyone, it may have not had any massive reveals for a wide-spread audience, but it was perfect for someone like me. Rhythm Heaven and Tomodachi Life are the only things I’ve ever wanted and are the only things I needed here. I’ve been clamoring and begging for follow-ups for these games for years. I’ve been playing them since middle school, and I was about to enter the working world with the same games still being the latest in their series. The fact that we got new games for not one but BOTH series is beyond legendary. This Direct will now sit alongside the E3 2021 Direct as my two favorite Nintendo Directs ever. If the E3 2021 one was for the world, this one was for the soul.

See y’all in 2026 where I’ll be Living the Dream after I get back in the Groove.