After the longest Nintendo Direct drought in recent memory, Nintendo has fired up hopes for a big 2021 release schedule by announcing a Nintendo Direct for February 17th at 5:00PM EST. This is not some short 15 minute partner showcase–this is a full-blown 50 minute Nintendo Direct with “information focused on available games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and games coming to Nintendo Switch in the first half of 2021.” With so many unknowns for this year, what can we expect to see in this presentation?

First, Some Boring Predictions

Since this Direct seems to focus on games releasing in the first half of 2021, it’s safe to say that we will receive information on some of the known quantities, like Monster Hunter Rise, Monster Hunter Stories 2, and Bravely Default II. Maybe we will even see something about New Pokémon Snap. Really, that’s all we know about that’s coming out in the next couple of months.

Zelda’s Big 35th Anniversary Celebration

In my opinion, there is no way that Nintendo misses the chance to give us an update on something related to Zelda’s 35th anniversary. Plus, if the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is coming out earlier than this holiday season, now is the time to tell us. Perhaps we will see other Zelda news, as well; I personally would love to see all 3D Zelda games make it to the Switch in some form, whether it’s a collection like Super Mario 3D All-Stars or simple eShop releases. They could be the laziest ports ever and I wouldn’t care. I just want the opportunity to play the games I love on perhaps my favorite Nintendo console of all time.

Metroid’s Not-So-Big 35th Anniversary Celebration

Look, I love Metroid as much as the next guy, but I doubt we will be seeing Metroid Prime 4 this year–at least not in the capacity we want to see it. We might get some gameplay, but I will be shocked if the game is slated for anytime earlier than 2022 or even 2023. That being said, we could see Metroid Prime Trilogy ported to the Switch this year, which would make me extremely happy. It would also be great to see a new 2D Metroid adventure on the Nintendo Switch. I only recently played through Super Metroid for the first time, and it was an awesome experience. I would love to see reimagined for the Nintendo Switch–or perhaps even a brand-new original 2D Metroid game.

Pokémon’s 25th Anniversary Celebration

Traditionally, Game Freak has not revealed new information about upcoming Pokémon titles in general Nintendo Directs. They instead opt to host their own dedicated events called Pokémon Directs. Considering this fact, I doubt we will get any new information on upcoming Pokémon titles, but it sure would be exciting if I were wrong, wouldn’t it?

Nintendo Switch Online Service: N64 or GBA?

The past several years have brought new games to Nintendo’s online service, but oddly enough, there was no update this past September. This begs the question of if Nintendo plans to continue adding more games and consoles to the Switch Online Service. The logical next step forward would be Nintendo 64 titles, but there are other options, as well; systems like the Gameboy and Gameboy Advance also have tons of classics that could be better enjoyed on the Nintendo Switch. Of course, there is also the chance that nothing gets revealed whatsoever, so I guess only time will tell.

Maybe a New Fire Emblem Game Announcement?

Fire Emblem: Three Houses came out in the summer of 2019, and with it came incredible sales figures. Hopefully we will see some sort of announcement for the next game in the series. I personally would love to see a remake of Fire Emblem 6: The Binding Blade or Fire Emblem 7: The Blazing Blade, as that particular world holds a special place in my heart. However, I would jump out of my seat at the chance to play a localized version of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. And if they give it the Echoes treatment? Oof, be still my beating heart!  I just hope that whatever they announce is not a sequel to Fire Emblem Warriors; while that game was incredibly fun, I would rather play a mainline Fire Emblem title. But let’s be real here… I’m going to play whatever it is, anyway.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: The Next DLC Fighter?

The description for this Nintendo Direct explicitly mentions Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, so I bet we’re getting an announcement for the next Smash fighter. As for who that might be, I would love to speculate, but I know I’m going to be wrong. A couple months ago, my friends and I were talking about who would be revealed at the Game Awards. One of them mentioned Sephiroth and I was like, “Fuck no,” so you can imagine my reaction to his reveal. Like… why bother predicting anything anymore? Literally anyone is fair game.

But, I’m going to try anyway. Here are a couple of Smash fighters who I would love to see make it to Ultimate:

  • Dr. Eggman from Sonic the Hedgehog. Ultimate has been doing this thing where they have heroes and villains, and Sonic (somehow) does not have more than one representative yet.
  • Dr. Wily from the Mega Man series. I haven’t played a ton of Mega Man, but Wily’s theme is crazy catchy.
  • An 8th Generation Pokémon. As for realistic predictions for who it could be, I was thinking maybe Rillaboom. Personally, I am hoping for Grimmsnarl or maybe even Dragapult, but there’s no way that could happen.
  • One of the Champions from Breath of the Wild: Age of Calamity was a smash hit, so one of these guys could make it. Mipha would be my personal favorite, I think–we need more spear users, and Byleth doesn’t really count.
  • M. Bison from Street Fighter. Again, we need more villains, more bad guys, and seeing M. Bison revealed would make me shout, “YES.”

There are a couple others I could speculate on, but honestly, this list is already too long. We’ll just have to wait and see if any of them get revealed.

Other Random Hopes

This Direct is 50 minutes long, so it’s bound to contain some weird and out-of-this-world stuff. Here are some pretty specific games I hope to see announced during this Direct presentation:

  • Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age ported to the Switch–hey, it could happen, right? This is my favorite RPG of all time, I think, so I will never stop hoping for the series to make a triumphant comeback.
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake ported to the Switch. I mean, Sephiroth is in Smash, so… yeah. It could happen.
  • Older Final Fantasy games ported to the Switch. Right now we have the Playstation and PS2 era games, but we still don’t have the older classics. I loved the shit out of what little I played of IV, and I have heard incredible things about VI, so here’s to hoping they get the port treatment, too.

What do you hope to see at this Nintendo Direct presentation? Do you think it can possibly live up to the hype? Share your thoughts in the comments below.