Live A Live, Disney Speedstorm, and more are intriguing titles you might not have noticed the first time you watched February 2022’s Nintendo Direct.
Nintendo Directs are always exciting because they contain some of the year’s most notable game reveals. While the Nintendo-published headliners of the show are what everyone typically talks about, there are plenty of other third-party announcements that round out these shows. Though some of these games might seem like filler during the presentation, they are sometimes the most meaningful parts of the showcase when one looks back after the fact. The February 9 Nintendo Direct was no different in that regard. It contained significant first-party reveals like Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, Nintendo Switch Sports, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3. However, five other announcements from the show felt just as significant, even if they were much more niche. From games that are getting a second shot at life to ones that are much more experimental, these are five atypical games from the Nintendo Direct that players should pay attention to. Not only did this game lay the groundwork for RPGs like Octopath Traveller and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, but it’s a win for the fan translation community as well. Live A Live is the next game to use the HD-2D style Square Enix created for Octopath Traveler, but it’s actually a remake of a Super Famicom JRPG that never came out in North America. It follows seven different protagonists across different time periods, from prehistory to the Wild West to the distant future, before they all come together to fight the King of Demons. Its segmented story structure was a bold narrative choice in the 1990s and influenced the structure of many modern JRPGs. I recommend watching Did You Know Gaming’s Region Locked video to get a complete sense of what this game is about and why it never came to the West. Previously, the only way to play this was a fan translation from the group Aeon Genesis, and their efforts have kept this cult classic relevant since its release. This release is a huge win for fans who’ve worked hard to preserve these lost JRPGs and gives new players a chance to experience an innovative JRPG story.
