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After a long wait since last fall, the first Nintendo Direct of 2019 has emerged from the always enigmatic Nintendo curtains. It’s always fun to speculate beforehand which titles we will get updates on and what the new announcements will be. Franchises that got big attention included Dragon Quest and Fire Emblem, but there’s a lot more that was shown, along with a few surprises in store, and here’s everything you need to know. Mario Maker, Bloodstained, and When’s Marvel? So we start off with Super Mario Maker, the familiar Wii U game where players can create Mario levels of their own, being ported to the Switch like other titles ha– wait, this is no port, it’s Super Mario Maker 2, a new game! They could have just ported the first game, so are we leaving the Wii U port town, at last? The game’s new features don’t seem to…

One of my favorite early memories in life was playing on my grandpa’s Super Nintendo as a kid. Sure, there was a pool, a swing-set, and a huge backyard to do pretty much anything, but I was always drawn to the Nintendo. I looked forward to loading up my save files and continuing my journey from last time on the road trip. Super Mario World was one of my favorites. It was such a beautiful world, a side-scrolling game that was simple enough yet challenging at the same time. This game was great back then, and it still holds up today. The first thing about this game is how amazing it looked for the time. The colors all pop and the graphics on this game are so much better than its Super Mario Bros. 3 predecessor on the original NES. The world is so visually pleasing, and it makes you appreciate all the hard work…

The first Super Smash Bros. changed the game (pun intended) when it came out in 1999. Never before had characters across other games come together like that. The concept of the game was relatively simple: various characters duke it out on stages designed after each character’s respective games. Who would’ve thought how much impact this would have on the gaming community. There are so many things that make Smash Bros. adored by the gaming community. One of the first is the story mode. Having to battle your way against enemy after enemy on their home turf with limited lives can be challenging. All of the times you get eliminated off that stage makes it worth it when you complete the story in full. That Master Hand was such a tough last opponent, and watching the hand explode and crumble away is such a satisfying feeling, no matter how many times you defeat…

The rivalry of Mario and Wario has become a classic feud in gaming, dating back to Wario’s first official appearance in 1992’s Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins on the Game Boy. Wario’s name itself is brilliance as a corruption of Mario: it takes the Japanese word, “wa,” meaning “bad,” and corrupting Mario’s name with it. Further, “W” works as an upside down “M,” suggesting an inversion of Mario’s character. Lastly — oh yes, there are three layers here — putting “War” in the name hints at Wario’s more brash, abrasive nature compared to to Mario (this is more likely a coincidence, but still a pretty neat linguistic side effect).  Since his introduction, Wario has starred in several games of his own, including the successful WarioWare franchise. Though he may have become less of an antagonist and more a quirky, garlic-eating weirdo over the years, Wario has become a staple of…