A pair of beloved first-party Nintendo GameCube games are officially coming to the Nintendo Switch later today, in the form ofPikminandPikmin 2. The latest Nintendo Direct featured plenty of high-profile announcements from several of Nintendo’s most popular franchises. Nintendo would officially confirm aremake ofSuper Mario RPG, as well as a new 2DSuper Mario Brosgame titledSuper Mario Bros. Wonder. Alongside other fan-favorite Nintendo franchises likePokemonandWarioWare, thePikminfranchise took a major share of the spotlight during the most recent livestream.
With the newest entry in thePikminfranchise on the horizon, Wednesday’s Nintendo Direct shared plenty of new information about the upcomingPikmin 4. A new deep dive into the game showed off the new dog companion, Oatchi, as well as a new type of Pikmin in Glow Pikmin. The trailer would reveal players will be able to venture out at night for the first time in the franchise, along with several new mechanics for the next game. However, Nintendo would also announce surprise remasters of two classicPikmingames.
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In a surprise reveal following the broadcast’sPikmin 4segment, Nintendo would announce HD remasters of the original GameCube games,PikminandPikmin 2, would be coming to Switch. The stream debuted updated graphics for each game with an announcement that both would be available through the Nintendo eShop “later today.” The first twoPikmingames were last re-released as part of the “New Play Control” series on Wii, adding motion controls to the games. It was not confirmed whether the new remasters will support similar motion-based gameplay.
The reveal ofPikminandPikmin 2remasters will give fans the opportunity to play through the fullPikminfranchise on the Switch for the first time.Nintendo previously releasedPikmin 3 Deluxein late 2020 as an enhanced port of the Wii U game originally released in 2013. The joint release of thePikminremasters also lands exactly one month ahead of the scheduled release date forPikmin 4, currently planned to launch on July 21. Both remasters are expected to be exclusively available digitally through the Nintendo eShop with no price confirmed for either game.
ThePikminremasters come as part of a Nintendo Direct filled with remasters of beloved classic games. Alongside the previously mentionedSuper Mario RPGremake, Nintendo would also confirm an HD remaster ofLuigi’s Mansion Dark Moonset to release on the console next year. Other developers would also showcase several remasters and ports of older titles, includingSquare Enix’sStar Ocean: The Second Story Rand Konami’sMetal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1. BetweenPikmin 4next month and the remasters, Nintendo has givenPikminfans plenty to be excited about.
