Though it's been a while since the Switch released, Nintendo is still riding high on its monumental success, and the groundwork has been laid for a pretty great 2023. While Sony has exclusives like Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy 16 releasing this year, and even Xbox has its own first-party titles with Forza Motorsport and Redfall, Nintendo is set to make a big splash this year with its own set of exclusives, some of which have been hotly anticipated for years now.
Nintendo has already kicked off 2023 in style. Just a week ago, Persona 3: Portable came to the Switch, and though it definitely has some technical issues, it's a great port of one of the best JRPGs of all time. Quickly following that was Fire Emblem: Engage, one of the more simplistic entries in the long-running franchise, but still an excellent one, with great fan service and fun combat. Now, Nintendo sets its sights on the rest of 2023, and fans have a lot to look forward to.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the Most Anticipated Game of the Year
Made official by the 2022 Game Awards, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the most anticipated game of the year by far. When The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild released all the way back in 2017 it changed the open-world genre for good, introducing a non-linear approach that encouraged exploration and discovery over simply following markers to the next objective. On top of that, Breath of the Wild's beautiful cel shaded art style was the perfect fit for the Switch, allowing the game to cut corners in the visual department to prioritize performance, all while still looking incredibly impressive.
Not a year has passed since that fans haven't pleaded Nintendo for a Breath of the Wild sequel, and in 2023, they're finally going to get their wish. Set to launch on May 12, 2023, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom appears to be a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, once again putting players in the boots of Hyrule's Champion Link, though this time things are a little different.
Much like Majora's Mask before it, this Zelda sequel seems a little darker than its predecessor, with even the title sounding much bleaker. That being said, Nintendo still hasn't really given any concrete plot details, with the trailers only showing cryptic images of foreboding cave paintings and tapestries, along with the image of Hyrule Castle being lifted into the sky by a mysterious threat.
Nintendo has been a little more open about Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's new gameplay mechanics, with the last two trailers showing some of Link's new abilities. Seemingly controlled by Link's new robotic arm, players will have access to a whole slew of new abilities, including the ability to phase through walls and floors and the ability to freeze and rewind time. Verticality also seems like a big part of Tears of the Kingdom, with a lot of past trailers showcasing Link's ability to skydive from floating mountains and glide on a mechanical bird.
A New Entry in the Pikmin Series Could Release in 2023
First confirmed to be in development by Miyamoto all the way back in 2015, Pikmin 4 might finally release in 2023. After years of fan speculation, Pikmin 4 received its first official trailer in September of last year, and though it didn't show fans much, it did confirm a few details about the long-awaited sequel. One of the biggest confirmed changes is that Pikmin 4 will allow players to choose between two different camera angles, with the first being the overhead perspective all previous games have used and the second being a more grounded, behind-the-shoulder third-person view, more akin to Sony's range of first-party exclusives.
This looks like it'll make Pikmin's already-exaggerated scale look even bigger, with the Bulborb in the trailer appearing gigantic in this new angle. While Pikmin 4 has seemingly been in development for about nine years, fans shouldn't hold their breath for it to release this year, though they'll almost definitely see another trailer by the end of 2023.
Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp Could Rear its Head Again
Originally slated for an April 2022 release date, and presumably ready to go, Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp has seemingly been pushed right to the far end of Nintendo's back-burner. Though it seemed like the remake of the beloved Game Boy Advance games was all but finished in development, Nintendo decided to delay its release amidst the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and nothing more has been said about it since, only confirmation that it hasn't been canceled. Advance Wars 1+2's status is pretty up in the air right now, but fans could get to see it again by the time the year's out.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Looks Like a Solid Big-Screen Adaptation
After the disastrous release of the original 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie, Nintendo swore off making another live-action movie of any kind, but those projected profits must have been just too good to pass up on, as a new, animated Super Mario Bros. movie is set to hit theaters on April 7, 2023. Though the Chris Pratt casting has become infamous, the rest of the cast list is surprisingly solid with Jack Black's Bowser and Charlie Day's Luigi being particular standouts. From the look of the trailers released so far, it actually seems like Super Mario Bros. will be a really fun movie packed with tons of Easter eggs.
2023 Could Finally Be the Year for Metroid Prime 4
One of Nintendo's most infamous in-development titles, 2023 could finally be the year that fans get to see Metroid Prime 4 in all its glory. Originally announced back in 2017, Metroid Prime 4's development was restarted from scratch in January 2019, with Retro Studios taking over from Bandai Namco. Since that announcement, nothing official about Metroid Prime 4 has come out of Nintendo, with the company repeatedly expressing its wish to stay silent until it has something significant to show. Presumably being at least three years into development now, it would make sense for fans to see at least a trailer for Metroid Prime 4 in 2023, though fans shouldn't hold their breath.
A New Nintendo Switch Could be on the Cards
For at least a year, rumors of a "Nintendo Switch Pro" have continuously made the rounds online, with supposedly leaked images, documents, and more allegedly confirming its existence. As of January 2023, there's still been no official word on a Switch Pro, or a full-on Switch successor, and at this point it's pretty impossible to guess what Nintendo's next move is. The Switch will turn six this year, and while it's still selling extremely well, there's no denying that its hardware is pretty outdated, with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet being the perfect evidence of the need for an upgrade. That being said, the Nintendo Switch OLED only released just over a year ago, and Nintendo may not be ready to move on just yet.