The countdown started for the Nintendo Direct E3 2019 conference, where we saw a lot of announcements - a lot of games both old and new coming to the Nintendo Switch. The first title on display was a cinematic fight. Link was fighting in the middle of a forest. He faced two dark enemies that were taken down by the Dragon Quest XI Luminary. "The Hero draws near." And so Dragon Quest XI characters are joining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate coming this Summer in 2019. Following that we also saw the trailer for the Nintendo Switch release of Dragon Quest XI Definitive Edition S, releasing on September 27.

Presenting the conference was Yoshiaki Koizumi, followed by... Bowser. The Mario villain started to bawl out his presentation, only to be interrupted by Doug Bowser of Nintendo of America, who said he was the wrong Bowser and had to leave. Everyone was very embarrassed, but Bowser left feeling very sad. Doug Bowser then introduced Luigi's Mansion 3, as Luigi carried his flashlight in the halls of the haunted hotel. Luigi's new Poltergust 3000 can suck in ghosts or use them to smash other ghosts with. You can also destroy furniture and more. A new function called "Burst" was introduced. There's also "Gooigi," a doppelganger made of goo, useful to surmount certain obstacles. There's also the ScareScraper Mode, which is a run against time to defeat ghosts. Luigi's Mansion 3 will be available in 2019.

Doug Bowser was back to talk about what people can expect from Nintendo at E3 2019 in general, then introduced a new game, which we found out was Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics, a turn-based strategy game spin-off of the Netflix series. The trailer showed an ugly witch looking into a crystal shard where the game was happening in tactical mode, then she went inside the crystal to play the game. Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics will launch later this year.

The next announcement started with Princess Zelda and Link on a beach, and Link was passed out. We soon realized this was The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, a remake of the SNES classic for the Nintendo Switch, with not-quite-so-low poly graphics. The release will include a dungeon maker, so you will be able to create your own levels, not just explore them. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening will release on September 20 this year for the Nintendo Switch.

Following that we saw a Square Enix game, Trials of Mana, which is a remake of Seiken Densetsu 3, the third game in the Secret of Mana series, and had never been released for Western audiences before. Its global release on Nintendo Switch is coming in early 2020. "Set destiny in motion with the power of Mana." Along with this announcement came the three original Mana games ported to Nintendo Switch, which are now available on the Nintendo eShop. It's called Collection of Mana, and it will be available later today.

Next up was a highly rumored title, Switcher 3, that is, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition, coming to the Nintendo Switch this year. There has been a lot of speculation on whether the Switch would be able to run this graphically intensive game, and it looks like it does after all, though the graphics do look toned down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCcPL3ok1P4

Next up was an anime introduction as tensions rose among characters. It was a frenzied trailer, full of dialogue and action for Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the next chapter in the Fire Emblem series, which is coming next month on July 26. Yoshiaki was back after that, talking about the Nintendo Switch as the only console you can play on the go, then suggested you could play Resident Evil at a location like a mansion in the middle of the woods. Two live-action characters enter the mansion, set up the Switch to play the original Resident Evil Switch version. They keep playing as the tension mounts in the real mansion and something approaches them from behind. They hear something and hide. Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6 are now available on the Nintendo Switch.

Yoshiaki introduced another game, a cinematic intro as a character dons a power armor to take down a pyramid ship in the sky. A lot of fighting ensues, there's even a lightsaber of sorts. The heroes sound more like antiheroes, which makes sense considering it's No More Heroes III, coming in 2020.

Another similar action game followed, a third-person shooter with a lot of alien-shooting. There was a panda with a machine gun, frantic battles, and hard bosses. It's Contra Rogue Corps, coming September 24 this year with online multiplayer. Also, the Contra Anniversary Collection available today on the Nintendo eShop. This was followed by a big a mecha action game, Daemon x Machina, which is coming on September 13. Finally, another new game was announced, Panzer Dragoon, coming this Winter, a remake of the venerable dragon rail shooting title.

Shinya Takahashi entered the screen to talk about Pokemon, more specifically Pokemon Sword and Shield, which will release on November 15, 2019. You will be able to check out those games during E3 if you're there. The next trailer, completely unrelated, showed a cyberpunk Asian city, finally centering on an older man, then cutting to a young man in armor fighting a red alien monster, with a lot of hack-and-slash gameplay and some platformer action, then a giant boss fight. Astral Chain is releasing on August 30 this year.

The next announcement was rather unexpected, as it was developed by Romero Games and Paradox Interactive, two giants of the PC gaming industry. Empire of Sin seems like a top-down strategy game, possibly turn-based. It's coming to Nintendo Switch in 2020. After this, we saw a trailer for squad action game Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, with many iconic Marvel characters facing iconic villains, even Thanos. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is coming by Fall 2019.

We saw a short trailer of Cadence of Hyrule, which has already been announced to release this week on June 13. We also saw a trailer for the crossover sports game Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, with Sonic and Mario surfing, Yoshi skating, and plenty of other radical sports.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyCT86T-CTI

Yoshiaki returned to announce another game, developed by Nook Inc., set in a deserted island. There was plenty of survival gameplay and crafting, planting and fishing. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is still coming, but it has been delayed to March 20, 2020. You will be able to see a demo of the early game during the Nintendo Treehouse.

As the conference approached its end, we saw a very quick highlight reel of what's coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2019 and beyond. There are lots of release dates here, so let's go to the bullet points.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy, September 3

Hollow Knight: Silksong, coming soon

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, September 20

Minecraft Dungeons, Spring 2020

The Elder Scrolls: Blades, Fall 2019

My Friend Pedro, June 20

DOOM Eternal, coming soon

The Sinking City, Fall 2019

Wolfenstein: Youngblood, July 26

Dead by Daylight, September 24

Alien: Isolation, 2019

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Winter 2019

Dragon Quest Builders 2, July 12

Stranger Things 3: The Game, July 4

Just Dance 2020, November 5

Catan, June 20

New Super Lucky's Tale, Fall 2019

Dauntless, late 2019

Super Mario Maker 2, June 28

The conference was almost done and a final reel showed lots of Nintendo characters before showing Donkey Kong characters sitting in their house until they hear something. It's a dog and a duck, and they looked like target practice. Banjo-Kazooie is coming to Super Smash Bross Ultimate by Fall 2019. Yoshiaki returned saying Nintendo has more games in development, but they can't show them yet. Except, they showed one final announcement before the end of the conference. A mystical green stream. Obviously a Zelda-like scenario. Zelda and Link investigate this stream. A sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is in development

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr9eAtwcYlo

If you want to know more about this and other announcements happening at E3 then be sure to check out our E3 2019 Coverage Hub.