Nintendo announced Project Triangle Strategy during the February 2021 Nintendo Direct, a new tactics RPG game from Square Enix with a distinct "HD-2D" graphics style previously shown in Octopath Traveler. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=project-triangle-strategy-reveal-screens&captions=true"] Set in what appears to be a universe unrelated to Octopath Traveler (or at least not an explicit sequel), Project Triangle Strategy follows a conflict between three nations known as the Salt Iron War and its aftermath. Players will collect a group of heroes and engage in tactical battles on multi-layered levels. Players can gain take advantage of height differences to pressure enemies into follow-up attacks and elemental hazards. Over on the RPG side of things, players will make narrative decisions that alter their "Conviction," based on utility, morality, and liberty, and changing how the story progresses. Don't forget to check out everything announced during the Nintendo Direct event. This story is developing...

As it comes up on the game's one-year anniversary, Nintendo has announced that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is celebrating the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. with a plethora of Mario-themed items and costumes in-game. In the February 2021 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo showed off the free update dropping in the game on February 25, which includes costumes for Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Wario (but no Waluigi to be seen), as well as Mario-themed furniture items like coins, Thwomps, various Blocks, mushrooms, and Warp Pipes that let you travel between two points on your island instantly. These updates come alongside a number of other celebrations for Mario's 35th's anniversary, which has included multiple limited-time game releases and a set of commemorative pins that are annoyingly difficult to get. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=animal-crossing-new-horizons-super-mario-items&captions=true"] Animal Crossing's most recent event was Festivale, a Mardi Gras-themed event on February 15 that included new outfits, furniture, reactions, and the visitation of the special peacock NPC Pavé, who sends players on feather-collecting missions for themed rewards. Assuming the annual cycle of events repeats, more events will be on the way in the comings months. New Horizons players will be coming up on the first two repeat events in April: Cherry Blossoms and the much-loathed Easter-themed Bunny Day celebration. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

As it comes up on the game's one-year anniversary, Nintendo has announced that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is celebrating the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. with a plethora of Mario-themed items and costumes in-game. In the February 2021 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo showed off the free update dropping in the game on February 25, which includes costumes for Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Wario (but no Waluigi to be seen), as well as Mario-themed furniture items like coins, Thwomps, various Blocks, mushrooms, and Warp Pipes that let you travel between two points on your island instantly. These updates come alongside a number of other celebrations for Mario's 35th's anniversary, which has included multiple limited-time game releases and a set of commemorative pins that are annoyingly difficult to get. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=animal-crossing-new-horizons-super-mario-items&captions=true"] Animal Crossing's most recent event was Festivale, a Mardi Gras-themed event on February 15 that included new outfits, furniture, reactions, and the visitation of the special peacock NPC Pavé, who sends players on feather-collecting missions for themed rewards. Assuming the annual cycle of events repeats, more events will be on the way in the comings months. New Horizons players will be coming up on the first two repeat events in April: Cherry Blossoms and the much-loathed Easter-themed Bunny Day celebration. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

During the February 2021 Nintendo Direct, Miitopia, the Nintendo 3DS RPG where characters based on players' Miis go on fantasy-style adventures, was announced for the Nintendo Switch. Miitopia turns Nintendo's Mii avatar system into a charming RPG where characters will battle enemies, travel to different worlds, build their homes, and make relationships with other players. Originally released for the 3DS in 2017, the RPG is getting a serious bump when it comes to the Nintendo Switch on May 21. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=miitopia-switch-reveal-screens&captions=true"] In this game, you'll band together on a Mii-centric quest to save evil and save Miitopia. Like in the original, you'll be able to create your own character as a Mii. New makeup and wig features are available in the game's Switch release. Relationships are key in this game so you'll need to spend quality time with allies to strengthen bonds, which also gives you great advantages in battle. Many of the characters in the game can be cast as Miis that you've created, including the Evil Dark Lord. You can make a Mii for your best friend or your worst enemy and cast them as the Evil Dark Lord or any of the other customizable characters in the game. While waiting for the game to release this May, get a leg up on the competition by checking out these tips on how to be a true hero in Miitopia. If you're a Miitopia veteran, take a dose of nostalgia by watching this trailer from the original 3DS release. If you missed today's Nintendo Direct, check out this recap of everything announced during the showcase like the new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter coming to the game. Check out this trailer for Mario Golf Super Rush that was announced during the Direct after that. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

During the February 2021 Nintendo Direct, Miitopia, the Nintendo 3DS RPG where characters based on players' Miis go on fantasy-style adventures, was announced for the Nintendo Switch. Miitopia turns Nintendo's Mii avatar system into a charming RPG where characters will battle enemies, travel to different worlds, build their homes, and make relationships with other players. Originally released for the 3DS in 2017, the RPG is getting a serious bump when it comes to the Nintendo Switch on May 21. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=miitopia-switch-reveal-screens&captions=true"] In this game, you'll band together on a Mii-centric quest to save evil and save Miitopia. Like in the original, you'll be able to create your own character as a Mii. New makeup and wig features are available in the game's Switch release. Relationships are key in this game so you'll need to spend quality time with allies to strengthen bonds, which also gives you great advantages in battle. Many of the characters in the game can be cast as Miis that you've created, including the Evil Dark Lord. You can make a Mii for your best friend or your worst enemy and cast them as the Evil Dark Lord or any of the other customizable characters in the game. While waiting for the game to release this May, get a leg up on the competition by checking out these tips on how to be a true hero in Miitopia. If you're a Miitopia veteran, take a dose of nostalgia by watching this trailer from the original 3DS release. If you missed today's Nintendo Direct, check out this recap of everything announced during the showcase like the new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter coming to the game. Check out this trailer for Mario Golf Super Rush that was announced during the Direct after that. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

After being delayed from 2020 into 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, No More Heroes 3 just got a new trailer and a release date of August 27 during the February 2021 Nintendo Direct. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/17/no-more-heroes-3-release-date-trailer"] The trailer showed hero Travis Touchdown both tearing through aliens with his beam katana and doing odd jobs like mowing lawns to earn money, which can then be used to pay the entry fee for its different boss fights. A few example fights were shown, including one that seemed to switch the perspective to that of a first-person horror game, and another that had a blue RPG overlay similar to classic Final Fantasy games. No More Heroes 3 was first revealed at The Game Awards in 2019, where we saw Travis Touchdown return to Santa Destroy after being gone for ten years. Since then, we've gotten only a few other glimpses at the game, including a trailer last summer mostly hidden by Suda51's head, and another trailer a few months later accompanying the announcement of No More Heroes 1 and 2 coming to the Nintendo Switch.

After being delayed from 2020 into 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, No More Heroes 3 just got a new trailer and a release date of August 27 during the February 2021 Nintendo Direct. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/17/no-more-heroes-3-release-date-trailer"] The trailer showed hero Travis Touchdown both tearing through aliens with his beam katana and doing odd jobs like mowing lawns to earn money, which can then be used to pay the entry fee for its different boss fights. A few example fights were shown, including one that seemed to switch the perspective to that of a first-person horror game, and another that had a blue RPG overlay similar to classic Final Fantasy games. No More Heroes 3 was first revealed at The Game Awards in 2019, where we saw Travis Touchdown return to Santa Destroy after being gone for ten years. Since then, we've gotten only a few other glimpses at the game, including a trailer last summer mostly hidden by Suda51's head, and another trailer a few months later accompanying the announcement of No More Heroes 1 and 2 coming to the Nintendo Switch.

Samurai Warriors 5, the latest entry in the musou Samurai Warriors series, is coming to the Nintendo Switch sometime this summer. During the February 2021 Nintendo Direct presentation, we got our first-ever look at the new entry in the spin-off Dynasty Warriors franchise from Koei Tecmo and Omega Force, which once again takes place in the Sengoku Period of Japan and will follow historical figures Nobunaga Oda and Mitsuhide Akeshi. In a press release following the presentation, Koei Tecmo said the latest entry would be a "fresh re-imagining" of the series with a new storyline, revamped character designs, and a new visual presentation. The last mainline Samurai Warriors title, Samurai Warriors 4, launched originally back in 2014 in Japan for PS3 and Vita, and was since brought to the PS4 and given multiple expansions, the most recent of which landed in 2016. It featured over 50 different playable characters across its various renditions. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=samurai-warriors-5-nintendo-direct-images&captions=true"] It also received an updated version called Samurai Warriors 4 DX for both PS4 and Nintendo Switch in 2019, but this version was only released in Japan. Not much else is known yet about what other new updates to the series will come with Samurai Warriors 5, but it's likely we'll see new characters and mechanics added as with prior series entries. A livestream presentation with more information is planned for February 25 in Japan (February 24 in the US). [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Samurai Warriors 5, the latest entry in the musou Samurai Warriors series, is coming to the Nintendo Switch sometime this summer. During the February 2021 Nintendo Direct presentation, we got our first-ever look at the new entry in the spin-off Dynasty Warriors franchise from Koei Tecmo and Omega Force, which once again takes place in the Sengoku Period of Japan and will follow historical figures Nobunaga Oda and Mitsuhide Akeshi. In a press release following the presentation, Koei Tecmo said the latest entry would be a "fresh re-imagining" of the series with a new storyline, revamped character designs, and a new visual presentation. The last mainline Samurai Warriors title, Samurai Warriors 4, launched originally back in 2014 in Japan for PS3 and Vita, and was since brought to the PS4 and given multiple expansions, the most recent of which landed in 2016. It featured over 50 different playable characters across its various renditions. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=samurai-warriors-5-nintendo-direct-images&captions=true"] It also received an updated version called Samurai Warriors 4 DX for both PS4 and Nintendo Switch in 2019, but this version was only released in Japan. Not much else is known yet about what other new updates to the series will come with Samurai Warriors 5, but it's likely we'll see new characters and mechanics added as with prior series entries. A livestream presentation with more information is planned for February 25 in Japan (February 24 in the US). [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Mario's 35th anniversary celebrations continue, as a new Mario sports title has been announced. Return to the greens in Mario Golf Super Rush/ As revealed during the February 2021 Nintendo Direct, Mario Golf Super Rush is the newest Mario sports game from Camelot. Mario Golf Super Rush can be played with both the controllers or even motion controls. As suggested by the subtitle, characters will rush from one hole to the next and race to different holes with power-ups. There will also be a dedicated Story Mode which can be played with your Mii. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/17/mario-golf-super-rush-nintendo-switch-announcement-trailer"] Mario Golf Super Rush will come to the Nintendo Switch on June 25 and a demo will be available after today's Nintendo Direct. Mario's last sports outing on the Nintendo Switch was 2018's Mario Tennis Aces, which our review called " an extremely fun arcade tennis experience, colorful and dazzling to look at and smartly balanced in its back-and-forth play." Mario's sports lineage is of course a long one, with members of the Mushroom Kingdom having played golf, tennis, soccer, and much more in various spinoff titles throughout the decades. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=mario-golf-super-rush-reveal-screens&captions=true"] For more on his sports acumen, check out our history of Mario sports games.