Eight new courses are releasing in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe today, part of the paid DLC called the Booster Course Pass that was announced during last month's Nintendo Direct.

The Booster Course Pass costs $24.99 as a standalone purchase, but Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers will get it as part of their premium membership. The 48 courses aren't all coming out at once, though. Instead, Nintendo is dropping them in six waves.

The first eight courses comprising Wave 1 have been revealed on Nintendo's official website. They include the following

• Paris Promenade (Mario Kart Tour)
• Toad Circuit (Mario Kart 3DS)
• Choco Mountain (Mario Kart 64)
• Coconut Mall (Mario Kart Wii)
• Tokyo Blur (Mario Kart Tour)
• Shroom Ridge (Mario Kart DS)
• Sky Garden (Mario Kart Advance)
• Ninja Hideaway (Mario Kart Tour)

Eight courses are planned to be released in each wave, all of which will be delivered to Booster Course Pass owners by the end of 2023. The first wave, available today at around 7pm ET in North America, includes courses like Wii's Coconut Mall, N64's Choco Mountain, and Tour's Tokyo Blur.

Mario Kart 8 was named the best-selling racing game in US history in April 2021. The combined sales of the original Wii U Mario Kart 8 and Nintendo Switch's Mario Kart 8 Deluxe pushed the game past the previous record holder, Mario Kart Wii. Recent reports suggest Mario Kart 9 is in "active development," though for now it seems Nintendo is still focused on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

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In the wake of a successful remaster of the original game, developer MonolithSoft is once again venturing into the world of Xenoblade Chronicles this September.

During today's Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announced Xenoblade Chronicles 3, saying it will be set in a new world with connections to both the first and second game. Its reveal trailer showed off new characters and locales, teasing lots of story threads without sharing too many exact details on its plot or mechanics.

A press release after the Direct had a little more info, saying "Players will step into the roles of protagonists Noah and Mio amid turmoil between the hostile nations of Keves and Agnus. Six characters hailing from those nations will take part in a grand tale with 'life' as its central theme."

Xenoblade Chronicles was first released in 2010 on Nintendo Wii, where it gained prominence as part of a fan campaign to get it localized in North America. Following a spinoff on the Wii U and a sequel on the Switch, Xenoblade Chronicles was remastered in HD in 2020, with its protagonist, Shulk, also appearing in Super Smash Bros.

Xenoblade Chronicles can trace its roots back to Xenogears, a trippy PlayStation RPG that won acclaim for its mindbending story and fantastic soundtrack. Xenogears was directed by Tetsuya Takahashi, who served as the scenario writer on both Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is set to release in September 2022.

A sequel to Wii Sports was announced during today's Nintendo Direct in a surprising twist.

Nintendo Switch Sports will arrive on the Switch on April 29. The company confirmed that the following modes will be available: Tennis, Bowling, Chambara, Soccer, Badminton, and Volleyball. Nintendo also confirmed that it will add Golf into the game via a free update this fall.

Unlike previous installments in the series, including the HD remake, Wii Sports Club, the upcoming title will not include Miis in the game.

Ahead of the game's late April release, Nintendo announced that it will be hosting an online playtest for Nintendo Switch Sports beginning February 18 and will conclude on February 20. However, only players with an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription will access the playtest.

The announcement of Nintendo Switch Sports has been long-awaited for fans of Wii Sports, which was released as a launch title for the console back in 2006.

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Live A Live is headed to North America for the first version. Not only that, it will be available in the HD-2D format made famous by Octopath Traveler.

First released on Super Nintendo back in 1994, Live a Live was an import-only RPG that garnered a passionate fanbase due to its unique gameplay and narrative mechanics. It was released during Square's heyday alongside classics like Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger.

In addition to a new translation, Live A Live is getting a big graphical upgrade in line with Octopath Traveler, which was praised for its unique visual style.

Live A Live is out on Nintendo Switch on July 22.

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Both the first Portal and its sequel, Portal 2, will be headed to the Nintendo Switch later this year as part of Portal: Companion Collection, announced during today's Nintendo Direct presentation.

Portal was first released by Valve in 2007 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in 2007, with Portal 2 coming in 2011.

Valve noted in a tweet during the presentation that the Companion Collection was developed in collaboration with NVIDIA Lightspeed Studios, and will include both games' full single-player campaigns as well as Portal 2's co-op game mode, which is available via spilt-screen, local, and online multiplayer.

Both Portal games have received critical acclaim, with IGN giving the first an 8.2 and giving it awards for best puzzle game and most innovative design of 2007. Portal 2 scored even higher with a 9.5, winning IGN's game of the year for 2011.

"Portal 2 makes the original look like the prototype it was," Charles Onyett wrote in his review for IGN. "It's filled with a larger cast of characters vividly brought to life through brilliant writing and some of the best voice acting in video games. Its puzzles are challenging without being unreasonable, and, once you're finished with the single-player mode, one of the best co-operative experiences on the market awaits."

Portal: Companion Collection was just one of several announcements made during today's presentation of games headed to the Switch, with others including No Man's Sky, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and Earthbound and Earthbound Beginning. See everything that was announced during the February 2022 Nintendo Direct right here.

Announced during today's Nintendo Direct, a collection with two Klonoa games is coming to Nintendo Switch on July 8.

Called Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series, it includes classic platformers Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil, seemingly with remade or at least improved graphics.

The first Klonoa was originally released on PlayStation in 1997, then remade in 2008 for the Nintendo Wii. Klonoa 2 was a direct sequel that came out on PlayStation 2 in 2001.

It's unclear at this time how much work has been done to revamp or remake either game for the switch, but the gameplay shown in its reveal trailer looked much crisper than any of the previous systems these games were on could allow.

While everyone waits for Mario Kart 9, Disney is getting its own combat racer for characters including Mickey Mouse, Sully, and Mulan.

Titled Disney Speedstorm, the new racer will be be free-to-play and will support cross-platform play. New characters will be released in a seasonal format. Tracks and Karts will be based on popular Disney franchises.

Racers will have a mix of special abilities and ultimate skills. In addition to online multiplayer, Disney Speedstorm will feature splitscreen.

Disney Speedstorm releases this summer on Nintendo Switch.

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Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii Version) is coming to Nintendo Switch on April 20, 2022.

The 2008 action-adventure Star Wars game developed by LucasArts will be coming to the Nintendo Switch. As a port of the Wii version, it will include unique modes like two-player multiplayer duels between iconic Jedi and Sith characters.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed tells an original story in the Star Wars universe. Galen aka Starkiller, Darth Vader's apprentice. Players are able to make certain choices that lead them towards the Dark side or the Light.

Star Wars: Force Unleased focused heavily on force powers and they are on full display in Force Unleased, something we praised in our review. You can read IGN's original Star Wars: The Force Unleashed review here.

Since the release of Force Unleased, Star Wars games have adopted a licensing system. EA oversaw much of the Star Wars games developed in the 2010s, but Disney has since spread the wealth with new Star Wars games in the works at Quanatic Dream.

Meanwhile, EA will continue to make Star ars games including a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

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The Chrono Cross remaster is actually, really real, and Nintendo showed off the first look of it at today's Nintendo Direct. Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, is out on Nintendo Switch on April 7, 2022.

The Radical Dreamers Edition includes updates like the ability to turn off encounters and an enhanced soundtrack. As noted in the game's title, this edition also includes the Radical Dreamers text adventure that was previously exclusive to the Satellaview.

Chrono Cross remaster rumors have been swirling for some time now, beginning with reports of a "big remake" announcement for around Christmas time this year, and then further reports that this was actually a Chrono Cross remaster. We were all further riled up when mobile JRPG Another Eden announced a Chrono Cross collaboration, especially since its cinematic trailer set to Time Scar looked so dang good.

IGN loved Chrono Cross when it first released way back in 2000, though it's gotten mixed reception due to not being a direct sequel to Chrono Trigger and instead being a strange alternative universe spin-off. A remaster is exciting news though, as aside from owning an original disc or having access to PlayStation Classics, there's been no legitimate way to play Chrono Cross since it came out.

During today's Nintendo Direct, the company announced that the first two installments in the Front Mission series are coming to Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo confirmed that the remake, Front Mission 1st, will arrive on the company's hybrid gaming console sometime this summer. The company also confirmed that a remake for Front Mission 2 would arrive on Switch as well, though no release date or launch window was provided.

Front Mission was originally released in Japan in 1995 on the Super Famicon, though players in the United States would have to wait until 2007 when the game was ported to the Nintendo DS. While a remake of Front Mission 2 will mark the first time that game will have been released outside of Japan since its initial release on the PlayStation in 1997.

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