Nintendoitself has said that it has numerous games in the pipeline for the Nintendo Switch console, but there aren’t many games that have actually been confirmed for the system in the months ahead.Nintendois expected to pull the curtain back on some of its major upcoming Switch exclusive games as early as E3 2021 next month, though it seems some of the company’s potential reveals have leaked ahead of time.
Notable leaker Zippo has recently posted a new blog where they discuss everything they know about the games Nintendo has in the works for the Switch. Zippo has made accurate predictions about Nintendo in the past, and some of their latest claims have since been corroborated by other outlets. However, fans should still take this information with a massive grain of salt and wait for official announcements from Nintendo before they put too muck stock into any of these claims.
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For those curious, here are all the upcoming Nintendo projects that Zippo has supposedly leaked. WithE3 2021 right around the corner, fans should find out sooner rather than later whether or not there’s truth to any of these claims.
Donkey Kong
TheDonkey Kongfranchise has enjoyed a comeback in recent years thanks to Retro’s work onDonkey Kong CountryReturnsand its sequel,Tropical Freeze. Retro has since been relegated to developingMetroid Prime 4, and so apparently another studio has been given the reigns of the 2DDonkey Kongfranchise for now. Zippo believes that thenext 2DDonkey Konggameis actually in development by EPD Tokyo, which is the internal Nintendo development team that was responsible forSuper Mario Odysseyand some of the company’s most critically-acclaimed exclusive titles. Like the rumored 2DMetroidgame, Zippo thinks that this potential newDonkey Konggame will be revealed at E3 for release on the Switch at some point later this year.
AnotherDonkey Kongproject that Nintendo might have in the works could be something completely different. Zippo’s blog post suggests thatDonkey Kongcould potentially be getting a battle royale game in the style ofTetris 99, which makes sense when one considers how successfulTetris 99has been.
Fire Emblem
Fire Emblemwas once a niche franchise, but ever since the success ofFire Emblem: Awakeningon the Nintendo 3DS, it has become significantly more popular with Nintendo fans the world over. If Zippo’s information is correct, it seems as thoughFire Emblemfans may have a lot to look forward to in the near future as well, with Zippo believing that there aretwo newFire Emblemgames in active developmentfor the Switch. One of these games is reportedly being developed by Intelligent Systems and that there is a chance it will be a remake ofFire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, a Japanese-exclusive SNES game.
Meanwhile, Koei Tecmo is reportedly making a “follow-up toThree Houses.” While Intelligent Systems is the primary developer known for makingFire Emblemgames, Koei Tecmo did co-developFire Emblem: Three Housesand it has a strong relationship with Nintendo, so it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see the company trusted with the next main seriesFire Emblemgame.
Mario
Zippo makes a number of claims about theMariofranchise throughout the blog post. One is that Tokyo EPD is making a follow-up toSuper Mario Odysseywhile it’s simultaneously developing the 2DDonkey Konggame. The other claim is thatSuper Mario Party 2is in the works, with Zippo expecting the game to be announced at some point during Nintendo’s E3 2021 press conference with a full release this year.
Perhaps the more excitingMario-related “leak” mentioned by Zippo is that Nintendo is likely making a brand newMario Kartgame, or is working on aMario Kartproject of some description at least. Apparently, the newMario Kartproject is not related to existingMario Kartgames likeMario Kart Touror theMario Kart: Live Circuittoys. Zippo speculates that the project could be anything from moreMario Kart 8 DeluxeDLC toMario Kart 9to something a little more interesting.
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One possibility that Zippo throws out there is that the game could be a Nintendo Kart game. While Zippo is just guessing with this game, it is something that’s been predicted by others in the past, and would essentially be theMario Kart-equivalent ofSuper Smash Bros.Whether or not anything like this ever happens remains to be seen, but Zippo believes that the new project could be released this year, so maybe fans will find out sooner rather than later.
Metroid
Rumors have persisted for years that Nintendo has a2DMetroidgame in development. So far, Nintendo has only confirmed the existence ofMetroid Prime 4, but Zippo seems to think that a 2DMetroidgame is not only in development, but that it’s actuallyfinishedwith development. According to Zippo, the 2DMetroidgame is in development by MercurySteam and runs at 60 frames per second. Since Zippo thinks that the 2DMetroidgame has finished development, its potential absence at E3 would cast a great deal of doubt on the rest of the claims made in the blog post.
Pokemon
Zippo didn’t mention much when it comes to upcomingPokemonprojects.Pokemonfans already know thatBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlare coming to the Nintendo Switch this year, and that they can look forward toPokemon Legends: Arceuslaunching at some point in 2022. However, thenewDetective Pikachugamehas been nowhere to be seen since its initial announcement, and so Zippo thinks that there’s a chance that fans will see it again sooner rather than later. Zippo’s prediction is that theDetective Pikachusequel will be shown during a Pokemon Presents event as opposed to Nintendo’s E3 presentation, but they’re just guessing when it comes to that particular game.
The Legend of Zelda
2021 marks the 35th anniversary ofThe Legend of Zeldafranchise, and so many fans are expecting the Big N to go all-out in the same way that it did for theSuper Marioseries. So far, the only thing Nintendo has confirmed is theSkyward Sword HDSwitch port, but Zippo finds it likely that there will be otherZeldaprojects to look forward to in 2021. This includes abundle ofWind WakerandTwilight Princess, which has been rumored elsewhere. And as far asThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2goes, Zippo is unsure of what Nintendo’s plans are, but they believe that the game will be showcased at E3 with a planned 2022 release date.
Whether or not Zippo’s claims can be believed is up for debate. There have been many legitimate Nintendo leaks in the past, and so it’s entirely possible that their claims are accurate. Then again, their claims almost read like a wish-list of what fans would want from new Nintendo gaming projects. Ultimately, E3 will help to either disprove these claims or give them more credibility. If it’s the latter, then fans will want to pay a lot more attention to the other claims made by Zippo in the blog post.
In the meantime, Zippo has teased that they have a new blog post in the works that will focus on what Nintendo has planned for 2022. It will definitely be interesting to see what claims are made in that post as well, especially if any of these other claims are corroborated by E3 or anything like that.
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