Summer is a time of relaxation, pool and beach parties, and enjoying the lack of school, homework and tests. Most teenagers would agree with me, saying that they’d rather be home catching up on sleep and going out with friends and family. Personally, I’d rather spend a good portion of my summer vacation playing video games in my room on my bed with proper air conditioning. Of course, my parents won’t let me do that, but I can still dream. I have a Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo is coming out with a lot of games for the summer. However, I’m looking forward to these the most!

1.) Mar. 18th: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe:Booster Course Pass (First Wave)

I know it’s a super long title. Might as well be a Kingdom Hearts title. Some of you might be thinking, “What does First Wave even mean?” The people at Nintendo have decided that they should remaster some race maps from old Mario Kart titles. I’m talking about Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart Super Circuit, Mario Kart: Double Death, Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, and even Mario Kart tour, the mobile Mario Kart! They’ll be remastering many of these levels for our enjoyment and nostalgia, each wave being released one at a time. Each wave has 2 Grand Prix Cups, and 8 races in total. That’s 48 more courses added to the game! However, it’s not being released all at once, it’s being released in waves, and they’re hoping to finish by the end of 2023.

2.) Mar. 25, Kirby and the Forgotten Land 

The game should already be out by the time you’re reading this. A lot of people know about Kirby. He’s a small, round, pink little blob that runs around sucking up enemies and items that can help him along his way. In this game, you’ll help free captured Waddle Dees. A new mode in the game called “Mouthful Mode,” which means you can suck up a car and drive around, suck up a vending machine and dispense drinks at alarming speeds to hit enemies/targets, and suck up a cone to break open pipes to help you reach other parts of the map/level. It sounds chaotic, looks colorful, and the new mode seems interesting and fun to use.

3.) Apr. 29, Nintendo Switch Sports

If you were a big fan of Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort, you’ll love this new rendition of the Wii Sports series. Since it’s not on the Wii this time, there’s been a name change, and there’s been a change to your Mii. They look more human now, and no longer have round, floating hands. They added new characters as well who are the face of the new game. They have some of the original games, like bowling, tennis and as Wii Sports Resort fans will remember, sword duels, atop a round “target” platform just like in the original game. However, they’ve added three new sports as well. They’ve added badminton, soccer, and volleyball. Badminton is like tennis, however you’re constantly making sure the birdie never hits your side of the court. Volleyball and Soccer are the same as in real life. They’ve added a physical strap you can attach to your leg, slip the joycon into and actually kick your leg to kick the ball. 

4.) June 30, Cuphead – The Delicious Last Course

Now I played the original Cuphead – Don’t Deal with the Devil. If you played the game, it doesn’t matter how long ago or how recent, you know it’s a game set in the 1930’s, with the stereotypical 1930’s T.V screen, and the fact that the game was mostly hand drawn (which is why it took so long to come out).You also know about the 19 boss battles. For those of you who don’t know, Cuphead is a game with strictly boss battles, and some of them are insanely hard, but are beatable. This new game has even more bosses with themes that revolve around food and sweets, like “The Root Pack” and “Baroness Von Bon Bon” in the original game. This DLC also adds a new character to play, Ms. Chalice. She appeared in the original game as a character stuck in a chalice in the mausoleums (maw-zo-lee-ums) in the original game. When you save/free her, she gives you a legendary super power in return. It’s delightful to see her as a playable character. I can’t wait to see what her supers will be and what the story of the new game is.

5.) TBD, Taiko no Tatsujin – Rhythm Festival

Taiko no Tatsujin (roughly means “Drum Master”) is a rhythm game, and there is a mobile version, however I’m more interested in the Switch version. It’s a super colorful rhythm game, where you’re trying to get as many points as possible and hit the right part of your “drum” at the right time, like you would any rhythm game. In this game, you’re trying to become a drum master. The game is cute, and there are a bunch of songs in there that are pretty well known. Of course there are easy and hard modes, online multiplayer and now, private matches to play online with your friends. So get your drum skills ready if you want to play this game.

Although games 1-4 have release dates, these dates are subject to change. Covid-19 is still relevant, and could very well be the reason some of these games don’t come out on time or get delayed constantly. Please remember that the people at Nintendo and the companies working on these games are trying to make them as awesome as possible for our entertainment. Whenever these games come out, I’ll be havin fun at home in my air conditioned room this summer.