Nintendo's latest Nintendo Direct has come and gone.  And indeed it came with some surprising surprises!  Here's a handy dandy outline of the key higlights from the show...

 Kicking things off was a new set of updates for the upcoming Pokemon Ultra Sun and Pokemon Ultra Moon.  2 new forms of Necrozma, new areas, new Ultra Beasts and new clothing items were announced.  As an added incentive, fans who buy the Virtual Console versions of Pokemon Gold or Pokemon Silver will also recieve a bonus Celebi in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon too.  A special Pokemon Ultra Sun and Pokemon Ultra Moon edition New 2DSxl was also announced for release at the same time as the accompanying games.

Another special edition New/3DS/2DS/XL (delete as appropriate) for the collection.

 The 25th anniversary Kirby game has finally been announced, and it's called Kirby Battle Royale.  As previously announced, it's a fighting game for four players.  What wasn't previously announced however is how it actually plays.  Unlike Kirby Fighters Z, this game utilises a top-down perspective, with a completely new form of fighting gameplay.  Featuring 4 player local and online multiplayer, as well as a slew of powers and foes from across the series (including a surprisingly buff looking rendition of King DeDeDe), this game hits European store shelves on November 3rd 2017.

More Kirby on the 3DS? Don't mind if I do!

 A brief overview trailer Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy was shown, highlighting the return of classic puzzle solving gameplay.  Not long to go now before its October 6th release date.

Complete with that familiar Level 5 charm and attention to detail.

New Style Boutique 3 - Styling Star was announced, which is actually the 4th game in the series, continuing Nintendo's longstanding tradition of confusing branding.  The big new feature of this game lies in its branching stories; which are influenced by the choices you make in what fashions you come up with and offer to your clients.  Launching on November 24th, fashionistas will have lots to love this Xmas season it seems!

Check out the amount of bling in that title screen alone, it's got to be great... right?

 Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition.  A New Nintendo 3DS exclusive rendition of Minecraft! It comes with 5 skin packs and 2 texture packs built-in; as well as Touchscreen support for the inventory.  It's available right now on the eShop worldwide, with a retail version hitting the system at a later date.

Is there any modern-day format that you CAN'T buy Minecraft on these days?

Mario Party: The Top 100.  It's exactly what it says on the tin.  10 minigames from each console Mario Party game is included and remade for the 3DS.  While it supports Download Play for up to 4 players, there is no word about whether or not it includes classic boards as well as minigames just yet. Either way, this will likely be a must for Mario Party series fans when it comes to Europe in January 2018.

Better buy another 3DS for when you wear the circle-pad out with this one!

 Two Atlus RPGs were confirmed for a European release.  The Alliance Alive and Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth.  Footage was shown and a demo for the latter is available right now on the eShop.

Go on, download the demo... please? It'll make our very own Grazza's day if you do.

This section of the Direct kicked off with a brand new trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, alongside a lengthy overview of the game's world and it's inhabitants, while looking very lovely in the process.  Several of the game's battle mechanics also got a detailed overview, including the ability to switch Blade types in the heat of battle.  A release date of December 1st 2017 was also announced! Yes! To everyone's surprise, it hasn't been pushed back to next year after all.  A Collectors Edition, containing an art book and CD soundtrack selection, and a special edition Pro Controller were also announced.

Coming out in 2017... no really, actually 100% confirmed! Good job Monolith & Nintendo.

 A new update was outlined for Splatoon 2.  Coming with a returning stage and a brand new one, alongside new weapons and gameplay tweaks.  The update is available right now.

A re-used Splatoon 2 screenshot yes but it's still kind of fresh... OK maybe not.

 Lyn was announced as a playable character in Fire Emblem Warriors.  Hooray! Someone remotely interesting! Too bad she's yet another sword user...

It's even worse than we first feared, another sword-user?! Noooooooooo!

 Snipper Clips Plus was also announced.  An enhanced version of the original game, it includes all of the original version's content and then some.  Releasing on 10th November 2017, it will also be available as DLC for owners of the original game.

Snipper Clips Plus... more awesome stages and mini-games! Physical release please?

 Arena of Valor; a MOBA game from Tencent was announced for Nintendo Switch, with a beta announced for Winter 2017.

It's a MOBA! Yeeeeeeeeah... uh... well, it's new software at least!

 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was given a fresh look with some footage from the Switch version, with the silly looking Zelda costumes shown off for good measure, alongside a release date announcement for the 17th of November 2017 in Europe.

A dragon!!! Aim for it's Knees!

 Not content with just Skyrim, Bethesda have just catapulted themselves to the coverted title of Best 3rd Party Supporter of Nintendo Switch.  With the announcement of not one, but TWO classic ID shooter series coming to Nintendo's hybrid.  The 2016 Doom reboot and the upcoming Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus will both be hitting the Nintendo Switch.  Doom will arrive in Winter 2017, while Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus arrives in 2018.

Why Bethesda... with these triple-A First-Person Shooters you are truly spoiling us!

 Flip Wars got an update, literally! A brand new stage and a new mode were unveiled, alongside Local Wireless multiplayer support.  The update is available right now for free.

 The update nobody asked for, to the game nobody asked for but here it is!

 In what was by far the most shocking announcement of them all, Nintendo are releasing their classic VS series arcade games on Switch, as part of Hamster's Arcade Archives series! This marks the very first time these games have ever been given a home release, making these a big deal for fans of Nintendo's earlier works.  VS Mario Bros, VS Balloon Fight, VS Pinball, VS CluClu Land, VS Super Mario Bros and the original Arcade rendition of Punchout were all shown in video form, with more games promised to come in the future.  Multiplayer support for all of these games was also confirmed.  VS Mario Bros will be available on September 21st worldwide.

Nintendo Arcade titles, ported by Hamster who are responsible for the excellent ACA NEO GEO titles? Sign me up!

 A sizzle reel of various titles were shown.  We'll just save you the trouble and give you the bit of info you've been waiting for.  Fifa 18 will launch on Switch on November 29th 2017.

 Project Octopath Traveller was also given a new trailer and reconfirmed as a Nintendo Switch exclusive.  Details about the gameplay mechanics and job system were shown off, while the battle system appears to take cues from its spiritual predecessor, Bravely Default.  A Demo is now available worldwide, while a simultaneous worldwide release was announced for 2018.

Which path will you choose? No not that one! That's my partially-determined choice.

 The previously announced ver 3 update for ARMS was given an overview here.  It's available to download right now.

ARMS the new IP from Nintendo which is improving with every update.

The Switch Kirby game now has a name! It's Kirby: Star Allies.  Sporting 4 player co-op multiplayer, alongside the return of the ability mixing mechanics of Kirby 64 and the return of fan favourite ability, Yo-Yo (AKA, the all time greatest ability in Kirby history), this game looks to be a treat for fans of the pink blob.  A vague Spring 2018 is the best they were able to give us however.

An image you cannot unsee, why it's a buffed-up King DeDeDe!

Rounding off the European Nintendo Direct was a lengthy overview of Super Mario Odyssey.  The Direct unveiled three new kingdoms and a brand new Snapshot Mode which allows you to take snazzy pics of Mario's globe trotting adventure, utilising a variety of filters, camera angles and other options. New enemies and mechanics were also shown, as well as online leaderboards for all of the game's minigames.  Finally, a special edition Super Mario Odyssey Switch console bundle was also announced, including special Mario Red coloured Joy-cons, launching on the same day as the game in Europe.

 Super Mario Odyssey now features fully modelled nipples confirmed! Mama Mia! 

The Japanese Nintendo Direct also included announcements for a brand new game in the Dillon's Rolling Western series on 3DS for 2018, as well as a port of Phantasy Star Online 2 for 2018.

 That's all for this Nintendo Direct.  Not a bad little selection of surprises and wonders here! I know I'm keen for those classic Nintendo arcade titles, but how about you? Have your say in our forums.