Issue #84: A Summer of Surprises! – July/August 2026

The only thing that’s ever truly predictable about Nintendo is their unpredictability.

Listen, a lot of us longtime fans and game journalists and “insiders” may claim to have the ability to anticipate each new announcement from this 137-year-old company, but the truth is that no company could ever survive that long without being flexible. Changeable. Able to pivot and spin and adjust at any moment.

And so you may see people (like yours truly!) trying their best to pin down which moves Nintendo will make next, informing ourselves as best we can from an ever-elongating analysis of their record of past decisions. But just because they’ve done something one way before doesn’t mean they’re locked in to always doing it that way again!

I touch on this topic now because I think we’re entering into a season that’s marked by surprises. We’ve got three new first- party releases on the cover of this issue — Star Fox, Rhythm Heaven Groove and Splatoon Raiders — and I think each and every one of them is a shock to see exist!

I’m speaking for myself, of course, so please continue to comfort yourself with a superior sense of foreknowledge if you were able to accurately envision any of the three. But if you’d asked me two years ago what was coming up next for any of those three franchises, I probably would’ve laughed at you twice and then said “Splatoon 4” for the third.

I didn’t foresee Nintendo remaking Star Fox 64 yet again. I’m thrilled they are, as that’s one of my all-time favorite games and the new Switch 2 remake looks spectacular, but I can’t claim to have guessed it would happen.

Rhythm Heaven I thought was dead and done. Fated to fade into the past, a series that we would occasionally remember fondly, but one that would always be relegated to the Retro section going forward. A new sequel? After a decade of total radio silence? I’m on board, of course — but I didn’t see that coming.

Of the three, a single-player spin-off for Splatoon would’ve been the easiest prediction for me to make. But even then I doubt I would’ve guessed Nintendo would do that on the new Switch 2 before debuting a mainline multiplayer-focused sequel for the system! They still haven’t confirmed Splatoon 4 is in the works! I predict it is, of course . . .

So please enjoy this latest NF edition, as we head into a summer of surprises. Hopefully they’re welcome surprises to you, and you’re looking forward to playing at least one of the trio!