Nintendo just dropped a surprise Direct Mini Partner Showcase: Watch it here

If you're a Nintendo fan, chances are you've already heard the rumors from this past weekend about an incoming Nintendo Direct. Those rumors and reports told us to mark our calendars for Friday, August 28th, as that was the day Nintendo was expected to publish this new Direct. Nintendo is certainly keeping us on our toes, because it dropped a surprise Direct today, and it's probably not what people were hoping for.

This new Direct is another Partner Showcase, which shows off a number of upcoming games from third-party developers and publishers. There are no Nintendo-made games in this new Direct Mini, and while it's always good to see some upcoming titles, that means Nintendo's plans for the near future are still being kept under wraps. If you were hoping to finally hear about Nintendo is doing for Mario's 35th anniversary, it looks like you'll have to wait a bit longer.

That's not to say today's Direct Mini is bad, of course, just that it probably isn't what people were expecting. The headliner for this Direct Mini is likely Just Dance 2021, which is heading to Switch on November 12th. We also heard more about Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, an intriguing new rhythm game set in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Melody of Memory will launch on Switch on November 13th, with pre-purchase opening today.

Rhythm could be the theme of the day, in fact. Not only did we hear more from Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, but we also saw some glimpses of Fuser gameplay and saw the announcement of Taiko No Tatsujin: Rhythmic Adventure Pack.

We also learned that Square Enix plans to bring the first three Final Fantasy Legend games – all of which were originally released on Game Boy – to Switch in a compilation called Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend. We'll see that one launch digitally on December 15th.

All in all, today's Direct Mini is definitely worth a watch, even if it isn't what Nintendo fans were hoping for. We'll keep an eye out for more information on that rumored, mainline Nintendo Direct, but for now, catch today's Partner Showcase embedded above.