Nintendo’s latest home console, it’s hard to deny the impact theNintendo Switchhas had for the company’s reputation. After the downward trend of the Wii U, the Switch saved Nintendo and put them back in the forefront of the industry. They have the most interesting tech, they have the most interesting games, and they cater to the strengths of the medium more than either Sony of Microsoft.
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But that doesn’t necessarily guarantee good games. The Switch undeniably has the best set of exclusives this generation, but it’s also home to an alarmingly high amount of exclusive shovelware— bad games that areonlyon the Switch. Some of which are even part of Nintendo’s flagship franchises.
10MUST OWN: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
The latest and greatest entry in theFire Emblemfranchise,Three Housesis a magnificent return to form for the series. While the 3DS games helped popularize the franchise, the style and tone of those games left a lot to be desired from veteran fans. WhileThree Housesdoes cater to newer fans, it does so by marrying old and newFire Emblemtogether.
The story is reminiscent of the series’ earlier entries, presenting a more thoughtful and mature narrative. Characters are the best they’ve been in a long time, and the actual plot is one of the series’ most gripping. The maps aren’t perfect by any means, but the core gameplay is fresh enough where that’s not as big an issue as it should be.
9SKIP: Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee
Pseudo-remakes ofPokémon Yellow,Let’s Go PikachuandLet’s Go Eeveeserve as a bridge between the mainlinePokémongames andPokémon Go. While it’s an interesting product and does recreate Kanto very nicely, it’s far from the series’ best entries and isn’t really comparable to the main games when it comes down to it.
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Let’s Go PikachuandEeveemight serve as a nice enough introduction to the franchise for younger gamers, but there’s no reason not to start anyone looking to get in``toPokémonwith the upcomingSwordandShield.Let’s Go PikachuandEeveewill be redundant before 2019 is up.
8MUST OWN: Collection Of Mana
Home to three of the greatest action RPGs of all time,Collection of Manais one of the best ways to experience theManafranchise.Final Fantasy AdventureandSecret of Manaare both present and they hold up terrifically. For the first time ever,Trials of Mana, formerlySeiken Densetsu 3, also has an official English release.
Really,Trials of Manais worth the price of admission alone. It’s one of the best action RPGs on the SNES and it’s still worth a few playthroughs today. None of the games are particularly long either.FFAis under 10 hours, and bothSoMandToMcan be completed in around 20 to 25 depending on how much grinding is done.
7SKIP: Snipperclips
A lot of early adopters of the Nintendo Switch likely have fond memories ofSnipperclips. It looks cute, it’s easy to pick up and play, and it was one of the few games to launch with the Switch that made good use of the joy-cons. It’s just that, outside of the novelty of owning a Switch and playing the Switch, there’s no real meat toSnipperclips.
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It’s a very repetitive, very trivial game that exists primarily to show off the joy-cons. It can eat up some time, but he Switch’s library is healthy enough at this point where there will always be better alternative toSnipperclips, especially in the puzzle genre.
6MUST OWN: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
No Nintendo home console is complete withoutSuper Smash Bros.The Nintendo 64 had the original, the GameCube had the persistentMelee, the Wii had the almost epicBrawl, the 3DS and the Wii U shared the fourth entry, and the Switch is home to none other than the series’ ultimate potential.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimatereally does feel like the franchise at its absolute peak. It doesn’t feel possible that the series could reinvent itself any further, butUltimatemight very well mark a new era forSuper Smash Bros.Its competitive scene is the healthiest the series has ever seen with virtually non-stop activity.
5SKIP: Super Mario Party
Mario Partyis clearly a cursed franchise at this point. No matter what Nintendo does with the series, little good ever comes out of it.Super Mario Partyshould have been a chance for reinvention. AMario Partygame that goes back to the series’ roots with actual online compatibility.
Super Mario Partytechnically does do that, but in the most bare minimum way possible. It feels as shoehorned in as ever, just in the direction of nostalgic fans specifically. It’s clear that Nintendo has no clue what to do with the once incredibly simpleMario Partyfranchise. A pity considering its relevance during the Nintendo 64’s heyday.
4MUST OWN: Golf Story
The rare indie title exclusive,Golf Storyis a golf game/RPG hybrid that really knocks both halves out of the park. As a gold game, it’s probably the best on the Switch. It’s easy to pick up, easy to play, but challenging to master. Its mechanics are far richer than they may initially seem.
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As an RPG, it’s got a lovable world with great gameplay mechanics. Its only real fault is that it does fall on the shorter side of RPGs, but that’s ultimately for the best since it prevents the pace from ever getting tedious.
3SKIP: The World Ends With You: Final Remix
Far and away the best game on the Nintendo DS,The World Ends With You: Final Remixis one of the worst remakes on the Nintendo Switch, if not the outright worse. The game simply doesn’t work with the Switch’s control scheme.A lotis lost in the transition, and the remake is built off the iOS version, not the DS, keeping combat simplistic.
In the DS version, the action was fluid, dynamic, and legitimately involved both characters via the two screens. The Switch version simplifies things considerably while retaining little of the mechanical depth. Worse yet, the remixed soundtrack leaves a lot to be desired.
2MUST OWN: Super Mario Odyssey
WhatSuper Mario 64was for the Nintendo 64,Super Mario Odysseyis for the Nintendo Switch. It’s an entirely new style ofMario, one that flips the script and will fundamentally change the platforming landscape.Odysseyis a biggerMariogame than ever before and it feels appropriately epic in every way imaginable.
Better yet, Cappy adds a deeper level of depth to theMarioformula. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say thatSuper Mario Odysseyis the most mechanically nuanced platformer Nintendo has ever developed. It manages to putSunshineto shame in terms of platforming depth.
1SKIP: 1-2 Switch
Wii Sportscame with every single Nintendo Wii.Nintendo Landcame with most Wii Us, and1-2 Switchsat on store shelves for being an overpriced tech demo that very blatantly should have been packaged with the Nintendo Switch in order to show off the console’s features. That would have been a sensible use of the game. As a product, it’s just not good enough.
Nor is it cohesive, or particularly well designed, or even engaging. It has none of the style or polish ofWii SportsandNintendo Land. It’s very bland and dry, almost uninspired if not inherently attracted to the Switch’s early iconography.
