Topic: What are the most underrated/underappreciated first party Switch games?

Well with the Switch presumably winding down, having been around for 6 1/2 years, might be a good time for some obligatory overall threads about the Switch. So here's a fun one that will I assume either get 10 replies or will still be on the first page of this sub forum in 2 years. Out of Nintendo's own games, which ones deserve more appreciation or...something like it then it has gotten. I personally don't like underrated for largely the same reason as overrated, because much of the time that doesn't take into account...actual ratings, hence why I added a second word that better reflects how people use it.

I mean, considering how much games like Super Mario Party or Pokemon BD/SP sold, you could technically make the case for much of their games with that comparison. Ha. But as much as I want to point out that I still wish Metroid Dredd or Pikmin 4 sold even more...there are still many games that would kill for those sales. Out of the games I've played, I have three.

One is Astral Chain. Astral Chain did alright for Platinum but with Switch's unstoppable first party momentum, it stills feels like it deserved more. It's not Platinum's best game, but I highly appreciated how it added some more interesting and sometimes less action focused segments and quests to keep things interesting and would kill to see a sequel improved the handful of issues it has (hilariously easy to exploit grading system, lack of engaging characters etc). A sequel could end up as my favorite Platinum game, but despite selling 1 million relatively quickly, it feels like NO ONE bought it after the first few months, so its somehow ended up as just another niche thing they pump out between their once every few years popular game, talked about as much as the actually completely bombed twice Wonderful 101 (if Wonderful 101 on Switch was still published by Nintendo, it would've been my first choice by a mile btw).

Another one is New Pokemon Snap. Which did sell well, I think over 2 million. But every time sales come up, I see the numbers for every mainline Pokemon game and I'm shocked at how far behind New Pokemon Snap is. Maybe I shouldn't be, its a game about taking photos. But Pokemon Snap has been so beloved for so long, that it feels like its far surpassed any other Pokemon spinoff game, with the obvious exception of Pokemon Go. And its been on the past three Nintendo consoles, so I did think it could've been a huge hit. Again, others would kill for 2 million copies sold, but I can't help but think in a just world this would've done 2 or 3 times better. I can't get over how little a mainline Pokemon game has to do to make all the money, but put out the sequel everyone begged for ages and make the best looking Pokemon game ever, and it barely outsells the Pikmin 3 port? Huh?

Advance 1 + 2: Reboot Camp: The Pokemon Snap one bugs me, but it mostly just seems unfair for the series. This has been my biggest frustration with any gaming discussion all year. Finally getting to play Advance Wars on the Switch, even as a remake, has been wonderful. It's just as good as it has always been and its also just been fun to see how much better I've gotten at it over the years. Like I risked getting all S ranks for the campaign (having not even played 2's on it yet). But it apparently doesn't matter, because despite having some really nice 2d animations for the characters, the graphics are bad. Apparently. Like...eh? Are they? Like the actual 3D models. Ignoring the whole toy idea, which is obviously clever if you consider the otherwise nonsense tone of how cheerfully the good guys send people out to die (which granted, would be equally valid to lean into instead of trying to avoid but still, I think it works), I think it looks fine? Like by a lower tier first party Switch game, its fine. A couple of animations are a bit awkward, probably from trying too closely to replicate the old games. But this seems fine. Nothing close to a deal breaker, when you are paying 60 bucks for Switch games in the first place. Quite frankly, compared to half of the Pokemon RPGs and a good chunk of other retro game revivals, it looks kinda good. It certainly looks better than the blandness of NSMB or that new Contra game from IIRC the same company. But I guess its fine that Advance Wars can go back to sleep for 15 years, while Pokemon can release three games in a year that all have far more graphical issues and sell a combined total of close to 60 million. GREAT!

When Mario vs. DK remake was announced, I saw multiple people say they'd buy the game if it was 30 bucks instead of 50. OH OK SO 30 FOR A GBA REMAKE IS FINE BUT 60 FOR 2 IS INEXCUSABLE, THANKS, GOOD TO KNOW. Yes it is worth 60 dollars, there are many worse deals in gaming people are fine with. Granted, even with that said, if I actually believed a price cut would save the game, I'd be begging Nintendo to do it. But I don't think it actually matters, its just an excuse to not buy a game from a niche series.

Now I will say, pseudo-indie game Good Job and The Famicom Detective Club remakes probably are the real answers to this, but I'm not bringing them up because I have yet to play or even buy them tbh. I want to (actually more than most of Nintendo's Switch games I've missed), but sadly I've not gotten around to it. They're so underappreciated even I haven't bothered yet. :V

I have a hard time thinking of many first-party examples outside of the ones you listed. Even the less successful Nintendo IPs like Metroid and Pikmin have been record-breakers on the Switch. Still, I mean, I wish more people would give games like Metroid Dread and Pikmin 4 a shot since they're amazing and deserve to sell as well as Mario and Zelda.

Yeah, I don't really understand why so many people seem to dislike Advance Wars' visual style. Obviously, it's a subjective topic, but I really think it looks good for the most part. I do wish that one sold better since it's a really faithful and comprehensive remake. I hope Nintendo doesn't give up on the series simply because this one just had a rough launch.

My pick would go to Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore. I loved the original on Wii U, the story, characters, Shin Megami Tensei's weakness based battle system, Fire Emblem characters in the mix, the musical performances, I love it. Always hoped the Switch release would help bring this game to more players, I still see it barely get mentioned. I feel this JRPG is underrated on both Switch and Wii U, and more should give it a try.

I have Astral Chain and Pikmin 4 but haven't played either yet and don't have any of the other games mentioned. I've never played the original Pokemon Snap or Advance War games or Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, so I don't have any connection to them. They all seem like great games, though. If I had the money, I'd probably buy all of them and try them out. I do have the Famicom Detective Club remakes and absolutely loved them, but I understand not everyone is interested in that kind of game genre/format.

Anyway, one of my favorite games on Switch is Buddy Mission BOND, which is, unfortunately, Japan-only. I really loved the characters, story, and so many other aspects of the game. I love the game so much that I even purchased the soundtrack and the three Drama CDs they released featuring continuations of the story. At the end of the third Drama CD, they had interviews/commentary from the voice actors where a few mentioned a sequel. I know the game didn't sell all that well, so I don't know if it will get one, though. It does seem to have a following in Japan as they've had a few events. I really wish it would sell more and they'd both localize it for the West so more people could play it and make a sequel where the Drama CDs left off (maybe add those to the sequel?). The game was made by Ruby Party, a division of Koei Tecmo, in collaboration with Nintendo, so it is first-party (you can even use an NSO game voucher to purchase the digital version in Japan).

Another game I think deserved more sales is ARMS. I don't have ARMS and have never played it, but it seems like such a quirky and fun game. It's strange that Splatoon has been such a huge hit but ARMS never made much of a splash. I often wish Nintendo would make their own anime shorts or even full series for some of their games. I'd love to see an ARMS anime fully made by Nintendo, some more Pikmin shorts, some new Buddy Mission BOND clips like they have in the game, etc. Maybe such advertising-as-anime/animated shorts could drum up more interest in some of their less popular series and games?

Snipperclips. It's still among my top 10 Switch games, such a great concept and so wonderfully executed. It's the most fun I've had with any co-op game on the console.

ARMS feels like such an obvious answer to this question that it barely even qualifies as an answer, but that would be my pick. It has a really fun and original gameplay concept and a great cast of characters, both of which have a lot of potential to be expanded on.

I also have a soft spot for 51 Worldwide Games (Clubhouse Games). It doesn't really push the boat out in any way but it's a very solid collection of board games, as well as a few slightly quirkier, more video-gamey minigames. Feels like a bit of a throwback to DS/Wii-era Nintendo, which I'm always here for.

Hmm 🤔 I think my pick would be Animal Crossing New Horizons. This was really popular during Covid times but it seem like now people have kinda pushed it aside.

I'd go with DKC Tropical Freeze. It was underrated in the Wii U era because people were disappointed that it wasn't Metroid Prime 4 but then it was underrated in the Switch era because it released at a point where there was starting to be a lot of 2D platformers (e.g. Kirby Star Allies came out 2 months earlier, NSMBU Deluxe was announced 4 months after, Yoshi's Crafted World was initially scheduled for 2018).

I kind of agree. As flawed as New Horizons was, it felt like the best and biggest step forward for the series since the original. Also, the Happy Home Designer DLC is another Nintendo game that even I haven't bothered with, for some reason(which is weird, as the 3DS HHD is only behind the original as my favorite).

I will say, for a game that's often called one of the greatest platformers ever made, its sold less than you think it would, especially considering how well DKC has sold in the past. Returns on Wii alone I think still beats both versions of Tropical Freeze combined in terms of sales.

ARMS for sure. It has a quirky, but fun concept, excellent character design, and cool music, but the lack of a proper story mode hurt and it got quickly overshadowed by Splatoon 2 a month later.

I also want to add both WarioWare games. Even though Get It Together is a million seller, it seems to be pretty underappreciated, but I thought its difficulty and non-reliance on a console gimmick were good things. Move It doesn't seem to have gotten much attention and might be dismissed as just another Switch party game when it's just as much a quality WarioWare as previous games.

@Croctopus : As a diehard WarioWare fan, I was so disappointed by Get It Together simply because it had been so long since we had a new entry in the series, and it didn't seem to be doing anything novel with the Switch hardware, especially after I had been yearning for a Smooth Moves successor for so long. Had it released after Move It, I think I would have felt differently. Either way, I got nearly 200 hours out of Get It Together, so it wasn't that I didn't wring every ounce of enjoyment out of it.

Gold was released so late into the 3DS's lifespan (over a year into the lifespan of the Switch), only to be a glorified "greatest hits" compilation, and without stereoscopic 3D, which was disappointing, but I still played the hell out of that too. And Game & Wario was mostly underwhelming (though some of the multiplayer modes and toys were absolutely brilliant).

But for now, I'd say I'm content with where WarioWare is at (I'm still itching for a Smooth Moves port). I only wish that they had included some fun novelties with Move It as well.

But in terms of a new instalment, I'm kind of hoping for a more handheld-focused follow-up in the spirit of Twisted (if not a remake with some new activities thrown in, as Europe missed out back in the day).

I feel Dread is pretty underrated... with the mass populous gravitating moreso towards Prime. The latter didn't click with me, but Dread I found to be an incredibly tight experience - and well worth the admission price.

Game Builder Garage

This game is quite unappreciated. It’s nowhere near as quite fun as SMM2 nor unbelievably capable like Dreams (PS4) but this is still a good game.
It does a great job at being a neat and charming introduction to programming, and for people who are interested in that, it does the job of telling you basic fundamentals pretty well.

Super Mario Maker 2
This is such an amazing game, but it feels like everything kinda forgot about it after a while, and it’s such a shame.
It’s incredibly fun to make levels in this game, and the competitive side of MV while laggy at times, is still incredibly fun to play too.
The later additions of new powerups, blocks, world maps, ninji speedruns, etc made this turn into an absolutely spectacular game.

Metroid Dread
While not nearly as forgotten as the other 2, it is still a game that has been slowly been dwindling in discourse.
This is pretty much the perfect metroid game, the gameplay was so fine-tuned that it rivals Celeste in fine-tune-ment.

@DiamondCore : Yeah, I haven't given Game Builder Garage or Super Mario Maker 2 the love that they deserve as they're both terrific tools for budding level/game designers (though I'm still bitter about SMM2 dropping the excellent amiibo support from the first game).

I was such a huge sucker for almost any game that had a level editor when I was a wee lad in the 90s, and these would have been a dream come true for me back in the day, but they're far too much of a time sink for me to invest in as an adult when I could be pursuing a more productive endeavour.

Plus, most of the games/levels that I've made growing up were pretty rubbish, and I'm not sure if I'd have improved much since.

It's a bit weird to suggest Animal Crossing New Horizons is either underrated or underappreciated, since it has an aggregate score of 90 on Metacritic, and it's the second best-selling game of all time on the Switch.

I'm also shocked at how quickly Dread dropped off for how amazing it is.

Maybe it's still big in speedrunning communities?

@rallydefault No idea, but I really did think the game was a class act...

So refreshing as well to play a 1st Party N-Game that was actually... difficult! It didn't have me tearing out my hair like HK/Blasphemous, but there was definite challenge to it

I'm convinced nobody is buying Advance Wars again until they allow you to date the COs lol.

The sales for the remake collection are disappointing, to be sure, although hopefully WF kept costs down enough to still make it sufficiently profitable.

Otherwise, I'm continually disappointed how people will ignore superior monster collecting games like SMT V, Monster Hunter Stories 2, etc. in favor of preordering the latest slapdash Pokemon game, but such is the power of brand recognition, I guess.

I will say I feel like people slept hard on Valkyria Chronicles 4 on Switch, which is disappointing. It was a fantastic port of a pretty awesome and unique game.

Even though it sold over 10m copies, I'd argue Luigi's Mansion 3 is a top-five Switch game.

@rallydefault I think the key thing about Dread dropping off is Silksong. Silksong's reappearance at Xbox Showcase 2022 with Microsoft saying all the games in the showcase were releasing within the next 12 months and the game being day 1 on Game Pass meant it stole the spotlight.