Zelda: Breath of the Wild Rises Up The UK Charts

Basically, if you've just got a Switch, these are the 5 games you MUST have for it:

BotW
MK8D
Splatoon 2
Mario Odyssey
ARMS

If you don't have any of these, buy them, now.

If you think you've tried ARMS and not really got into it, give the motion controls another go, stop taking it so seriously, and just have fun with it - it's brilliant.

@gcunit Arms is debatable, I'd swap that with mushroom kingdom battle.

@Kalmaro No, ARMS is not debateable - it's a unique game, executed very well - it's the best reason for the joy cons to be detachable so far. You can't get a game like it anywhere else that's anywhere near as good.

Mario & Rabbids is #6

@gcunit It's a unique game for sure, I just didn't find it interesting. Mushroom Kingdom battle manged to bring Mario to a style of game he's never really been to and knocked it out of the park. I'd put it over ARMS.

@gcunit agree but arms should be replaced with mario rabbids kingdom battle

Games usually "climb the charts" like this when there haven't been any new releases for a while. The hype dies down for say Xenoblade as the last big retail release and the games that are top sellers, keep selling. Nothing new really. If BOTW had jumped back to spots 1-3, that would be a big deal.

It's the usual suspects propping up the Switch each week and all 1st party bar Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle which is a collaboration.

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@gcunit mario rabbids > arms

played arms for 2 hrs and never bothered to play it again ... BORING

ARMS over Mario +Rabbids any day of the week.

@gcunit pro controller is the way to go in arms

I prefer Mario Rabbids to Arms myself but many just don't see it as a full priced game and it still is at least here in NA

There have been Switch game shortages too! Amazon UK ran out of Odyssey and MK8, only available from sellers. My local game didn't have a single first party game in with "Available to order" signs displayed.

Ps. Game hiked all there prices up post Christmas, Odyssey went up to £55.

I really wanted to get into Arms, but being released so close to Splatoon 2 I could really only give one of them the attention they deserve. Nothing is getting ahead of S2.

@gcunit Your comment needs a disclaimer: For those who have never owned a Wii U...

We have SMO, bought the $380 bundle, but have Zelda BotW on Wii U, also have MK8, after 150 hours of way too intense (read: loud expletives) Splatoon my wife has banned S2 from our house (that's not a joke, she has), we're waiting for my sons birthday Sunday for ARMS, and for Mario + Rabbids and XC2's DLC to finish. Mostly waiting on the Direct to see 2018's release date calendar so we can pace ourselves.

For those in the UK, you can get ARMS on sale on the eShop until Thursday.

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2018/January/Nintendo-eShop-sale-Happy-New-Year-Sale-1323916.html

@rjejr Bit early but happy birthday to your son! Hope he enjoys ARMS, it's my boys favourite game, ahead of Odyssey & Splatoon 2. My nephew bought it digitally immediately after seeing my son playing it over the course of a weekend... I haven't had the heart to tell his Mum it literally went on sale on the eShop days after. Ouch! Still, he's loving it, that's the main thing.

I can't hate on ARMS because I've played it and enjoyed it. If money was no object, ARMS would already be in my collection. But I'm limited financially and ARMS hasn't cut the chopping block yet for me....

This article...snore....c'mon Nintendo, where is that Direct?

Arms is an excellent game and definatly in my top 5!

@MartyFlanMJFan "I haven't had the heart to tell his Mum it literally went on sale on the eShop days after. Ouch!"

I've raised my sons on sales, so they know to wait, their dad is an unemployed cheapskate. We are throwing my son a $5,000 birthday party the following weekend for his bar mtizvah, so he has that going for him, so we weren't going to buy him any gifts, but he's wanted ARMS so bad this holiday I think I'm going to get it for him anyway. Boy needs something to open on his birthday. Though we are taking him out for a $100 pancake breakfast at Applebees so he has that going for him as well. (Our definition of "cheapskate" in the US is probably different from yours over there, there's a funny film called "Keeping Up With the Steins" if you're interested in our keeping up w/ the Joneses.)

Glad you and the kids are finally getting to play on the Switch and having fun, I know you waited a long time. Maybe we'll see you online. I got your Switch friend request. The name was just "Dad" but I assumed it was you b/c the avatar looked like MJ in his red Thriller shirt.

@Kalmaro
ARMS was debatable ?
Really ?
But i found ARMS caught my attention more than Mario + Rabbids.
Since there is NO Cooking Mama on Switch, ARMS is my Short Burst games.
ARMS could be Enjoyable for people with Unique personality or Unique interest.
Mainstream peoples probably hardly to accept the uniqueness.
And i can see most UK gamers Hate something Unique like ARMS.
Tsk tsk tsk...

Almost a year in and The Switch is still a 1 trick nintendo pony.

Just playing ZBOTW, MK8, SMO And S2 in a row is cartoony graphics overload - I would loose my mind.

@gcunit I'd probably replace Arms with Mario + Rabbids on your list, too, but you have a good point about how unique Arms is and for that I'd give it an edge over Mario + Rabbids, but just a little edge.

Also @rjejr is right. Wii U owners would drastically alter that list as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe goes way down (though the portability makes it a better party game on Switch than Wii U), and Splatoon 2, while quite awesome, could be considered less important as well.

For truly universal "must own", where anybody who bought a Switch needs to try them, I'd put Mario Odyssey on top, with Breath of the Wild underneath at 2nd (even though my personal preference has BotW on top) and I think I'd end the list right there at 2 games.

Then, one really needs to consider what the Switch owner likes as far as genre, etc. I suspect Mario Kart Deluxe would be number 3 for most anyone who missed out on Wii U, though. So many other Switch owners will have it as their primary ad hoc multiplayer game that it's almost a requirement to own if you take your Switch on the go ... maybe even for people who own it on Wii U, come to think of it.

Maybe it does belong at number 3 regardless of owning Wii U or not. Hmm...

@gcunit ARMS is SUPER boring and Splatoon is only for those people who like Multiplayer games imo. I personally play with my friends on PC and play singleplayer games on SWITCH. You can't just put in 5 MUST BY GAMES and not specify why, because gaming like anything else is subjective. IMO ARMS is not great it's okay. It's a fighting game with a unique controlscheme and cute characters, but I would rather play Tekken or Soul Calibur any day than ARMS. Replay value in ARMS is not very great and the lack of singleplayer-modes is just abismal. Splatoon 2 is great if you like those kinds of games. Singleplayer mode is boring and adds nothing new to the table but multiplayer is REALLY funny, but not really something that I want to spend time on because I play PC with my friends. I would bet that Splatoon will be more recommendable when the Nintendo Online service goes live. Zelda and Mario! YES. Both game of the year contesters which Zelda won. If you like great singleplayer experiences both games will leave you satisfied. Mario Kart is Mario Kart you either like it or you don't I personally love it, but it's best when you play it splitscreen with friends.

@Galenmereth
ARMS , Smash Bros and Traditional Fighting games (Street Fighter & Tekken) are much like between 3 Different species of animals.
ARMS is all about "Dhalsim" fighting style, Supportive or Destructive items during Battle and sort of Gloves in 3rd person view, just like Boxing games.
Smash Bros is all about pushing your opponents out of the ring, just like Sumo.
Street Fighter or Tekken are Basic Fighting games.
ARMS doesn't have Unique Desperation Moves like KOF / Street Fighter but it doesn't mean it Lose its uniqueness.

If peoples still expect ARMS has to be same like Street Fighter, with No Extended Arms like Spring (But Duh... the game itself named ARMS) , you will get bored quickly.

ARMS is NOT same with Street Fighter.
They are like between Lion and Tiger.
Same Feline animals but different looking and species.

For me, Tekken / Virtua Fighter are Boring. No Super Arts Meter, No play. Even Tekken 7 finally had Desperation Moves (but must be on Low HP) but the way to execute Desperation Moves was not impressive for me. I can say SF Alpha 3 or 3rd Strike are much much better than Tekken.

My Top 5 must have physical:
1. LoZ BoTW
2. Super Mario Odyssey
3. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
4. Ultra Street Fighter II
5. Lego City Undercover

My Top 5 must have eshop
1. Shovel Knight Treasure Trove
2. Enter the Gungeon
3. Blossom Tales
4. Fast RMX
5. Hammerwatch
Bonus demos: Puyo Puyo Tetris and Pinball FX3.

My Top 5 must have Arcade titles:
1. Metal Slug
2. Aerofighters 2
3. Gunbird
4. Shock Troopers
5. Metal Slug X

Splatoon 2 got repeatative for me after 20 hours(sold it), Arms got boring after 20 mins of the test punch, and Mario Rabbids co-op was fun with my buddy who is into Xcom-type games. All just my opinion and interest, yours may vary.

@Geeks4Life
ARMS was boring ?
Boring what ?
I played ARMS a lot when i was bored with my other games.
What made you get bored ?
The Weird Extended Arms that like a Spring or Telephone cables ?
The weird looking characters ?
Actually, i can see ARMS is almost looks like Dragon Ball fighting but with No Kamehameha, No flying in the sky, No Saiyan transformation, No teleportation.

It all depends on people taste. Since I am not into strategy games, I don't have Mario & rabbids. I was into arms from day one and enjoyed playing it.

@gcunit ARMS is $40 too expensive for what it is, which is probably why I'll never own it.

Kingdom Battle is a WAY better investment, imo.

@aaronsullivan I like unique stuff as well, but it's possible that I be uniquely boring. Kinda like having a glowing polkadot horse that just sleeps all day. Pretty unique but just doesn't interest me.

"ARMS is better than Kingdom Battle!!!"
"no, Kingdom battle is better!!!!"

Wow. Just choose for yourself people. I don't like fighting games, doesn't mean Kingdom Battle is a better game. Stop making these dumb lists.

@Anti-Matter It's just an opinion and it's just my opinion Fighting games are fun but ARMS just didn't do anything for me after I played for about 3 hours total. No singleplayer nothing for me to do but play online and it just got boring imo. BUT COME ON! To call ARMS AMAZING is waaaaay overstating what this game actually is. You may like the game sure, but there are way better figthing games than this, but those games are sadly not available on the switch "yet".

@aaronsullivan Thanks for supporting my insanity yet again.

We own a Switch, and here's the complete list of Switch games we own, eShop and physical.

SMO, Lego Marvel 2, Sonic Forces, Snipperclips Plus.

To me Snipperclips is the "must own" should have been bundled game for the Switch, to show off tabletop multiplayer. We got it for $24 w/ Prime, so it's a cheaper pack-in than a $60 game. Or whatever 1 2 Switch costs these days.

Now I'd recommend Zelda BotW over anything out there right now, and SMO second, but that's what we own on Switch. As far as the whole - well if you own it on Wii U you still need to own it on Switch for portability - argument goes, I'd buy Doom and Skyrim over MK8D or Splatoon 2. Both of those are single player offline, and I dont' want to worry about WiFi for online games like Splatoon 2 or MK8D.

But I really wish they held off on the XC2 season pass announcement a few months, maybe just have 1 story pack like Horizon did. Zelda should have had a $15 Champions Ballad and gave us the rest for our $60. A green line, a teleport, a hard mode? Those are updates, not DLC. Not sure what XC2 will have for $30, but half the price of the game is a lot to ask. Does that mean half the game is still in development? For that price they should wait a year for a sequel.

But yeah, our Switch games line-up is not representative of what's good on Switch.

@rjejr lol yeah that's me I set up a profile on his Switch... but I haven't had much opportunity to play as yet, hopefully I'll get my own in time though!

All I noticed this morning was all the Switch games were out of stock everywhere.

@Hikingguy Yeah, I played the Global Testpunch and didn't really get into ARMS. After reading the comments though I'm tempted to buy it.

@Ralizah Admittedly, I would not have paid full price for it (I missed the test punches so was going in blind), but I found a retailer offering a £20-off voucher and just couldn't refuse.

I've not put the time in I've wanted to yet, but I'm never getting rid of it - unique games need celebrating and cherishing.

@aaronsullivan I was about to give you real props for acknowledging that uniqueness deserves special treatment, but then you went and blasphemed by daring to utter that MK8D goes 'way down' - MK8D never goes down, MK8D is love.

@rjejr That disclaimer wouldn't really work... seeing as I own a (actually 2) Wii Us.

It doesn't matter what's gone before - if you own a Switch but not those 5 games then you're doing it wrong

@gcunit I don't think arms is for me... I still need to get Zelta though.

I’d like see ARMS given a real promotional push in the UK. It’s far too good to sit so far down the charts. It’s original and a brilliant Nintendo IP. It really should be up there as one of the games of last year. The more you play the game the better it gets. C’m on Nintendo UK- get it publicised with a big New Year push.

@gcunit "then you're doing it wrong"

Sorry, my idea of "doing it wrong" is double dipping.

Don't see why I "MUST have for it" on Switch when I already have it on Wii U. Splatoon 2 is a new game, but I'm not throwing away my marriage over it, but Zelda is the same and MK8D doesn't seem to have added much we don't already own from the season pass.

So while I may agree they are MUST own games, I don't agree people must have it for Switch. If it makes you feel any better I own a PS4 but there are a lot of games I don't own on it either since I already played them on PS3.

In the UK, Nintendo has sold almost as much Switch software in 2017 as they sold 3DS software in 2016, despite the Switch's significantly lower install base and its current lack of a mainline Pokemon entry.

@gcunit It's very debateable. I didn't enjoy it at all even after playing 5-6 hours. Mario and Rabbids was way better.

@westman98 that's great, I like your nuggets of extra information and statistics, where do you get them from if you don't mind me asking?

@MartyFlanMJFan Two words, early bedtime. (I checked, Google says its' 2 words)

@rjejr tomorrow is their first day back to school since Christmas, believe it or not! I've literally just bathed them and put them to bed... absolutely no chance they'll be sleeping anytime soon though after the last two weeks of staying up reading, watching movies & playing Switch. My son has absolutely loved getting kicked off the main living room TV & continuing to play on his own TV or handheld mode, declaring the Switch as 'so awesome!' every time lol. Oh hello he's just appeared downstairs again to tell me a joke 😂

@MartyFlanMJFan "Oh hello he's just appeared downstairs again to tell me a joke"

He just came down to make sure you weren't playing on his Switch.

My kids went back to school last Tuesday. Then they had snow days Thursday and Friday when we had 16" on snow on Thursday and freezing temps on Friday. It's almost like they had 2 vacations.

@MartyFlanMJFan
Best selling Switch games in the UK in 2017:
1) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
2) Super Mario Odyssey
3) The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
4) 1 2 Switch
5) Splatoon 2
6) Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
7) FIFA 18

The Top 3 games have each sold over 300,000 copies, with Mario Odyssey on its way to becoming the Switch's best seller. The Top 6 have each sold over 100,000 copies, with Mario + Rabbids being a few hundred copies shy from outselling Splatoon 2.

Gamesindustry.biz and their writers' Twitter accounts are a good source of info, believe it or not.

Note that these numbers are retail only. Given that the Switch has a higher digital attach rate than the 3DS, its possible that Switch software sales in 2017 exceeded 3DS software sales in 2016 in the UK.

@westman98 Cool thanks, keep sharing 👍

Nintendo Life,
Change the way you present the UK chart. It is archaic.
Secondly, add more European countries where Nintendo Switch is actually much stronger than in the UK.

Still amazed by how many people are buying and experiencing this game for the first time. It's like the hype last March just didn't reach them.

@Cosats the people who compile the UK charts request that sites don't reproduce them so this is the only way for them share this with us, via an article pointing out the relevant, to us, positions and link to their site so we can see the chart in full if we wish. Personally I look forward to and enjoy this article each Monday @nintendolife

@rjejr
Yeah that’s true. I don’t buy into this “must own” thing.
I buy the games “I must own”, not what everyone tells me I must own.

I don’t really want to keep buying the same old game over and over again because of better graphics.
Twilight Princess on the GC, Wii, WiiU and some want it on the Switch. The exact same game.

Saying that, on the Switch a lot of the games everyone tells me I must own I DO want to own.

Snipperclips is also very underrated.

@JaxxDuffer I agree with you there. I bought ARMS for my son not long after he got Splatoon 2. I think in total we have put about 20-30 hours into ARMS and 300+ hours into Splatoon 2 (that’s both of us together).

ARMS is best played with friends (imo). Playing it 2 or 4 player is lots of fun, but single player it always loses out to Splatoon 2 (or BotW or Mario Odyssey). In fact I don’t think I have played single player ARMS yet, my son did some online but that was it.

We also have MK8 for multiplayer which has probably had an equal amount of play to ARMS, but we already spent 100+ hours on the Wii U version. And that is fantastic multiplayer.

@gcunit I can't really disagree since I own all of those, but there are others I would add to the list in Stardew Valley, Xenoblade 2, and Disgaea 5.

@Hotfusion "Snipperclips is also very underrated."

Had it been THE Switch game instead of 1 2 Switch I think it would have gotten a lot more coverage, I feel like people wrote it and 1 2 Switch both off out of hand. The price vs graphics may have also been an issue. And that Zelda game gathering all the headlines all year long. And ARMS and Splatoon 2 and MK8D. I still like it. Though in all fairness I still haven't played 1 2 Switch but I can't imagine I'd like it as much, I hate quick played games, anything in the Wario series always left me feeling empty.

I think the problem with ARMS may be the investment of more joycons. at least for me, I can't see myself buying those right know as I have other hobbies that need attention and to fully have the whole experience I need those joycons to play with my kids but I know I will get it eventually

@gcunit well this list you provided is slightly off but gaming is subjective, everyone has an opinion, what i would suggest is try not to get so worked up if someone doesn't like your suggestion. No ARMS is defo debatable, because if it wasn't it would have done a lot better than it has so far. I personally found that as fun to play as pulling my eyelids off my eyes, its by far the worse game in Nintendo's lineup. Xenoblade 2 would be a better choice if you must suggest another Nintendo title, but you haven't given any 3rd parties love so you cant wonder why 3rd parties dont give Nintendo gamers any love.

I would change one of your suggestions with a good 3rd party pickup, Doom is a good shout.

@Cosats Well considering Nintendo is actually more popular in most European countries aside from Germany, i dont see how that would change or even help anything?

France, Italy, Spain and many Northern European countries are either into PC gaming or in the case of Italy and Spain, PS4 mainly.

Only country in Europe that actually gives Nintendo real love is Germany closely followed by the UK.

@Razer ARMS had me running and jumping round my living room in victorious glee this morning - you can't tell me Xenoblade Chronicles 2 doors that for you.

And don't worry, nothing I ever (usually) say is serious, nearly everything I post has my tongue in my cheek.

@gcunit haha no but in all honesty i haven't run around like that since i was like 14 with my N64 😂😂, no game would have my 33 year old ass hyped up like this.

But i do admit there has been a hand full of games in the last 7 years that have gotten me particularly excited and made me take days off work

Skyrim
Witcher 3
Gta 5
Botw

Also shout outs to Link between worlds and smash bros 3ds, neither made me take time off work tho but defo got me as excited.

And i must add, something which you should know already, i currently do not own a Switch, I've been fortunate enough to play on my partners and my brothers but i dont own one just yet.

I have been itching to get one since July so although i dont run around screaming for any particular game, i more than likely will for the console, the problem will be that being 33 years old,my run around and scream will likely happened after the purchase, in the shop, resulting in my arrest. Im prepared for it 😂

@Kalmaro Sure, but I was valuing the unique aspect in a list of must-have games for the Switch, where having games with experiences you can't get anywhere else seemed more important to me. For instance, you might put Call of Duty lower on a must have for PS4 owners even though it's super popular because, well, it's on Xbox and PC, too.

@gcunit I thought I was pretty fair and mostly agreed with you on MK8D. Did you read my whole comment?

@aaronsullivan I find mushroom kingdom battle pretty unique but if we're going by pure uniqueness, hard to beat ARMS

@Kalmaro Yeah. Maybe a better example is that you can get many turn based strategy games elsewhere, and in fact X-Com is very close in gameplay at least, where there are less games that are as close to Arms that I know of. Still, we are talking about picking nits here. They are both excellent games as far as quality goes and someone's personal favorite type of gaming is going to be much more persuasive in deciding than place value in any list.