2019: The Year Of The Narrative Games
Ah, 2019. The year before The Year. This was the year in which the Switch Lite was introduced, allowing players to buy a Switch that was slightly cheaper for the trade-off of only being able to play in handheld mode.
It was a fantastic year for narrative games, as Divinity: Original Sin II and Disco Elysium dominated the cultural conversation, while battle royale games like Fortnite dominated the charts of highest-grossing games. It was also arguably The Year of Tetris, with Tetris 99 and Tetris Effect revitalising everyone’s love for the timeless puzzle game (although Tetris Effect wouldn't make it to Switch until 2020). Surely, we’ll save one of the Tetris games, right?
Kate
2019 was a very, very good year for me. And I get to go first, which means I have the pick of the bunch! And my choice is… Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy.
This is the first time I’ve picked a game that I think exemplifies what is truly great about the Switch, and what became slowly more apparent as the years went by: It’s a fantastic place to catch up on games that you might have missed. It’s a really accessible little console, and Nintendo’s utter dedication to ports – whether you love it or hate it – makes it really easy to play a whole ton of their best games in one place. The Ace Attorney games are best on DS, if you ask me, but they’re best played on the Switch.
Ollie
This will be my first ‘obvious’ pick of the bunch, but I simply can’t leave this one out: Luigi’s Mansion 3. I mean, it’s potentially still the most beautiful looking game on the Switch, right?
It’s also leaps and bounds ahead of what was achieved with Dark Moon on 3DS, with an incredible variety of rooms and floors to explore. It’s got plenty of replay value, with lots of little bits and bobs to collect as you scale the hotel, and we all love a bit of Professor E. Gadd. Just wonderful stuff.
Alana
2019 is probably the hardest year for me, and it might be the year I’ve put the least amount of time into my Switch. But one game that snuck in and took me by surprise is AI: The Somnium Files.
It shouldn’t have surprised me, though! 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward are both incredible puzzle games that make you sweat and twist your brain in ways you never thought were possible. AI does a little bit less of that, but it shows what Kotaro Uchikoshi can do with a budget, and the team managed to create some wonderful characters who were engaging and likeable. It was hard to watch them go through what they had to in order to find out the truth, and the truth will shock you.
(Kate - This has just reminded me that I need to play AI: The Somnium Files. Thank you, Alana!)
(Ollie - I’ve actually been meaning to play this one for a while, too. I think it’s on Game Pass actually, so I might save myself a few pennies and play it there.)
Gav
Cadence of Hyrule: Ridiculously And Needlessly Convoluted Subtitle has to be my biggest surprise of 2019.
After a Big Zelda SoundtrackTM took a backseat in BOTW and Nintendo let the grandeur of the landscape itself do the heavy lifting, Cadence felt like a love letter to the series’ romping roster of themes. Add in the addictive beat-based gameplay which tied your movement and adventure very directly into music, and it was easily my most delightful gaming experience of 2019.
Tom
Well this is a bit of a disaster, as there are two games I love and I can only save one; I have to consign a first-party strategy RPG that I spent 200 hours playing into gaming purgatory. That’s because I have to save Sayonara Wild Hearts.
It’s a glorious ‘visual album’ that you can clear in about 50 minutes, but I play it through at least once a month. Lovely music, a touching story and unique presentation. Oh to think of the game I just binned, I need a lie down…
Important 2019 games that are now in the bin:
Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Pokémon Sword & Shield, Link’s Awakening, Ring Fit Adventure, Super Mario Maker 2, Dragon Quest XI S, Tetris 99, Baba Is You, Yoshi’s Crafted World, Cuphead, Slay The Spire, Untitled Goose Game, Ori and the Blind Forest
Thoughts: Listen, this was a busy year. We are only five people, and we can't save everything. Fire Emblem and Pokémon SwSh were both great zeitgeisty games, but... well, they weren't the kind of games that cemented themselves in our hearts forever. Still, it's a little bit sad to see Ring Fit Adventure get binned, because it was definitely one of the most engaging fitness games we've seen in a long time.
Comments 55
I can’t believe you left Smash Ultimate behind. At least you saved Dread though.
For me personally:
2017- Breath Of The Wild
2018- Super Smash Bros Ultimate
2019- Fire Emblem Three Houses
2020- Super Mario 3D All Stars (First time I played Galaxy)
2021- Metroid Dread
Honourable mentions are Super Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition and Dragon Quest XI
No Smash, no Odyssey, no Rocket League or Fortnite, no Skyrim or Witcher. All things considered this is still a pretty damn good list.
HEY! Where is fighting games, huh!? Where is BLAZBLUE CENTRALFICTION Special Edition, UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe:Late[cl-r], BLAZBLUE CROSS TAG BATTLE, CHAOS CODE -NEW SIGN OF CATASTROPHE-, GUILTY GEAR XX ΛCORE PLUS R, and Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection? Where is Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, Crypt of the NecroDancer and Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n Fun? Oh, and where is Scott Pilgrim vs. The World The Game – Complete Edition!?
I think we can officially say that squid games style, while a fun concept, is not a super great way to make a top games list.
For me it goes like this:
2017: XC2
2018: Torna
2019: DQ11
2020: XC1 DE
2021: Monster Hunter Rise
Honorable mentions: Smash Ult, SMT V, Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8dx
@RBRTMNZ luckily, we already have a top games list! This was just for fun
@moodycat ✨ opinions ✨
For me it would be
2017: Super Mario Odyssey
2018: Kirby Star Allies (only because I realized I haven't played many 2018 games and I wouldn't mind if Smash Bros. Ultimate died)
2019: Cuphead
2020: Paper Mario: The Origami King (yes, really)
2021: Metroid Dread
Runner-ups: Miitopia, Luigi's Mansion 3, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Tetris Effect: Connected, Pac-Man 99, WarioWare: Get It Together!, Sonic Mania (Sonic Forces can die and nothing of value would be lost except for Episode Shadow)
@moodycat I like the second one better! Haha. The first one is fantastic but it’s just so easy.
Monster Hunter Rise, Age of Calamity and Dragon Quest 11s are the 3 that would burn the most to see go. There's obviously some other bangers on that bin list but those 3 are necessities too me.
2017: botw
2018: Okami hd
2019: links awakening, this was the game that made me a Zelda fan, to much nostalgia to leave it behind
2020: Oragami king, thought about all stars and ori but I can play those on other consoles. Plus oragami king is my favorite game in the series.
2021: skyward sword, I love rise but I like Zelda more.
2017- breath of the wild
2018- super smash bros ultimate!
2019- Fire emblem three houses (I love that game with all of my heart)
2020- Xenoblade Chronicles DE (also love that game)
2021- Danganronpa!!
@KateGray Yeah glad you all stuck to your guns on your picks. Fun list and great read - why not make it an annual feature updated for close of each year (adding '22 to the pile).
Odyssey, Super smash bros ultimate, yoshis crafted world, 3d all stars and 3d world + bowsers fury
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A lovely format, and the list is pretty good. Reminded me that I haven't played Sayonara Wild Hearts in a while. Time to put it on!
My list would be (I've played ~10 games from each year):
2017: Rayman Legends, for its musical levels and overall flow.
2018: Yoku's Island Express. Many good games that year, but with this one I enjoyed every single moment.
2019: Sayonara Wild Hearts obviously.
2020: Xenoblade Chronicles 1. I'm ~3 hours till the end of the bonus game, and have already bought the japanese art book. So pretty!
2021: Doki Doki Literature Club Plus. The only game (yet) that made me cry. And reintroduced me to the VN genre.
What a great console. I hope it never dies.
@KateGray totally. I'm not being critical at all. I enjoyed this article and am commenting on the method for the sake of discussing the method. It's fun for me to exam how process effects results.
2017 – Mario Odyssey out and Puyo Puyo Tetris in? I am the comments and no, I’m not happy! Jk 😉
OMG Tom Saved Sayonara Wild Hearts! I was slowly reading through hoping to see it pop up and it did! SWH Is absolutely glorious and I too play it through regularly. I bought it the night my Wife got the all clear from the hospital after surgery. After months of misery this beautiful game beamed itself into my eyes and the soundtrack buried itself in my head. I finished it that night, cried in relief as I checked on my wife who was fast asleep. I "fell back into my groove" Thank you for picking it Tom
The important thing is that you saved Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the greatest video game of all time. The fact that so many of my other favorite games ended up in the bin shall be passed over.
Fun idea! For me I'd go;
2017 Splatoon 2
2018 Hollow Knight
2019 Fire Emblem... Luigi's Mansion 3... Shield.... Astral Chain... Good year, don't know.... Fire Emblem! I'll go Fire Emblem! (I think?)
2020 Age of Calamity
2021 Skyward Sword HD (sorry Dread, extremely close second though)
2022 I'm thinking it'll end up being Arceus (Zelda/Silksong would be it's main rivals IF they launch)
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Absolutely brutal. I think we may have to get divorced NL. No Mario Odyssey. I’m sorry- It’s not me it’s you. We’re finished.
I'd keep all the Indies and throw most of Nintendo's titles in the bin.
My Switch is an indie machine and I'm fine with that.
I'd save:
2017: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
2018: Night in the Woods
2019: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
2020: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
2021: Mutazione
2022: Pokémon Legends Arceus
As a someone who lives in the bin, I very much appreciate this initiative. Thank you for all the delicious video games. Celeste and Splatoon 2 alone will keep me very happy for a long time, and Smash will be a pleasant palate cleanser.
I live in a bin - my palate needs a good cleanse. So does the rest of me.
I’m incredibly triggered now after seeing what’s in the bin.
Guuuaaaaaarrrrrrghhhhh…….
I can forgive Splatoon and Smash, but I can’t believe you left out the Untitled Goose Game.
How could you!
Hmm… here’s my list:
2017 - Breath of the Wild (Odyssey is much better in my opinion, but I haven’t finished BotW so I would want to play it more)
2018 - Probably Celeste. Or Undertale. Smash would be 3rd place.
2019 - Mario Maker 2. One of my favourite games of all time and one of the only good games from that year (that I played)
2020 - ACNH, no doubt. Or Deltarune Chapter 2, but that was technically just an update.
2021 - SM3DW+BF. The only game I’ve played from that year, so no choice there, even though I don’t even own it.
Nice to see some love for AI: The Somnium Files on here.
If I had to pick a favorite Switch release from every year (ignoring whether or not games are exclusive)...
2017 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2018 - Valkyria Chronicles 4
2019 - Cuphead
2020 - Paper Mario: The Origami King
2021 - The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
My picks are Mario Odyssey (the question of wether it’s better than BOTW is up for debate, but what’s not is that it’s much more replayable), Smash Bros Ultimate (the best fighting game ever made), Mario Maker 2 (I my most played game of all time), Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (my favorite of the year, I suppose), and Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (my favorite video game of all time).
Runners up:
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (I like it much more than BOTW, sorry)
Undertale (one of my favorite games of all time, and one that deserves the praise it gets)
Luigi’s Mansion 3 (simply atmospheric perfection, and one of the best looking games on the system)
Animal Crossing:New Horizons (I guess? Or Paper Mario? Maybe 3D All Stars? 2020 was really barren)
Deltarune Chapter 2 (lots of 8/10 games on the system that year, but this is the only game I’d really consider phenomenal:
@BabyYoda71
The fact that Deltarune Chapter 2 was released in 2021 sort of clears up the list a little bit.
2017: Splatoon 2 (my favorite bar none)
2018: Super Smash Bros Ultimate
2019: Ring Fit Adventure (my daily exercise)
2020: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
2021: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
2022: ???
You guys put Three Houses in the bin!? Criminal!
Leaving smash and fire emblem behind burned me in a way I never expected an internet list to be capable of.
Here are my save picks if I could.
2021 Mario party superstars, so great to have classic Mario party. One of my favorite games growing up one of my favorites today.
2020 Hades (sorry nexomon bloodstained2 and hero hours)
2019 Fire Emblem Three Houses. Blue Lions 💙
2018 There are too many amazing games that came out this year to apologize to but I HAVE to save Smash
2017 If Skyrim weren't multiplatform I'd save that, but since it's only switch that we're killing I'm gonna save Zelda
@JakedaArbok Haha, forgot that. People always say Chapter 2 was released 2 years after Chapter 1 and it always throws me off because it was actually closer to 3 years. It drives me nuts and ruins my timeline.
2017: Super Mario Odyssey. Why didn’t you do this?
2018: Smash Bros. Ultimate. Easy Peasy.
2019: Super Mario Maker 2. I hate you guys for not doing this.
2020: I wanna say Animal Crossing but I only got it for Christmas in 2021 so I have to go with Paper Mario.
2021: Oof… so many good games… WarioWare… Miitopia… 3D World + BF… I think WarioWare? Yeah. WarioWare.
2017: Breath of the Wild (Xenoblade Chronicles 2 comes so close!)
2018: Smash Bros Ultimate
2019: Astral Chain
2020: Xenoblade Chronicles DE
2021: Metroid Dread
2022: Kirby and the Forgotten Land
2023: Breath of the Wild 2 (yeah it's not making 2022)
Here is my list.
2017: LoZ Breath of the Wild
2018: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2019: Super Mario Maker 2
2020: Animal Crossing New Horizons
2021: Metroid Dread
2022: Pokemon Legends Arceus (so far)
If I have to save one more from each year, it'd be Mario Odyssey, Smash Ultimate, Witcher 3, Xenoblade DE, and Skyward Sword HD. But since this list is mostly things I didn't even bother to play, here's mine.
2017- Mario Odyssey, SteamWorld Dig 2, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
2018- Hollow Knight, Smash Ultimate, Dark Souls, Just Shapes & Beats, Bayonetta 1/2
2019- Witcher 3, Astral Chain, Dragon's Dogma, Boxboy+Boxgirl, Link's Awakening
2020- Xenoblade Chronicles DE, Mario 3D All-Stars (also mainly for Sunshine), Animal Crossing, Foregone, Pokemon Rescue Team DX
2021- Skyward Sword HD, Sky: Children of the Light, Metroid Dread, Monster Hunter Rise, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond
I spent most of last year catching up on older games, so the last three are still sitting there waiting for me, but I don't want them getting deleted before I even give them a chance.
Almost all of these are indies! No thanks. I'll stick to my Xenoblade, Fire Emblem and Pokemon. These are the reason I own a Switch.
Breath of the Wild 2017
Smash Bros 2018
Fire Emblem Three Houses 2019
Paper Mario the Origami King 2020
Metroid Dread 2021
Breath of the Wild 2 2022
Three honourable mentions, Super Mario Odyssey, Cruis'n Blast and Streets of Rage 4.
They didn’t take their job seriously.
(And neither did I, relax.)
But for Link’s Awakening and Odyssey’s sake, shame on you lol. You could’ve all worked together to make the world a better place, but you (mostly) just selfishly picked your lil quirky pleasures.
Ha, I liked the content, do more like this.
EDIT: As revenge, I’m going to pick 5 games and delete all others (ignoring release year).
Rabi-Ribi - Yes, that one! 😈
Captain Toad - Because no one supported it, and now you’ll all be forced to suffer!
Mystik Belle - See above!
Pocky & Rocky - It’s the future now! Enjoy it, scum!! 😅???
Cotton Reboot! - Another anime witch girl! Miss Odyssey yet!? 😜
And last but not least, Kero Blaster! Because it’s a damn fine game, and I like to break the rules with a 6th entry! 😁
Yes @Ralizah! Valkyria Chronicles 4 is one I would never miss.
Woulda loved to see Skyrim and Rocket League saved too.
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Surprised by the amount of hate in these comments, this is a super solid list. Most switch owners I know bought it for either breath of the wild or animal crossing alone; even if this were the whole.catalog it would be a banger console. Also love the praise for Disco Elysium. Even if the Switch port is the worst version, it's still easily a must-have game.
@aSmilingMan VC4 was such a solid iteration on the first game, and it's one of those PS4 ports that's almost indistinguishable from the home console version. A real pity the DLC never goes on sale for the Switch version, though.
Picking one game a year definitely distorts the list. While The Origami King was my favorite release in 2020, for example, there are a number of 2017 and 2019 releases I'd optimally choose to keep first.
@tseliot I mean, Elden Ring isn't on Switch. No real reason to keep posting about it.
I literally stopped reading after Ultimate was thrown in the bin. Later, lol!
@KateGray
I reckon if the five of you each got 1 bin diver pass you could turn this into a pretty definitive list!
Articles like this really demonstrate which games have had a truly lasting impact.
I understand that it's sad to see Smash Bros and Mario Odyssey get binned, but this would have been an incredibly boring list if we'd all picked the first party Nintendo games 😅
I'm glad we chose a mixture of blockbusters and weird indies, since that's what the Switch is all about!
I love that A Short Hike and Yoku's Island Express made the list since they're probably both in my top 5.
Wrong, wrong, wrong! You heartless monsters! Nobody chose Astral Chain for 2019!
My list would be:
2017 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2018 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2019 Astral Chain
2020 Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
2021 Metroid Dread
@Axecon
Just read your comment and realized our lists are near identical ha ha! You have great taste!
@TheRealMr_Carpainter Excellent picks! Of course it's too hard to pick just one game per year, this console is just hit after hit!
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