Feature: 33 Games We're Surprised Still Aren't On Switch

Look here now…the fact Donkey Kong Country Returns isn’t on this list is just…mind boggling. One of the best Nintendo titles ever released, and it’s STILL stuck on the Wii and 3DS (which is a slightly inferior version).

Nintendo…please…pleaseeeeee re-release this game!!!!

I’ll keep beating this drum.

The Disney Afternoon Collection

Had to double check but amazingly NO F-Zero GX in this list?!?!

And I'll keep beating this drum.

Trauma Team

The entire Dreamcast backlog wouldn't go amiss, sonic adventure 2, soul Caliber 2, shemnue (on the move this would be amazing). Basically I miss my Dreamcast and would happily play the games again if they were available

I want Dance Dance Revolution return on Switch and PS5.

At this point I really hope Monolith Soft saves XCX for the Switch 2.
I'd much rather have this game in 1440p60fps (or whatever the Switch 2 can handle) instead of 720-1080p30fps on Switch

I want Pushmo and Dr. Mario
yeah I know there are 3 Dr. Mario games you can play on Switch but none of them have an option to play against randos online, just friends, so give me a new Dr. Mario with more robust online options
as for Pushmo it can either be a bundle of all 3DS games plus Pushmo World or a brand new game, I'm not too picky

Xenoblade X, Twilight, Wind Waker are very large surprises that they haven’t been released on Switch yet…..

Monkey Island 1 and 2 would be instant buys for me!

Would also love to see Chrono Trigger come to NSO at the very least, but likely SE is in the middle of remastering it, so dunno if that’ll happen soon.

Still can’t believe Fallout 3/NV hasn’t graced the system after we got teased with Fallout Shelter, then Bethesda tossed a ton of games at us including Skyrim, but no Fallout proper……smh.

I'm hoping that WindWaker and Twilight Princess get complete graphical rebuilds on the Switch 2 with DLSS etc, make them the best looking Zelda games ever made. They can fill the gap to the next new 3D Zelda.

Romancelvania,
any Parodius or Otomedius at all,
Chibi-Robo.

With so many Final Fantasy games on Switch, the mere fact that Final Fantasy Tactics hasn't come to Switch seems like a crime.

I was really happy we got Gley lancer ABH and the castlevania advance games. Now if we could get Chrono trigger i would be happy. I can always whip out the SNES version or the DS but i would love to see the Chrono trigger pixels on my switch oled.

The fact that Konami hasn’t ported the mobile version of Castlevania Symphony of the Night…

@Coffeemonstah Surely Konami have a Parodius collection in the works with all versions compiled from Arcade and 8 to 16 to 32-bit?! After the Rocket Knight and Felix the Cat collections I hope so!

Only being able to choose two poll options is cruel. I went with Wind Waker and Galaxy 2. Forgive me, Twilight Princess, my beloved... 😢

Xenoblade Chronicles X and FZero GX

Nintendo plz already... Zelda WW and TP

@Isoph0451 do you have a steam deck? Plays amazing.

Legit surprised Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 haven't been released on a Nintendo system since the GameCube.

@ThatZeldaNerd hopefully as a two pack and not $60 each.

The one I’m crossing my fingers for would definitely be GTA IV

Why is zero mission not on gba player yet

At this point, the Zelda ports aren't happening. It made sense for them in 2022 when Tears was delayed and 2021 when it was the 35th anniversary? Same with Xenoblade X or the dream cast games. And at this point, why bother? The Switch 2 is almost here and it will need amo for it. When we're close to a new system, why bring out ports as a hold over when they can buzz on Switch 2.

Xenoblade X and the Sonic Adventure games are the ones I'd really love to see. And Twilight Princess if they do it right this time. Chrono Trigger feels like a major gap in my knowledge as a JRPG fan, so I hope I get the chance to play it at some point.

Sega, I beg of you: please give me ports of the NiGHTS duology.

@JRiegler YES! I hope so too. altho I personally would not be bothered if they both were sold separately🤷‍♂️

You forgot Castlevania Symphony of the Night. It makes zero sense that Konami released Castlevania Requiem on PS4 but has never ported it to Switch. We've got the two collections but not the best Castlevania title ever. Zero sense.

Cough-cough Level-5's Ushiro... Cough-cough
This game was cancelled/unreleased twice, lol... It was announced for Nintendo Switch YEARS AGO, and nothing happened. Sigh
I want to have almost ALL OF FIGHTING GAMES to be available on Nintendo Switch! Give me more fighting games!
All of Suda51's games, Call of Duty HD, Valkyrie Profile games, NieR: Replicant remaster, Danganronpa Another Episode: Absolute Despair Girls, Ryû Ga Gotoku/Like a Dragon games, all of Vanillaware's games, all of Kenji Iino's games, all of Clock Tower games, 428: Shibuya Scramble, 999, all of Corpse Party games, Viscera Cleanup Detail, FromSoftware's Kuon, Yoot Saitô's Seaman duology, Rule of Rose, Persona 4 Dancing, D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die, Viewtiful Joe games, Carmageddon, Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition, Vanquish, MadWorld, Ôdama, Sonicomi, thatgamecompany's Journey... I still have a lot of them, even without including impossible ports...
By impossible ports, I meant the problems with IPs' owners. For example, Forbidden Siren is still a PlayStation's IP, sadly...

I'd associate Konami's retro collections more with M2, wasn't TMNT the only one they did with Digital Eclipse?

even though we're missing some weird exclusions, the unexpected INCLUSIONS totally make up for it in my book. ttyd and smrpg remakes, sonic generations, metroid prime remastered, banjo kazooie, pikmin 4, mariokart dlc, etc. ill be perfectly happy with the switch's library as long as the next console is backwards compatible with it. I think nintendo will do the right thing, but making good decisions hasn't always been their strong suit. Though recently, theyve been doing wonderfully buisness wise so i really cant complain in this department

Xenoblade Chronicles X NEEDS to happen. If not in the current Switch then do it on the Switch successor. That game can’t be left to die on the Wii U

At the top for me would be XCX, closely followed by the other Wii U games and the rest of the Prime trilogy. Considering games that aren't on that list, I'd really like to see a 2nd Tomb Raider remaster collection. I'm really enjoying the Tomb Raider 1-3 remaster collection but have more nostalgia with The Last Revelation and Chronicles.

Castlevania Symphony of the Night, definitely. I was shocked it wasnt at least on the e-shop.

Muramasa for sure, including the extras that were on the Vita. I've heard that there were some licensing issues keeping the game from coming to newer consoles? I'm not really sure about it since it was just something I heard from someone else.

diddy kong racing and galaxy 2

Yeah that is annoying.

Eh, pass.

Eh, pass.

Eh, pass.

Eh, pass.

Eh, pass.

Yeah, that is weird

Eh, pass.

Yeah, that is weird

Yeah, that is weird

Eh, pass.

Eh, pass.

Yeah, that is weird

Yeah, that is weird

Yeah, that is weird

Yeah, that is weird

Yeah, that is weird

Eh, pass.

...Oh right. British website.

NES Remix 2 because I want the ability to play Super Luigi Bros. (you know, SMB but backwards)

If it didn't come to Switch this generation, then I'd be shocked if we didn't see at least half of this list come to the next generation.

@Kisrah

Eternal Darkness! I don’t think it’s ever been rereleased. Such an excellent game!

In other news, the emulator SUYU has been hit with a DMCA from Nintendo and has been removed from GitLab. lol

I would add GTA4, a Fallout game, Mass Effect collection, Rare Replay, localised version of Yokai Watch 4, maybe a Just Cause or Far Cry game. Sims 4, Madden. That’s just me giving it a couple minutes thought

1001 Spikes*
A Link Between Worlds
F-Zero GX
Kid Icarus Uprising
Mario Galaxy 2 (best Mario)
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (best Metroid)
Metroid Prime 4
Metroid: Samus Returns
Wario Land (SML3)
Yoshi's Woolly World (best Yoshi)

*not only is this one of my favorite platformers, but this port/remake was announced back when the Switch was first announced!

Conker's Bad Fur Day and Sonic Adventure 2

Disney afternoon collection.
Mortal kombat trilogy
Symphony of the night

…. And why is it that to play a Nintendo version of street fighter 4, do I have to pull out my 3ds!? I thought the engine was even ported or something ( I recall it being in the mini game in ultra street fighter 2) . When usf2 came out… I thought it was entirely overpriced for what it was… but bought it hoping to show support for future street fighter on switch…. Don’t get me wrong I like the collection… but I feel that ultra street fighter 4 is a great fit for the switch.

No one should be surprised Mother 3 isn't on the Switch in English. Now Super Mario Land, that's surprising. And you know what? The other Wario Land games, too. We got 3, which is a great game, but dude where is Wario Land 2?? It's the best one! They need to get on that.

There's a few that come to mind that it's a shame it hasn't migrated over to the switch. Two right off the bat are Metroid Samus Returns and Legend of Zelda A Link Between Worlds are both 3DS exclusives that would easily transition to the Switch. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point we get the Castlevania DS trilogy as well as Mega Man Star Force trilogy on the platform. However if I had to pick one batch of games, ones that like many are trapped on the consoles of their release, it's the vastly underrated Rebirth trilogy that was on the Wii. Castlevania the Adventure, Contra, and Gradius rebirth all need a rerelease of some sort either individual or as a compilation on the switch.

@Isoph0451 DKC Returns is a solid pick. As time goes on, I realize I actually like its level design better than Tropical Freeze. The thing I don't like though is the ridiculous Wii waggle to roll. If they removed that in a Switch port, it would be so much better.

I'd also love to see a cartridge with DKC 1-3 on it. I know they're available on NSO, but I'd still totally buy a collection like that.

@sketchturner

I agree with you. I never liked Tropical Freeze as much as DKCR. Just think they nailed it from the get go!

Dragon's Crown would feel right at home on Switch. Be even better if they can find a way to make it so that multiple players on their own Switches can access the upgrades and shops individually instead of taking turns. It'll probably never happen though.

XCX would be nice too.

@GinMiguel depends on the back compat situation. But assuming Switch 2 is early 2025 and has back compat, more ports are a great way to fill out the last 6 months of this year.

@DwaynesGames Me too!

DISNEY AFTERNOON COLLECTION

(add more games while you're at it)

I want Galaxy 2 most of all but would take Windwaker HD and Xenoblade Chronicles X as well. A lot of good suggestions there. I would also add the definitive version of Sonic and SEGA All Stars Racing Transformes. I think the Wii U version was superb but missed out on some characters the other console versions got (?).

@amongtheworms I can only imagine the lack of re-release is from the publisher going bankrupt; chances are the rights were sold off as part of that to pay back debts and who knows where they are now?

There’s a lot on that list I would like. The first Mario Land on the Game Boy and Xenoblade Chronicles X. The Game Boy version of Double Dragon 2 would be good and the Sonic Advance games.

I'm shocked there's not a single Tekken game on Switch considering they put Kazuya in Smash

@Zeebor15

?

Sega Rally 1 + 2
San francisco Rush + Rush 2
F zero GX
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 for wii U
Melee
Crazy Taxi

At this point, I'm not at all surprised that Chrono Trigger hasn't been ported to Switch yet. Same with Symphony of the Night. There's something about being "The Best Game Ever" that slows or stops the mad rush to port. I don't know what it is but there's something in the water there.

With Windwaker and Twilight Princess, I feel it's more about making re-releases different and far apart enough to keep up demand. They can't just be popping out every game for every new console.

Nintendo? Caring about backwards compatibility and releasing old titles that people actually want that aren't tied into a subscription service?

You expect way too much.

Viewtiful Joe 1+2, obvious choice.

Only two... Skies of Arcadia and Monkey Island

I’m so tired of these same old games. Switch needs Tomodachi Life and Style Savvy. Period!

And Viewtiful Joe games serie from GC??

I just want to see the following get a port or HD remake or something on Switch:

1 - Sin & Punishment 2
2 - Chibi Robo collection
3 - Doshin the Giant
4 - F-Zero GX
5 - Viewtiful Joe 1&2
6 - Kururin World
7 - Ribbit King

I’ll take a Luigi’s Mansion 1 remake as well.

Yeah so I mostly want the GameCube era back I guess, with a little bit of Wii era.

Lots of people have mentioned Symphony of the Night already. And while that would be great, I think it would be even more valuable if Konami ported Castlevania Harmony of Despair. It would work SO WELL with the Switch's local wireless communication mode in a way that it never worked that well offline on PlayStation 3.

I would LOVE to have a Switch version of Xenoblade Chronicles X. I do have it on WiiU but can never be bothered to hook the console up again.

And Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 need to get a proper remake like Crash and Spyro did. I know Sonic fans see the SA games as some kind of holy grails, but they aged very poorly. I bought them on Steam years ago and my god are they terrible. Also the sound mixing is ridiculous. There's a conversation going in a cutscene while a song with corny lyrics is blasting in the background so loudly you can't hear the speech.

They should really release Rare Replay on the Switch, everything on one cartridge. Think the game would go on and sell a couple of millions copies in just a few months.

castlevania symphony of the night.

1) LoZ: A Link Between Worlds
2) LoZ: A Link Between Worlds
3) LoZ: A Link Between Worlds
4) LoZ: A Link Between Worlds
5) LoZ: A Link Between Worlds
That is all.

So I guess Smash 64 doesn't exist, then. . .

Also, again, Gamecube racing collection with Double Dash, Air Ride, and GX. I ask for nothing else.

As long as Nintendo is following the Vault strategy, I will not be the slightest bit surprised that many of their games are still not on Switch.

@amongtheworms a full remake would be amazing!

I will keep saying it. Disney Afternoon Collection! Why is it not on Switch?!

Disaster day of crisis, gt pro series, geometry wars, space invaders get even and revolution and polarium.

Think I should also mention Nightmare in Dreamland. Yes, it's a remake, but it has significantly reduced lag, Meta Nightmare, Bomb Rally, and Kirbys Air Grind. Oh yeah, and FOUR PLAYER COMPATIBILITY WITH THE WHOLE GAME. please, Sakurai.

@Dualmask

Good call. For the longest time, I thought Atlus would eventually bring this over to Switch. It's basically the only reason I still play my Vita.

As someone that’s the 1% for Silent Hill and Rhythm Heaven, I plead thee. WarioWare Move It left a Rhythm Heaven hole shape in my heart

Twilight Princess is when the Zelda series lost me; it was like a teenager trying too hard to be cool but failing miserably and embarrassingly.

The star wars rogue squadron games. They were phenomenal. And if we could get the Unreleased wii version as a bonus, that would be ace.

New Vegas, man.

@Li_Bae Skyward Sword for me. I legit can't stand that game, but I keep trying.

@Ironcore Geometry Wars! Man, I wish. Geometry Survivor is good, but GW is perfect.

@Ursaking it's weird. As if they're just bad games or something.

@Ogbert I grew up w an NES, and started playing games in 1985. I still look at the GC-Wii era as a golden era. Just a great time in my life.

More Touhou games

I just finished checking out this article and couldn't help but feel annoyed.

It feels ridiculous that bloody DKR gets its own spot, while SA1 (the thumbnail clickbait) is lumped with "Dreamcast titles" with no description or anything.

Sonic Adventure is possibly one of the most important Sonic titles out there. This is a Nintendo-centered site, the GC port is realistically an improvement in every sense: better visuals, 60fps, more content.

Why do people still clamour for the halfbaked Dreamcast version? Why is using Sonic as clickbait good enough, but not good enough to get its own description telling readers why it should be on Switch?

@MitchaK that would mean R* cared about the games they've created. Not gonna happen.

@AlienX SA is awful and always has been. But it's Sonic, so that's pretty much a given.

@LikelySatan Oh yeah, the mentality that Sonic can do no good. Cute. -_-

Speaking of, only on PC can you play them with fixes or on Dreamcast for the OG experience, DX and Battle screwed up the originals.

in terms of being on nintendo systems the last release time we saw Chrono trigger was technically on the wii through the virtual console back in 2011 though naturally you cant buy it anymore, does make me wish they had an account system back then though at the very least you can still play it if you have the system you bought it on.

does make me wish we got another compilation like the Mana one from m2 only covering other games from square enix (like a soul blazer/illusion of gaia/terranigma one)

in regards to mother 3 if it ever did make its way west im hoping it wont have some caveat such as being exclusive to NSO or that limited-digital nonsense that 3d all stars and fire emblem had.

Honestly I’m shocked castlevania symphony of the night isn’t on the switch. Definitely third place behind twilight princess and wind waker

@LikelySatan I hope so too. I’ve not tried it yet.

@AlienX Each subsequent version of Sonic Adventure messed up more and more details, adding new bugs and graphical downgrades compared to the previous release(s). That said, I still find it hard to recommend the DC version, as it runs at 30fps, has unskippable cutscenes (many of which are redundant), and lacks the Free Camera option (which, as inconsistent as it is, can really help in a tight spot).

The Steam version + Dreamcast restoration gets you the best of both!

As rough as SA is, I do think it deserves more love for what it got right, and I'd love to see it get a proper remake some day... though I don't see that going especially well, considering Sega's track record.

I'm not surprised but do wish Illusion of Gaia was on switch (along with plenty others listed above)

Seriously though DC NSO needs to be a thing. I so desperately want to buy that DC NSO controller and play Power Stones 2 with it.
I hope there will be continuity in the NSO service with the next console.

I have Vita, but yes, i want Muramasa Rebirth, Odin Sphere, Dragon's Crown, all come to Switch.

There’s a lot of gold out there for Nintendo to harvest. A few id add to this list are pizza tower, freedom fighters ( it recently released on steam and a soundtrack is being put out by limited run but the war in Ukraine also surprises me it even made it to steam, rouge squadron, Disney afternoon collection, rare replay, tomba and gex( which were announced sometime ago.

Recently been replaying Phantasy Star Online 1&2 on Steam deck ... Imagine that fixed and online again 😊

I'd still love Sleeping Dogs : Definitive Edition to rear its rather lovely head on the ol' Switch.

Xenoblade Chronicles X, Twilight Princess HD

Star Fox Assault, Capcom Alien vs. Predator, Capcom vs. SNK 2, new Star Fox Adventures, F-Zero GX, Custom Robo GC, Samurai Warriors Xtreme Legends, Samurai Warriors 3, Samurai Warriors Chronicles, Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends complete, Dynasty Warriors 5, Onimusha 3, Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks, remaster of Toy story 2 Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue

I just want more Castlevania on Switch. Another collection of the PS2 games or the DS ones, a new game, judgment, judgment 2.... Anything.

@MirrorFate2 Mania is good? I can't with the 3D games. I'm sure someone could make a good one. Just hasn't happened yet

@RenYuMakoto same. I have them all on Vita but really want them on Switch. Just everything Vanillaware.

I would love to see the 3ds Zelda games on switch the Ocarina of Time and Majoras Mask remasters and of course Link Between Worlds

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse would've been a perfect game to port alongside the Switch Lite, since the issue of docked play with that particular title wouldn't even be a concern for Lite adopters. In such a case, it would've released in 2020, between Star Allies and Forgotten Land--this would've been a great way to tide fans over beyond the small eShop games (and Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn for 3DS, which no one besides me bought). It would've knocked another Wii U game off the 'unported' list, too. Not to mention that porting an existing game is substantially less work than crafting a new one, and with everyone adjusting to new working conditions in 2020, that simplicity would've made sense.

I'll always root for my underdog clay game.

@smoreon Having grown up with the GC version, the dreamcast version has always been inferior/ugly to me, so I've never seen the appeal (I mean, I understand the appeal, just that it doesn't apply to me.)

And I've seen the videos analyzing the core differences, but I always stop when they start mentioning the most absurd differences no one, or at least casual players should care about.

It's not like Sega will use it, as you said, they'll probably target a remake, introducing a bunch of new issues in the process.

you provide a list of 33 but only allow a selection of 2? Come on guys.

Crazy Taxi is on mobile (yes, with the original music) so I don't see why Sega can't release it on Switch.

Some of these aren't a surprise at all.
Prime 4....development restarted during the Switch lifetime, no one should have realistically thought we were gonna see this anytime soon.
XBX....the devs stated this would be too time consuming and too much work to port over and that they'd rather work on new stuff. Somehow its surprising that they did what they said?
Prime 3.....that's a lot of work redoing those controls. Can be done, but not expecting it, since I feel like we're lucky we got Skyward Sword redone and that's in a much better selling franchise.

And so on....factor realism into this and you can shrink the list substantially.

Lol. Metroid prime 4, don’t be silly this game is an urban myth!

Voted for Muramasa.I really,really want to play on Switch Muramasa Rebirth.That version is stuck on PSVita and has HD graphics,better translation,new playable characters and storeis.

@SolBlazer yes but if you could only choose one of your choices…what do you reckon you would choose?

@AlienX What absurd differences? Missing graphical elements?
Screwed up visual effect? Lower quality audio?

One of them in SA2 renders a cutscene nonsensical compared to the Dreamcast original.

Please, no. We don't need any more ports or remasters/remakes, they already have oversaturated the Switch market as is. (along with a plethora of mobile ports and hentai games)

What we need is more new, not old.

Skies of Arcadia is the one I miss the most.

@MirrorFate2 I'll let AlienX answer, but I would agree that there are a ton of minor nitpicks, and that even when the overall art direction is butchered (which is over half the time in SADX!), it's still outweighed by the performance and QoL upgrades.

Which cutscene in SA2B is nonsensical?

Pandora's Tower and The Last Story

I love Zelda, but it's been way too long since I've played Metroid Prime 2 and 3. Bring it onnnn

Dragon Quest 4-8. It boggles my mind we get 1-3 and then that is it...

I'm guessing I'm in the minority here but one that really surprised me was when they released Advance Wars 1&2 but left out Dual Strike and Days of Ruin.

I'd love to see Dual Strike and Days of Ruin in collab like they did with 1&2. Dual Strike in my opinion was easily the best of the series and Days of Ruin brought around a refreshing new take on the series.

@WiltonRoots haha 😆

Where is Star Fox Zero? Or Sin And Punishment?!!!!! Or Mass Effect?!

@SolBlazer loosely based on your name I would love to see Soul Blazer again. Played it on the SNES and loved it. Great action RPG. Enix though so I’m sure there’s loopholes involved…

Pokemon GBA, GBC, DS, and 3DS Games along with Pokemon Colosseum and Battle revolution.

Yes, Dreamcast games. A remastered Power Stone collection for the Switch would be a day-one physical purchase for me.

Also hoping (probably in vain) for Capcom to re-release Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on the system.

RHYTHM HEAVEN MENTIONED
VALID OPINION

@elpardo1984 I think of Zelda ports being how they pad time out for the next entry rather than keeping an old system a float.

apart of prime 2 and 3 ... only one game ... Castlevania sotn.

@WiltonRoots Given that Square doesn't want Switch players to be able to play Chrono Trigger, there's not much hope for the lesser games like Soul Blazer etc unfortunately.