Topic: Rank Every Year of the Nintendo Switch

I didn't keep track of what came out when, or when we bought what games. Generally we've been pretty happy every year since we got the Switch. Much more so than when we got the Wii U, because new games keep coming out for the Switch.

I do have a different personal view of the Switch during Covid though.

We had a Switch before Covid, so we weren't caught looking for one during Covid.

For me, as NintendoDad, I was glad we had the Switch during Covid for my kids.

My youngest would pick up playing games (ACNH and Minecraft mainly, with a bit of racing and other misc. games) with her friends on-line since they couldn't get together.

So, even if releases and availability was low during Covid, if you had a Switch it allowed playing with friends when you couldn't get together.

And for that, I consider having the Switch during Covid as a positive thing.

@NintendoDad Oh I agree, I know a lot of people who primarily communicated via Animal Crossing and Mario Kart get togethers during this awkward period, so it was definitely a blessing to millions at the time.

Every year of the Switch seemed to offer something unique and 2021 was a great opportunity for indies and smaller titles like Unpacking and Two Point Hospital to really shine. I remembered having a lot of fun finishing my extensive backlog that year, particularly titles like 3D Mario Allstars but nevertheless, a slow release schedule is just that and isn't something Nintendo would have exactly celebrated, regardless of the record numbers of consoles being sold.

On a personal level, I would have been ecstatic if TOTK had released two years earlier, when it was most needed but it just wasn't meant to be. Thankfully, it was well worth the wait in 2023 and we got what we got that year, for better or worse.

@Jalex_64

Good point on the indie titles. Yes, nice that there are so many games available on the Switch.

For me and my family . . . its been so nice having so many options. We've been playing a lot of party / co-op games for 4 players (and more.) My youngest has been big on Animal Crossing and Pokemon, as well as Pikmin and Splatoon. I've been (when I can get my hands on the Switch) more into the platformers.

So I've been happy with the breadth of games available on the platform.

But . . . I've been thinking about the time between major releases within a franchise.

Like if a gamer picked up BOTW when they were 10 years old, they'd be 16 years old when TOTK came out. As an older gamer, six years gap is nothing. But as a younger gamer, I'm thinking that that gap might mean you'll lose connection to a franchise. On the Switch, the gap was filled in with Skyward Sword, but will it always be possible to fill in the gap with a port?

For Metroid 2D platformer, after Metroid Dread, you can go into NSO Expansion and play Metroid Zero Mission and Fusion, which IMHO are games that really still hold their own. But once you do that, if you really like Metroid 2D . . . then you're waiting again.

I guess . . . at least, as long as Nintendo keeps bringing more of their back-catalog to the Switch family of consoles . . . then when you finish up the latest game, you can then keep exploring that franchise through the back-catalog all on the same console. For future gamers, this is going to be a really nice way to explore more of the franchise history and world.

@NintendoDad As a younger gamer, it was a revelation playing 4-player titles like Goldeneye and and Mario Kart on N64 with friends after school, so I'm a little envious of those who still find the time for this as a primarily single player gamer these days. There's nothing quite like sharing these memorable experiences with someone who shares the same passion for gaming as you do and I'm sure this is especially true when they're your own children.

I like your point about younger gamers losing touch with a franchise but at least Zelda and Metroid have the 2D releases like Link's Awakening, Echoes of Wisdom and Metroid Dread to keep their names alive whilst developers focus on the more complex, bigger titles.

Retro games seem to be more embraced by Nintendo than ever before these days, with NSO plus the mini consoles and it's fantastic to see. Hopefully this will only continue going forward with Gamecube and DS titles on the new system. There are countless classics on these consoles that even I haven't experienced yet and I'm sure younger players would absolutely relish, assuming the emulation is reasonable. In this regard at least, the future is most certainly looking bright

+1

Looking back, the Switch has been great as far as giving access to the back-catalog of Nintendo's games.

Sure, you could play GC games on the original Wii, and Wii games on the Wii U . . . but with the ports of all three of those platforms finding a home on the Switch, along with all the VC titles . . . the Switch has really made it possible to explore Nintendo's history.

If the Switch 2 continues this, then, yeah . . . the future most definitely looks bright!