Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Grumblevolcano
Returnal is legit. I just don't like roguelites. You can catch my rant about them in the Shovel Knight Dig review comments. Don't like Hades, don't like Dead Cells, absolutely despised the last Shovel Knight spinoff before Dig... and that repetitive loop is what killed Returnal for me too, despite loving the actual gameplay (and some of the best rumble of any video game I've played).

Sackboy was... well, I don't hold it in very high esteem. We'll leave it at that. It's basically in the same camp as Ratchet.

Astro though. That game is fun.

Going to be honest here. This is one of my least favourite Nintendo generation. So far it’s been tons of ports that I’ve played or half-baked spinoffs with lack of content.

Switch has been underwhelming.

That's quite honest.

I do agree, to a certain point. Currently I have more indie games than 3rd party or main Nintendo games, the Nintendo Switch is more of an indie power house than anything in my opinion.

@MrHonest

I don't agree that the Switch has a poor library that aren't ports or spin-offs. Just from the top of my head:

SSBU
Luigi's mansion 3
Pokémon Sword and Shield
Pokémon legends Arceus
Metroid Dread
Super Mario Odyssey
LoZ: Breath of the Wild
Mario and Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Animal crossing: NH
Fire emblem: Three Houses
Kirby and the forgotten land
Ring fit adventure
Xenoblade chronicles 2
Splatoon 2
Monster Hunter rise
Octopath traveler
Shin megami tensei 5

All of the above are universally accepted as good games that cover multiple genres to cover all kinds of different tastes.

Welp, guess I like Sony's exclusives more than most here then. Uncharted series, Spider-Man, Horizon ZD and Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart rank amongst my top games of the past decade or so. And despite all being "action-adventure games", often with "RPG-lite" elements, these series in particular feel very distinct to me. That said, I've not yet played the likes of God of War and Ghost of Tsushima so maybe the formula hasn't got stale to me yet. Of the titles I've named, Ratchet and Clank is second only to Mario when it comes to modern 3D platformers IMO, Spider-Man is perhaps the best realisation of an open world outside of Zelda, and Uncharted is my go-to when I want something cinematic. That leaves Horizon which, while formulaic, I think is pretty damn good at what it does, at least.

It's Western third party AAA games that feel uninspired to me. For some reason PS's outings give me reason to at least turn my head...but I really can't muster any enthusiasm for Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, CoD, etc.

That said, Nintendo is usually my priority. Even during their weakest periods I'd say their output has been more to my liking than PS's offerings. Next is line is probably a mix of Japanese third parties (Sega, Square-Enix, Namco) and indies.

This is by far my favorite Nintendo generation, by a landslide, even based on new games alone. Furthermore, it's now my favorite system of all time, full stop.

But I don't just look at new games alone, because Switch offers something new for every game released on the system. Getting hybrid handheld+console+tabletop versions of all the best Wii U games and even some select Wii games and a truckload of the best 7th and 8th gen games... it's become a one stop shop that allows me to play all its games wherever and whenever I want- at home on the tv, at home in handheld, in my work office in tabletop, and the car dealership in handheld... And that's what really elevates it.

But just having Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak, Monster Hunter Stories 2 and Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, Fire Emblem Three Houses and Fire Emblem Engage, Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal, Shin Megami Tensei V, Nier Automata, Bayonetta 1, 2 and 3, Astral Chain, Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle and Sparks of Hope, games like Triangle Strategy, Final Fantasy X/X-2, XII and Crisis Core remake, Zelda Breath of the Wild and soon, Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Odyssey and 3D World, the amazing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + 48 additional tracks, Metroid Dread (and hopefully soon Prime Remastered and Prime 4), Pikmin 3 and soon Pikmin 4, Xenoblade Chronicles 1, 2 and 3, Kirby Return to Dreamland and Forgotten Land, Luigi's Mansion 3, Splatoon 2 and 3, loads of Trails games and more coming, Pokémon Legends Arceus (and hopefully Scarlet/Violet will be great too), Ori Blind Forest and Ori Will of the Wisps, not to mention the overwhelming, never-ending list of quality 7th gen ports and indies...

All of them full console versions, with OLED handheld versions and OLED tabletop versions with no need to worry about cross save like we did with Wii U and 3DS, or PS4 and Vita...

Ya. Best console generation of all time. If Switch 2 has BC, that will instantly top it though.

@JaxonH Have to agree. Even without third party support, the Switch would be a strong contender for my favourite Nintendo console (alongside maybe the Gamecube). But with the third party support? Absolutely no contest.

Plus I just love the hardware. Give me a Switch port and I'll rarely find a reason to touch my gaming PC or PS5.

I agree as well, the Switch has cemented itself as my favorite platform of all-time as well. Amazing new games, excellent ports, hybrid nature etc. And the crazy thing is, when the Switch turn six years old next year, the games will keep coming(Persona 3 and 4, Pikmin, Fire Emblem, Zelda etc.)

@alexwolf Breath of the wild is a port of a wii u game.

But yeah this is my least favourite Nintendo generation so far.

@MrHonest
How can it be a port when it was released on the same day? Wouldn’t that just be a cross gen release.

@KryptoniteKrunch
That's true. We still have a few more years of games coming to Switch. If it's this packed now just imagine how much better it'll be by the end of the generation. Look at the lineup of games we have, divide it into thirds, and that's how much more we have to look forward to.

@Buizel
That's made all the difference. Nintendo systems always have great 1st party. And Switch not only has, imo, the best 1st party of any past system (they really brought their A game with Switch- nearly every franchise has a Switch entry that can be argued best in the entire series), it adds the entire Wii U lineup on top of it, and then adds the best 3rd party support of the last 3 decades, and gives all of them 3 versions in 1.

They clearly did something right to go from the Wii U, one of their worst selling consoles to date, to a system that will likely break the PS2 record.

@blindsquarel
Don't bother. Best to just let some ppl talk into the void.

@JaxonH
Probably right, I would get in a lot less arguments if I did that.

@blindsquarel You do know that they delayed the game because they wanted a switch version too? The game certainly is a port fron Wii U.

@JaxonH I wouldn't go as far as saying "nearly every franchise has a Switch entry that can be argued best in the entire series", but the line-up is pretty damn strong.

Odyssey, Breath of the Wild and Smash Ultimate are pretty solid contenders for best games in long-running, highly-acclaimed series.

The Switch is basically the home of the Xenoblade series at this point, missing only XCX. Similar with Splatoon.

We got a 2D Metroid of all things.

Tropical Freeze and Mario Kart 8, despite being ports, are arguably the best in their respective series.

That's not even to mention the odd title like Mario and Rabbids, ARMS, Pokemon Snap, Ring Fit Adventure... And a return to form for Mario Party. And Luigi's Mansion reaching new heights.

Kirby Star Allies was disappointing but I think Forgotten Land more than made up for it.

Similarly I don't think Pokemon's quite reached the heights of Gen 3 and 4, but the Switch titles offer a lot of variety and are all somewhat solid.

Plus some fantastic Musou spin-offs in Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes and Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity.

A few series fall short - personally I think these are Mario Sports, Paper Mario and Yoshi. But is there any generation where every Nintendo title has been fantastic / best in the series?

And there's a few series that have been no-shows. But again, this can be said for any generation.

Me and the void are best friends...

Controversial opinion: Splatoon 3 were more like DLC than actually sequel. Nintendo were lazy there.

A 60 bucks DLC.

I'd say it's still up in the air, Switch is likely the best but it also has glaring weaknesses that other Nintendo systems are very strong at. For example, a lot of the handheld focused stuff you used to see on systems like 3DS are almost completely nonexistent on the Switch (e.g. 2D Zelda, Mario & Luigi, Pushmo, various Atlus franchises), FPS completely excelled on the GC but it's rather limited on the Switch and the retro collection on Wii U via VC was absolutely fantastic but it's still a long way from being that good on Switch.

But the Switch's lifespan isn't over yet so it still has room to improve in these areas like someday in the future we'll get Goldeneye (via NSO Expansion Pack) and Metroid Prime 4.

@Grumblevolcano Delivery of legacy content has been the #1 missed opportunity on the Switch, IMO. NSO got off to a very slow start compared to the Virtual Console on Wii and Wii U. And many people (myself included) are quite disappointed that it's locked behind a subscription model, instead of allowing you to purchase individual games.

That said, things are looking promising. It seems to me like Nintendo have a long-term strategy in mind when it comes to legacy content, and don't want to just give us everything at once. Look at all they've just announced for the N64 - titles that we didn't see on the Wii and Wii U, and which many of us hadn't dreamed would get ever rereleases (Goldeneye and Pokemon Stadium come to mind). They're clearly making an effort to expand their legacy content above and beyond what they've given us in the past, even if they're drip-feeding it at an excruciating pace.

But who knows what will happen eventually. It would be incredibly disappointing if Nintendo hit the reset button yet again for their next console, and we once again end up waiting years just to get a bunch of N64 games with no Gamecube or Wii in sight.

@Buizel
Ya there's a few- notably Yoshi (Crafted World was mid, where as Wooly World was top tier, and Kirby Star Allies was mid, thankfully thats been rectified with the amazing 3D entry Forgotten Land and the upcoming amazing 2D entry Return to Dreamland).

But I still think the majority of Nintendo franchises and Nintendo-adjacent franchises have their best entries on Switch, or at the very least one of their best entries on Switch.

Best Zelda
Zelda Breath of the Wild
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom (probably)
Best 2D Mario
New Super Mario Bros U + Luigi U
Best 3D Mario
Super Mario Odyssey
Super Mario 3D World
Best 2D Metroid
Metroid Dread
Best Pikmin
Pikmin 3
Pikmin 4 (probably)
Best Warriors spinoff
Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes
Best 2D Kirby
Kirby Return to Dreamland
Best 3D Kirby
Kirby Forgotten Land
Best Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Best Mario Kart
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + 48 DLC tracks
Best Smash Bros
Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Best Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem Three Houses
Fire Emblem Engage (probably)
Best Bayonetta
Bayonetta 2
Bayonetta 3 (probably)
Best Monster Hunter
Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak
Best Luigi's Mansion
Luigi's Mansion 3
Best Splatoon
Splatoon 2
Splatoon 3 (once all DLC is added)
Best Pokemon
Pokemon Legends Arceus
Pokemon Scarlet/Violet (probably)
Best Donkey Kong
DKC Tropical Freeze
Best Cruis'n game
Cruis'n Blast
Best Mario Party
Mario Party Superstars

There's also a number of new franchises that are top shelf, like Astral Chain, Triangle Strategy, Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle and the upcoming Sparks of Hope... and even the series that haven't seen their best entries are, at least imo, still good games.

I think Switch lit a fire under developers behinds to put their best foot forward.