Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story (Switch eShop)

Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is another triumph for Digital Eclipse. Like Atari 50 and The Making of Karateka before it, Digital Eclipse's latest interactive documentary is a wonderful glimpse into the mind of one of gaming's most fascinating figures.

Even if you've got no prior knowledge of Minter or his games, the selection of videos, image galleries, quotes, and playable games included here will provide you with a newfound respect for this niche yet immensely important segment of gaming history. We can't wait to see what Digital Eclipse tackles next with its Gold Master Series.

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube840k

Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked (Switch eShop)

Rocket Knight Adventures is a series comprising two fine games and one stellar, timeless piece of work. While the sequels are above average for '90s platform gaming, it’s the series debut that really informs this review’s score. Rocket Knight Adventures is a title that sits comfortably alongside Gunstar Heroes in the pantheon of exceptional games overlooked in their heyday.

It does everything an arcade action adventure needs to, and more, outdoing a vast number of actual arcade games in the process. Its constantly evolving stages, incredible variety of scenarios, and driving cinematic soundtrack make it one of the best of its kind. If that’s not the very definition of underrated, we don’t know what is.

Castlevania Dominus Collection (Switch eShop)

Castlevania Dominus Collection is quite possibly the best compilation that Konami and M2 have produced to date. It presents three exceptional DS games that easily stand the test of time and provide just as much enjoyment now as they did back in the 2000s.

Not only that, but the impossible has seemingly been achieved with the remarkable addition of Haunted Castle Revisited. Included as a fun little bonus, this revamped take on a reviled arcade curio is fantastic, and while it can't compete with the very best 'classic' games in the franchise, it's the closest we've gotten to a brand new Castlevania in years. An exquisite package.

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Switch)

With Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, there's a decade of gaming evolution here, including what is arguably the pinnacle of Capcom's fighting game craft. Perfectly preserved and presented, everything is beautifully formed and wonderful to play.

Assembled with real clarity, Capcom has thoroughly delivered the goods, from its ton of bonus features to its rollback netcode, with years' worth of combative nuance to explore, learn, and exact in the online arena. Oh, and don't just get it for Marvel vs. Capcom 2; everything is excellent here, but The Punisher, in particular, is awesome.

Taito Milestones 3 (Switch)

All of the games in Taito Milestones 3 are worthy of your time, then, making this one of the best retro collections you can get on Switch right now. As we've previously noted with the other Taito Milestones collections, many of the games included here are already available individually as part of Hamster's Arcade Archive series—the exceptions being Thunder Fox and Dead Connection.

If you've already picked up some of these, then you might want to think twice before double-dipping, but if you've held off, Taito Milestones 3 represents superb value for money, especially when you take into account the cost of picking up each game on its own.

Taito Milestones 2 is also a superb slice of Taito arcade gaming which comes through with solid emulation. We were less impressed with the first collection, though you'll probably be wanting that too to complete the 'trilogy'.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered (Switch eShop)

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is one of Aspyr's most accomplished projects, successfully giving three of gaming's most iconic titles a much-needed lick of paint while upgrading the controls to give newcomers a welcome leg-up.

Some of the lighting is a bit off with the new visuals, and the need to manually save your game is a big no-no for us these days, but a series of patches have addressed various issues since launch and if you're curious as to how Lara Croft got her start in gaming, this is an impressively faithful rendering of some classics - easily the best way to experience the original trilogy.

We didn't find the second trilogy in Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered as engaging, mainly due to the varying quality of those games, but Lara fans may well want to investigate that one, too.

Tetris Forever (Switch eShop)

Tetris Forever might not be the final word on the complete history of Tetris, but it's certainly the best breakdown of the franchise's creation and evolution so far. Digital Eclipse has truly mastered the art of the interactive documentary, and this one is absolutely filled to the brim with interesting videos, interviews, and archival material.

The playable games don't represent the entirety of the Tetris series, despite updates which have added extra games post-launch, but it's a comprehensive bunch of titles, nonetheless, and newcomer Tetris Time Warp is a fantastic addition to a back catalogue that seemingly just won't stop growing.

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (Switch)

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 brings an incredibly strong roster of classic arcade fighters to Nintendo Switch in one of the best compendiums of its work to date.

This is top-notch fare, a slew of incredible games, some appearing for the first time since their original releases, replete with rollback netcode for online play, tons of unlockables, Japanese versions of all eight titles, and modern training modes to catch you up to speed.

With both Power Stones, an unbeatable Capcom vs SNK double bill and Project Justice leading the charge, there's really very little to complain about here. Excellent stuff.

And there's also the first Capcom Fighting Collection, of course - a real winner for Darkstalkers fans.

Gradius Origins (Switch eShop)

M2, famous for its articulate, somewhat surgical approach to porting historical code just right, has done another fine job with Gradius Origins. There’s so much polish here it positively gleams, and the overall care, bonus gadgetry and quality of life extras are all impeccably set. Salamander III is the big one, and it delivers, even if it doesn’t really push the envelope in terms of originality or visual bombast.

It’s a shame there are still Gradius absentees in the list, and one day perhaps a truly comprehensive compilation will rear its head. For now, though, it’s time to saddle up and destroy the core like never before.

Nintendo Switch Online

Nintendo Switch Online Banner
Image: Nintendo Life

That's the end of the retail and eShop games, but we couldn't leave these collections off the list, could we?

With an ever-growing catalogue of classic games from the 8-bit era, Nintendo Switch Online subscribers have access to some of the best games from the '80s to the early '00s, with additions like save states and the ability to rewind gameplay.

NES, SNES, and Game Boy (Color) are included in the base tier with over 180 games, and anyone who ponies up extra for the Expansion Pack can access Mega Drive/Genesis, GBA, and N64 libraries, bringing the total over 300, with GameCube games on Switch 2, as well. (Click on any of those consoles to see a ranked list of every available game.)

All in all, a convenient way to catch up with some choice retro titles, from 8 to 64-bit and beyond.

And the rest!

Switch Compilations
Image: Nintendo Life

We've only included Switch compilations or collections that scored 8/10 or higher in our reviews, although there are loads more bubbling under that threshold which may well interest you, including:


Which are your favourites from this list? Think we've missed something essential? Feel free to let us know down below and we may well update it along with future Switch collections and compilations that float our boat.