Feature: 50 Years Of Landmark Video Games, One Per Year, All Playable On Nintendo Switch

this really puts into perspective how quality the switch library is
it really does have a game for every type of player

What an amazing list! Thanks.

You did all 50 years? That’s nuts. Even with a little fudging here and there that’s still something.👍

Crazy how many 5-10 year old games on Switch are still going for $50.🤑

Skyrim over Dark Souls is the wrong choice. Skyrim is certainly influential, but I think no other game has reshaped the industry in the past 12 years like Dark Souls has. Furthermore it’s a far better game and has aged much better than Skyrim.

(Great idea and list by the way!)

This is a crazy list. It shows really just how far we’ve come! It’s insane just how many amazing games NL fit in here when you count the nominations. An impressive feat.
also seeing metroid dread makes me happy

I had no idea a list like this was possible on switch! That's awesome!

This is probably the most impressive Big Listy LIST List that the site has put together. Shines a light not only on the Switch’s vast catalogue, but also, like… games, maaaan.

_{Slightly pedantic aside: It seems there’s a small correction (?) that could be made to the Mario Galaxy entry. While the body of the text compares Galaxy favourably against Sunshine, the screenshots are actually taken from Sunshine. I suppose it’s not technically a correction if we consider the fact that all three 3D All-Stars titles are technically part of the same package, but it does jar a bit with the text!}

Switch is lousy with versions to play. Reference Sonic 2. Is that new teenage slang? I’ve never heard lousy before. Is lousy the new bad? Anyway great article. I wish I could play and complete super Mario 3 it’s too hard even at world 2 ! Xxxx

Wow, congrats! This is a huge list, and really makes you see how far video games have come since their creation, and how the Switch has a huge catalog that appeals to all ages.

@Maxz If you click on the screenshots and scroll through them you'll see several Mario Galaxy screenshots. It's 3D All-Stars screenshots.

This is a very good list that really puts into perspective how vast and diverse the Switch's library is. Great idea to make a list like that.

This is a really nice list article - good job NL!

@BTB20 I didn’t actually notice that you could scroll through the screenshots, despite the big, obvious buttons!

Takes my aside from ‘slightly pedantic’ to ‘very pedantic’. I suppose the order could be changed to make the Galaxy screenshots appear first, but… I’m not sure if it’d be worth the effort.

Thanks for pointing this out.

This is a really interesting article. I had no idea Oregon Trail came out in 1971. Always seemed like a new game because the "new" computers at school had it. And I knew SMB came out in '85 but this reminds me I didn't play it when it came out even though it felt new at the time.

This list is great! I feel like Minecraft was a lot more influential (I've never played skyrim, might be bias) and that portal should have easily taken the cake for 2007 but again it's not my list. Great work!

Edit: not only a great list but great developers, working so hard to bring these historical games to switch in such a stunning manner. It's really insane how much variety and content you can get out of the switch. It's going to be hard for the next console to top this library

This is a great list but it also made me realize how old I am and how long I've been gaming, as I have played virtually every game on this list in their original form except for a couple of the Atari games like Breakout.

Also really puts into perspective just how amazing the Switch is, but also why video game preservation is so important for the future. We shouldn't have to buy these games and bundles again and again and again.

Very nice article! It's great to be able to see how some features were incorporated into gaming over time by the pioneers and maybe something you like about a game today might be a mix of things that arose in, let's say, 3 different decades

The switch is one of the greatest consoles of all time. What really solidifies this is it’s insanely stacked library. This console alone is a fantastic way to experience almost the entirety of gaming history, from Pong, to Super Mario Bros, to Tears of the Kingdom!

wow really feel old now. so many started playing as a kid(born '83). Galaga & Ms. Pacman were my firsts in the arcade, then Mario until finally got a NES.

No Dark Souls? Way more important than Skyrim in videogames evolution

@Dragonslacker1 Lousy is a word we use here in the UK. If something is a bit rubbish, we’ll call it lousy. 😁

As a massive Zelda fan, I’ve never been able to understand why I couldn’t get in to Okami

Not only does Switch had decades of game per year til 2023 but it also got games from almost every platforms ever made as well, here I'm counting just the ones in my region and Japan only.

Atari 2600: Star Raider
Atari 5200: Millipede
Atari 7800: Dark Chambers
Atari Lynx: Turbo Sub
Atari Jaguar: Cybermorph
Intellivision: BurgerTime
Colecovision: Frogger
NES: Crystalis
Famicom: Solomon's Key
Super NES: Wild Guns
Super Famicom: Trials of Mana
NeoGeo: Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Sega Master Systems: Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap
Game Boy: TMNT: Fall of the Foot Clan
Sega Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sega Mega Drive: Monster World IV
Turbo Grafx-16: Street Fighter 1
PC Engine: Valis IV
Sega CD: Night Trap
Sega 32X: Virtua Racing
Sega Game Gear: Wonder Boy
Philips CD-i: Dragon's Lair
3DO: Plumbers Don't Wear Tie
Sega Saturn: Radiant Silvergun
PlayStation: Final Fantasy IX
Nintendo 64: Doom 64
Game Boy Color: Shantae
NeoGeo Pocket Color: SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium
Wonder Swan: Super Gem Fighters: Mini-Mix
Sega Dreamcast: Grandia 2
GameCube: Metroid Prime
Game Boy Advance: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
PlayStation 2: Onimusha: Warlords
Xbox: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
PlayStation Portable: Star Ocean: First Departure R
Wii: No More Heroes 2
PlayStation 3: Bayonetta
Nintendo DS: Ni no Kuni
Xbox 360: Tales of Vesperia
Wii U: Fatal Frame V: Maiden of Black Water
Nintendo 3DS: Resident Evil Revelations
PS Vita: Persona 4 Golden
Xbox One: Cuphead
PlayStation 4: Persona 5 Royal
Nintendo Switch: Xenoblade Chronicles 3
PlayStation 5: SIFU
Xbox Series S/X: Hellblade: Senua Sacrifice
PC: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Arcade: Capcom Arcade Stadium 1 & 2
Atari VCS: Sir Lovelot
Coleco Chameleon: Sydney Hunter and The Curse of the Mayan
Intellivision Amico: Rigid Force Redux
Mobile: Sonic Origins
Ouya: Tower Falls
Steam: Portal 1 & 2

Pretty great list however your picks for the last decade can be argued against and are a bit biased

Thanks so much for this article. I needed something light and fun after the last couple of weeks (my Dad is in the hospital with a non-operable form of cancer). This list really hit the happy spot for me. I think the honorable mentions really made it even more apparent how many must play titles are on the Switch.

For some reason, every time I see the blue sky in Super Mario Bros. it puts me in a happier place. Is that just me?

Thanks again.

What a brilliant concept for an article, and wonderfully crafted! Thank you for making this!

I really want to make my modern take on Oregon Trail… imagine a game along the likes of Red Dead. Where you start by coming up with a PC origin story how big your family is and what its made up of what your profession is with these choices determining what skills you have and how much money to start your journey. You buy up cattle wagons horses and other provisions and leave on the trail having to scout hunt and trade with fellow travelers and native tribes on the way. You plan out legs setting a destination between resuplys and stuff. Maybe incorporate the character switching aspect from GTA 5 and let the player flip between each family member each having there own useful skills (imagine one of your family knows native languages or how to use a bow or gun proficiently) the goal being getting to the west coast where you purchased land

@solarwolf07 Hard agree. Surely a Top 10 Most Seminal Games Of All Time would have Minecraft in, so to not have it here is an absolute dereliction of duty by the writers.

This is a superb idea and an excellent list. My only suggestion for the period you've struggled to cover is Tank as both Combat and Quadratank in Atari 50 are based on the 1974 original... is that too much of a long-shot though?

Why is Okami always compared to Zelda, as if every action adventure was a Zelda wannabe

This a truly a wonderful list. The Switch really does have an extensive collection of games to play.

Note: 1996 was when Tekken 2 came out. Tekken 3 came out in 1998.

Fantastic idea for a list, but I would add it would benefit greatly from a video.

I think when people whine about video articles in Nintendolife is when you make an article about this "Three games that we miss from Dreamcast etc etc" or the like, that give far too much video for just a couple of games. But here, we are talking about dozens of games spanning 5 decades, and a video would not only compliment the list well but also give us an incredible visual reminder of videogame evolution, a truly history lesson.

There may be biased arguments over some years (like, surely something along the lines of Xenoblade 2 could at least snatch an honorable mention slot above Tetris Effect, especially since Tetris itself was already acknowledged in multiple incarnations earlier?), but overall this is one of those thrilling lists that showcase just how insane the Switch library is. And doubles as one of those video game chronicles in list form which are always fun to go through in their own right.

@ComfyAko and that started before gamers raised the stakes and started calling every other open-worlder "a BotW clone", too.😏 It's natural to draw parallels, but we fans possess the widespread talent to make it sound condescending and inertial.

Great list. Ah, Pong and Combat. They made me happy.

I'm really feeling the age now, I have been playing videogames for 40 years this year. About 37 console wise, kicking off with NES. I must have spoken it into existence when I said it in my youth, but I truly will be a gamer for life. I don't intend to stop anytime soon, but I admit, if someone told me tomorrow that I couldn't play video games anymore, then Switch truly would be my retirement system, so that's saying something about how important this system has been for me, both in terms of software, and in terms of its form factor. I sure hope the Switch Pro/Switch 2/etc can keep it going.

The Switch has become the ultimate everything game console. It just needs the Midway/Williams arcade games, at least one Call of Duty and one Madden on it.

My list would look very different for some years, but still a very good idea and execution here.

@Serpenterror Street Fighter 1 (AKA Fighting Street) was originally an arcade game, and it was ported to the PCE/TG16. I can't seem to find any games that are exclusive to the TG16, or released in both US/JP, and got a re-release on the Switch.

Just a suggestion, but if I recall correctly GTA3 was pretty much the defining game of 2001 and reshaped the gaming landscape for years afterwards. And it's available on the Switch. Not quite as impactful as Super Mario 64 was 5 years earlier, but still a literal game-changer. The only other thing I feel is missing is an acknowledgement of God of War in 2018 as a non-Switch candidate, given it was widely acknowledged as one of the best games of the previous generation regardless of format. Otherwise a good list.

Oh man. Choosing between Pokemon and Super Mario 64 must have been tough.

@JohnnyC I was thinking same thing about GTA3 changing the gaming landscape. However, would say not so much with Super Mario 64 as not nearly as many had played it.

@Dragonslacker1 You may consider cheating, but there are numerous playthrough videos out there of Super Mario 3.

I've been along for the ride since Super Mario Bros. brought the arcades (and unlimited wonder and adventure) into our living rooms in 1985. It's been a fun ride watching gaming grow up, move away from home and evolve into the sophisticated state we find it in today. But just like a growing child, every era was special and precious in its own way and I've loved each one. Just like gaming, I'm going a little gray, but I think I still have a good 20-30 years of gaming in me. So let's-a go! Get N or get out, and always Play it Loud!

@Serpenterror Wow! GREAT list! Surprised to see CD-i and my beloved 3DO make it in there, but... there they are! Great job!

@Dragonslacker1 lousy in this context means "well supplied with or filled with, often to excess" and it's been around for like 50 years

Great list. My only gripe is P4G over bioshock infinite or Super Mario 3D world? Definitely not.

Also I have no idea what fez is... I've never heard of the game. 2012 must have been a crappy game year, lol

Why is Resident Evil, and likewise Resident Evil 2, in the Non-Switch Nominations category? Both ARE on Switch! There's a remaster of 1 that runs natively, and a remake of 2 on Cloud. And before you say Cloud Versions don't count, might I remind you that every Nintendo Switch Online title on this list is a cloud version! As for the countability of remakes, The Oregon Trail is a remake! and it's first on the list!

Cool idea for a list. Unfortunately, there are only a handful of these that I have any attachment to. Don't know if it's my weird tastes, contrarianism, or just that the "timeless classic" and "next big thing" kind of games can't possibly live up to the expectations those labels set for me, but there are more games on this list I remember as massive disappointments than massive successes. But hey, at least you've got Xenoblade on there.

Ive made a goty list on another site but went even further and added oxo from the 50s (1st game ever) and some 60s games that r mostly text based.

I've played 34 out of the 50 games. Wow. I've been around a long time, and it feels nice being able to play such a wide variety of games throughout the years. Here's to 50 more years of gaming!

No Minecraft, not even an honourable mention?

I think the real striking thing is how around 86 Graphics/gameplay sophistication absolutely skyrocket.

Dark Souls fans can't go 5 minutes without talking about Dark Souls

I would argue that new horizons, despite being brilliant has a lot less to see and do than new leaf.

2011 and 2017 are two of the best years this century just considering the calibre of the honourable mentions.

Without the delays from the pandemic then possibly there could have been another incredible year if Elden Ring, Zelda and Starfield were all same year.

Great list, although 1990 should have been for Trio the Punch

1985 was also the year that Clive Townsend's Speccy and C64 classic - Saboteur came out... and it's also, weirdly enough, available on the Switch!!

this is a great article! what a crazy list of games for one console to have!

I did think this was a little funny:
[from the okami entry] "a company other than Nintendo had mastered the grammar and vocabulary of a 3D Zelda"

that company being Capcom, the one that made MegaMan legends, which had a lot of the "language" of 3d Zelda before 3d Zelda. ☺️

I'm not saying MML was "mastery" of any kind, I just thought it was a tad ironic.

thanks for a really cool list!

@sd7232 Even if you didn't play SM64, the TV ads at the time were jaw-dropping and got a lot of attention ahead of the launch of the console. The ones which had clips of Mario spinning Bowser in a full circle, edited with clips of the Hoth battle from Shadows of the Empire. The leap from SNES to N64 was the jump from 2D to 3D (even if as you correctly hint at, most people opted for a PS1 in that generation) and there's never been anything like it since. Super Mario 64 - as a key launch title - was the embodiment of that jump.

@N-MCMXCIX NSO games aren’t cloud games. You can play them offline. They are emulations.

Oregon Trail is from sometime in the '80s.
The hardware it appeared on (Apple II) wasn't even out in 1971. (1977, I think, is when it was released)

Love this list. Such a great way to get a visual of video game history overall. And it's insane to see just how much is playable on one console. This list got me thinking a lot...

There are a few years that just don't make sense. Minecraft is arguably one of the most 3-4 games of all time at this point. Basically every new game that comes out has some crafting element based on it. Skyrim, while culturally important for it's time, is nothing close to Minecraft in terms of being a "Landmark" game.

GTA3 is such an easy choice over Ikaruga. No offense, but schmups haven't been influential in gaming in this century. GTA3 popularized so many features of open work gameplay and "adult" themes in games that are still seen today. Choosing Ikaruga over GTA3 for a landmark game in the same year is an incredibly rough choice. Games have evolved, but schmups really haven't changed in 25+ years.

Diablo II over Majora's Mask makes more sense. Majora's Mask is literally my favorite game of all time, but it's not had the impact of Diablo in any sense. I'm always willing to forgive if Majora's Mask gets some recognition, however.

96 made choosing hard! Mario 64 is the right choice for gaming history, but man it feels weird leaving the best-selling version of what might be the most valuable IP in existence off the top spot. I don't disagree, but that would have been a fun discussion in the office (were it available - I'm assuming Pokemon should arrive on NSO but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't given it's delay in getting a virtual console release).

I'm not sure I see Okami being the choice for 06. It has acclaim, sure, but was it a bigger release than the series it's allegedly competing against that also just happened to feature a wolf? Twilight Princess ended up being less transformative than hoped (reactions to that 04 debut trailer still give me chills), but I think that's a debate to be had.

This list reminded me that Chrono Trigger isn't playable on Switch somehow.

Being a gamer and a person who has kept up with gaming for decades, I admit in the recent 4-5 years I've lost touch with gaming news outside of the Nintendo realm. But in 2012 I was paying attention. I have never heard of Fez. I'm guessing this is the case of a lot of the games released that year not quite making the jump to switch yet, but looking at releases that year shows Diablo III and Mass Effect 3. If Fire Emblem Awakening was payable on switch, would it win if only for the reasons of keeping the franchise alive and giving us so many characters in Smash Bros?

2019 was the only other year I couldn't quite agree with, but I looked at the releases for the year (for everything) and there isn't much there. Slay the Spire? Fire Emblem Three Houses? Personal favorites for sure, but not landmark releases. It just feels weird giving Dragon Quest recognition in 2019 instead of the 90s. Recognizing Untitled Goose Game in this list and not having Dragon Quest anywhere would also be a strange choice.

What a great article to provoke some thought!

@nhSnork I guess you're right, everything that has any quality of any other games instantly becomes "XXXvainia" or "XXXlike" in the eyes of fans. I mean there are games that are fan versions of the originals and it's not a matter of similarities, they are just the same game with different textures slapped on them. There are also games that literally copy most of the successful game(Genshin, which I play but won't find any argument to defend), add one or two new mechanic and call it a day. I say it myself that most western AAAs are actually the same game with minor details changed in them.

But at the end of the day, most games, especially before 2010, are very inventive and are their own creations. People like to simplyfy, though.

Kind of funny that Skyward Sword HD got a 9/10 from Nintendolife and didn’t even get an honorable mention.

You skipped some years so you're cheating at the rules you created, yikes.

@Kasparius more people played Skyrim as it is accessable to everyone, Dark Souls is influential but it didn't sell as well because once people tried to play it, it was too hard to play. Just like the subsequent games they were pretty much all the same too, just reskinned, even Elden Ring.

I'm shocked that Metroid (1986), Metroid Fusion, and Skyward Sword weren't even honourable mentions. So what if the year has many greats? List all the other greats in the runner category. It doesn't have to be the winner, but it should have been mentioned.

Pokémon should have showed up more frequently too in the honourables.

Brilliant article, well done.

While I absolute love Zelda, and hate Fortnite... I would say Fortnite is a much more important landmark for video games. Not because its good, but because its reach and success.

@Serpenterror incredible!

@Themagusx1 It's okay to correct people but you don't need to be a jerk about it.

I mean, you know, we see Pong in 1972 and see it managed a few dots on the screen. It's easy for people to think "how did computers already manage something more complex than that?"

Wasn't 1971 when computers still took up an entire room? I'm guessing those children who played the game had to take an actual field trip to go see it.

@KingMike I was simply telling the truth about your lack of knowledge. And your attempt to correct the writer of this article when they were right about it the whole time. Fact is you did not know what you were talking about and thus you got called out for it. Just make sure next time you research before you say something. Simple fix.

@Themagusx1 Don't care if I'm right or wrong. What does matter is that people don't like to talk to people that can't respond to them respectfully.