As we covered last week, Nintendo’s new home console was finally revealed: Nintendo Switch. Since the announcement, everyone has been buzzing about the implications of a machine capable of displaying on both our TVs and on the go with almost no effort to switch between the two. This was helped along by footage of presumed games to be seen on the Switch for fans to take apart. But if the Switch is going to be more successful than the Wii U, Nintendo is going to need a larger stock of games than have been announced or teased. What follows is a list of 11 games that Nintendo should either have in production or be working to bring to their upcoming console that could easily help to build the right kind of excitement for a hit launch.
Some rules that were applied to the creation of this list:
- Yes, 11 games.
- This is a combination of Nintendo-owned titles and third parties, because it will take both to build a good library of titles.
- For this list, we’re avoiding the obvious stuff. Of course there will be a new Super Mario, Mario Kart, Zelda, Splatoon and Smash Bros., for example.
Now, here are the games that Nintendo Switch needs to succeed.
11. Mother 3
While Nintendo’s Virtual Console catalog has never been as big as it should be, the ability to be able to quickly access classic titles at a low cost is still very important to Nintendo’s brand and is net good for gaming. So much so that it would benefit Nintendo to have a decently stocked selection on day one for early adopters to take advantage of in between $60 purchases. One particular highlight for the Virtual Console previously was the much-anticipated port of SNES niche classic Earthbound, alongside the game’s precursor under the name Earthbound: Beginnings. Called Mother in Japan, Earthbound: Beginnings had never before been released outside of its home region, which was cause for excitement for longtime fans of the JRPG genre. But Mother has another sequel that also hasn’t been released outside of Japan. Mother 3 is easily one of the most requested games both by Nintendo fans and JRPG fans to be released in other territories. In fact, fans have even self-translated the Japanese version of the game in the past just to play it. The Switch is clearly aiming to be a console for all kinds of audiences, but that only drives home the need for such a strong goodwill gesture towards longtime Nintendo fans. A huge title launched on the Virtual Console would be a hit, while not costing Nintendo or customers nearly as much as a brand new release.
Advertisement
10. Doom 2016
One of the more surprising details from the announcement of the Switch was the support of developer Bethesda Softworks, including the possibility of Skyrim: Special Edition being playable on the console in the future. Now, Skyrim is fantastic, but the gameplay itself is about 5 years old. The new Doom, on the other hand, is a new title and one of the year’s biggest surprises. Doom has existed on Nintendo consoles in the past and Nintendo has relaxed a lot of its expectations in terms of religious content in games on its consoles recently, making this a solid click. Additionally, this would be a solid olive branch to fans of the first-person shooting genre. It may seem like locking down the newest Call of Duty might do that better; except that actually did happen for the Wii U and Black Ops II, with little success. Fans of those types of games are not going to ditch their Xbox or PlayStation at this point for one of those, but Doom can still find an audience with both a solid campaign and no sequel expected in the next 11 months. Besides, a game with Doom levels of action would help drag Nintendo out of its unjust but still believed identity as a company for “kids and casuals.”
Advertisement
9. Something that uses all those Amiibo
Cards on the table, I actually like Amiibo as they are currently. A neat little figure that also has a neat bonus for a couple of games? Perfect for folks like me. However, there are plenty that have already bought into the Amiibo craze that want to see the figures do more in the games than they do now. This is particularly tricky as Amiibo are also a form of physical DLC that can be difficult to find at times, not to mention having to go get one is not as easy as making a digital purchase. What might serve as a better solution is to isolate such features to a specific game made to use Amiibo more intimately. This would keep other games from having to push Amiibo functionality any more than has already been done and make the figures more valuable to those that actually use them. In fact, Nintendo has even tried this a bit with Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival (which wasn’t very good) and Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge (which is okay), but neither were successful at leveraging the Amiibo as an actual peripheral for gameplay. Nintendo might have a template on its hands, though. The party game Nintendo Land utilized mini-games inspired by multiple franchises and Mii characters easily enough, so how hard would it be to replace player Miis with tapped Amiibo characters? With this design, it could be the Super Smash Bros. of party games. In order for this to work, however, Nintendo would need to support as many Amiibo as possible, or Little Mac Amiibo owners might not bite.
Advertisement
8. The Destiny Sequel
This is another one I have to put a personal detail to—I hate Destiny. Destiny is boring, it thought it was coy to hide its story on a website, it didn’t feel all that inspired, and it ultimately failed to live up to the pitch. With that said, Destiny is also very popular. Of all of the MMO-style console games this generation, Destiny did do one thing right—it has kept a majority of players engaged or coming back. Many of those players are already on board for a sequel, and a sequel is definitely coming. That sequel needs to be on the Switch as much as the competition. It would be one solid vote of confidence from Activision, and a better one than the aforementioned Call of Duty. Destiny fans won’t leave the game on their chosen console, and might stick to the same one if they can port characters after all. But new Destiny players will be better served being able to access the game on whatever console they already have, and there will be plenty of Switches in homes with slightly older residents (read: teenagers) that might not pick up a Zelda or Mario right away. That teenager will be far more likely to give those a try if he is on the same machine as they are the whole time. Now, this does create a complicated scenario: Destiny requires an internet connection at all times. Obviously that will interfere with the “ready to go” mentality of the Switch, but forcing a use of all console features at all times would actually be a bad move on Nintendo’s part. While most games could benefit from the Switch’s prime feature, Destiny isn’t one of those games. If Nintendo could just let that go and understand Bungie’s intent for Destiny, it would prove a lot to both fans and third-party developers that Nintendo is in this for the long haul.
7. PAC-MAN Championship Edition 2
As much as the Nintendo Switch seems like an attempt of Nintendo to win back traditional gamers, Nintendo is likely not about to abandon its goal of turning non-gaming people into game players, which started with the Wii. If that’s the case, Nintendo should get the newest PAC-MAN game on the Switch. Being a reinvention of the classic title, Championship Edition 2 is one part old and one part new in such a way that would be a hit with lapsed or older gamers. The gameplay is simple enough to grasp but fun to master, and the arcade-style play style makes for easily digestible sessions. This design would be perfect for both home and portable modes in a way that would highlight the Switch’s features. With a straightforward construction and lower price point, PAC-MAN Championship Edition 2 stands out as a possible competitor to mobile games like Candy Crush Saga and Color Switch that pulled audiences away from the Wii just in time for them to not support the Wii U. These are the kinds of audiences that will be instrumental in the longevity of the Nintendo Switch in popular culture outside of traditional games. We all saw what happened with the Wii’s impact, and Nintendo could secure that again. PAC-MAN Championship Edition 2 is fantastic to pick up and play and incredibly fun to do so. Plus the Joy-Con controllers and the Switch Pro controller use analog sticks, and that is just simply a better way to play an arcade game like PAC-MAN.
6. Stardew Valley
Nintendo consoles have a lot of adorable farming sims, and the Wii U even has this very unique version of the genre. The Wii U doesn’t have a very large install base, however, and chances are fans are still a while away from an Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon. The little indie title has a chance of clicking with players that may not give other more adorable games a chance. The community that has built up around the Steam version of the game almost confirms this. Now, all of those fans will already have the game, but it is currently not in a reliably portable form. Stardew Valley is also another game with the ability to win over unconventional gamers; with more focus on relationships and farming mechanics that are deeper than most mobile games without being alienating, it could be a smash hit all over again with such players, and keep them glued to the Switch. Player characters in Stardew Valley can be made to look however players want, which will also boost the diversity in the game lineup with zero effort on Nintendo’s part. Along with other suggested games on the list, Stardew can be offered for a much lower price than full retail to help pad out sales between major releases.
5. Final Fantasy XV
By the time the Switch comes around, FFXV will be several months old, and most people who were going to pick it up likely will have already done so. It’s a game a decade in the making, after all. Even so, the very presence of a main Final Fantasy title would be the biggest sign that the proverbial hatchet between Nintendo and Square Enix has indeed been buried. To really understand what this would mean, a history lesson is needed: Back in the 1990s, the Nintendo 64’s cartridge-based system was a necessary evil of game production—Nintendo owned the market and was capable of setting all the rules. But when Nintendo inadvertently created a rival of Sony by shafting them on a CD attachment for the 64, they also gave developers a way to break out of the cartridge. Sony’s PlayStation was based on CDs, meaning games could be created that were much larger than the capacity of the N64 cartridge. As a result, Square Enix (then called SquareSoft) could produce the full vision for their plans for Final Fantasy, resulting in the franchise making the move away from Nintendo and never looking back. Spinoffs and other Square Enix titles have been on Nintendo consoles, but the main series has always avoided this. While the appearance of Cloud Strife in Super Smash Bros. last year was a pretty good indicator that the relationship had been restored, it simply wouldn’t mean as much as a proper Final Fantasy would to potential customers.
Admittedly, I would also relish the irony of the cartridge-based Nintendo Switch playing Final Fantasy after all these years.
4. A Proper Metroid Game
Now, Metroid Prime: Federation Force was not a horrible game. But it didn’t do well with any audience in any region. Between this and previous disappointment Other M, if Nintendo has any interest in keeping Samus around (and they better have interest), it’s time to go back to what works. Innovation isn’t a bad thing at all—Mario might fight Bowser all the time, but finds plenty of time to compete in the Olympics—but there’s also power in refinement. With the critical and commercial success of smaller titles like Axiom Verge and Guacamelee following in the classic Metroid’s footsteps, Nintendo would be foolish not to get a 2D Metroid adventure into production if it hasn’t already. The formula is already there, too. Just as Link Between Worlds was both a sequel and a revival of Link to the Past, a new 2D Metroid can lean on and enhance a look back at Super Metroid. Follow up on the mechanics, change up a few things, maybe even steal the item rental mechanic from Link Between Worlds for new ways to get items to progress. It sure can’t be worse than asking permission to turn on Samus’ heat-resistant suit when in a high-temperature environment. A new classic style Metroid won’t appeal to everyone, but it doesn’t need to. That’s what Mario and Link are for. A proper Metroid follow up would be another overdue outreach of goodwill to a fan base that sorely needs it.
By the way, did you know 2016 is the 30th anniversary of Metroid? You’d be forgiven for not knowing, since it looks like Nintendo forgot, too.
3. Super Mario Maker “Pro”
Super Mario Maker was the hit the Wii U could have needed, but simply came too late to make much of a difference when it came to sales. Unlike other creation games, Mario Maker focused less on spectacle and more on cause and effect. In short, Mario Maker taught gamers about the actual nature of game design in a coherent and simplistic way—and this should not be lost in the transition to new hardware. If Nintendo knows what’s good for it, Mario Maker will remain a tentpole title, but a sequel with just items and enemies from games not already included would be lackluster. To really step up the game, Mario Maker needs more function. The first game taught the basics (and an updated version of this would definitely need to be the base of a follow up), but there is no reason to keep players stuck there. A “pro” or “expert” mode would open up a new avenue of design. Want to make Mario jump higher? A physics adjustment option could let you do that. Want to change the set path of enemies to change up the difficulty of levels? A tool to draw travel paths should be simple enough. These are a couple of ideas, but imagine what creativity could be unleashed if players were actually allowed to make their own changes to one of the foundations of video games itself? Limitless challenge potential would keep the game forever popular in the streaming scene alone. Also, this would be a good thing for everyone in gaming. The next generation of video game creators will be inspired by the games they are exposed to, but they could have the ability to tear one apart and gain fundamental understanding of programming at a young age. This may even inspire children to pursue other fields of study. Imagine all the good press Nintendo could receive by getting Nintendo Switches into schools to help educate students in programming—using the most iconic video game character of all time! This really needs to happen, Nintendo. Especially if you also include…
2. Minecraft
Yes, really. Like it or not, Minecraft is simply here to stay. There is an entire generation of gamers that point to Minecraft being the game that made them into game players. To put it simply: Minecraft is a modern classic. If you believe in alternate realities, you have to accept that there is one in which the Wii U launched with the version of Minecraft that now exists on the console, complete with Nintendo content. In that reality, the Wii U sold gang busters before Microsoft or Sony could even get the Xbox One and PS4 announced, respectively. Children and adults alike love this game, and families love that such a dense game is available for their children. That’s the most important part, right there. Whereas most modern game blockbusters are indeed marketing to children, they aren’t necessarily for children. Parents are far more willing to let their children get lost in the blocky world of Minecraft because it is simply better for them to do so. Minecraft is a huge factor in why many PS4s and Xbox Ones are in homes today, and there will only be more children looking to get their hands on the game as they come into an age capable of gaming at all. Nintendo’s trailer for the Switch didn’t showcase families, but that hardly means families won’t be looking at this console. The best way to keep it that way isn’t to advertise just to them, but to give them the best games possible for those families, and Minecraft simply must be a part of that to be comprehensive. Much like Super Mario Maker, as a creation game Minecraft has the ability to inspire and teach beyond the base gameplay in its own way, making this a net win for Nintendo.
1. Pokemon Snap 2
Hey, Nintendo? Pokémon Company? Want to make a whole lot of money really quickly? Okay: You’re going to make a sequel to Pokémon Snap. I know, I know, you don’t want to do this unless you have a fresh idea for it. Good news, I have one for you. That Poke Ride feature in the upcoming Pokémon Sun and Moon? The one that lets players user Pokémon to travel in new ways, such as flying on Charizard’s back? Co-opt it for a new game where the player can use different Pokémon to reach new locations and take pictures in ways that couldn’t be achieved through normal means. If the Switch turns out to have gyroscope features, use those to create a simulation of aiming the camera. We know this is on your mind, there is a similar feature coming in Sun and Moon, though it seems to be one that can only be triggered in certain locations. A full version of this would be a hit with fans old and new. But this could go so much further. With the new account system created back when Miitomo came out, Nintendo Consoles and smartphones gained the ability to interface via this account system. The new Pokémon Snap could take advantage of this and allow players to share photos taken in-game directly to their phones for sharing in any way the see fit. Make memes on Twitter, add some filters in Instagram, share to a Facebook group or save for posterity. It would be the perfect throwback to the original game’s ability to print photos from special stations set up in Blockbuster stores. If they want to go further, they can create a Pokémon Snap application for smartphones that not only does the photo sharing, but lets fans take AR photos of Pokémon in their day-to-day lives, just like in Pokémon GO but without all the nonsense. These sharing abilities would expand the reach of the Nintendo Switch even further, past portability, and create another pop-culture wave using Pokémon. Quite frankly, the lack of a Pokémon Snap is one of the great failures of the Wii U. Correcting this on the Nintendo Switch is the best way to start off on the right foot.
Reading this list, you might notice that looking back on the Wii U is pretty important when thinking about the potential of the Nintendo Switch. There is a reason for this: Nintendo thought the features of the Wii U would be enough to sell it, but the games simply weren’t there in the beginning. Ultimately, consumers are not going to accept the new hardware if it doesn’t have the software to back it up. If the last great mainstay of gaming’s golden years wants the Switch to survive, Nintendo is going to have to remember the most important part of gaming: the games.
Advertisement