Nintendo's new hardware offers a bold promise — console level gaming on the go — and fulfills it.
The Switch, in addition to being a console, is a handheld — a genius concept that makes so much sense you'd find it hard to imagine why either Sony or Microsoft didn't come up with the idea first.
With the critical and commercial successes of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the Switch's future only looks great. Suppose Nintendo meets demand for the Switch, it has a potential winner on its hands. Consoles, however, are only as great as its games, and while the Switch is still pretty young — released just this past March — the ongoing clamor for its future titles already rings loud.
So here are the games we want to see on the Nintendo Switch in the future.
Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing has never been on a home console since 2008's Animal Crossing: City Folk on the Wii. Suppose it comes to the Switch — and it seems like a shoo-in at this point — it'll be the first HD Animal Crossing title you can take with you. Imagine that.
This one's a charmer, but don't underestimate it for its cutesy and childlike elements, since there's plenty of things to do in the game.
It's hard to make an argument for the complexity of the Animal Crossing series. You befriend animal villagers, go fishing, unearth fossils, buy paintings, arrange furniture, send letters and gifts, shoot balloons in the sky, travel to other towns, and do a million more activities. Complex? Arguable. Extremely fun? Definitely.
New Super Mario Bros.
Every Nintendo system, be it a handheld or home console, needs a classic 2D Mario platformer, and the Switch is perfect for another New Super Mario Bros. iteration. Still, Nintendo just can't keep making the same game over and over again — it knows all the platforming rules by now, so it needs to break them already, and hopefully to great effect.
Super Mario Galaxy 3
The Switch is already getting Super Mario Odyssey this holiday season. Based on the trailer, it looks as if the game merges the best elements of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and the Galaxy series together, making for one potentially solid 3D platformer. That said, there's still room for another 3D Mario game, and hopefully that's Super Mario Galaxy 3.
2010's Super Mario Galaxy 2 was a massive commercial and critical hit, bringing Mario to new dimensions that the entire Super Mario series hadn't explored yet at the time. It used elements of space — gravity, black holes, and more — to an extremely ingenious effect, with Mario leaping, somersaulting, and flying through gorgeous galaxies that were as much of a master class in level design as they were fantastic worlds.
If Super Mario Galaxy 3 is on the cards, hopefully it's able to live up to the series.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Remake
While the Switch already has the critically acclaimed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, another Zelda title surely wouldn't hurt. However, making an entirely different Zelda entry is going to be difficult because how can Nintendo even follow, let alone usurp the genius and masterful work that is Breath of the Wild?
So While Nintendo brainstorms about a worthy Zelda successor, it can remake Skyward Sword along the way. Released in 2011 for the Wii, Skyward Sword received enormous critical acclaim, though not without reaping negative points for its often janky controls. Nintendo could refine those areas and port it over to the Switch. Instant winner.
An Eighth-Generation 'Pokémon' Title
Sure, rumors about a potential Pokémon Sun and Moon port headed to the Switch called Pokémon Stars are already making the rounds, but what about a true eighth-generation mainline title? In fact, will that game even be meant for the Switch at all, based on Game Freak's most recent job listing?
We can only hope Game Freak develops a true Pokémon entry for the Switch — not a port, not a spinoff, not anything. Just a genuine mainline Pokémon entry — in HD, no less.
A New 'Metroid' Game
After the lukewarm Metroid Prime: Federation Force on the 3DS, the Metroid series needs a surge of revitalization — stat. The Switch could be the perfect venue for this, seeing as how the last true Metroid game dates back to 2010, with Metroid: Other M on the Wii.
Come on, Nintendo. You know Metroid fans dearly miss Samus Aran.
A Brand-New IP
Nintendo could surprise us with a brand-new IP altogether, as it did when it announced titles such as Splatoon for the Wii and the forthcoming title Arms for the Switch. Now, there's no telling what this IP could be, let alone if Nintendo would even make one. But the possibilities are endless. Perhaps a new sci-fi series? A new platformer? A new "showcase" title akin to Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort? Time will tell.
Do you have a personal Nintendo Switch games wishlist? Feel free to share them down in the comments section below!
