Help Me Love The Switch

I've been a bit disparaging about the Switch lately as I simply don't seem to see in it what the rest of you do. That troubles me a bit and I feel like I'm missing out on something. I wondered if you could help me work out what that might be.

My main issue with the Switch is that its library seems to consist of (a) Wii U ports of games that I've already played, I mean literally the entire library of the console, or (b) the shittiest and most expensive version of games that are available on all three major platforms. The whole system felt underpowered in 2016 and positively archaic in 2025. But I keep getting assured that it's the games that matter, and that's probably right.

I'm aware there are a number of great Switch exclusives though and I've probably missed out on a few. So what am I missing from this list?

Not including Wii U ports or multi-platform releases, I've played (from memory):

• Breath of the Wild (which is OK) and Tears of the Kingdom (which I really didn't like) - to be honest neither are what I really want from a Zelda game.
• Super Mario Odyssey, which is genuinely great, although perhaps not quite Galaxy level.
• Super Mario Wonder, which I didn't like as much as NSMBU.
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which I absolutely loved, probably my favourite game on the system. And it's semi-sequel Three Hopes, which is also quite good.
• Super Smash Bros Ultimate, also great although technically it's just the Wii U version with extra stuff. A lot of extra stuff, granted. This is a good'un.
• Mario & Rabbids, really liked the first game, thought the second was a bit of a step back though.
• Metroid Dread, which I didn't find as good as Super, Zero Mission or either of the first two Primes - the map is a bit samey and those set-pieces are a bit annoying.
• Splatoon 2, not really my thing but the boy loved it, and 3, which felt like a rip-off as it was basically the exact same
• 51 Worldwide Classics, weirdly I've spent quite a lot of time on this one.
• Monster Hunter: Rise & Sunbreak, well it was Switch exclusive when it came out, this was really great but I regret not waiting to play it on a system that had a bit more oomph
• Super Mario Maker 2, another one the boy adored, not for me though

So what am I missing?

I'm thinking I should probably check out Luigi's Mansion 3, Pikmin 4 and maaaybe the other Fire Emblem game on the system (although I heard it wasn't as good as Three Houses). The 2D Zeldas perhaps (although I hear bad things about their performance). What else? Give me your recommendations!

/walks back into the room

I genuinely don't think you're going to find much to satisfy you, purely because what tickles your pickle seems quite particular. I mean, this:

Super Mario Odyssey, which is genuinely great, although perhaps not quite Galaxy level.

then this:

Super Mario Wonder, which I didn't like as much as NSMBU.

Maaaaaaan… come on. Wonder, not as good as NSMBU?! That's a masochist talking.

So what am I missing?

You're missing what you want from the device, the reason for wanting it over playing anything else you already have. Me, it's not necessarily about exclusive games (though you can never turn me off that Nintendo spark that our games have), but how to engage. I barely play on the TV, and I don't have a Steam Deck, so it's about enjoying games in my hands… can't really do that with much else without cloud streaming. Even then, it took the Lite to make me enjoy the Switch because the original is too clunky for me. I don't think I'd care half as much about it if I had to only play on TV, that's just not how I game any more.

Luigi's Mansion 3

Yep, great, but it gets a fiddly near the end with some of the boss fights that require controlling two characters at once.

Pikmin 4

Yep, also great, the only Pikmin game I've liked and actually finished because it felt less like work (except the silly hard trials bit, fuck that)

The 2D Zeldas perhaps

Both great, performance issues have been overblown… They're not terrible by any stretch.

Lots of people I know seem to the Pokémon Legends Arceus is fantastic, though it's not for me. I really enjoyed Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Snipperclips is ace. So is Good Job!, which no-one remembers we published. Cadence of Hyrule was fun. And Astral Chain is fucking great.

/walks back out the room again

Good Job is great, and I loved all of Pikmin 4. Mario Kart Switch is about twice the size of MK WiiU now, so shouldn’t be forgotten. Animal Crossing was pretty special but I think you had to be there at the time. Towerfall Ascention is the best local multiplayer game ever made.

I think Mario Odyssey is my favourite 3D Mario, It consistently managed to surprise me when most video games just seemed to be the same shit we have been playing since the 360 launched.

Small chance but I think Advance Wars is great, especially the sequel which you get also. Pretty different to Fire Emblem though, even without permadeath it's a bit harder in some ways

Cheers guys, good suggestions. Looks like I play the Switch completely differently to Mart - I almost never play it in handheld any more - it's pretty much permanently in its dock now.

Mart - is Kirby and the Forgotten Land the 3D one? There are so many Kirby games I can never remember which on is which. I've never heard of Good Job or Astral Chain so I'll go and look those up.

Bri - yes you're right about MK8, I resented paying for that initially because it really was identical to the Wii U version but we stuck it on for an hour last night and it was just a constant stream of new tracks, great stuff. I know I don't like Animal Crossing though (tried it several times) and I've got Towerfall on Xbox.

Al - I played both of the original Advance Wars on GBA originally, if I wanted to play something like that I'd probably just give Wargroove a go on Game Pass.

How are the Xenoblade Chronicles games? I really liked the first one (the 3DS version was spectacular) but haven't played either of the other two. Every screenshot I saw seemed to have girls with massive tits and it kind of put me off, but maybe it's not representative of the games as a whole.

Oh shit I forgot about those despite them being amazing, I think they're both pretty much some of the best games of the system. Better combat and stories than the first imo, 2 has a fake gacha system where your party is determined by luck and so your experience can vary from someone else's a bit, 3 has a cool job system. Both have the same addictive faux mmo quality of the first game.

Both are also pretty high on anime tropes too though, which doesnt bother me but I can see annoying some people.

Both have the same addictive faux mmo quality of the first game.

That's kind of what I wanted to hear, there was something about the structure of XC1 with all its millions of little fetch quests that really appealed. I'd hoped they hadn't turned the sequels into something more conventional.

You must have a bunch of other weird RPGs to recommend on the system, Al?

Struggling to think of any that aren't on Steam Deck otherwise I'd have said stuff like Trails to Zero/Trails to Azure and Harvestella

It's a WiiU port but Tokyo Mirage Sessions: Encore is a crossover between Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei, you get old FE characters as summons (and the redesigns are almost unrecognisable btw) and it plays like a sort of Diet Persona 5, with you wandering Tokyo and also entering dungeons. the battle system is basically where the SMT part comes into it although it's a lot less mean but the mechanic where party members combo off each other a lot is really fun. (Not on the WiiU version though where you had to watch it all play out and couldn't skip)

Also the jpop concert cutscenes were awesome, but if you dont like this vibe you might not like the game

There is also a fair few Mario RPGs though only the remakes seem to be highly rated…

Fire Emblem Engage IS good but don't expectthe narrative of 3H, or writing. Gameplay is super fun though.

Also Monster Hunter GU is not actually on Steam and…I think it stands alongside Rise/Sunbreak, expect a new skill system where you choose a style to play weapons in, like aerial dual blades or 'valour' Longsword that gives you a parry. They sorta' baked this stuff into later games but I think the style system made weapons super interesting. Also on roster exclusives alone, you can name any one MH game and still say 'this is worth'

Paper Mario Origami King is excellent.