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What Is the Best Year of the Nintendo Switch?
This post was originally written for one of my YouTube video during the blog hiatus. Some of the comments and dates are now outdated. Either way, enjoy!
The Nintendo Switch has had an excellent, almost unprecedented run through its mainstream retail relevancy. And while I can’t say there’s no end in sight, 2024 is shaping up to be one of, if not the best year for the Switch yet. Now, even though we’re getting a couple of Mario games in Paper Mario, Mario and Luigi, and Mario Party, the lack of Mario Odyssey 2 stops me from saying this year is 10 out of 10. It also looks to be devoid of Pokemon and Kirby. Two of my other favorite Nintendo Franchises. Still, that hardly stops me from putting this year in the upper half. And who knows, with the possibility of some stealth drops later in the year, maybe we haven’t even seen all Nintendo has to offer us this year. So, I’ll wait til January to cast a verdict on this year as a whole. With that in mind, which of the nearly 8 years of Nintendo Switch would I say is the best? Well, today we’re going to take a look.
Each year of the Nintendo Switch has surely offered some highlights. I don’t think anyone is saying 2018 is the best year of the Switch, but Super Smash Brothers still dropped and was a goliath right from the jump. 2020 was much maligned due to the onslaught of rereleases (and you can watch our video “In Defense of Nintendo Switch Ports” to get a better idea of what the attitude was back then), but it had Animal Crossing which released at the perfect time. 2021 was probably a low year for me. I grabbed Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D World, both ports. But others would say Dread alone makes 2021 one of the better years.
So what I’m saying is even in down years, the Switch still has something killer to play, something worthy of making you proud to be own a Switch. And all this brings into question what was the best year the Switch had. Personally, I’d like to focus on 3 different years and deep dive into them. Let’s get started!
Before we start the list, don’t forget to follow and like the blog. It means a lot of guys. Now, onto the list.
2017:
I don’t care what anybody says, 2017 was a landmark year for video games. Nintendo made gaming fun again when they launched the dual-purpose Nintendo Switch. Now you could play on the go and on your TV. I’m not going to recap the launch and development of the Switch, we’re just here to talk about the games, so let’s do that.
Breath of the Wild drops alongside the Switch. For the first time in arguably a decade, you felt like you were missing out if you didn’t own Nintendo’s latest offering. I should know, I didn’t get a Switch til 2018. Breath of the Wild was dead set on reinventing Zelda. It did just that. Gone was the formula. It was open world now. It was the talk of the gaming world. There were BOTW clones. That’s right, Zelda was now a genre. If you thought getting a new triple A mainline Zelda title was enough for a single year, 2017 doubled down giving us a new Mario game as well.
And with this declaration, Nintendo had won the next generation of console wars before the PS5 and Xbox Series X even entered the fold. Nintendo had released two 10 out of 10 games just like that. The Switch had only been on the block for about 6 months or so and could already say our heavy hitters rival literally any other console. Straight up, no joke, Nintendo threw the gauntlets down early. And believe me that would have been enough to be in the top 3 years already. But they didn’t stop there. No, no. They brought Mario Kart 8 Deluxe over. Yes, it is a port. But it added in new characters, modes and courses as well as putting all the existing DLC on to the cart. Not to mention it’s still receiving updates even now. So 2017 speaks for itself even if all we mention today are just those 3 games.
So in 2017 the Switch was the latest, greatest thing in gaming. But surely after a half decade or so, the lifespan would be winding down and the banger titles would barely trickle out, right?
2023:
I want to talk about 2023 for a bit here. Obviously, we had the big one. Tears of the Kingdom. Honestly, this has got to be one of the best sequels to a game ever. I’m really enjoying taking my time with this one. Scaling my way to the Wind Temple is probably the most epic thing I’ve ever done in a Zelda game. Seriously, that part is so cool. That came out pretty early in the year in May. The rest of the games this year didn’t do much for me. You have Pikmin 4, Fire Emblem Enrage, Metroid Prime Remastered and Super Mario Wonder. Last year was a great year for Switch owners even if I just picked up 1 game personally. That game was good enough on its own.
2022:
So, the last year I want to discuss is 2022. There’s 3 great games for me personally. The first one is Pokemon Legends Arceus. This was a great Pokemon game. I liked Sword and Shield, I know that’s a polarizing thing to say online, but I did. However, I loved Legends Arceus. The Hisuian Forms were cool. I feel like it handled open world exploration better than Sword and Shield. The sneaking around and catching Pokemon was neat. I think all in all, this was a step forward for Pokemon. So that brings us to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. This is probably my favorite Pokemon Game since X and Y. I think it’s the best one on the Switch. The writing is cheesy, but the school sitting is cool. The game definitely deserves some criticism for the horribly slow cutscenes, but this is one step closer to my dream Pokemon game. I always wanted a Pokemon Game where gaming and battling didn’t have to be the focus. You could be a breeder, or enter contest, and this game doesn’t quite get to my lofty outlandish dreams for the series, it offers the player options in how they want to progress the story. Ultimately, this game made me excited to see what they will do on the Switch successor when that time comes. The last game will talk about today is Kirby and the Forgotten Lands. It’s tough to say this my favorite Switch game but it’s up their with Mario Odyssey. I’m a platformer fan through and through and Kirby is one of my favorite IPs in all the gaming industry. When they finally gave him a 3D adventure, they just nailed it. I’ll say it. This a perfect game. Combine this with getting two really solid Pokemon games, 2022 was a phenomenal year to be a Switch owner.
Okay, so in closing, which year do I give it to? I’m going 2017. The combination of Mario and Zelda is too tough to pass up. I think if Tears of the Kingdom had come out in 2022, then that year might have got the nod over 2017, but alas, that’s not how it went down. 2024 might end up passing 2023, but I could also just be living in the moment. Who knows we will see. So let me know which year. You thought was the best.
The Future of The Legend of Zelda series!?
Today we are talking about an interview that is making its rounds around the internet and in video game circles. Zelda series producer Eiji Aonumoa told IGN “It’s interesting when I hear people say [they prefer the old entries] because I am wondering, ‘Why do you want to go back to a type of game where you’re more limited or more restricted in the types of things or ways you can play?’ But I do understand that desire that we have for nostalgia, and so I can also understand it from that aspect,” said Aonuma.” He pondered during his interview.
If you want to watch our video over this topic, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDEJWKzUqU8&t=14s
Read the full interview here: https://www.ign.com/articles/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-interview-nintendo-eiji-aonuma-hidemaro-fujibayashi
These comments were made in regards to people apparently wanting to go back to the old formulaic Zelda. Personally, I got my Wii U Christmas of 2013. Zelda Breath of the Wild and Smash Brothers were the two main reasons I wanted the machine. I remember waiting years, following every ounce of news about Breath of the Wild leading up to the release. This was one of the most anticipated releases of my life. Playing through it, it lived up to the hype.
So many people wanted to focus on the changes like they were negative. No heart pieces, no traditional dungeons, no loose linear structure. Everything had changed. And I found myself defending it. The shrines were a modern and sleek way to give the players a sense of progress. And it even granted the player freedom how they chose to strengthen Link. Want to survive battles easier, go for Heart Containers. Want to have a smoother time traversing the wild, fill that stamina bar up baby. I loved the way we were piecing together the world and the lore through memories. The korok seeds were a collectathoners dream. I loved my time with it.
But when my time with it was through, I had no urge to replay it. In fact I find myself saying its my second least favorite Zelda. Only above Zelda 2. Why is that?
It just feels hollow. Nothing makes me want to replay or revisit it. It was a blast playing for the first time and discovering everything. But nothing hooked me enough to want to replay it. Whereas Wind Waker on Wii U jumped up to maybe my 2nd favorite Zelda. What’s the difference? Wind Waker feels like an epic quest. Setting sail with nothing and watching Link become the hero he was always meant to be is just something special. Wind Waker is pretty open world too. It doesn’t suffer from the hollow issue; there’s always an island to explore, treasures that await and monsters to defeat. It has some of my favorite NPCs and items in the whole series. It’s a massive open world that doesn’t feel empty nor tedious to search.
Which gets me to what I want to talk about today. Is Breath of the Wild really that different from the rest of the series. And was that a positive shift?
People act like Breath Of the Wild was the first open world game. Many could argue the original Zelda was one of the first ever open world games in general. As the player can explore, I believe any of the first 3 dungeons in any order. The other games may be a bit stricter with progression, but most of the cities are available after you leave your hometown. With only the dungeons and heart pieces really locked behind items.
I think Breath of the Wild handled open world perfectly, as I discussed in my video addressing open world gaming (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ksjo1xPkMw). They give you a brief tutorial, all your runes, and say have fun. And have fun we did. But if you’re like me, the runes just weren’t enough. Breath of the Wild can get teased for being called a sandbox physics engine. There can be some truth to that with the magnet and stasis. The bombs were a must have return for the franchise as they are arguably the most iconic item in the series. Cryonis was a welcomed addition to Links arsenal. But I found myself missing items like the Lens of Truth, the Hookshot and many others. We knew we weren’t getting them either. The runes in Tears of the Kingdom are all relatively fresh ideas here. Ultra Hand is awesome, allowing Link to interact with so many objects in the game world. Fuse, admittedly, may be one I under utilize. As the name suggests, it grants Link the power to combine objects together. Recall, in my opinion, is the most lame one yet. But it plays nicely with the physics engine reputation the new Zelda games have garnered. Ascend is easily one of my favorite power ups in any Zelda game. In my opinion, it’s what sold me on Tears of the Kingdom as an evolution and not a copy of Breath of the Wild. It gives Link the ability to travel through surfaces to reach new heights. It’s amazing for exploring and discovering new areas and locations. While I don’t believe the runes are as cool as the old school items, they were definitely a nice way to break from the mold while still maintaining a semblance of old Zelda.
Some of the most fun I have playing Zelda is reaching a location that is inaccessible at the moment and thinking “wonder what item gets me in here” or wonder what is hiding behind that secret area? It’s a great motivator to encourage players to return and re-explore areas they thought they were through with. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom still offer many puzzles that can give you that “ah-ha” moment through the shrines, of which there is a lot. And I’m not one who hates on the divine beast, as I found myself enjoying them more than others seemed to. To me, oddly enough, it’s just that world feels empty. The chest that you may find will not offer anything special. As weapons break, you have all your items from the start, and heart pieces are gained through the shrines. Meaning, if you see a chest off in the distance, you know you won’t find anything in there of real worth.
All this is to say that yes. At its core Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are the most open world the series has ever been, but at what cost? As the lands, in my opinion just aren’t worth exploring. The korok seeds are the only real thing here worth collecting. They are used to expand your inventory slots. Which is good, but hardly worth all the time it would take to track them down. I often circle back around to Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker because I feel they are near perfect games and capture what it means to be on grand adventures. They are a perfect blend of open world while maintaining direction. Every action feels like it has a purpose and adds to the bigger picture. Nothing feels forced or time consuming. Everything feels like it is here for a reason. Things are fun to explore and have rewards. That’s the issue with giving you everything up front. You won’t be rewarded with light arrows or magic or what have you.
So how would fix Zelda moving forward? It’s a tough problem to have. By removing items and rewards, you are removing part of the fun in exploring these worlds. However, if you reintroduce all these extra things, you complicate the game. Thus sacrificing what works about the two newest Zelda outings. I think my simplest solution is this. Find a way to blend runes with progression items. Runes will be given all at once and at the beginning. While progression items will be concentrated mostly on dungeons. Keep the shrines, but reduce the number. Shrines will extend stamina while heart pieces return to the overworld. Yes players no longer have to choose between the two, but who cares? Games are meant to be fun overall. And players can skip one or the other if they want a challenge. This is how I would fix things. It would give the over world more of a purpose, while still keeping the new open world feel that the games are crafting.
Which style of Zelda do you prefer? Are you fan of the open world gaming, or do you prefer the formulaic style we were use to? Thank you guys for reading and have a great day!
Five Games That Did Open World Perfectly
Lately, I’ve been watching a good bit of RetroBird. One thing became apparent quickly. He hates Open World Gaming… and I’m slowly finding myself agreeing with him. I’m tempted to do a video later discussing my thoughts on open world games and how my thoughts have changed. But today’s topic is addressing 5 games that I think did it perfectly.
Today, we will be discussing one of the biggest buzz worlds in all of the gaming industry- Open World. Open World Gaming is often associated with freedom. Freedom is how you approach tasks, exploring or just goofing around. These games are less linear and rigid and more vague in design. Take the latest Pokémon games, Pokemon Scarlett and Violet. The player has the free to take on the Gym Leaders, defeat the members of Team Star, conquer the Titan Pokémons or do none of that and just go work on your Pokedex. That is one of the beautiful things about Open World Gaming. However, that’s not to say these games are perfect. These games can suffer from filler content, empty worlds, and repetitive tasks that burn the player out. With all that said, let’s look at 5 games that did Open World Perfectly!
Let’s just start with Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom. I actually prefer the more formulaic style of Zelda games such as Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker. However, as far as open world games go, BOTW and TOTK are really solid. The way the world is devastated and you are just dropped into the middle of it and have to piece together the lore and history of this Hyrule is really exciting. Granted, chests and other exploration rewards are not really that enticing in these games. The big draw to Zelda and open world games are how they handle both the exploration and items. They give access to all the runes and the glider a few hours into the game. Long gone are the days of grinding out dungeons to get the next item to move on to the next section of the map. This means you can literally go anywhere you want in the game. It’s just a matter of how much health and stamina you want before you start tracking down the story beats and boss fights. That’s a huge plus for open world games. There’s very few places actually off limits. And to keep highlighting the pros of BOTW’s open worldness, it is very simple. Yes, there’s side quests. But they don’t feel like they are bloating the game. Yes, there’s combat and wild encounters. But they don’t slow the pace of exploration. Honestly, I didn’t value or appreciate these aspects when Breath of the Wild came out. I felt it was shallow and not an actual grand time. Wind Waker felt epic. Breath of the Wild felt empty. But, you know, I respect the way it cuts out a lot of fluff most open world games suffer from.
Next up is Sonic Frontiers. If you know me, you know I don’t like Sonic games, especially 2D Sonic games. So why is Frontier a perfect open world game? The game worlds are massive which can be a detriment to other games. There’s very little in the way of NPCs. The side quests are that rare blend of varied but repetitive. The game will shift between 2D and 3D style. So it bears repeating. Why is Frontiers a perfect open world game? Atmosphere! Sonic blew up because he nailed the atmosphere in the 90s. He was fast, he had an attitude. He knew why people liked him and wanted to play Sonic games. This game figured out how to do speed. The use of an open world allowed them to capture that Sonic essence. It encouraged the developers to design the worlds and challenges to be large in scope. This way Sonic’s quickness and platforming skills were on display. I think this game shows off one of the factors that can separate a bad or decent use of open worldness from a great one: how we explore. Sonic’s use of velocity and the epic scaling of the monsters and terrain made this feel like a true adventure.
Let’s talk about maybe the best sandbox series of all time. Grand Theft Auto. Truly groundbreaking, but rarely duplicated. There’s just nothing quite like it in the open world space. Every GTA game was massive in scope. But GTA 3 shook the gaming world like very few games ever have. In my opinion, GTA 4 took that and just made it into an unstoppable juggernaut. There was truly so much to do in this game. Racing missions, heist missions, dating missions, the list goes on and on. There’s two things the Grand Theft Auto series has going for it as far as sandbox gaming goes. First, just like Breath of the Wild and Sonic Frontier, the method for which the player traverses the world. It may come as a shock, but for Grand Theft Auto that method was, well… Grand Theft Autoing. Jacking a car from a defenseless (or maybe not so defenseless) NPC and driving away with the radio blasting was the soundtrack that defined many childhoods. The second thing on it’s side, which I think it does better than the previous games, is that the world is alive. The NPCs are fleshed out and matter. The environment tries to actively kill you from police, gang members, armed civilians and trains, you are never safe. There’s radio stations with music or news. There’s internet cafés, dates, consequences and much more that help engross you into the world. Open World games don’t get much better than the Grand Theft Auto series.
Recently, the series that’s got the closest to emulating Grand Theft Auto is Spiderman. They captured that lively city approach that only Grand Theft Auto had before. Joe Jonah Jameson pollutes the air waves spewing antispidey propaganda. The cops are desperately trying to slow down criminal activity, everybody lives in fear of Kingpin hiding in the background. One of the strong things Spiderman has to lean on is the IP itself. Mary Jane, Oscorpse, the Sinister Six, Aunt May, so many established and beloved characters mesh and flow so well in the universe Marvel and Spiderman have spent 60 years weaving. Insomniac perfectly captures how we all thought it would feel to swing through New York City as everybody’s favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Lastly, Fallout. Fallout New Vegas is my favorite open world game. This time around, it takes all the good things I said about Breath of the Wild and many of the other games, and turns it upside down. There’s no fun way to explore. The worlds aren’t bright and vibrant. There’s dread lurking down every street. Blood thirsty Raiders set up camps along the deserted highways, radiation contaminates the once pure air, experimental monstrosities now stalk the bombarded hellscape. You must piece together the lore of the land. You will forge alliances with what’s left of the survivors. You will level up your character through a branching skill tree that allows for nearly unlimited replayability. It’s one of the few open world games where I don’t get tired or burned out of exploring every nook and cranny the world has to offer. I don’t feel betrayed by my curiosity.
So, that’s my list of some of the games I think do open world perfectly. Sure, there’s plenty more such as Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim and The Witcher, but these are the ones I feel the most passionate about. My findings seem to show games that put emphasis on making exploring fun while mixing in world building elements tend to keep my interest as I’m playing. Nothing derails open world games faster than monotony traveling or uninteresting worlds.
If you haven’t, check out Retrobird. He has tons of great video game discussion videos that I cant get enough of. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
Games I’ve Played Recently
Alright guys, it’s time for another installment of games I’ve Played Recently. We’ve got 3 good ones to go over!
First off is Tears of the Kingdom!
You guys may remember me mentioning this in my post for my recent Pickups. Well, of course I’ve been playing it as well. I don’t play the story much because I’m more into collecting and exploring. I did complete enough story missions to get the glider as it is essential to further your exploration needs. However, I have been fascinated with the new sky and underground sections. I did cool off playing it when I decided to focus on my Gamepass games over the last month.
Up next is Disney Dreamlight Valley
This game consumes my life off and on. It’s one that my baby girl and wife love to watch me play. We’re currently in the middle of a new event with some new Pixar content. They’ve also added in a new character. It’s one of those village simulators with farming and civilian upkeep. You fish, mine, and play with some of your favorite Disney characters. It’s not a game I play every day. It’s more so a I game I get in phases with.
Now, for the game that has preoccupied my free time the most
This is a new perfect game for me. It was described to me as a Souls-like game. I don’t really play souls like so. Unfortunately, I avoided this one. It caught my eye when scrolling through Gamepass. I downloaded it and gave it a shot. Boy, did I love this game. This is a modern-day metriodvania collectathon. It is broken down into 6 planets instead of one giant level. Though you do get powers that encourage backtracking for new experiences and collectibles. The boss fights can be exhausting, but they’re far from the hardest fights I’ve had in video games. The chest system is kind of lame. It’s a similar problem that Tears of the Kingdom has. All the power ups are hidden in certain sections or through the skill trees. This means the chests are relegated to cosmetic changes such as lightsabers, costume colors, and Droid colors. Cal gets upgrades in the form of wall running, double jumps and force push and pull. This makes backtracking a fun experience. As now you want to see where all you can explore. All in all, I really enjoyed this one. I have beat it. Now it’s time to 100% it.
This post was written a few months back. For some reason I never made the closing paragraph. So I hope you guys enjoyed this one. I’ll be working on a more updated list that includes some new games like Pokémon Scarlett as well as a throwback to a PS2 Hidden Gem in Rogue Galaxy.
Thank you guys for reading! Have a great day!
Da_Hubbz 