Now that 2024 is right here, the countdown is on. Rumors recommend that the Nintendo’s Swap long-awaited successor is coming by the top of the yr. Whereas there’s no official phrase from Nintendo on that but, there’s good purpose to suppose it may occur. The present lineup of Swap video games for 2024 is wanting skinny, so one may moderately guess that builders could also be off engaged on Swap 2 video games by now.
As I start to replicate on the Swap’s wildly profitable life span, I can’t assist however suppose about what a bounty of video games its given to Nintendo followers. I’m not simply speaking about Mario and Zelda video games both. Most of Nintendo’s franchises have been represented in some kind, even when some had been simply rereleases or oddball spinoffs. We’ve seen Animal Crossing, Metroid, WarioWare, and even F-Zero get new video games on the system. Nintendo left nearly no stone unturned this era, because it turned nearly each franchise it had right into a money cow.
Regardless of its intensive library, there are nonetheless just a few holes. Some key Nintendo franchises have but to grace the system, even within the type of an outdated recreation remaster. Whereas titles like Advance Wars and Large Mind Academy made a comeback, heavy hitters like Star Fox have seemingly skipped the Swap totally. With maybe solely months left within the system’s life span, these are the largest Nintendo collection that would miss the Swap except a last-second launch is on the horizon.
Star Fox
Of each main Nintendo collection that has but to return to Swap in any kind, Star Fox is probably the most stunning omission. The house shooter has been a staple of Nintendo consoles ever since 1993. The collection has appeared on virtually each Nintendo system for the reason that Tremendous Nintendo, solely lacking the Nintendo Wii. It looks as if we gained’t get one on the Swap at this fee, and that is sensible to a level. The Wii U’s Star Fox Zero was a industrial failure, seemingly leaving Nintendo with chilly toes.
Even so, we’ve seen that the Swap has been capable of elevate even probably the most area of interest franchises because of its large set up base. An improved Star Fox Zero rerelease may have rehabilitated the collection. Maybe Nintendo is saving that for its ultimate gamble on the platform. If not, there’s all the time hope that it will get the F-Zero 99 remedy.
Earthbound
At this level, Earthbound’s absence on a contemporary Nintendo system is a little bit of a meme. It’s not even that gamers are clamoring for a brand new entry within the area of interest RPG collection; they’ve merely been begging for a port of its third entry, Mom 3. For just a few years previous to the Swap’s life, it felt like Nintendo was constructing to that second. A shock Earthbound Beginnings launch in 2015 felt like table-setting for a Mom 3 revival heading into the Swap period, however that by no means got here.
There’s nonetheless a sliver of hope that we’d see Earthbound on the Swap in some kind this yr. This yr marks the collection’ 30th anniversary and a few imprecise occasions are deliberate to have a good time it. That features some merch drops and collaborations. Whereas video games aren’t talked about on the anniversary webpage, that is in all probability one of the best hope we’ve had since 2015 for a revival of some kind. If the yr goes by with out Mom 3 launching on Swap, both as a full remake or a Swap On-line retro rerelease, we could also be wanting on the true finish for the dormant collection.
Punch-Out!!
At this level, I don’t suppose many individuals actually anticipate a brand new Punch-Out!! recreation from Nintendo. It’s in the identical boat as Duck Hunt — a retro collection that we’re comfy wanting again at with pure nostalgia. Nevertheless it’s a bit of stunning Nintendo opted to skip the collection totally on Swap. Nintendo confirmed its eagerness to make a motion-controller boxing recreation early within the Swap’s life with Arms, so Punch-Out!! appeared like a logical (and extra bankable) subsequent step. That by no means occurred, nor did any type of throwback port of its Wii installment.
Punch-Out!! might have been a casualty of what I name the Swap Lite impact. When Nintendo launched its lower-tier system, which ditched removable Pleasure-Cons, the system moved away from motion-controlled video games totally. Titles like Mario Celebration Superstars and WarioWare: Get It Toegther! prioritized conventional button controls to make sure they might run on all techniques. Maybe that explains why we by no means obtained a Punch-Out!! recreation. If that has you feeling blue, may I like to recommend watching Summoning Salt’s improbable two-hour documentary concerning the historical past of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! speedruns?
Rhythm Heaven
Whereas the Rhythm Heaven collection might sound as area of interest as they arrive, it’s nonetheless a little bit of a shock that it has but to seem on the Nintendo Swap. The weird rhythm recreation collection has an extended historical past on Nintendo techniques, showing on the Recreation Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, 3DS, and even the Wii. It appeared just like the type of recreation that would get a small-budget shock launch on Swap throughout some random Nintendo Direct. That by no means occurred although, and indies like Melatonin had been left to select up the place the collection left off.
Rhythm Heaven is a kind of awkward franchises that discovered itself misplaced in Nintendo’s transition from separate handheld and residential console markets to a unified system. Video games like Pushmo that had been particularly designed for on-the-go play have disappeared on Swap as Nintendo turned console-quality video games into sturdy transportable experiences. Maybe there simply isn’t loads of house left in Nintendo’s first-party schedule for a fast rhythm recreation that takes just a few hours to finish.
Child Icarus
For a very long time, Child Icarus was hardly even thought of a “Nintendo franchise.” It had two entries within the writer’s early days, but it surely went chilly after 1991’s Child Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters. Curiosity within the collection would come again when the collection’ winged hero, Pit, made his method to Tremendous Smash Bros. Brawl, however few had been actually clamoring for an precise revival. What would a contemporary Child Icarus recreation even seem like?
That mindset would change in 2012 because of Child Icarus Rebellion, a cult hit Nintendo 3DS title that stands as one of many firm’s most inventive outputs. It might reimagine the collection as a legendary third-person shooter filled with aerial battles and a few on-rail segments. It’s a wildly bold recreation that made nice use of the 3DS and one which left followers hungry for extra. Sadly, it’s been over a decade now since that launch. Rebellion wouldn’t flip Child Icarus right into a top-tier collection, and there’s no purpose to suppose it’ll turn into one anytime quickly; a brand new Swap title would have been its greatest shot at that. Maybe it’ll make a comeback on Nintendo’s subsequent system as a method to push the brand new tech.
Dr. Mario
I absolutely admit that this choose is one which maybe solely I care about, but it surely’s price mentioning regardless. Tons of Mario spinoffs have made their method to Swap through the years, from Mario Maker to Strikers. There’s one which hasn’t although: Dr. Mario. The puzzle collection has been absent on Swap exterior of its look on the Swap On-line NES app. As a substitute, Nintendo would attempt to flip it right into a cellular recreation with 2019’s Dr. Mario World. That title would reimagine the franchise as a touch-based puzzler with combined outcomes. It looks as if that launch is why we by no means obtained a devoted Swap installment.
Do we actually want a brand new Dr. Mario recreation? Maybe not contemplating what number of nice puzzle video games are on the Swap, however Dr. Mario is a blast for followers of the style. In reality, Dr. Mario: Miracle Remedy was one in all my most-played video games on Nintendo 3DS. It was a strong standby that I returned to any time I used to be in-between massive releases or wished an off-the-cuff expertise to dig into. Arcade-based Nintendo video games like which were missing on Swap as the corporate targeted on console-caliber titles, however I hope Nintendo can discover a method to return to its roots on its subsequent console. Collection like Dr. Mario are the type of transportable staples {that a} transportable machine wants.
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