The Best Top 10 Nintendo Switch exclusives of all time
The Best Top 10 Nintendo Switch exclusives of all time
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When the Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, our expectations were high. The hybrid console instantly felt like a dream console, and the fact that it would launch with a brand new Legend of Zelda game was a good sign that Nintendo was ready to support it with high quality games. The bar was high right out the gate — and Nintendo cleared it time and time again over eight memorable years.
The Nintendo Switch era isn’t fully ending anytime soon, but it will take a backseat to the age of Switch 2 on June 2. That impending date has left us reflecting on the bounty of games we’ve gotten on the platform since 2017. Third party developers returned to Nintendo in a big way with ports that helped widen the Switch’s library, but the console’s real calling card has been its exclusives. We got Nintendo’s studios at the top of their game here, reviving a wide swath of forgotten series while giving old standbys some of their best installments ever. Zelda, Mario, Fire Emblem, and more all made the Nintendo Switch a must-own device, and that good will is sure to spill over to Switch 2.
Nintendo-Switch Controller
The main products include game controllers and accessories compatible with PlayStation, Nintendo, Microsoft, Android & iOS, PC and other game platforms.
10. Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is remembered as 2020’s defining pandemic game, but Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics was just as important in my household. The simple collection pulled together tabletop games like Checkers and Shogi into a tactile and tightly design package that was custom built for bored families. It’s the least flashy game on this list, but it didn’t need to be. I personally spent hours upon hours playing Mancala with my partner at this time, which I’d never really tried before Clubhouse Games. The package did such a great job at explaining the rules that I ended up buying a real Mancala board after a week. Clubhouse Games‘ ability to teach and culturally contextualize 51 different games earns it a spot on this list among some mascot-filled heavy hitters.
9. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
When Nintendo first announced that Mario was crossing over with Ubisoft’s Rabbids, it felt like a joke destined to become weird history. That wasn’t the case, as Ubisoft created a surprisingly great tactics game with Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. It was the start of a promising series that wouldn’t take long to fully realize its potential. Mario + Rabbid: Sparks of Hope builds on everything its predecessor did so well, doubling down on its action-packed turns that let players pull off so many moves at once. That was largely thanks to a reworked movement system that did away with the first game’s grid for something a little more flexible. The end result is the Switch’s best tactics game and a real contender for the best Mario spinoff ever.
8. Ring Fit Adventure
Perhaps more than any game on this list, Ring Fit Adventure is a prime example of why Nintendo’s knack for innovation is so commendable. It would have been easy to make a motion-controlled fitness game, ala Wii Fit, on Switch that just asked players to mimic exercises. Rather than settling for that, Nintendo created its own pilates ring and turned it into a controller for a full-scale RPG. Ring Fit Adventure is a brilliant approach to the fitness genre, one that understands that gradually building your muscles isn’t that far off from an traditional RPG grind. The little fights add up over time so long as your patient enough to keep up with them. It’s an inspired bit of game design from Nintendo that turned out to be a much-needed force for good during the years of social isolation that defined the platform.
7. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
It’s not surprising to see several great Mario games on a Nintendo console. What is more surprising is to see a stellar 2D Mario game these days that feels just as exciting as a 3D one. That’s what we got with the surprising Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a reinvention that the 2D Mario formula so desperately needed. Rather than aping the tired nostalgia of the New Super Mario Bros. series, Wonder gave Mario an expressive makeover, colorful new enemies, and a slew of creative wonder effects that completely spun the idea of a traditional platforming level on its head. While it doesn’t quite have the staying power of Mario’s best adventures, Report this page