I’m happy we live in a world where a Tetris battle royale game is the killer app for the Nintendo Switch Online service. It’s a surprisingly good time. The gameplay rarely gets old and the competition is always tough.
Nintendo President, Shuntaro Furukawa, announced in a recent investor meeting that they’re planning on bringing more elements like Tetris 99 to the online service. That left us wondering what could be coming down the pipeline next.
By no means do we have any kind of foresight, but it would be awesome to see these five franchises receive exclusive games for Switch Online.
Rhythm Heaven
The Rhythm Heaven series has a faithful fanbase, but it’s very much a niche title. The perfect way to get more eyes on the series is via Switch Online.
Fans of the series are hungry for a new addition to the franchise. It’s been nearly three years since Rhythm Heaven Megamix hit the 3DS eShop in North America.
The Switch doesn’t have anywhere near the same install base, but almost every game seems to do insane numbers on the console. Also, releasing it as a free title will likely be enough to convince many Switch owners to at least give it a shot.
The worst part of a Rhythm Heaven game is when it ends. Once you master every level and have them just about memorized there’s not much left to do. With Switch Online integration the number of levels you can get is possibly endless.
There could even be special events where players need to rack up enough points to unlock levels for all owners of the game. You could also have events like Splatfests where the players pick sides and contribute their points to a team total.
Rhythm Heaven is one of Nintendo’s best IPs and deserves the spotlight that is the Switch Online service.
StreetPass Bundle
For the multitude of Nintendo fans who owned a 3DS, StreetPass was a reason to get out of the house. Collecting the pieces for Puzzle Swap and building an army of friends in Find Mii were tasks that required months of grinding to complete.
For small titles, there was a surprising amount of dedication needed to complete the games.
These StreetPass titles from 3DS could find a home on the Switch Online service. The one big problem is that the Switch doesn’t have the same ability of passive communication (as far as we know) that the 3DS has.
This is where the Nintendo Switch Online App comes into play. Now before you finish that groan, hear me out. Even if they could add a Streetpass-like feature to the Switch, it wouldn’t be ideal to bring your console with you everywhere.
The mobile app could be used to connect with other Switch owners. Nintendo could even bring back StreetPass hotspots at places like McDonald’s, Barnes and Noble, and Best Buy.
When it comes to online features, they could add a daily online StreetPass feature that lets you communicate with a certain number of friends each day over the internet. Not everyone lives in cities with high population density.
This could easily combat that issue for Switch owners in rural areas.
This one is probably the least likely of the bunch, but it would be a welcome addition to Switch Online.
Brain Age
We’re all getting older every day and so are our brains. Brain Age is a great way to keep your mind sharp.
This one isn’t so much of a game as it is a wellness tool. However, it’s contained in several enjoyable minigames. The only problem is that Brain Age can get repetitive, and it’s far too easy to cheese the games once you know your way around them.
After a while, the Sudoku section is where you’ll end up spending most of your time. Adding more training options will make the game feel less repetitive, and that’s where Switch Online comes in.
The online portion could also be used to gather player statistics. It wouldn’t be a leaderboard, instead, these stats would be used comparatively to track your progress.
When you finish your daily training routine, you could see what percentile you finished in among your age group. It would be a great way to determine how effective the brain exercises are for you.
Nintendo-Themed Picross
We just got Picross S3 a few weeks back, but a Nintendo-themed version would be a fantastic addition to Switch Online. We already have Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon Picross games. Samus, Kirby, and DK deserve to get in on the fun too.
If you’re unfamiliar with Picross, in the immortal words of Reggie Fils-Aime, what’s wrong with you? Like many puzzle games, the worst part is when you reach the end.
The games are typically exceptionally long, but they don’t offer much replayability. This is where an online Picross game could flourish.
With constant updates and new puzzles, the game could conceivably never end. It could also act as a platform for advertising new Nintendo games. When a new title is about to launch, they could release an update with a pack of game-themed Picross puzzles.
A competitive one-on-one Picross mode would also be incredibly intense. It sounds a bit goofy, but this would be another way to add replayability to the title.
Both players racing to solve one puzzle faster than the other would give the game a completely new feel. Solving a puzzle in Picross feels great, but the adrenaline rush of racing another player online would only add to the logic puzzle experience.
WarioWare
WarioWare is the master of the minigame. It didn’t create them, but it certainly perfected these frantic bite-sized microgames. These little frenzied frolics could make a huge splash with a Switch Online title.
WarioWare always starts out fun and easy but quickly ramps up to the most frenetic thing you’ve ever experienced. You’re just thrown into a manic world of nose-picking, toilet paper-rolling madness.
Sure, it’s crazy now, but giving this game the Tetris 99 treatment would catapult it well beyond the stratosphere and into the Oort Cloud.
WarioWare battle royale would be a heart-stopping frenzy of microgames. The slowly increasing pace of the games is a perfect way to slowly eliminate stragglers. You could have a time gauge instead of a health bar.
Successfully completing consecutive microgames would be used to knock down the opponent’s meters while building up your own.
Just like Picross, this game could also act as a platform for upcoming titles. WarioWare takes inspiration from multiple Nintendo franchises. It would be another great way to give fans of this series more content while advertising new Switch releases.
They could also bring back the creator mode that was the focus of WarioWare D.I.Y. The first few weeks of fan-created content is usually phallic in nature, but it would level out like the Smash Bros level creator is now.
Since the online service for D.I.Y. is now dead, this would be a fantastic way to revive one of the best WarioWare modes.
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