Keep the Ball Rolling With AAA Nintendo-Developed Titles
While the debut of the Nintendo Switch in 2017 was nothing short of phenomenal in terms of first-party releases from Nintendo, 2018 was a bit of a bummer until we got Pokemon Let’s Go and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in the last two months.
In 2017, we may have been a bit spoiled with the release of two of what may be the best video games of all time (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey), but in 2018 Nintendo put out some of the lower tiered franchises that, while somewhat popular, aren’t reasons to purchase a Switch or huge moneymakers for the company.
Mario Tennis Aces and Kirby Star Allies were good, but left Switch users like me wanting more from Nintendo.
On the horizon, 2019 is already shaping up to be way better than 2018 in terms of big AAA Nintendo-developed titles.
We have a new mainline Pokemon game due to launch sometime in the latter half of the year, Yoshi’s Crafted World, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Animal Crossing, Luigi’s Mansion 3, and if we’re lucky, we could even be seeing Metroid Prime 4 or Bayonetta 3 down the road.
Just Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem alone are heavy hitters for the Japanese gaming company and will sell like gangbusters on the hybrid console, especially in Japan. It looks like 2019 will be strong for Nintendo as long as they just keep that ball rolling and rolling.
Clean up and Curate the eShop
Nintendo recently announced that the Nintendo Switch eShop has over 1,300 titles to choose from, and that was in November, so that number has definitely risen monumentally, especially since indies have been taking over.
And no, we’re not saying that indies are a bad thing –not in the slighest– but when you have shovelware titles being put on the eShop every week, it can be hard to separate the treasure from the trash and Nintendo needs to do something about this.
As of right now on the Switch eShop, all you can do is see recent releases, top-selling games, and games that are on sale; of course, you can also just search for whatever it is you’re looking for.
There are no categories like the PSN Store that highlight games that are catered towards your interests. What Sony does is see what you’ve been playing and recommends other titles based on your recent game choices.
There are some strange, hyper-sexualized games on the eShop that cost around one dollar, but will have $10 DLC packs, which isn’t bad, but just looks peculiar when it’s sitting next to Breath of the Wild of Mario Odyssey.
With some cleaning up and curating, the Switch eShop can be a better and safer space for those looking for some high-quality games from Nintendo and from indie developers that deserve the spotlight.
We Need More Classic Games on Switch
Listen Nintendo, if I want to purchase The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past or Super Metroid for the fifth time on the Switch, then just let me do it, just let me purchase old games that I’m never going to play.
It makes us feel good inside knowing that we have access to your exceptional classic library of NES and SNES games, but you don’t want to do that, and I guess it’s fine, but at least give us more NES games or something.
If you’re a subscriber to the Switch Online Service, then you have access to a small library of NES games for free, a catalogue that gets updated every so often with a handful of games, which is pretty cool if you ask me.
But let’s be honest, while the NES library has some great titles, the SNES is where it’s at. We want to play more amazing classic games and let’s be honest, the NES has a small collection of grade-A titles.
We want to play A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Super Mario World, Earthbound, and Super Mario RPG. Seeing a new catalogue of games pop up in 2019 would be fantastic, or even just a virtual console that allows you to purchase each game individually.
Whatever the method may be, the Switch needs it.
More Outside Collaborations
Nintendo has always been super protective of their franchises and IPs, and who could blame ’em?
Mario is hands down the most iconic video game character on the face of the earth, so allowing another company to use that character for their game is probably nerve-wracking for Nintendo.
However, in recent years, Nintendo has been buddy-buddy with Ubisoft and has not only given them Mario characters to use in the strategy RPG, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, but this year, they also handed off Star Fox to Ubisoft to use in Starlink: Battle for Atlas.
We would love to see more of these collaborations going into 2019.
Obviously, there is a certain level of trust that is needed for these projects to take place, but Nintendo is in a great position right now with the Switch, so let’s see some wacky and ridiculous mashups next year Nintendo.
Let go of Link’s hand, he’ll be fine, you don’t have to worry.
Customizable Options for the Switch Home Menu
Right now, the Switch home menu works fine. You can see all of your recently played games right there and I really have no complaints besides the fact that you can’t customize it or make it your own in any way.
The only thing that you can do is change the background from black to white or vice verse, and that’s all.
Looking at the abundance of themes that the 3DS has, I don’t see why the Switch can’t get the same treatment.
Not only does the 3DS have visual themes that change the look of all of the icons and backgrounds, but there are even little sounds that match up with the theme, which is a nice little treat.
Most of them cost a few bucks, but that would be totally fine for the Switch. I would pay a buck or two for a Zelda-themed background with rupee notes and that iconic “chest-opening” jingle.
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