Nintendo’s incredibly successful handheld hybrid celebrates its seventh birthday in 2024. It’s seen us through a whole lot in those years, but no king rules forever. We don’t yet know when the Switch’s successor is coming, but it’s almost certainly just out on the horizon. With one of the best console game libraries ever, what comes next sure does have a lot to live up to. In anticipation of this monumental moment in Nintendo history, here are 10 games we want to see in the Switch 2 launch lineup.
A New F-Zero
F-Zero is one of those Nintendo franchises that’s now more recognizable for its characters’ presence in the Smash Bros series than for the games themselves. After laying dormant since the excellent F-Zero GX on the GameCube (barring its forays on the Game Boy Advance not long after), the recent release of F-Zero 99 indicates that Nintendo might be ready to thrust Captain Falcon and co back into the spotlight.
Mario Kart 8 has been Nintendo’s focus in the racing game arena since its initial release on the Wii U back in 2014, and it would be great to see them put some of what they’ve learned honing that game into a new F-Zero. Of course, that franchise is a different beast altogether, but more than a little bit of F-Zero’s DNA has leaked into it recently what with its 200cc class and the gravity-defying elements on tracks like the Electrodrome.
Still, this isn’t a patch on the feeling of breakneck speed that F-Zero is renowned for. Because of that, a new entry could make for a terrific first-party showcase of Nintendo’s latest hardware.
Wii Sports 5
As great as it is to have a couple of big, expansive titles to rip into at launch, it’s kind of nice to just play something that’s simple to get into and instantly rewarding.
Packaging such a game with a console has typically been a recipe for success too. Between Super Mario World and Tetris, Nintendo has a rich history of this tradition, and it’s one that PlayStation has also jumped on board with in the latest console generation with the charming Astro’s Playroom.
Perhaps the greatest pack-in game of them all though is Wii Sports; a package deal that was so intoxicatingly simple and accessible that it made the Wii a staple of just about every living room in the world. The Sports brand has continued with Resort, Club, and Switch titles, but those games just don’t hit quite as well when they’re boxed retail products.
A new Sports game bundled in with Nintendo’s next console could be exactly what’s needed to reignite our cross-generational love of waggling. Plus, it could bring more eyes to the new console via people playing it together to see what all the fuss is about.
Zelda Wind Waker & Twilight Princess Remastered
Let’s just go ahead and assume that the next Nintendo console will be backward compatible. At present, there are only two mainline 3D Zelda games that you can’t play on the Switch. That’s not bad going, but isn’t it about time we were able to play through the entire series on one console?
If there’s one certainty, in life it’s that every time a Nintendo Direct is announced social media will erupt with rumors and hopes that Wind Waker and Twilight Princess will finally get their due on modern hardware. And for good reason too: These two games — perhaps the quirkiest of the 3D Zeldas — are just as beloved as any other games in the series.
It sure would be something if Nintendo could kick off their next generation of consoles being able to say that players can experience the entire Legend of Zelda series on day one. Even if only one of the titles gets a modern remaster, it’d be a huge win for fans and gamers in general.
Roblox
Bringing Roblox to Nintendo consoles throws out some interesting conflicts. While the game platform could certainly open itself up to a huge number of new players on the family-friendly Switch, the sheer freedom it offers its users seems at odds with Nintendo’s penchant for strict quality control and carefully crafted experiences.
Nintendo itself has been dabbling in user-created content through games such as Mario Maker and Game Builder Garage. But for better or worse depending on where you stand, those tools aren’t anywhere near as open as what you’ll find in Roblox. Of course, we’d love to see new iterations of these games (Zelda Maker, please), but with Roblox now available on PlayStation, it seems inevitable that Nintendo will be next up on Roblox Corporation’s quest for global dominance.
Arms 2
Arms was Nintendo’s big new IP of the Switch era, and while the springy boxing-sim was fairly well received, it still feels as though there’s plenty of room for growth. Arms was clearly intended to do for fighting games what Splatoon had done for shooters, and if that franchise is anything to go by, a second installment could be when things really fall into place.
With a new Smash Bros unlikely to arrive any time soon, releasing Arms 2 as a launch title could also give the game the space it needs to shine. Lessons will surely have been learned with regard to the first game’s competitive failings, and Nintendo could improve these as they aim to establish the franchise as a tentpole of the esports scene.
Red Dead Redemption 2
While the Switch version of GTA Trilogy was the worst version possible of an already exceptionally shoddy ‘remaster’, the recent release of Red Dead Redemption fares surprisingly well on Nintendo’s portable. Given just how much of a visual upgrade the second game in the series is though, it’ll definitely take the increased horsepower of Nintendo’s next console to run Rockstar’s phenomenal Red Dead Redemption 2.
Having such a revered third-party classic on day one would be a massive win for Nintendo fans, but even those who’ve played the game before would no doubt be thankful to replay it on the go. They could dive into the shoes of Arthur Morgan in smaller sessions, slowly but surely making their way through the game’s massive world and story.
Given how well ports of PS3 and 360 era games have been received on the Switch, hopefully third-party studios will be just as eager to bring their newer games to Nintendo’s audiences once they’re given access to the improved hardware.
New 3D Mario
Surely this one is a given, right?
Super Mario Odyssey arrived only a few months into Switch’s lifecycle, releasing all the way back in October 2017. Since then, we’ve seen a steady stream of Mario games ensure Nintendo’s mascot is never far from player’s minds, but we’re now long overdue for a new main series 3D platformer.
A new Nintendo console almost always launches with a new Mario or Zelda game, and with Tears of the Kingdom having only just launched in 2023, it seems almost certain the world’s most famous plumber will be fronting this new era. The question is, will we be seeing Odyssey 2, or a new game entirely? Regardless, you can count on the game providing plenty of innovation and unparalleled joy.
Call of Duty: MW3/Warzone
For years, Nintendo fans have had to endure second-rate versions of some of the biggest franchises in gaming. Despite selling by the bucketload, the Switch’s ‘Legacy Edition’ FIFA games have been something of a laughing stock over the years. With this year’s switch to the EA Sports FC moniker, however, the fully-featured version of the game running on the Frostbite engine has finally made it into player’s hands; and set the precedent for another major franchise to come to Nintendo’s consoles.
Personally, we want to see Call of Duty getting the treatment it deserves on Nintendo consoles. So far the franchise has been absent altogether from the Switch. In fact, you’ll have to go all the way back to 2013’s Ghosts if you wanted to play a CoD game on a Nintendo home console.
Thankfully, that long drought seems to be behind us. While 2023’s Modern Warfare 3 isn’t coming to Switch, Microsoft has recently confirmed a deal that will see all future mainline Call of Duty games coming to Nintendo’s hardware. We can only imagine this will include Warzone, bringing a whole new audience to one of the most popular games ever.
Metroid Prime Remastered Trilogy
Metroid Prime Remastered was a welcome surprise at the start of 2023, and on the whole, Samus Aran fans have been fairly well served by the Switch. Metroid Dread is without a doubt one of the standout games on the console, and four of the bounty hunters’ finest games are available on Nintendo Switch Online.
Still, we never did get the long-anticipated Metroid Prime 4. It seems likely that Metroid Prime 2 and 3 will be remastered before that game finally does arrive, and being able to play through the entire trilogy at the launch of the next-gen console would be a great way to keep the momentum building.
Also, lest we forget that the original Nintendo DS came bundled with a demo for Metroid Prime Hunters, is it too much to hope that the Switch 2 comes bundled with a demo for Prime 4?
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition
The continuation of the Xenoblade Chronicles series has been just one of the many reasons that the Switch has become renowned as the ultimate RPG machine. After polishing off that series with the incredible Future Redeemed expansion for Xenoblade Chronicles 3, it’s time for Monolith Soft to give the weird and wonderful mech RPG Xenoblade Chronicles X the same treatment.
After the disappointing sales of the Wii U, almost all of that console’s exclusives have made their way onto the Switch over the course of its lifetime. Chronicles X is one of the last remaining holdouts, and fans of the cult hit have been desperate to see it made available to a wider audience.
A definitive version of this hundred-hour RPG would make for one heck of a launch game to kick off what would hopefully develop into an all-timer trilogy over the course of the console’s lifetime.
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