A reader lists all the major Nintendo franchises and how they think they’ll take advantage of the Switch 2 and its new features.
Like everyone else I watched the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal on Thursday and like most people I was a bit disappointed that it didn’t show more. I know the rumours said we wouldn’t get much in the way of games but even so, a couple of seconds of slightly dreary looking Mario Kart 9 footage is not quite what I was hoping for.
That doesn’t diminish my interest in the console, it’s just obvious Nintendo don’t want to say anything else at the moment and so we’re just going to have to wait till April when they’re actually ready to open up.
Who knows what we’ll see then but, in the meantime, I’ve tried to come up with ideas of what their biggest franchise will look like on the new console and how they’ll take advantage of its new features. I’m sure I’m wrong but let’s see anyway…
Considering how quickly they killed off New Horizons I imagine this one will arrive quite soon and for me the biggest area to improve is the online features and the AI of the villagers. Online does seem to be a focus for the Switch 2 so that should fit in nicely and having a mouse will be handy for house decoration.
The only real rumour for the Switch 2 is a new Donkey Kong game that could also be the new game from the Super Mario Odyssey team. That means it’s going to end up using the console’s main gimmick but what is that exactly, the Joy-Cons as mice or the secret button? I like the rumours of a co-op mode too, with Donkey Kong vs. Mario, both online and local.
Fire Emblem
The mouse Joy-Con idea doesn’t obviously suit many Nintendo games, but it clearly does for a strategy game like Fire Emblem. Maybe that will mean that it moves beyond the grid-based battles of previous games into something more like a real-time strategy game?
Kirby
Not my favourite Nintendo franchise but you can guarantee it will show up sooner or later. Like Mario, I’d guess it would make an effort to use as many gimmicks as possible and I could easily imagine controlling Kirby with a mouse.
The Legend Of Zelda
Hard to guess with this one, because we’re not going to see a mainline entry for something like five years. I would welcome remasters of the two Switch 1 games though, as they’d also work to show the graphical improvements since the last generation.
Luigi’s Mansion
A very underrated series this, in my opinion, and the best-looking game on the Switch 1. I predict a new sequel fairly early on and that it will be the best looking game on the Switch 2. The last one already looked like Pixar movie so the next one should be amazing.
Mario Kart
The only game we’ve seen and the changes seem to be pretty major, with a much bigger number of online players and an open world – or at least freeform tracks of some kind.
Mario Party
These games sell like hotcakes and with the new features there’ll be tons of new mini-games possible. In fact, it may be one of the best ways to experiment with weird ideas and actually make use of them as something people can play.
Metroid
We all know about Metroid Prime 4, but we still haven’t had a follow-up to Metroid Dread yet. That did so well I can’t imagine there won’t be another one, but I also struggle to think how the Switch 2 can make it better, other than just improving the graphics.
Pikmin
This is a super obvious one for using the mouse, since the original Pikmin is basically a real-time strategy anyway. Only problem is I don’t how that’s going to work given Pikmin 4 was the most successful one and that moved away from the original style of gameplay quite a bit.
Pokémon
I’m not much of a pokéfan but I’d say the priority here is dragging Game Freak out of the PlayStation 2 era and doing some actual good graphics. It already sounds like Pokémon Legends: Z-A is going to be an embarrassment if it’s Switch 1 only, so I’m not sure they’ve really learnt their lesson.
Splatoon
The big question here is whether it will allow mouse control like a PC shooter, but if it does what acts as the keyboard? The controller would be a bit weird to hold like that. I’m sure Nintendo’s thought about this though and I’m very interested to see what they do, maybe a custom controller?
Star Fox
I don’t know if they even bring this back, since it hasn’t been big since the N64 days, but there wasn’t a Switch game so it wouldn’t surprise me if they’ve been cooking something up. Previous games have had elements of strategy games so maybe they could double down on that with mouse control.
Super Mario Maker
This one is an absolute no-brainer for using the mice. Plus, it’s a very online game so I would imagine seeing it quite early on and the obvious thing to do now is make it 3D, which will be easier to do with mouse controls.
Super Smash Bros.
One of the most difficult sequels to figure out. It could obviously do with better online, but I agree with the theory that a Deluxe edition of Ultimate is the way to go, just with a few extra characters.
WarioWare
Nintendo is bound to have a weird mini-game collection at launch that shows off the Switch 2’s gimmicks and I’d much rather it was this (or Mario Party) then something like 1-2-Switch. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Wario Land made a comeback, given the recent spate of indie homages.
Xenoblade Chronicles
This series seems to get more popular with every new entry and with the fuss made about the new Switch 1 remaster of Xenoblade Chronicles X I’m sure it won’t be long before we get another mainline new entry.
By reader Onibee
Mario Kart 9 looks like it’ll probably be a launch title (YouTube)
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I’ve figured out how each Nintendo franchise should work on Switch 2 – Reader’s Feature