The Nintendo Switch 2 opens the doors to additional libraries of classic games, where the Nintendo GameCube will be the first. Technically, it was already possible to emulate GameCube and Wii games on the Nintendo Switch, as proven by the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection, but probably not within the online environment, which is a crucial part of this.
Anyway, only four games will be available at the start, but half of these are interesting for Zelda fans. There is The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker finally making it on the Switch, just not in the form everyone wanted. Maybe this is the reason why Nintendo has not yet released a port of The Wind Waker HD yet, but they also had released a Game Boy library with Link's Awakening DX after producing the remake of Link's Awakening, so this may not be a deciding factor. These online libraries simply offer a cheaper alternative, where now it doesn't look like we'll be getting back the two Zelda HD remasters from the Wii U anytime soon... or ever.
The other title is SoulCalibur II, starring Link. I loved this game on the GameCube and I might even play it again on the Switch 2 with this, but I was always hoping for its remaster on a Nintendo system with Link, which didn't happen. And I suppose this will be a common pattern with GameCube and Wii games. Luigi's Mansion? Nice to have, but I would prefer a remaster to complete the trilogy. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes or Metroid Prime 3: Corruption? Nice to have, but I would prefer a remaster (and complete the trilogy).
However, there is one game I would never expect to be remastered, because it's just such an odd creation. In fact, this GameCube online library is the only real chance I ever saw for a return of this title – The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. It requires such a unique setup, where each player has his or her own screen with a Game Boy Advance, that this made it difficult to return on new hardware. Maybe on a Nintendo 3DS it could have worked, but instead of going through the trouble of porting Four Swords Adventures over, it probably was the better – or at least the more interesting – choice to make a completely new multiplayer Zelda game instead, with Tri Force Heroes.
But this is it, this is where Four Swords Adventures can finally return. Playing this game in multiplayer will be easily possible with the online connectivity, just like it was with Four Swords last year. And the integrated voice chat of the Switch 2 will make things even more convenient. However, Im curious to see how they will handle the whole GBA connectivity. Will this be supported in The Wind Waker? If not, you won't be able to get Knuckle's figurine and the Tingle statues...
What's finally supported is button remapping and it even allows doing so per title. They will also add this functionality to the Nintendo 64 library, together with the rewind feature, but only on Nintendo Switch 2. This is something I wanted from the beginning and is very important to have, because the default button mapping is not always ideal. Hopefully they will also make this happen in the other libraries, no matter how arbitrary it may seem. The Select button, for example, can be quite important in some NES games, like The Adventure of Link or Metroid, but isn't very comfortable to use via the ⊖ button.
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