Nintendo has released a free update for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, which not only upgrades the game for the Nintendo Switch 2, but also adds some new features, like a playable Dixie Kong and the new Turbo Attack mode. The nice thing is that these additions are found on the original Nintendo Switch as well. During the first wave of free Switch game updates back in June there hasn't been anything like this, where the closest thing was the new Echo favorite functionality in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.
If there were any new contents or big new features, it was usually tied to a "Nintendo Switch 2 Edition", which costs some extra money. In case of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, however, the Switch 2 Edition takes a backseat to the big 3.0 update, which brings a lot of new things on the table, even to players who are still on the Nintendo Switch.
This is a welcome shift and makes you think about what other games could see a similar treatment: upgrade them for the new hardware while offering something new to enjoy on both generations. So, here are some ideas where I would like to see this happen...
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
It's a no-brainer. They could add the Turbo Attack mode to bring it on the same page as Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, but they should try to make it more fun... Forever Entertainment may even be working on this as we speak, because they clearly took Dixie out of Tropical Freeze, which means that they have been touching the sequel.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
If Koei Tecmo were to update one of the older Hyrule Warriors games, then Age of Calamity should have priority, because it really needs this for the performance alone. A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the game got already discussed on this blog last year, so let's keep this brief. But there is certainly some potential for some smaller content additions to both versions of the game, like Zelda's Royal Attire outfit or re-obtaining any special weapons. Or they could make things a bit more interesting by adding Astor as a playable character.
Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
As already mentioned, this should get in line after Age of Calamity. Nevertheless, it would be nice to see this updated to 4K as well. The game already supports full HD resolution on the Nintendo Switch 2 in handheld mode by accident, which is interesting.
Compared to its successors the game feels quite outdated, however, where it's questionable that Koei Tecmo would bother with adding new contents. But if they did, this would be the perfect opportunity to finally fill that 30th character slot after 10 years. Of course, adding a new character isn't as "trivial" as in the newer games, because they should get missions in Adventure Mode for all their upgrades.
One idea could be Zelda & Tri from Echoes of Wisdom, where you also get a small, new Adventure Map based on the game with rifts and different Echoes as Item Cards. This could be lovely and maybe also a nice gesture for the 40th Anniversary. But this is a very unlikely scenario, especially when people are still asking for a playable Ganondorf in Age of Imprisonment... And they should rather focus on that.
Metroid Prime Remastered
This should bring it to the same level as Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, supporting the same visual modes and Joy-Con mouse controls. But this is also the perfect opportunity to finally bring back the Fusion Suit, which hasn't been available in the remaster for some reason...
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
They should just do the exact same thing as Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and finally add Dixie Kong as a playable character. Well, Sora was a good final character and new characters would also require them to make more amiibo, but apparently Nintendo will be going wild with amiibo this year anyway.
And the recent developments have pushed the doors wide open for some new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate contents. Masahiro Sakurai and his team at Bandai Namco have only just released Kirby Air Riders. So, even if the man was willing to make another Smash Bros. in his lifetime, it would take years for this new game to be finished. And like with Animal Crossing, it makes sense to offer something in the meantime, where a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the previous title is in order.
For such a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition they could introduce a new game mode, which is more hardware-hungry and therefore wouldn't have been possible on the Switch. Maybe something akin to Smash Run from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, but bigger. After all, it was based on City Trial, which was a big deal in Air Riders. But that's just an example...
In any case, additions like fighters and stages should be done for both the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 versions, so they stay compatible in online play. I wouldn't expect anything major from this, like a whole third Fighters Pass, simply because the big additions will be saved for the next Smash Bros. game. But they could give us some free additions of characters in established franchises, which may even include new Echo Fighters (Hilda from A Link Between Worlds would be lovely).
Actually, Echo Fighters might be the way to go here, because they would allow for some easy additions, while technically keeping Sora as the last numbered fighter. They could even make Dixie Kong happen as an echo of Diddy. And maybe they will bring back some of the missing stages, like Woolly World (in celebration of Yoshi in the Super Mario Galaxy Movie):
They would be filling some gaps, while creating player retention during the launch of a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. It's the exact same strategy as with Animal Crossing: New Horizons and makes perfect sense for this year.
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