All Zelda Games on Nintendo Switch 2

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For the 40th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo has shared the above infographic. This simply shows you what Zelda games you will be able to play if you own a Nintendo Switch 2 (with an expanded Nintendo Switch Online subscription, of course). And it reminds me of a similar list I had compiled ten years ago for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

They have also shown this in the Zelda Direct on Tuesday. And while it's a pretty way of communicating what's available, this infographic is triggering some Zelda fans so hard that it feels like Nintendo is intentionally trolling them. While it's certainly impressive that you can play 15 out of the 21 mainline titles in some form, the focus quickly shifts from what's there to what's missing, first and foremost Twilight Princess. And it certainly leaves a big gap there, no doubt about that.

Twilight Princess is right now the only 3D Zelda game you are unable to play on Nintendo Switch 2. It's also one of three GameCube titles that haven't become available yet on Nintendo Switch Online, the other two being Ocarina of Time - Master Quest and Four Swords Adventures.

Though, Master Quest should probably be just added to the Nintendo 64 library, since it always was just an N64 ROM running in an emulator. And with the Ocarina of Time remake coming, this won't be happening anytime soon, maybe even never.

The latest remake might also be the reason why they haven't added Twilight Princess to NSO this week, and instead went with Star Fox Adventures. They do not want to distract from Ocarina of Time right now with any other Zelda game, especially one so similar. For the same reason you shouldn't hold your breath for ports of The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD any longer. I feel like this ship has finally left the harbor with the Ocarina of Time remake, where now we've went from remastering all the 3D Zelda games to full-on remaking them.

Well, it would throw a big bone to all the Nintendo Switch owners out there, who aren't even able to play The Wind Waker via NSO. But would Twilight Princess fans really be content with getting a rehashed remaster after seeing how pretty a Zelda game can look like? I think not. And I'm sure one day we'll be getting a Twilight Princess remake in the same quality – or even better looking, because this won't be happening on the Nintendo Switch 2. Maybe on the Switch 3.

Right now the best you can hope for is Twilight Princess on NSO, but Nintendo might wait a little longer with that, even skipping the game's twentieth anniversary on November 19th. If we were going by order, then Four Swords Adventures would also be next, but for this game Nintendo will have to solve the issue of emulating the Game Boy Advance connectivity. They haven't done it for The Wind Waker, so things aren't looking great right now. Alternatively, they might opt for a special re-release of the title, just like what they have done with Four Swords for the 25th Anniversary. That is certainly an option.

Of course, the list is also still missing the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS games. And libraries for those might be added to Nintendo Switch Online in the future, but the touch screen functionalities will prove to be a challenge. While the Nintendo Switch 2 has a touchscreen, you can only use it in handheld mode and it won't give you the same accessibility as the original dual screen systems, where the touch screen also often was used for additional buttons, e.g. quickly swapping items in A Link Between Worlds or using the emoticons in Tri Force Heroes.

The best chance for some of these games to return might be remakes, but there are more than enough Zelda games waiting in line to be remade already. So, we may not see any of these on the Nintendo Switch 2.

Update: They could also offer a peripheral where you attach the Joy-Cons and insert the screen of the Switch 2 vertically. This would emulate the overall setup of the dual screen systems, though be it much larger and heavier.

Age of Calamity + Definitive Edition = Game Key Card

Nintendo has opened their pre-orders today for the Definitive Edition of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. And it's indeed going to be a Game Key Card, the first in connection to Zelda, making this as unattractive as it could possibly be.

This whole Definitive Edition thing feels like a pure scam. It is technically just one of those Nintendo Switch 2 Editions you keep seeing, like it was done for both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Normally, you can either upgrade your existing game for a small fee, or buy it all anew as a physical release (with all of it on the card).

For some reason they didn't want to offer this for Age of Calamity. Instead, you will have to buy the whole game again. Sure, there is a 50% discount for those who already own the Nintendo Switch version, where even your physical copy can be registered for it. But this discount doesn't take into consideration whether you have already purchased the DLC or not. You will have to pay 30 bucks either way, which is unfair. And that's three times as much as you normally have to pay for a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade.

Plus, with how little this upgrade is offering, it really should be just five bucks. All it has – in addition to the performance and resolution boost – is more monsters on screen (which were there before, but couldn't get rendered at the same time), and a new difficulty mode absolutely nobody asked for.

Well, the pricing of the upgrade wouldn't really have mattered for me personally, because I was going for the physical edition anyway. I like to have as much on cartridge as I possibly can. But now it turns out that I can't have any of it on card. In fact, when upgrading to the Definitive Edition, I will have to get the whole game digitally now, whether I like it or not.

Game Key Cards are a Nintendo Switch 2-specific topic that I have yet to discuss, mainly because it didn't affect me so far. In general, I think they can be a good compromise for games that are simply too large to put them on a card. If you want the option to easily lend your games to friends, or to resell them, or if you still want something haptical for your collection, then the Game Key Cards will be better than nothing at all.

However, otherwise they are basically the worst of both worlds. The games will take up space on your Nintendo Switch 2 system, forcing you to eventually buy a large Express MicroSD card, but you still lack the convenience of going digital-only, because you will have to change cartridges whenever you swap between games.

So, in the end it won't make much sense for me to buy the physical release, but I'd love to have it all on card. It wasn't an issue for Age of Imprisonment, so what has changed here? It can't possibly be larger than its much prettier sequel. It's really just to reduce production costs and increase margins.

Of course, Koei Tecmo is known to be one of the greediest and scummiest publishers in the history of video game publishers. Their collection of DLC for Dead or Alive 6 costs more than the entire Zelda series combined. And it's not even close. I love the Hyrule Warriors games, but Koei Tecmo can be awful and very anti-consumer.

Up until now this got contained by Nintendo, who has done the publishing of Hyrule Warriors in the west. But it looks like they had to strike a shitty deal to make this upgrade happen, which is the only explanation for this "Definitive Edition" nonsense and them using Game Key Cards, even though the game shouldn't be as big in size. As much as I love Hyrule Warriors and want the series to be a success, I very much hope that this release will get a ton of backlash and sale like stale onions. They need to learn.

It's a real shame, because this upgrade for Age of Calamity is something I really, really wanted and where I was looking forward to returning to the game. And now this has completely killed my excitement from yesterday.

Nintendo Switch 2 System Transfers Now Possible

Today the Nintendo Switch 2 received a system update to version 23.0.0, which – among other things – now also lets you do a system transfer between two Nintendo Switch 2 systems, which previously wasn't possible.

Well, Nintendo knows what they are doing. They know that some Zelda fans are going to double-dip for the 40th Anniversary Edition console, and then potentially sell their old Switch 2. So, this is an important step for next month. You can even do one of these server-based transfers, where you can sell your Switch 2 already and then complete the transfer on October 29th.

Anyway, I hope this will be as easy as it was with moving from a Nintendo Switch in regards to your Animal Crossing: New Horizons island. You didn't need any additional transfer software or whatever, it was very convenient.

 

Source: @OatmealDome

40th Anniversary Edition Nintendo Switch 2 and Pro Controller Announced

Finally, I can talk about this without worrying about spoilers... This was one of the biggest reveals in the 40th Anniversary Direct today, with all certainty the priciest, but it already got leaked last month, which stole the surprise. Well, at least the carrying case is news, where it's nice that we will get a matching one.

So, overall this is the exact same set that we have gotten for Tears of the Kingdom three years ago, but for a Nintendo Switch 2 and with a very different style. But I like it a lot and will definitely get it all, where I already have someone willing to adopt my current Nintendo Switch 2.

However, I don't think you can do a system transfer between two Nintendo Switch 2 systems yet, but hopefully this will be implemented before the launch on this system on October 29th. It's nice that they are releasing this ahead of the game (also like they had done with Tears of the Kingdom), so you can take all the time you need to prepare everything. Of course, this has the downside that the game isn't included, but I prefer to get the physical edition anyway.

What I'm also going to do is preorder this in the Nintendo Store, because the Pro Controller will come with a neat display stand as an exclusive extra. But I was going to do this anyway. In the last years I made very good experiences with preordering everything in the official Nintendo Shop, especially when it comes to limited offers. Thanks to how they handle things, I never missed an item I wanted. And if something is amiss, they actually have spares, unlike Amazon and alike. Well, you won't be getting any discounts in the Nintendo Store, but to me that has been worth it.

Source 1, Source 2

Update: system transfers between two Nintendo Switch systems were added via a system update two days later, version 23.0.0. And the Nintendo Store experience was an absolute mess this time. See follow-up posts:

Nintendo Store Catastrophe
System Transfer Now Possible

Nintendo Switch 2: Potential Game Upgrades with Content

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.

Age of Calamity – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Proposal

Whether Koei Tecmo will keep expanding Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment after its free updates or not, they shouldn't move on to the next Fire Emblem Warriors just yet. Instead, they should stay on the project a little longer and bring Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity on the same page as its successor, via a shiny Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. This is a very common request, because a lot of people have not been happy with the performance of the original on the Nintendo Switch.

With such an upgrade the game would run in 4k and 60FPS, but since we're talking about a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and not a mere free update, there also need to be some Switch 2 features to warrant it. One would be support for Game Share, which is an excellent addition in Age of Imprisonment that makes playing the coop mode much more enjoyable.

And the other would be increasing the number of enemies that are visible and ready to be attacked all across the board. The original game often only rendered a limited number of enemies, even when more were in the area. So, you might have 100 Bokoblins in front of you, but the game was only displaying 50 of them at once (just as an example). And the rest were popping in as the others got defeated. That's not a thing in Age of Imprisonment any longer and actually a very good feature for an upgrade, because it makes the game a lot more responsive and fun.

Still, this isn't much and like the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Animal Crossing: New Horizons this should come at the lowest price point, so only 4.99€ for the Upgrade Pack. 

A free update that accompanies the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition could also address some other issues and omissions, which were left in the field after the Expansion Pass was finished. Plus, some improvements from Age of Imprisonment may also be implemented. Here are some ideas:

• Zelda's Royal Attire as a new outfit option
• Quick follow-up to exposed weak point gauges
• A way of re-obtaining certain one-time weaponry, including the Lucky Ladle and Prototype Ancient Short Sword
• A new blacksmith feature to maximize the otherwise random base damage values of weapons
• Increased levels for Vicious Monster Battles during Blood Moons
• Improved camera behavior
• Update: Battles completed on Apocalyptic are highlighted (like in version 1.0.3)

They could also finally make Astor playable in the post-game, but who am I kidding?

Well, Nintendo probably wouldn't release this all too soon, because right now they want to focus on Age of Imprisonment and don't take away from its sales. But in a year or so this could be a worthwhile addition to the ever-growing library of Nintendo Switch 2 Editions. 

Got a Nintendo Switch 2

History repeats itself. Five years ago I got a plain gray Nintendo Switch, because I wanted to play Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. And now I got a plain gray Nintendo Switch 2, because I want to play Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. Neither was a happy purchase, and the only difference is that I haven't waited years to buy one this time.

"What's the big deal?" you might ask. The problem are shiny Zelda-themed special editions of Nintendo hardware, which have been a cause of regret ever since I got that black Game Boy Advance SP in 2003. They are what I want to buy, not the default system, so the default systems just end up being temporary solutions. The worst was the Nintendo 3DS in 2011, where a 25th Anniversary Zelda Edition got announced shortly after I had purchased a red one to play both Ocarina of Time 3D and the Four Swords Anniversary Edition. The latter was even only available for a short time, urging you to get a system that can download it...

My temper tantrum from that day is still entertaining to read, but that situation has left its mark on me. There is this voice in my head, whispering to me that there might a 40th Anniversary Zelda Edition of the Switch 2 coming next year, together with that Ocarina of Time remake that everyone is hoping for... And maybe this will happen. But I kept thinking the same with the original Switch, where it took Nintendo six whole years before we finally got the Tears of the Kingdom Edition. And that was already the OLED model, giving you a considerable upgrade.

Speaking of, this pretty baby isn't even three years old now. It feels very wrong to leave it behind already. And it's ironic that I have to do so in order to play the Tears of the Kingdom spin-off. Think about that...! But once you have a Nintendo Switch 2, there is no real reason to go back to the Switch 1, so from now on this will be a personal museum piece.

If they had treated Age of Imprisonment like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, where the game still launches on the Switch, then I would have probably stayed with my OLED Switch for now, even if the game were to run terribly on it. But that's not happening and I'm too excited about Age of Imprisonment to skip over it for now.

I was also worried that they might announce a special edition for Metroid Prime 4, maybe a cool "Vi-o-La Edition" or so. But this would be very weird after how neither Pokémon Legends Z-A, nor Kirby Air Riders were getting something like it. And it looks the first piece of themed hardware will be a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller for Resident Evil: Requiem, which was announced today and is coming in February (see here). So, I'm hoping that Nintendo won't blindside us again.

Well, once a special edition gets released that I want to have, I won't have trouble finding someone to take my new Nintendo Switch 2 off me. The only hurdle is that there has yet to be a system transfer between Nintendo Switch 2 systems (or I couldn't find anything like it). But the Nintendo Switch also didn't have this in the beginning and there should be no reason to do one at the moment. So, this may change once Nintendo starts releasing the first special edition consoles.

At least the migration from a Nintendo Switch was effortless and worked really well, essentially like it was before with the Nintendo 3DS. You can just establish a local connection between the two consoles and it will copy everything over, including your Animal Crossing: New Horizons island. When moving from one Nintendo Switch to another, this was much more complicated, where you had to use a special software tool for it. That's not required any longer, which was a relief, because I have over 1200 hours in the game and if something were to go wrong here, this would be a huge loss, especially with the new update coming in January.

It also won't factory-reset your old Nintendo Switch, so you can still use it like before. Only your island is tied to the new system after the move. But as I said, there is no real reason to keep using a Nintendo Switch, unless you prefer the smaller size.

The bigger screen size also doesn't make the process of applying a screen protector any easier. Sadly, Nintendo is holding on to the idea of selling theirs only in a bundle with a carrying case. Both are really nice and I do recommend them, but that they don't sell the screen protectors on their own is still stupid beyond any reasoning. There is so much that can go wrong and you may want to replace them after they caught some scratches.

And the measurements of the screen protector are a bit too tight. I had to reapply mine a total of three times, because each time it slightly stood over at one of the corners. Naturally, I got two pieces of dust under it while doing so, since I don't have access to some hermetically sealed room, but luckily it's only close to the edges... I might be even to fix this by slightly peeling it off. So, it could be worse, but I still hate doing this stuff every two and a half years.

But whatever... I'm ready for Age of Imprisonment and that's all that counts. This will also be my first Nintendo Switch 2 game, so I haven't purchased anything else yet. I do have access to the Nintendo Switch 2 Editions of both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, though, so that's what I will be playing this weekend in preparation, listening to the all the voice memories. More on that later. Also, I will certainly buy Mario Kart World, but I might wait for the Black Friday sales. There is no need right now, because starting next Thursday I will be mainly playing Age of Imprisonment, followed by Metroid Prime 4.

My Switch Swan Song

The Nintendo Switch 2 launched last month, but I have never been a day-one-adopter, at least when it comes to new hardware generations. The Nintendo 3DS came close, but there I didn't even fall into the ambassadors and still regretted it... In any case, I usually wait until there is one game where I simply cannot wait any longer.

But this never has been so hard before. There may only be two interesting exclusives right now, with Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza (the latter to be released in five days), but it's quite tempting to upgrade to a Nintendo Switch 2 nevertheless, because all your Nintendo Switch games will run and look better on it. And this concerns most games, not just the ones with a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition or a free update, because they might already profit from faster loading times and more staple frame rates, right out of the box.

Past Nintendo systems with backward compatibility didn't really offer the same incentive. Well, maybe the Game Boy Color with its coloring for Game Boy games did, where I bought that one very early as well (but technically this doesn't even count as its own generation, as indicated by the shared library on Nintendo Switch Online). And the backwards compatibility usually didn't stem from a similar hardware architecture, but from integrating the old hardware somehow. So, the Nintendo DS had essentially a Game Boy Advance built-in and so on, where you didn't really get any major advantage. That's different for the Nintendo Switch 2.

And this makes still playing on a Nintendo Switch quite unattractive, because most of it is best saved for the new hardware. I have yet to play Super Mario Odyssey, for example, but that would be better now with its free 4K update on the Switch 2. Exact same thing with Bowser's Fury. Or, I want to replay Echoes of Wisdom in Hero Mode, but that would be so much better with staple 60FPS. And I eventually want to play through Breath of the Wild a fourth time with its Master Mode on the Switch, but that's best reserved for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition...

This doesn't really leave much at the end, maybe only stuff like Tetris 99 or Nintendo World Championships, but I eventually found the game that will keep my current Nintendo Switch running until I finally upgrade: Hyrule Warriors - Definitive Edition. It already runs smoothly in 60FPS, at least in docked mode, and it has never been the prettiest game, where I don't expect it to get a meaningful visual update.

However, handheld mode is a completely different story... For some reason it also runs in 1080p there (downscaled to 720), which causes the frame rate to suffer significantly, but on Nintendo Switch 2 you can enjoy it in its full resolution with smooth 60FPS, without the need for any update. That's actually a big incentive for upgrading as well, but I don't play in handheld mode that often, so it's still okay for me. And if I were to buy a Nintendo Switch 2 now, I would probably play something else.

But it's a good attunement for the game that will likely get me to buy a Nintendo Switch 2 – Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. It's only fitting, since I had waited with the Nintendo Switch until Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity came out. But in doing so I completely skipped over the Definitive Edition of the first game. Well, it barely offered anything new, so it never felt like I will be missing out if I didn't immediately play it. After completing Hyrule Warriors Legends on the Nintendo 3DS, I was also burnt out on the game, understandably so, but enough time has passed by now for it to be fun again.

Though, I had started playing the Definitive Edition in early 2022, where I've already went through Legend Mode and most of the first Adventure Map. The plan was to play it regularly, maybe even a little bit every day, but that didn't work out... And I probably won't complete all of it in the next months, where I eventually will continue with it on Nintendo Switch 2. It's a long game.

PS: I will share some "Definitive Impressions" later on.

Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo Switch 2

Super Smash Bros. finds itself in a similar position to Animal Crossing on the Nintendo Switch 2. Both franchises usually only produce one game per system, if at all, and both have gotten their most extensive and ambitious entry in the series so far on the Nintendo Switch, with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Animal Crossing: New Horizons respectively. These games can still be played on the Nintendo Switch 2 and with Kirby Air Riders and Splatoon Raiders in the making, we shouldn't expect successors anytime soon, since these projects block their usual developers.

Of course, Masahiro Sakurai may retire after Air Riders and never make another Smash Bros. game again in his life, where someone else might take over, but we all know that this is not how famous producers roll. He will likely return to Smash Bros. after development of this side project has finished later this year, but this still means that we shouldn't expect a successor to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in the next two or three years.

As for Ultimate, it's possible that they may update the game for Nintendo Switch 2 somehow, but we shouldn't expect any meaningful additions here, like new stages or fighters, though it would certainly be lovely. And it won't fix the game's biggest issue, which is the latency based netcode, where a change to rollback netcode wouldn't be possible due the required backwards compatibility, where you will still be playing against Nintendo Switch users. And even for a new Smash game on the Nintendo Switch 2 rollback might still be too tricky to implement, since the game isn't just about itemless 1v1s. We'll see.

The next game will have to face a number of challenges anyway, the biggest one being Super Smash Bros. Ultimate itself. With 89 fighters and 115 stages to offer, it creates a similar situation to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and its 96 courses, where it will be difficult to top this. Mario Kart World doesn't even try and instead went into a completely different direction, much to its success.

And this might also be an option for the next Super Smash Bros. title – don't just make it the next game in the series, make it a completely new game. So far every entry has always built upon its predecessors, step by step. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate even used most of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as a foundation to make "Everyone is here!" possible, arguably the greatest moment in the franchise's history.

But it's easy to tell how historically grown the series is at this point and how much dead wood it's been carrying. By focusing on bringing back most of the classic stages in the series, there was ultimately little room for new ones. And a bunch of the characters only exist on the roster, because they used to be in one of the past titles, not because they have any real relevance today.

Just look at Sheik, who has been in every entry ever since his/her introduction in Melee, where Ocarina of Time was such a massive milestone that it led to four character additions at the time. But the character of Sheik is long in the past, never to be featured in any of the Zelda games again, where today the spotlight in Smash Bros. may feel a bit odd. And Ganondorf, even though his moveset has evolved a little bit, is still a heavyweight Captain Falcon clone at his core... Which probably won't ever change, unless Super Smash Bros. itself changes.

And that's the idea behind a reboot: ignore everything that came before. Treat it like a completely new thing, as if Super Smash Bros. was first made today. Mainly use the latest iterations of Nintendo's characters as an inspiration to make it a true product of its era. And don't limit yourself by any conventions of how Super Smash Bros. was played before.

Let's take Samus, for example. We're long past any range limitations with attacks, so there is no good reason why she has to fight with such a limited Power Beam. Firing long-range beams should be her normal attacks, where potentially she should even have access to the Wide and Wave Beam upgrades. She should also be able to crouch slide, like in Metroid Dread, and the Grapple Beam could be so much snappier.

Donkey Kong may come with his redesign from Donkey Kong Bananza, even when people haven't warmed up to it yet. And gameplay-wise he could become the Anti-Steve, a character who is able to completely demolish the stage (at least temporarily). Someone wants to recover? Just rip off the stage's corner and throw it at them!

They could also go crazy with Link and give him abilities from Tears of the Kingdom, like Fuse, Recall and Ascend. The latter could be his recovery move, where he could dive right through the stage from below. Recall could become a fancy reflector and Fuse could let him do all sorts of things with the game's items, like merging a baseball bat into the Master Sword.

If this all sounds ridiculously overpowered to you, then keep in mind that this article was written by a Min Min main, who obviously doesn't care for restraint. But the way of how they had translated ARMS into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was truly something else – a character that feels like no other in the entire game. And maybe this shouldn't be an anomaly, maybe that's how every character should get treated going forward. Playing Samus in Super Smash Bros. should feel like playing a Metroid game, not like playing a completely crippled version of her, which conforms to certain basics. (If we ever see the Knight from Hollow Knight as a guest character, then I expect the same here.)

With every fighter redesigned completely from scratch, the roster will get much smaller, of course. But the roster will likely end up smaller in the next game in any case and the huge number of 3rd party deals won't be sustainable forever. However, if everyone is new, then it will be much easier to accept any cuts, because ultimately no one is truly returning in such a scenario. You will get a new Mario, a new Donkey Kong, a new Link, and a new Samus, instead of the same old characters from the past six titles.

This philosophy should also go into all the other aspects of the game, like stages and items. Don't take anything for granted. Don't even take for granted for how things are supposed to work. Items and stages could be completely connected in this game, where instead of having all these random drops, the items become an integral part of each stage.

Let's say that there is a "Great Sky Island" stage, based on Tears of the Kingdom, then it could feature Bomb Flowers, Puffshrooms and different Zonai Emitters as its items. They would work similar to your classic Bombs, Smoke Balls and so on, but they appear as a natural part of the stage. There could even be a Device Dispenser present in the background, which spits out different Zonai capsules.

Or, in a Super Mario stage you would find ?-blocks for your typical power-ups, like the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Super Leaf and alike. Pokéballs would only be present in Pokémon stages. Maybe some stages (and franchises) won't have items at all, which is also okay. There doesn't necessarily need to be a default set that always appears, but this is where Assist Trophies come in place, which could function similar to the Flying Man on Magicant. Instead of an actual item that you pick up, they should work like stage bosses, where you can get them on your side by attacking them. For example, there could be a Hyrule Castle stage from Breath of the Wild, which features a Guardian as the "main item".

By making items an integral part of the stages, it would already add a unique experience to every stage by default, making the stage selection a lot more interesting. But it would also limit things, where you won't be able to summon Metroids at Hyrule Castle any longer. This is just one possible idea for a different approach, however, and you would be able to turn off items in any case, together with stage hazards.

If the stages were to get more crazier by design, then having competitive variants of each stage would become even more important. We already had the Battlefield- and Omega-versions in the past, but maybe a new game could offer both a normal and a competitive variant for all its stages, where the latter features a simpler layout, no stage hazards and no items. If you play "For glory" online (which really should return), then it will choose those, where such an approach will offer much more variety than just playing Final Destination all day long.

Anyway, this article has turned from the question of Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo Switch 2 into a discussion of how to reboot the series... But it's by far the most interesting approach, where after Super Smash Bros. Ultimate it's time for something fresh.

Animal Crossing on Nintendo Switch 2

Today Nintendo has announced that Splatoon 3 will be getting a major update with new weapons and a returning map (Urchin Underpass), as well as enhancements for the Nintendo Switch 2. On top of that, they are making a Switch 2-exclusive spin-off to the series, Splatoon Raiders.

That's exciting news for Splatoon fans, but for fans of Animal Crossing this means that it might take years for a new game to arrive, since both series are (sadly) developed by the same team, Nintendo EPD5. This has been an issue for a while, where Animal Crossing: New Horizons could have done well with regular updates, which simply wasn't in the cards due to the development setup.

Considering that it's actually the second-best selling Nintendo Switch title, with a gigantic margin even, it's a questionable decision not to have a dedicated team for the franchise. Other franchises, like The Legend of Zelda, even get multiple development teams working on different projects in parallel, like Tears of the Kingdom and Echoes of Wisdom. Of course, Animal Crossing is a franchise where one game per generation is more than enough, where it is reasonable to let its developers work on other projects in the meantime. But Splatoon has also become quite popular and both series profit tremendously from regular content updates...

Now, the best we can hope for in the near future is that they will also consider making a similar update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Well, they said that version 2.0.0 was going to be the last major update for the game, but this was many years ago and I don't think anyone would mind if they are going to change their minds on this. Similar to Splatoon 3, this game isn't really a candidate for a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, because you need it to stay compatible with the Nintendo Switch for the multiplayer stuff, so it would also have to be some free update, where all the new contents are accessible to everyone with the game.

As for what they could add to the game at this point, they could follow the example of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and its Booster Course Pass. Here they took contents from the mobile game, Mario Kart Tour, brushed them up and brought them onto the Nintendo Switch. Why not do the same with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp? They have stopped development on that title as well and it's filled neat things that people would certainly like to have in New Horizons. Whether that's furniture, clothing, or even new fruits, there is a lot they could re-use here to add more value.

And let's not forget about all the things that never made the cut from New Leaf, like the Splatoon and Legend of Zelda guest characters, or being able to create your own galleries in the museum. Sprinkle some of the most wanted quality of life improvements on top and you will make a lot of fans happy. Let players create a second island on Nintendo Switch 2 systems and you will find people upgrade to the new hardware for this alone... With that in mind, it doesn't necessarily need a new Animal Crossing game on Switch 2, at least not anytime soon. They could just iterate New Horizons and make it the best it can be.

As for the next game, they will have to come up with something innovative here to set it apart from New Horizons and to also create an experience that wouldn't have been possible on the Nintendo Switch already, like how they made Mario Kart World an open world driving game. People will still be able to play New Horizons on their Switch 2s, whether it will receive a shiny update or not, and there needs to be more than prettier graphics to warrant a new game.

One idea would be to offer much bigger towns than in any game before, and also being able to join online communities, so you can live together with friends all over the world, not just the people in your household who you share a Nintendo Switch with. Being able to interact with others online was a massive seller during the covid pandemic and such a game would deepen this aspect. This would also be a huge incentive to invest into Nintendo Switch Online, which is what Nintendo wants us to do in any case.

However, if you've been on a community Minecraft server or anything similar, you'll know that there is the risk of such servers dying down quickly. And once you're the only one taking care of the town, it's easy to give up entirely on the game, because being alone in a multiplayer environment feels much lonelier than just playing in singleplayer. So, Nintendo would have to come up with a more dynamic approach here, where people can move to other communities (with all their belongings). In the end, living together with other players online should enrich the experience, without taking away from the classic charm. But it's just one idea.

Whatever the next game will look like, the most important thing is that they bring back the Zelda crossover contents. I'll never forgive them for leaving them out in New Horizons!

The Future of Zelda on the Nintendo Switch 2

Earlier this month Nintendo has given us all the information about what to expect from the successor to the Nintendo Switch, when it launches on June 5th, from the games to the questionable pricing. Whether the upgrade to Nintendo's future is actually worth the investment will be decided by its offerings, where Zelda has been one of the biggest hits next to Mario Kart in the last generation, mainly thanks to Breath of the Wild. But where will the franchise go from here and what could its future look like on the Nintendo Switch 2?

This article is a refinement of a similar post from last year, The Future of Zelda after Tears of the Kingdom. But a lot has come to pass since then. We have already gotten a new top-down Zelda title in the meantime with Echoes of Wisdom, still on the Nintendo Switch. One of the ideas from the previous article is actually becoming a reality with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. We've learned how they will treat both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom right out of the gate: by upgrading their Nintendo Switch versions. And we know what the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware actually brings on the table in terms of innovation... Which isn't that much.

All these insights reshape the image shown in the crystal balls of your nearest fortune-teller, and this primarily affects what's the most important topic:

 

The Next 3D Zelda

The Zelda series has been in constant change, always reinventing itself with each new console generation, both visually and in gameplay. We've had realistic styles, cartoon styles, and a mix of both. We've went from motion controls to a revolutionary open world concept. We have seen more than ten different iterations of the hero Link and the eponymous Princess Zelda over the decades, but we have yet to see a true trilogy of Zelda games. So, it's natural to expect a new face and a new style coming with a new system.

However, this time things might be different. Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have been a massive success, true system sellers, more than any Zelda game ever could hope to achieve before. They have been so successful that their open world formula will be the way forward. And they are so distinct from the rest of the series that they have become a brand of their own.

With the Nintendo Switch 2 we will get enhanced versions of both games right at launch, where Nintendo wants their customers to keep playing these titles on their newest system. Not only that, they plan on expanding the universe of this new Hyrule with the upcoming Age of Imprisonment spin-off. So, it seems like that Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are already laying the foundations for what's to come.

Adding to this sentiment is that the Nintendo Switch 2 itself is also just a continuation of the Nintendo Switch. This isn't meant to be Nintendo's next revolutionary innovation, this is simply the Nintendo Switch in bigger and better, with a few improvements, mainly to the Joy-Cons. And given how popular the Nintendo Switch was, it doesn't have to be.

If we apply the same principle on the next 3D Zelda game and also take into consideration that it's clearly very important for Nintendo to still highlight both Breath and Tears, then it's not far-fetched to assume that we might be getting another sequel to these two Zelda titles. For the first time ever we could be looking at a true trilogy in the series. This doesn't mean that this next Zelda game won't be innovative. Similar to how the Ultrahand had shaped Tears of the Kingdom in its entirety, the next game will have some gameplay idea that makes it stand out.

However, in an interview with GameInformer from late 2023, Aonuma has already stated that they are not going to do a sequel, similar to how they are not doing any DLC for Tears of the Kingdom, because they had exhausted their ideas. He called it "the final form of that version of The Legend of Zelda." But he was mainly talking about the world, where nobody wants them to use the same Hyrule for the third time anyway. And a lot of people don't necessarily want a third game where all their stuff keeps breaking. There is a lot of room for doing things differently, while staying with the same Link and Zelda.

There is also the chance that it makes a generational leap, similar to how Spirit Tracks unfolded its story, but that it still uses the same art style and also embraces the same open world formula. But let's discuss how such a sequel could look like in an upcoming post...

 

Shrine Maker

Something that has already gotten its own post many years ago is the idea for a Shrine Maker, Zelda's equivalent to the Super Mario Maker, based on the shrines from both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. And if Nintendo truly were to make a trilogy out these games, then this would make this concept on the Nintendo Switch 2 a lot more appealing. They could start with all the assets from the first two games and later expand this to shrines from the third game.

So, the creators would have the choice between the blue Sheikah Shrines, the green Shrines of Light from the Zonai era, and whatever may come next... maybe golden shrines of the Triforce. It's also a big topic of its own, where I've been meaning to explore this concept a little further for a while now.

 

The Next Top-Down Zeldas

While Echoes of Wisdom and the remake of Link's Awakening aren't such huge hits as their big brethren on the Nintendo Switch, GREZZO's contributions to the Zelda series were still received fairly well and they have also established a new art style that – similar to The Wind Waker – may have a lasting impact, at least for the future of top-down Zelda games. There is just something very charming about looking at these miniature toy worlds from above.

Despite their simple aesthetics, both games also didn't really run all too well on the Switch, where their upcoming updates for the Switch 2 may finally give us some stable 60FPS, which was one of the biggest points of criticism about GREZZO's titles. And with that out of the way, it seems even more straight-forward to simply continue what they have been doing on the Nintendo Switch.

They could still make that remake of Oracle of Ages & Seasons, with both the Game Boy Color classics combined into one experience. They could also follow up on Echoes of Wisdom with a new multiplayer title, where one plays as Link and the other as Zelda. This all feels like a natural evolution coming from Link's Awakening and Echoes of Wisdom, where there is no real need of inventing something completely new right now.

 

Past Zelda Titles

As already discussed in my recent article about the future Nintendo Switch Online, there is the possibility that the Nintendo Switch 2 will allow you to play the entire Zelda series in some form at some point. Additional libraries for the Nintendo DS, 3DS and Wii could make it happen.

That doesn't mean that we won't be seeing any more remakes or remasters, however. As already mentioned, the idea for remaking Oracle of Ages & Seasons in the style of Link's Awakening still stands. Yes, both games are already playable on the Switch via Nintendo Switch Online, but a remake would not only offer much prettier graphics, it would also allow you to experience them as one, without the need for a convoluted password system. There is even an argument to be made that waiting for the Nintendo Switch 2 was a good thing, because its power may let you quickly switch between the seasons and ages without any loading times.

Both Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks would also gain a lot from remakes in the future. Even if Nintendo were to make them playable as part of a Nintendo DS service, they would still look horrible and they would still be dependent on gimmicky touchscreen controls. And they have many other aspects that are begging to be polished, like the atrocious treasure systems. Whether this will be happening on the Nintendo Switch 2 or a future Nintendo system is a different question. The Oracle games should have priority, because everything needed for a remake is already there.

It's similar with The Minish Cap, where out of all the handheld Zelda games it is the one that would need a remake the least. It's still something to consider, but maybe not for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Of course, what the media and most Zelda fans out there are begging for are neither of these games. They want Ocarina of Time. And maybe this will happen. We've been through remaking and remastering all the 3D Zelda games once already, where they eventually will start over. It's been 14 years since Ocarina of Time 3D!

The question is who should be doing it. GREZZO has done the remakes for the Nintendo 3DS, but they have proven themselves as the new studio behind the top-down Zelda installments, like Flagship in the past, which is equally important. But if Nintendo were to find the right team for the job of remaking the Nintendo 64 classics, then nothing would speak against it.

However, there is quite a commitment here, because Ocarina of Time has to be followed by Majora's Mask – both games were carved out of the same wood, so you shouldn't have one without the other. The same goes for the two Nintendo DS Zelda games and the Oracle games are overdue after Link's Awakening. But starting with the Nintendo 3DS, we've gotten exactly two remakes or remasters of Zelda games per platform, where there is no reason to suddenly expect many more on the Nintendo Switch 2. We can't have it all at once.

Another question that comes up every time is about the Wii U remasters, The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD. With the introduction of the GameCube service to Nintendo Switch Online, it doesn't feel likely that this will happen anytime soon, because Nintendo wants to pay for the service, but only having the option of playing the emulated ports won't be appealing in the long run, just like with Oracle of Ages & Seasons...

 

The ?

Except for the Shrine Maker, this article is running with lots of safe bets. Nintendo will just keep doing with Zelda on the Nintendo Switch 2 what they've been already doing on the Nintendo Switch, just with more horse power. And maybe this will be true, because the Zelda series doesn't necessarily need to completely innovate itself yet again. Each new game usually brings a set of fresh ideas anyways, even when they borrow the style of a predecessor, as proven by Tears of the Kingdom and Echoes of Wisdom.

However, Zelda games are usually shaped by their gameplay ideas and with that there is no certainty to anything. We could be looking at something completely different on the Nintendo Switch 2, it's just that it would feel natural to pick up from where we currently are.

And there is also the chance that they might surprise us with something that rarely anyone expects, like a new spin-off out of the left field, similar to Cadence of Hyrule. But that is part of the fun.

Nintendo Switch Online on Nintendo Switch 2: Potential Systems

With Nintendo Switch Online we got access to a number of classic game libraries, as the successor to the Virtual Console. The emulated systems are currently the NES, Super NES, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, and also the SEGA Mega Drive. But the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 opens the door for more, because its hardware allows the emulation of consoles that previously weren't possible, one way or another, where the first new library is going to be the Nintendo GameCube. So, what else could be added down the line? And what Zelda games would make this playable?

Nintendo DS

Let's start with Nintendo's first dual screen handheld system (not counting the Game & Watch devices). It was already part of the Wii U Virtual Console, where the GamePad made it possible with its touchscreen and microphone. The Nintendo Switch 2 will have a built-in microphone, so that already covers that part, though ideally there will also be something like a "make noise" button. The noise cancellation in modern microphones made it quite difficult to properly play Spirit Tracks on later systems, including the Wii U, where there needs to be an alternative for blowing into the mic. And being able to play the Spirit Flute or shoot the Whirlwind with the press of a button would certainly be more comfortable for some.

The touchscreen isn't as trivial, however, even though the Nintendo Switch already has one. But you can only use it in handheld mode and it isn't very comfortable to hold the system with only one hand (especially now that the Switch 2 will be even larger). It may have worked for Brain Training on the Switch, but this isn't a general solution for all Nintendo DS games that utilize both button and touchscreen inputs.

This is where the new mouse functionality of the Joy-Cons comes in, because it could be used to control a cursor for a virtual touchscreen. As seen in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, it's also possible to seamlessly switch between the modes, which would perfectly emulate the behavior of taking your hand off the buttons to use the touchscreen. It would do absolute wonders on something like Metroid Prime Hunters.

However, some games have utilized the touchscreen to give you soft buttons for quick access to items or other features, where they would not be so easy to use anymore. In these cases you really might want to play in handheld mode and have the touchscreen contents displayed on the right half of the screen. Ultimately, there won't be an ideal solution that for works for all, where it's important to have options and to save these options on a per-game basis.

In any case, this should be part of the basic subscription, not the Expansion Pack. There needs to be something for the people who are not willing to spend double (or even more) for these online services. And the Nintendo DS is really the more basic version of what comes next...

 

Nintendo 3DS

If we can have GameCube and Nintendo DS games, then there won't be anything stopping Nintendo from adding the Nintendo 3DS as well... Except for maybe the eponymous 3D. Luckily, there are only very few games, like Super Mario 3D Land, that really required you to have the stereoscopic 3D activated in certain sections to make sense of things. Also, the Nintendo 2DS exists and has sold quite well without the 3D, where many of the later Nintendo 3DS titles didn't really put much emphasis on this gimmick. Some did not even support it at all. So, the lack of 3D shouldn't be much of a hindrance.

Another question is StreetPass, but this would be the perfect incentive to make even more out of the offline-to-online multiplayer environment. How many people had trouble actually finding others with a Nintendo 3DS in public outside of Japan and wished that this functionality would have been taken online? Quite a few, I would suspect... And that's now a selling point, because this could give you access to features that some people never got to experience.

If you add suspend points on top, then I will finally go for the true 100% in A Link Between Worlds and beat that dreaded Endless Cucco Rush. The Nintendo Switch 2 could make it possible to achieve, given that you're not one of the five people who have already beaten the challenge on original hardware.

 

 

Wii

Well, it was already possible to emulate both GameCube and Wii games on the old Tegra chip of the Nintendo Switch, where this was used for the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. And with GameCube games ready for features like online play or restore points, the Wii will certainly follow at some point. You could use both the gyro or the mouse modes of your right Joy-Con to emulate the pointer. And Wii MotionPlus is already covered by the gyro. So, we're good to go for games like Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Skyward Sword, and even Link's Crossbow Training.

In case of Metroid Prime 3 you had the bumper stickers for your space ship, where it would be awesome if this behaved in a similar way. If you have played the games in question on the service, then you will be granted the sticker. The necessary Friend Credits should also be possible to obtain via the online service.

It will generally be interesting to see how they will handle multiplayer with systems that had both local and online multiplayer, which already starts with the Nintendo DS. So far the Nintendo Switch Online services allowed to play local multiplayer modes online together with friends only. This should stay the same, of course... But could this also bring back actual online lobbies with random players, like you had them in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7? That would certainly be a worthwhile addition if it came to it.

Wii U

Emulating Wii U games would probably be out of scope for the Nintendo Switch 2. Well, I'm no expert on the matter of emulation, so maybe it's technically possible, but it wouldn't be necessary in any case. 90% of Nintendo's own Wii U library already got ported over to the Nintendo Switch, where having these games as part of the Nintendo Switch Online service would be heavily redundant and also a slap in the face of all the people who have invested lots of money in their Nintendo Switch counterparts. Well, many of these ports got enhanced in various ways, like additional contents, but this makes having the Wii U versions even less desirable. Who wants to play the original Mario Kart 8 or Hyrule Warriors at this point?

Instead, it's more likely that Nintendo will eventually port over some of remaining Wii U titles, like Kirby and the Rainbow Course, Yoshi's Woolly World or Star Fox Zero. And yes, even the Zelda HD remasters, so we'd have all three versions of Twilight Princess on the Nintendo Switch 2 eventually...

 

All the Legends

If Nintendo really were to add Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Wii, then this would be tremendous, because for the first time ever you would have access to (almost) all of Nintendo's history on a single system. It wouldn't cover curiosities like the BS-X, the Virtual Boy or the Game & Watch devices and it won't ever have all the games, but it would be quite the milestone nevertheless.

The Nintendo Switch 2 might even offer the entire Zelda series at some point (save for the BS-X games). So far this has only happened once and this was on the GameCube, thanks to the Game Boy Player peripheral. In detail, the following Zelda games and spin-offs could all make it onto the Nintendo Switch 2 via Nintendo Switch Online:

• Four Swords Adventures (GCN)
• Twilight Princess (GCN)
• Twilight Princess (Wii)
• Link's Crossbow Training (Wii)
• Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (NDS)
  
• Phantom Hourglass (NDS)
• Spirit Tracks (NDS)
• Skyward Sword (Wii)
• Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)
• Majora's Mask 3D (3DS)
  
• A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
• Tri Force Heroes (3DS)

Together with The Wind Waker, this would add the seven Zelda titles that you currently aren't able to play on a Nintendo Switch. And on top of that you would get some alternate variants of games (like how we currently have both versions of A Link to the Past), as well as some other spin-offs.

They could even give us access to some that were exclusive to Japan so far. Tingle's Balloon Fight, for example, doesn't really have much text, where you can understand it just fine without translations. And I'd love to finally give Navi Trackers a try.

 

3rd Parties

While it's the easiest and cheapest to go for their own gaming systems, Nintendo isn't limited to them. In fact, the SEGA Mega Drive is already part of the current offering. The Virtual Console in the past also featured the Neo Geo, Turbo Grafx or the SEGA Master System, but there is no reason not to have these on the Nintendo Switch already, should these ever return. The SEGA Dreamcast on the other hand is more on the line of something that could require the Nintendo Switch 2, though it's probably somewhere right in the middle. But even if it were possible to have it on the Switch, then Nintendo would probably make it exclusive to the successor nevertheless, since the Dreamcast is a bit of a fan favorite.

In other news, Phil Spencer has recently reassured that Microsoft will keep supporting Nintendo on their upcoming console with their games (see Variety). And while he probably means newer titles, like DOOM: The Dark Ages, there is a chance that they might extend their cooperation to the classic Xbox library, so that Nintendo can offer them as part of Nintendo Switch Online. This would be huge and I'd personally love to have this for one of my absolute favorite console shooters ever. No, not Halo...

I'm talking about Unreal Championship 2 - The Liandri Conflict. I'm still a big fan of the Unreal series and this mix of 3rd person melee combat with traditional Arena Shooter gunplay and unique characters was ahead of its time. This is the game I still keep my old Xbox around for, but it already has all started to deteriorate... Well, it's still in the list of backwards compatible games on Xbox Series X/S, so I could get that, but I'd love to have it on a Nintendo system instead. I doubt that this day will ever come, but it would make me very happy if it did.