The Nintendo Switch is the console needed by gamers, they just don’t know it yet.
The combination of a nearly unmatched game lineup and unrivaled portability has set it up for success beyond most gamer’s imagination.
Many longtime Nintendo fans and college students have — and continue to be — happy with new classics like “Super Mario Odyssey,” “Super Mario Party” and “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” These games may not be the “Super Mario 64,” “Mario Party 3” or “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” that most people remember in their childhoods, but they have shifted with the times and are what gamers need today.
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Nintendo fortunately did not stop these modern-day productions of classic characters with just Mario and Zelda. Gamers have also been given “Pokémon: Let’s Go” with Pikachu and Eevee versions respectively. “Kirby Star Allies” is another great take on worlds and characters that have been held dear to people’s hearts for decades.
All of these games have moments that bring players back to their childhoods around the TV with friends and family racing around in “Mario Kart: Double Dash” which in itself is magical, but also goes to show why having a Switch is the right call. Playing “Halo” with friends can be fun and may bring back memories but they are not always as heartwarming. It is hard to convince parents that ripping someone’s head off is the same as winning a beating a “Legend of Zelda” game with a sibling.
Getting back to the present, games like “Super Mario Odyssey” and “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” have amazing open-worlds that actually feel like they need to be explored. They make players want to turn over every rock they encounter and explore every cave for those moons or Koroks. Their stories are also told in ways that keep players coming back through brilliant character design and overall narrative.
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This success can also be seen in games like “Super Mario Party” where each piece of the game is strong, but when combined it becomes something so great.
The best part about all of this is that Nintendo is not stopping with major franchises like Mario, Zelda, Pokemon and Kirby. They are continuing into 2019 with passion.
“Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” is coming out before the end of 2018 and a relatively unknown “Animal Crossing” game is set to release in 2019, which both have fans more than a little excited. The new “Smash Bros.” game includes more than 70 characters, maps spanning the entire “Smash Bros.” lifetime, classic fan-favorite game modes and even new modes that play off of past mechanics added to the “Smash Bros.” series over time.
This is likely to throw more than enough people back to the days of late nights around a GameCube, only this time it is bigger and better.
“Animal Crossing” may not have many details out yet, but the series has not disappointed fans. Some releases may have been weaker than others over time, however, fans are looking forward to this release as the last “Animal Crossing” release was “Animal Crossing: New Leaf” on the Nintendo 3DS in 2012.
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Aside from the nostalgia trips that many fans have when it comes to these new spins on classic characters and worlds, the games themselves are works of art. The unrivaled game selection expands well beyond these classic characters with others like “Octopath Traveler” and “Xenoblade Chronicles 2” which are also incredible and may be well on their way to becoming classic Nintendo characters.
Many games give nods to their predecessors, but this should not put off gamer’s interested, considering they are easy to pick up for anyone.
There is no convoluted history of “The Legend of Zelda” people are required to know before they pick up “Breath of the Wild.” Having knowledge of prior games in the series may help pick up on references or jokes but it will not hurt the gaming experience. The games also lend themselves to new gamer’s curiosity, alluding to past games. Even enjoying the current game while longing a similar experience can lead people to play the wonderful games that came before in the series.
It can be hard to return to previous titles in long-running series such as “Kingdom Hearts” for a variety of reasons, so having games that make people want to go back and play the classics is an amazing concept.
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Having a just as amazing game lineup is not quite enough to pass giants like the PlayStation 4, but the ability to play that game lineup anywhere is what blows the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC out of the water. People can scream all they want about graphics and hardware and whatever they want to, but life is busy.
Being able to run around different worlds in “Super Mario Odyssey” while riding back home on a bus makes life much better and its mobility is not just limited to bus rides. The apartment TV being used? No problem. Just grab the Switch from its dock and keep playing without the blink of an eye. Don’t even have a TV? Never even needed one.
The Switch is so versatile and fits the busy lifestyle that many college students have that it is a no-brainer to own one. Being the god of war may be fun, but it’s hard to bring a TV and a PlayStation 4 on a bus. It’s definitely not fun trying to finish the campaign while roommates complain because they can’t watch the Badgers game.
The PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC are never bad ways to game — but when compared to the Switch’s incredible lineup and mobility — they are seriously falling behind.
