CHRISTI JUNIOR'S TOP 30 NINTENDO SWITCH GAMES! Link to the Varis thread here for a cleaner layout: https://varishangout.com/index.php?threads/christi-juniors-top-30-nintendo-switch-games.2893/
With the Nintendo Switch 2 now having been fully unveiled, and in fact only being 2 months away, I thought it was time to pay tribute to the original Switch (not calling it Switch 1 just yet) by going over my Top 30 games for the console. But first, some ground rules:
1) Switch exclusives/Switch definitive editions ONLY – while the Switch has actually enjoyed surprisingly good 3rd party support (the best for a Nintendo console since the SNES), I want this list to be reserved for games that have both come to define the Switch, and have themselves become defined by the Switch. So ultimately, this list will only contain Switch exclusives and games whose indisputably best versions are Switch-exclusive. I do this partly because it just makes sense to me, and partly to make this less of an absolute monster, because WITH multiplatform 3rd party games that I have played on the Switch, I might have been forced to bust out a Top 50, or a Top 60 list.
But just for the record, here are some of my favorite 3rd party Switch games: Dragon Quest XI, Final Fantasy VII, Ys VIII, Okami HD, Persona 5 Royal, Witcher 3, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Disgaea 5, Danganronpa Decadence, Portal: Companion Collection, Nier: Automata, Skyrim, Tales of Vesperia, Rayman Legends, Bug Fables, Dead Cells and SteamWorld Dig 2.
It’s not *only* 3rd party games being affected by my rule tho: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a superb 2D platformer that would be a Top 15 contender, but the Switch version of the game is barely even an improvement over the (cheaper) Wii U original, so I don’t think said Switch version deserves to qualify. The ports, remasters and remakes that HAVE qualified all represent much more substantial improvements, though in different ways.
2) Only games that I’ve completed are on this list – and in the case of multiplatform games that I’ve played before, I still need to have completed the Switch version of it. So no Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, which I’m “only” 60 hours into so far – which also spares me having to argue about whether or not this version is ACTUALLY superior to the uncensored Japanese Xenoblade X on the Wii U. Of course, people who know me can probably figure out that even without X, the Xenoblade series will still show up in force on this list.
Other games that might have made the Top 30 if I had finished them in time are Bayonetta 3, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Paper Mario: The Origami King, Super Mario RPG and Mario & Luigi: Brothership – tho the only one I’m absolutely confident in making the list is Bayo 3.
3) Paid DLC is not being considered when judging the game – in this context I consider Paid DLC to be somewhat akin to performance enhancing drugs, and won’t be allowing it to influence the rankings. While this didn’t end up having a massive impact overall, #23 on the list WOULD have made the Top 20 if its Paid DLC was included, and #3 and #4 would have swapped places. Ultimately tho, I prefer the way this list looks with the No Paid DLC rule in place.
Other bits of useful info: I will be posting each game’s Based Morality Score to give you an idea of how it stacks up in terms of Culture War/Poz, but I won’t necessarily elaborate on my rating, so feel free to ask about my reasoning for specific games if you’re curious.
In the cases where I’ve already done writeups of the games in question, I will be linking to said writeups. Why not have all the games I’ve already written about just be represented by the links to the main writeup? Because it’d be lazy, because it would lead to a very inconsistent-looking thread, and because I think there’s still real value in having a mini-review to go along with my much more in-depth writeup. It’s also a nice little personal challenge.
Now, my main Honorable Mention:
31) WarioWare: Get It Together! (https://varishangout.com/index.php?threads/christi-juniors-mini-writeups.2842/#post-32213)
As much as I wish Nintendo would give WarioWare a break and instead show the Wario Land series some love (there was NO good reason to give us WarioWare: Move It! instead of Wario Land 6, come on now…), Get It Together was actually a damn fine entry in the series. This game’s big change to the core formula, namely making the WarioWare cast actively participate in their own micro-games, was in my opinion wholly successful, and really helped this game get the most out of its wacky characters and setting. And even apart from that, this is a super solid WarioWare game: the micro-games are suitably varied and nutty, chasing high scores is fittingly addictive, the presentation is slick, and overall this is easily the most fun I’ve had with WarioWare since Mega Microgame$! on the GBA, aka the very first game in the series.
Based Morality Score: Neutral
Other honorable mentions: Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, Yoshi’s Crafted World and ARMS.
DISHONORABLE mentions: Pokemon Sword/Shield, fuck this game, for real. In fact, ALL the mainline Pokemon Switch games belong here, even without having played them I’m confident in this judgement: Let's Go, Pikachu and Eevee was unbelievably unnecessary and shamefully dumbed down, Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl was hideous and actively worse than 2008’s Pokemon Platinum, and Scarlet/Violet was borderline unplayable.
And with that out of the way, it’s time to begin our main event! I will be starting with #30, and work my way up to the top from there.
