Nintendo’s Gaming Innovations
It is astounding that Nintendo can still innovate within the genre it popularized four decades ago. Super Mario Bros Wonder takes everything fans have come to love and expect from the Super Mario Bros series and adds fun and unique twists. The platforming mechanics and level design are still top-notch, but the creative new enemies, gameplay modifying Badges, and the show-stealing Wonder effects push Wonder to rare heights, even for the Super Mario Bros franchise. Every Wonder flower brings about new surprises and delights as you traverse the title’s Flower Kingdom. It may not be the most difficult Mario game to date, but it’s absolutely brimming with creativity and is easily one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch.
A crossover event two decades in the making, Super Smash Bros Ultimate represents the series in its most realized form, containing superb fighting mechanics, a terrific suite of modes to play, and a roster of fighters that features every character in series history and then some. Super Smash Bros Ultimate is all but an essential title for the Switch.
Every Nintendo console has to have at least one fantastic Mario platformer, and the Switch is no exception. Mario Odyssey released a few months after the launch of the console and it hits all the Mario checkboxes necessary to be considered a classic, plus a few surprising new ones. It’s whimsical, has perfect controls, tons to discover, and features a city level where all the humans have normal proportions while Mario runs around as his short, cartoony self. It’s a strange adventure and a must-have for Switch owners.
Far more than a simple port of the excellent Mario Kart 8 for Wii U, Deluxe includes all the original game’s DLC and battle mode, which was curiously absent from the original release. Playing split-screen Mario Kart is always a hit, and having a version of the game with two controllers you can take anywhere makes it the perfect showcase for the Switch. Plus, in 2023 and 2024, Nintendo doubled the number of courses available and added several new playable characters to perhaps the best Mario Kart game ever through its Booster Course Pass.
The Legend of Zelda
To say The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom had lofty expectations would be the understatement of the century. Following one of the greatest games of all time is no simple task, but Tears of the Kingdom succeeded in carrying forward so many of the successes of its predecessor. Link’s new suite of powers fundamentally changes the experience of moving through the world and delivers something undeniably novel even within the long-running series. Add-on explorable islands in the sky, a massive underground area, a compelling new narrative, and the intimidating presence of Ganondorf, and it’s easy to see why Tears of the Kingdom has captivated so many Switch owners.
Metroid Dread is a well-refined version of the game that has inspired. Watch the video for full details.
