Discussion Christi Junior's Top 30 Nintendo Switch Games!

[Christi Junior]

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!

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.

 

[Christi Junior]

30) New Pokemon Snap

As you just saw, Pokemon on the Nintendo Switch has an ATROCIOUS track record – but only the mainline Pokemon RPGs! When it comes to Pokemon spinoffs, the Switch has actually been host to quite a few good ones, among the most notable ones being the loooong overdue sequel to Pokemon Snap on the N64. The 1999 Pokemon photography simulator, which plays like the world’s most wholesome on-rail shooter, was a really neat and fun experiment, but so light on actual content that is was arguably never more than a must-rent game. The Switch sequel on the other hand is a very different beast, fleshing out and dramatically improving on the N64 game, while boasting enough content that I felt no compunction about paying full price for it (the game later on even received some very high-quality Free DLC!).

Also, after Pokemon Sword/Shield’s ugly and drab Wild Area, and the only potential distraction from Pokemon Scarlet/Violet’s hideousness being its catastrophically bad performance, it’s so nice to have a Pokemon game boast thoroughly beautiful visuals for a change, and actually make the world of Pokemon inviting and magical again. It’s hardly perfect – triggering various special reactions from a number of Pokemon seems either janky or at the very least unintuitive – but New Pokemon Snap is still such a giant upgrade over Old Pokemon Snap that the 22 year-long wait *almost* feels fully justified.

Based Morality Score: Neutral


29) Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

Making a Breath of the Wild prequel that wasn’t even a proper Zelda game, but another Hyrule Warriors was certainly a novel idea, yet one that actually turned out pretty great. Sure, in terms of story Age of Calamity undeniably chickened out, opting for spectacle and wish fulfilment rather than embracing its potential to become Zelda’s answer to Torna: The Golden Country, but it was still an enjoyable tale. Tragically, it’s also by far the strongest BotW-related narrative we ever received in terms of both plot and presentation – THAT’S how bad BotW and TotK both are on the story side of things.

Aside from its enjoyable, if overly safe and ultimately non-canon Zelda story, Age of Calamity is a really good Warriors game, in large part due to just how unique and fun each playable character is, and the excitement of seeing just how deep Omega Force could successfully dive into BotW’s pool of characters. It also looks really nice, attempting to replicate BotW’s gorgeous visuals, though this comes at the price of some pretty bad performance issues. That said, AoC’s gameplay loop was still so rewarding and addictive that I ultimately ended up putting some 80 hours into this bad boy, it being the first ever Warriors game I truly got into (Hyrule Warriors on the Wii U just never clicked with me).

Based Morality Score: Neutral


28) Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition

Speaking of the original Hyrule Warriors, it received a MASSIVE upgrade in the form of a Definitive Edition more than worthy of the name. And after enjoying Age of Calamity and a certain other Warriors game that also made this list as much as I did, I was much more open to give this game another go – the prospect of controlling that likes of Midna, Fi (yes, I really like Fi, fuck you!) and Skull Kid was just too appealing for a Zelda fan like me to pass up on once I knew the Warriors gameplay wouldn’t actually prove a dealbreaker.

And wouldn’t you know it, I ended up enjoying HW:DR tremendously – the character roster is fucking MASSIVE, and yet almost every warrior available is a very worthwhile part of the cast that’s a treat to control, even if I can’t help but resent the anti-Skyward Sword bias (Groose got robbed goddammit!). Sure, the story campaign is much weaker than the one in Age of Calamity, but due to its truly monstrous side content this is just SUCH good time sink, one which will give you stuff to do and work towards for literally hundreds of hours. Whether you just have 10 minutes to spare and want to knock a short and simple mission out of the way, or whether you want to spend hours and hours immersed in this button-mashing power fantasy, Hyrule Warriors delivers the goods – hell, the sheer wealth of characters even helps somewhat ameliorate the game’s repetitive nature.

Oh, and as a bonus the game even boasts some nice fanservice, along with accidental racism (largely in the form of the same character no less!).

Based Morality Score: +1


27) Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Mario + Rabbids is just such an easy game to review, and I’m sure pretty much everyone say the exact same thing about it: this game had no right to even exist in the first place, let alone be this good! There was no reason for Ubisoft to put THIS much effort into the game, to make the visual SO lush and beautiful, to deliver SUCH a lovely soundtrack etc – but they did, and the result was one of the most shockingly excellent games in recent memory. Hell, even the writing and humor is on point (the Phantom’s anti-Mario diss track was an instant classic)

Granted, there are still a fair few turn-based strategy games on the Switch that I prefer to Mario + Rabbids, and the game is also bizarrely unstable – I had it crash on me like 3-4 times, and it only takes 40-50 hours to hundred percent, so that’s a pretty bad track record. Still, during these times when everyone is dunking on Ubisoft for Assassin's Creed George Floyd Edition, Mario + Rabbids serves as a useful reminder that those frogs do employ (or at least used to employ) some genuinely talented people.

Based Morality Score: Neutral


26) Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Back when it first came out, Legends: Arceus almost felt like an apology for Pokemon Sword/Shield being so shit, and seemed like a sign of Game Freak finally committing to evolve and improve the Pokemon RPGs – only for Pokemon Scarlet/Violet to arguably be EVEN WORSE than SS, a hideous and borderline unplayable glitchy mess that didn’t even boast a great Waifu lineup (Iono is so much better than the other SV girls that it’s not even funny). I guess Game Freak might have something of a Team A and Team B situation going on – one faction just wanting to keep scamming the Pokemon paypigs, while another faction actually desires to make Pokemon the best series it can be.

If so, Legends: Arceus is obviously a Team B product – despite various flaws and shortcomings, this was still an incredibly refreshing Pokemon experience, full of bold new ideas and showing an almost shocking willingness to innovate. It really did feel like Pokemon’s BotW, for better and worse (certainly for worse in the case of the overworld music, I have to say), and while Game Freak is far inferior to Nintendo EPD, Pokemon is actually better suited for the open world format than Zelda is, and the core formula of Arceus works extremely well as a result. Hell, they even made the mere act of CATCHING Pokemon a whole lot of fun, and the normally terrible Forced EXP Share system actually feels justified in a game that so aggressively pushes you to quickly catch and evolve a lot of Pokemon. Also, while hardly a stunning game graphically, I actually think LA’s art style is really quite lovely – too bad the Game Freak dipshits ditched it for Legends: Z-A, instead opting for the ugly and soulless Scarlet/Violet style!

…yeah, I don’t really have the highest hopes for Z-A.

Based Morality Score: -1

 

[Christi Junior]

25) Splatoon 3

Purely in terms of quality and value, Splatoon 3 definitely ought to be a good few spots higher on this list. The original Splatoon on the Wii U was already an excellent game, (the core concept behind this family friendly team-based shooter might just have been Nintendo’s single greatest gaming idea since Smash Bros.), and Splatoon 2 was even better. Splatoon 3 further improves on its predecessors, with more content and a more robust singleplayer campaign, as well as giving you all sorts of neat little rewards for simply playing the game – and Splatoon 3 is something you can easily end up playing for hundreds of hours. In terms of presentation, playability and polish, it truly is a top-notch game.

And yet…I’m not really feeling it. A big part of the problem is the tranny-infested “Splatoon Community” inevitably being part of Splatoon 3 experience, given how the game revolves around its plaza and its online multiplayer – and it’s a problem exacerbated by the game’s own tendency towards faggy gender neutral language and singular they spam. But even beyond that, part of me has resented the series ever since a fateful Splatoon 1 update that greatly reduced the match rewards you receive based on your individual performance, instead making it almost entirely dependent on your team’s performance and thereby leaving you at the mercy of Splatoon’s TERRIBLE matchmaking.

It doesn’t help that Splatoon 3, while a superb game overall, doesn’t really bring much new to the table at all – even Splatoon 2, itself a rather unambitious sequel, at least introduced the excellent Salmon Run co-op mode. It’s still the most complete and solid Splatoon experience overall, and so thoroughly Replaces Splatoon 2 that the latter game was never even considered for a spot on this list (despite being a 9/10 when judged on its own merits), but I just can’t rank a game that ultimately left me cold any higher.

Also, while I’ll defend Shiver’s design without hesitation, Frye is 100% a crack baby!

Based Morality Score: -2


24) F-Zero 99

Meanwhile, here you have a game that straight up angered and disgusted me when it was first revealed, but which ended up not only winning me over, but became one of my most-played games on the console! Yeah, a TRUE HD F-Zero would of course have been even better – but it turned out that F-Zero and the battle royale genre is an astonishingly good fit, making for extremely fun and addictive racing action.

Hell, I'm not even a big fan of the SNES F-Zero (its sequel is like 64 times better), but Nintendo made all sorts of smart changes and adjustments to F-Zero 99 to immensely improve the gameplay experience: the tracks have become much wider to make things far less cramped and claustrophobic, a new spin attacks encourages far greater levels of aggression, the altered boosting system (boosts now consume your ship’s health) adds a brilliant risk-reward balancing act, and the game designating 4 similarly-tiered Rivals for you to compete against every race gives even Noobs realistic goals to strive for, along with a real sense of accomplishment even if they only score a modest overall placement. And of course, the new Skyway feature provides a comeback mechanic of sorts while still keeping races firmly skill-based (F-Zero 99’s BIG advantage over Mario Kart 8 DX).

F-Zero 99 really did end up being shockingly good, and on its own makes the Nintendo Switch Online service worth it for me. Yes, the game only having 4 ships to pilot is kinda pathetic, but somehow that hasn’t prevented me from participating in literally thousands of races without ever getting bored or burned out. Now we just need F-Zero XXX (or whatever Nintendo wants to call it) to be announced for the Switch 2 already!

Based Morality Score: Neutral


23) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

This is the single best-selling Switch game in existence, and while its placement on my list suggests that this isn’t necessarily 100% deserved, it also indicates that it’s not a complete miscarriage of justice either. Truth is, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe IS a fantastic racing game, and factoring in the Paid DLC, I’d argue it might even rival F-Zero GX for the title of Nintendo’s best racing game ever. Not counting Paid DLC for this list, the game does end up dropping a few spots, but still very comfortably makes the Top 25.

Even without the DLC the track selection is still phenomenal, boasting such a wealth of fantastic, extremely well-designed tracks – though I personally think that the track design in Mario Kart Wii was just as good. However, MK8 is unrivaled in terms of gameplay and presentation – it easily FEELS the best out of any Mario Kart game, the controls and the sense of speed is pretty much perfect, and even today it’s an undeniably GOERGEOUS game. Of course, it’s also a game that’s heavily luck-based – which is admittedly part of its core identity and a big reason for its absurdly strong mainstream, casual appeal, but that doesn’t make it any less maddening when a string of bad luck leaves you completely helpless, and has you rolling into 9th place despite having done nothing wrong whatsoever.

And yeah, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is easily better than the Wii U version even without factoring in the Paid DLC – not only does the base game now include all of the Wii U version’s own Paid DLC, but it also added some cool new characters to somewhat fix a bafflingly bad roster – and it also took Mario Kart 8’s shit-tier battle mode, easily the worst in the series so far, and replaced it with arguably the BEST battle mode in the series, finally making this game the complete Mario Kart package.

Based Morality Score: Neutral


22) Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes

Three Hopes, like F-Zero 99, is a game that I hastily dismissed at first, only for it to later completely win me over. This is very much alternate universe Three Houses first, and a Warriors game second. For someone like me, who really loves Three Houses, that’s obviously a good thing. And Three Hopes not only ended up matching Three Houses in many ways, but it’s actually a straight up upgrade in a number of areas, especially with regards to how the big war campaign is handled.

In terms of story, writing and characterization, this game almost never sets a foot wrong – and the flaws it does have (like faggy singular they spam) are flaws it shares with Three Houses. It’s also a super fun Warriors game for the most part – though it’s of course its Warriors-limitations that ultimately makes it a lesser experience than Three Houses, despite all the things it does so well. It also has another notable shortcoming, namely a relative lack of unit variety, especially compared to the two Hyrule Warriors games I covered earlier, despite Three Hopes easily being the overall superior game. Hell, Three Hopes even REMOVED certain cool classes from Three Houses, which would really have helped provide more gameplay variety.

That being said, it’s not like these failings prevented me from spending more than 200 hours on this game, so we’re not talking about anything close to dealbreakers here. Also, we should all be forever grateful to Three Hopes for exposing GloboHomo advocate Claude as a total scumbag – and even providing you with an opportunity to kill him off!

Based Morality Score: +1/-2


21) Pikmin 3 Deluxe

Even back on the Wii U, when I wasn’t really into Pikmin, I still thought Pikmin 3 was an excellent game – it was just over way too quickly, it was like I reached the end credits just when I’d started to truly get to grips with the 3 Captain switching system and various other more advanced mechanics. So when the Switch port of Pikmin 3 not only added dozens of Paid DLC challenge missions from the Wii U version (DLC which I never bought), but also a really neat epilogue campaign involving Olimar and Louie, this was just what I had needed for the whole Pikmin 3 experience to truly click with me.

And this really is in so many ways Peak Pikmin – the thoroughly unique real-time strategy puzzle gameplay was always very compelling, but here it has been refined and polished until it absolutely shines, and the ability to switch between 3 Captains for some truly epic multitasking has elevated the gameplay to the point where it truly soars. Yeah, the main campaign is still quite short and easy, and the game relies pretty heavily on its challenge missions to provide true longevity – but this is still a fantastic game, and there’s strong case to be made for this being the best in the series.

Based Morality Score: Neutral

 

[Christi Junior]

20) Pikmin 4

However, in the end it was Pikmin 4 that actually ended up making it into my Top 20. Sure, after getting more into the Pikmin series, some of 4’s Casual-friendly changes seem a lot more egregious (forced auto-aiming, really nigga? All enemies you kill in the overworld permanently staying dead, are you for real right now?), but this was still THE Pikmin game that truly sold me on the series, which cannot be discounted.

Ultimately, this is a tremendously enjoyable, rich and varied Pikmin experience, boasting an unusual amount of content, and it’s a feast for the eyes to boot. And while this doesn’t strictly apply to Pikmin 4, I gotta point out that it’s just SO nice to have every single Pikmin game available on the Switch. There only a single other Nintendo series I can think of that enjoys similarly perfect Switch representation, but games from that series will only start showing up later on this list – much, MUCH later.

Based Morality Score: -2


19) Luigi’s Mansion 3

While deciding on my favorite Pikmin game is somewhat tough, there’s no doubt in my mind about what the best Luigi’s Mansion game is. Luigi’s Mansion 3 preserves all of Luigi Mansion 2’s very real improvements on the first game (more and better puzzles, much greater environmental variety, the much lengthier adventure, the online multiplayer etc), while fixing most problems people had with that game (say goodbye to the restrictive mission structure, say hello to more unique boss ghosts and the return of one, single big mansion to explore). Additionally, it adds a number of inspired new ideas of its own, as well as arguably the best graphics available on the Switch.

My issues with Luigi’s Mansion 3 are generally minor nitpicks: the rewards for collecting a lot of treasure are underwhelming, there’s some Filler here and there to pad out the main campaign, and the final couple of boss battles aren’t as epic or memorable as I would have liked. Besides that, this is an extremely high-quality and polished game. Seriously, we need to Free Luigi, and hopefully we’ll get a lot more Luigi’s Mansion action in the future!

Based Morality Score: Neutral


18) Astral Chain

Yes, this is STILL a Switch exclusive, after all these years, and thereby becomes the only true 3rd party game on this list. Knowing Platinum’s track record with action games, I was really excited for Astral Chain from the moment it was first announced, and it definitely lived up to the hype. While I’m still in two minds about the investigation- and exploration aspects of the game, the combat system is absolutely superb, and boasting such depth that I found my second playthrough even more fun than my first simply because I by then had a much better grasp on the combat – and there’s an extensive combat-focused postgame available for those who don’t really require any kind of story content to maintain their interest in the game.

That said, Astral’s Chain’s actual story is fairly interesting, and its dystopian sci fi setting is really cool. The game also looks quite nice, and boasts a great soundtrack. I’m not sure whether I’d actually rank it above the likes of Bayonetta 1 and 2, but Astral Chain is nevertheless a splendid action game that I strongly recommend.

Based Morality Score: -1


17) Kirby and the Forgotten Land

While Kirby and the Forgotten Land might not represent the single best 3D transition that we’ve witness throughout gaming history, it probably IS the single most seamless and natural-feeling one. Seriously, playing this game it’s absolutely baffling that this is Kirby’s 3D debut, because everything already feels perfectly calibrated for an optimal 3D platforming experience, with all the right kind of tweaks and adjustments having been made to Kirby’s movement. Moreover, the game doesn’t simply rely on its leap into 3D to generate excitement, as its post-apocalyptic world is one of the most interesting Kirby settings yet, and perfectly congruent with the Kirby tradition of a bright and cheery exterior hiding some genuinely dark and unsettling lore.

Wisely, Forgotten Land eschews any semblance of open world level design (which would naturally lead to inevitably unfavorable comparisons with Mario Odyssey), instead opting for much simpler and linear (yet very well-designed) levels that feel like classic Kirby. The game plays great, looks stunning and boasts a typically terrific Kirby soundtrack, and while the startlingly low number of transformations is a major disappointment, the excellent upgrade system, as well as the new Mouthful Mode, does largely make up for it. Additionally, while Forgotten Land doesn’t include nearly as much content as Mario Odyssey, it still boasts respectable longevity compared to most other 3D platformers, especially if you go for hundred percent. Out of all the Kirby games I’ve played, only Planet Robobot even comes close to this gem – speaking of which, a 3D remake of Planet Robobot that plays like Forgotten Land would be fucking sick!

Based Morality Score: Neutral


16) Metroid Dread

We had to wait almost 20 years for the true sequel to Metroid Fusion, but in the end the 5th mainline Metroid (the Prime games are essentially just spinoffs) proved a rousing success, showing everyone that 2D Metroid has a bright future and is more than capable of standing out in an increasingly crowded field of Metroidvanias. It’s more than just the usual Nintendo polish and attention to detail that makes Dread so exceptional – the game might just boast the best controls of ANY 2D game that I have played, and some of the best ever 2D boss fights as well – the final boss especially being insanely awesome.

On that note, please ignore any idiot game journalist whining about Metroid Dream being “too hard” – the difficulty is absolutely perfect, tough but fair, and really, when you’re playing a game literally called DREAD, you *should* expect some challenge. David Jaffe, it’s not Metroid Dread that sucks – YOU suck!

Paying homage to past Metroid titles (especially Metroid 2 and Fusion) in so many thoughtful ways, while at the same time establishing a strong identity of its own, Dread is almost every step of the way an exemplary sequel. The one major blemish is the forgettable and underwhelming soundtrack – perhaps the most shocking musical underperformance in a game since Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. It’s also not nearly as open as something like Super Metroid – but it makes up for this by giving Samus her probably coolest moveset to date, and hundred percenting the game requires you to pull of some difficult, yet supremely satisfying Speed Booster puzzles. Ultimately, Dread is right up there with the legendary Metroid 3 as one of the truly elite 2D Metroid games.

Based Morality Score: Neutral

 

[Christi Junior]

15) Fire Emblem Engage

The two mainline Fire Emblem games on the Switch are quite evenly matched: Three Houses easily has the better story and the stronger cast of characters, while Engage boasts superior gameplay and graphics. Both games have excellent soundtracks, offer lots of content and provide you with tons of customization options. So while I ended up ranking Three Houses above Engage, I still really love the latter.

The most impressive thing about Fire Emblem Engage is that it gives you all these seemingly crazy overpowered toys to play with (in the form of the retro-pandering Emblems summoning past Fire Emblem heroes), and yet somehow manages to balance them due to expertly designed maps and clever tweaks to the core FE mechanics. The result is the best of both worlds: you get to play around with all sorts of insanely fun and powerful abilities without them actually breaking the game’s difficulty, and because of that Engage is probably the single most fun strategy RPG I’ve played in terms of pure gameplay.

I also don’t think Engage’s story is nearly as bad as the haters make it out to be – characters fellating the Avatar MC is nothing new, if anything Engage is just more honest about it than previous games. And while the story certainly has its fair share of goofy and even stupid moments, it also pulls oFf some well-executed twists and genuinely hype happenings. The characters are certainly for the most part more shallow and one-note than the Three Houses crew – but a fair few still ended up surprising me (dat Alfred – Celine A-Support!). On the whole, Engage is a brilliant and underrated SRPG.

Based Morality Score: +1/-2


14) Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Ultimately though, I just had to give Three Houses the edge over Engage – 3H is one of my foremost Comfort games on the Switch, a game I can do a playthrough of at any time and have a really great time with, despite its length. It’s my 4th most-played game on the Switch overall – though the fact that I rank it 14th instead of 4th on this list does reflect how a lot of the Garreg Mach Monastery activities are basically pure Filler, and that the game’s 4 routes do share a whole lot of content.

But again, this is a game I always have a good time with despite the fluff and filler, above all because of the phenomenal cast of characters, the wealth of customization options, and the tremendously enjoyable strategy gameplay (even if Engage’s maps are better, 3H is still a VERY fun game, and there’s tons of cool shit it lets you pull off).

Additionally, my Varis writeup of Three Houses reminded me that this is also a game I not only really enjoy playing, but also a game I really enjoy talking about – and the game’s writing is sufficiently rich in nuance (despite a predictable left-liberal bias), and the characters sufficiently complex, that there will always be so much to discuss and argue about – though I will point out, not to brag or anything (hehehe), that Three Hopes actually confirmed quite a few of my own personal Three Houses headcanons, which was quite gratifying to see.

Based Morality Score: +1/-2


13) Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

How ironic that the first REAL Zelda game to make the eponymous princess its protagonist is actually a more traditional entry in the series than the other two original Switch Zeldas. And while Echoes of Wisdom doesn’t quite boast the superlative highs of its open world counterparts, it DOES do a way better job of delivering a relatively non-linear Zelda experience without sacrificing either the story or the sense of progression in the process. The classic Zelda formula was already insanely good and satisfying, and yet EoW might just have improved on it. In some way it’s even a better open world game than its 3D big brothers, due to there straight up being optional mini-dungeons with actual boss battles than you can just stumble upon while exploring.

This is also the first new 2D Zelda since 2013’s A Link Between Worlds, and it features the first brand new 2D Zelda overworld since 2004’s Minish Cap. Compared to other 2D Zelda games, EoW’s overworld is absolutely massive, yet at the same time it’s dense with secrets, it’s like there’s something worthwhile to discover around every corner. Zelda playing like a somewhat passive Summoner might be a turn-off for some, but I personally found that combat in this game worked really well, and it’s also a surprisingly good fit with an open world format, as rare and powerful enemies (which you’ll be able to summon after defeating them once) serve as excellent rewards for exploration.

In terms of dungeons and music, EoW is only “pretty good” by Zelda standards – but not only are those standards extremely high, it just so happens that BotW and TotK jointly represent the series’ low point in that regard, so it still felt so refreshing to finally play an original Zelda game on the Switch with proper dungeons and an actual soundtrack.

And while somewhat tainted by trannylator shenanigans (they/them Deku Scrubs? Go fuck yourselves Nintendo of America!), EoW is blissfully free of modern feminism, despite it being Zelda’s Turn to be the main hero - Link is still given his due as the great hero that he is, and it’s very telling that Zelda time-limited Super Mode essentially just involves her temporarily playing like Link. And if that doesn’t convince you that this game isn’t feminist, then how about this: Zelda has a good relationship with her father!

Based Morality Score: -1


12) Super Mario Bros. Wonder



Finally! After so many years of 2D Mario playing it safe and doing the bare minimum, we finally got a game where the classic Mario Bros. experience is truly enhanced and elevated. Finally, a 2D Mario game with the same kind of love and effort put into it as the likes of Galaxy 1-2, 3D World and Odyssey! And not only that, but a 2D Mario clearly inspired by the two Mario Maker games, and all the ways the user-created levels reimagined what 2D Mario could be.

Mario Bros. Wonder is such a massive upgrade over the merely okay-to-good New Super Mario Bros. games that it feels like going from driving a beaten-up old Volvo to getting behind the wheels of a fucking Ferrari! After all these years, it almost felt surreal for a 2D Mario platformer to look THIS good, to be THIS damn creative and varied. It’s such an embarrassment of riches that Wonder really didn’t even need its delightfully weird and world-warping Wonder Effect to stand out as a landmark entry in the series – but I’m so glad it’s there. Like so much else in this game, it’s clear evidence of Nintendo finally going above and beyond with the Mario Bros. series.

If Wonder was just a little bit longer and a little bit harder (hehehe…), and if the boss battles weren’t so bafflingly bad, this game would have probably replaced Yoshi’s Island as my all-time favorite 2D platformer. But make no mistake, despite those handful of shortcomings this game is still absolutely fantastic, phenomenal and yes, wonderful.

Based Morality Score: Neutral

 

[Christi Junior]

11) Metroid Prime Remastered

As far as triumphant 3D transitions go, only Ocarina of Time can rival Metroid Prime. The surprising decision to opt for a first-person view proved thoroughly inspired, making the game that much more immersive and atmospheric, further aided by its fantastic soundtrack. And this really is an expertly crafted 3D Metroidvania in so many ways, it being a true joy to explore Tallon IV and unearth its dark secrets. A special mention goes out to all the cool and creative morph ball puzzles that the developers came up with, which really adds additional fun and flavor to the experience.

Of course, everybody already knows that Metroid Prime is a masterpiece, so how did this specific remaster treat it? Quite well overall, though the superlative critical reception seems a bit exaggerated once you consider that it mainly just represented a (massive) graphical upgrade, and actually left several of the original game’s flaws unaddressed. Seriously, a game that tracks your progress this autistically should NOT have so many permanently missable scans. There was also this weird, random change made to the beam cannon charge that really bothered some hardcore players.

That said, given its stunning new HD graphics and the wealth of control options available (a mixed gyro aiming setup was the one I went with), I’d still say this is the version of Metroid Prime that plays the best, and OBVIOUSLY it’s the best-looking incarnation of this classic, to the point where it feels genuinely revitalized by its glorious makeover. It remains to be seen how it will compare to the upcoming Metroid Prime 4, but for now at least, this is my favorite game in the Metroid series.

Based Morality Score: Neutral


10) Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

Some might be surprised to see me rank Mario 3D World THIS high, but I always considered this to be an insanely entertaining 3D platformer, boasting ridiculous levels of variety and bursting at the seams with fun ideas and neat, nostalgic throwbacks. In many ways 3D World felt like a celebration of the entire Mario franchise – there’s even a fucking Mario Kart level here! Sure, it’s not *quite* up there with Galaxy 1-2 and Odyssey, but that’s hardly a knock against 3D World, it just reflects the difference between 10/10 games and a 9.5/10 games – and it was always MILES better than the likes of Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine.

Despite this, and despite making a graceful transition from the Wii U to the Switch, what really pushes this port over the edge and secures it a spot in my top 10 is the addition of a whole additional game, the brand new Bowser's Fury. This little gem ends up repurposing 3D World mechanics and power-ups in all sorts of interesting ways, as they go from being utilized in one of the most linear 3D Mario games to being used to explore the single most open 3D Mario world yet.

Now, Bowser’s Fury *is* quite short (it’ll last you 3-6 hours depending on how much of a completionist you are), and the repeated Giant Bowser attacks do eventually wear out their welcome, but considering how this game is sold together with the already outstanding 3D World, these are flaws which I readily forgive. At the end of the day, what we have here is a phenomenal 2-for-1 deal that’s one of the Switch’s single biggest Must-Buys, at least if you missed out on 3D World back when it was stuck on a stillborn system.

Based Morality Score: Neutral


9) Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

As the Switch’s defining singleplayer game, BotW casts a long shadow, having undeniably influenced plenty of other games on this top 30 list, in some cases for the better, in other cases definitely for the worse. As you can probably tell, I’m neither a Hater not a Fanboy – and while I’m certainly ranking BotW above many phenomenal games, plenty of people would be scandalized about this supposed Best Game Ever contender “only” placing 9th on a Switch game ranking.

There are plenty of things that BotW does insanely well: its overworld is roughly 6 gorillion times better than the flat and empty Hyrule seen in Twilight Princess, Monolith Soft’s guidance proving invaluable. BotW’s Hyrule is gigantic, yet well-designed – and Shrines do a brilliant job of incentivizing and rewarding exploration, as do (to a somewhat lesser extent) the much-maligned Koroks. Shrines also provide very welcome bite-sized chunks of supremely satisfying dungeon-like action, and even the Korok Seed puzzles and challenges help make the overworld come alive.

There are so many other things BotW absolutely nails as well: the giant sandbox can be enormously fun to play around in, due the game’s myriad of interesting mechanics and how they can interact. And yet the Hyrule overworld being so amazing wasn’t used as an excuse neglect the towns – despite the game’s title causing me to fear that we’d see an entirely wild and untamed Hyrule, with scant sentient life, BotW actually boasts more and better towns than any previous Zelda game. The gameplay and controls are peerless (even fucking *climbing* proved way more fun than I expected), the game is full of innovations and fresh ideas that breathe new life into the Zelda experience, and the art style if fucking PERFECT for 3D Zelda, as well as genuinely beautiful.

However, BotW also suffers from some very real flaws: its extreme commitment to non-linearity effectively ends up ruining the story, and applying that design philosophy to the dungeons just doesn’t work very well. Speaking of which, 4 dungeons is already a paltry amount, but they’re also so thematically and structurally similar that the dungeon selection ends up being even less impressive than it first appears, which is only partly offset by the Shrines. The bosses are similarly underwhelming and samey, and then there’s the question of the limited enemy variety. Last and certainly not least, this game’s soundtrack just pisses me off: there ARE a number of great songs hidden within BotW, but for most of your playtime you’ll just be listening to Little Susie hesitantly pressing the keys on her mom’s piano, and the minimalist overworld music is “balanced” with low-key town themes and outright silence. What a fucking travesty.

Don’t get me wrong – BotW managed to keep me hooked for something like 150 hours, it boasts an enormous amount of high-quality content, and does almost everything it sets out to do extremely well. At the same time the lackluster story, unfocused design and poorly implemented soundtrack does lead to a game which I ultimately find to be less than the sum of its parts.

Based Morality Score: Neutral


8) Super Mario Maker 2

I feel that Mario Maker 2 never gets enough credit, to the point where various e-celebs now even push the idea that Mario Maker 1 was better (no it fucking wasn’t, a handful of nitpicks don’t cancel out hundreds of objective improvements and additions, especially not for THIS type of game). For me at least, Mario Maker 2 was ALWAYS gonna make the Switch Top 10, and if anything I think I might still have underrated it – even after bumping it up a spot and putting it ahead of BotW!

Mario Maker 2 is ultimately defined by its two big selling points, the ability to create and share your own Mario levels, as well as the ability to play a practically endless selection of user-created levels. Neither feature is executed flawlessly (the level-creator still has some annoying limitations, and the level search function is bafflingly limited), but both still work well enough, and boast such incredible potential, that they together make Mario Maker 2 an absolutely essential Switch game.

Creating levels is super easy and intuitive, and it really doesn’t take all that much time or effort to create something that’s at least fairly fun, given just how solid the core 2D Mario gameplay is. But for me at least, playing the levels created by other users are where it’s at – and just going by a conservative estimate, this game literally boasts HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of good-quality levels – and probably tens of thousands of levels that are way more exciting than anything you’ll find in a New Super Mario Bros. game. And this is a game that gives you everything from these super-cool gimmick levels that literally play themselves to absurdly sadistic monstrosities that would take you years of practice to conquer, so no matter what you’re after, you WILL find it here.

Also, while I don’t factor in Paid DLC when judging games on this list, free updates is another issue entirely, and it bears mentioning that Mario Maker 2 received several gloriously great updates during its first couple of years. Seriously, Link Mode is something I never knew I wanted in a 2D Mario game! Something I DID know I wanted was of course the Super World mode, which literally upgraded Mario Maker 2 from a Mario Level Maker to a Mario *Game* Maker, ensuring that its run of free updates ended on the highest note possible.

Based Morality Score: Neutral

 

[Christi Junior]

7) Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Tears of the Kingdom is kind of a weird sequel, in that it doesn’t even attempt to fix BotW’s glaring flaws, instead focusing on further improving what its predecessor already did absurdly well, primarily its world and its exploration. Not that these improvements aren’t welcome mind you – and TotK introduces a bunch of outrageously cool new mechanics that prove a perfect fit with Open World Zelda. The ability to construct all sorts of clever contraptions especially is all kinds of awesome, and combined with Link’s brilliant new special powers and the ability to literally weaponized the many collectibles that you pick up in this gigantic world, you get some absolutely genius puzzles – even if the game never fully capitalizes on their true potential.

Also, I have to at least partially retract what I wrote earlier; some of BotW’s failings *have* actually been fixed, because specifically in terms of bosses and the enemy variety TotK really is leagues better, with the complete boss selection now being one of the best in the series. The addition of the underground- and sky sections also make TotK’s Hyrule a lot more visually and conceptually interesting and unique, and even the “old Hyrule” felt a lot fresher than I expected – though me not having played BotW since 2018 probably contributed to that.

Alas, the same awful approach to music persists, with the various genuinely great songs barely ever getting any play, while entirely atmospheric non-music does most of the heavy lifting throughout the adventure. The game also bends over backwards to ensure that the story is as underwhelming as possible, again being told primarily through flashbacks – though the presence of a proper villain (rather than a pure Force of Nature adversary) and a more intriguing mystery did mean TotK still boasted a slightly better story than BotW. Also better are the dungeons – but again, only just barely. At least this time they feel genuinely distinct and unique, but they’re still WAY too short and insubstantial for the most part.

That said, TotK is still an embarrassment of riches in terms of what it has to offer – 160 hours into the game, I was still coming across cool new puzzle ideas and mechanics, and what it does well, it tends to do ridiculously well. Like BotW, this game still feels like somewhat less than the sum of its parts – but those individual parts, if put together in a more focused and purposeful way, could potentially deliver a Best Game Ever contender.

Based Morality Score: -1


6) Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

Yes niggers, your eyes are not deceiving you – I’m ranking Skyward Sword HD as the single best retail Zelda game available on the Switch! I’ve always adored Skyward Sword despite its flaws – and a number of those flaws have straight up been removed this time around. For all the talk about SS HD being a low-effort and lazy remaster, it ended up implementing a bunch of (admittedly easy, no-brainer) changes that genuinely make the game better, to the point where I think this remaster actually improves the base game to a far greater extent than something like Metroid Prime Remastered did. And let’s not even get into comparisons with Majora’s Mask 3D…

On second thought, let’s do just that! Now, I think a lot of post-2017 Nintendo games have been negatively influenced by BotW, especially in terms of how they handle music. Skyward Sword HD is a rare game that has drawn all the RIGHT lessons from BotW, namely that gamers don’t need their fucking hands held all the time. So whereas Majora’s Mask 3D took the single most hardcore Zelda entry and saddled it with forced tutorials and hints aplenty, Skyward Sword HD instead takes an axe to so many of the original’s most egregious instances of handholding. I always liked Fi in terms of design and personality, but in SS HD I don’t even think I’m being biased when I say that she’s no longer annoying!

And in this new and improved form Skyward Sword truly soars, being free to showcase its many outstanding qualities. In my opinion, this is THE single best Zelda game in terms of puzzles, it boasts the single most fun item selection in the series (the Beetle is so fucking cool!), and some of the best dungeons and bosses as well. Despite its (often exaggerated) flaws, Skyward Sword was also a game that polished, tweaked and enhanced 3D Zelda design in many ways, fixing so many of the little issues I had with Twilight Princess. And yes, count me a fan of the infamous motion controls – at least for the combat, where it makes even regular battles a whole lot more exciting and interesting, with each new enemy type being something of a puzzle in its own right, as you try to uncover its weakness.

Obviously, some pacing problems and certain other minor annoyances are still present (though the flaws are way overblown overall, fucking Escort missions cannot be excused!), but I still had an incredibly good time revisiting Skyward Sword, the 35 hours spent on SS HD were probably the most fun I had as a gamer in all of 2021. Above all, it reminded me of just how much I miss the traditional Zelda formula, and just how fucking Peak it actually was. We truly don’t know how good we have it until it’s too late…

Based Morality Score: Neutral


5) Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Ever since Brawl, it has become so easy to boil down the qualities of a Smash Bros. games to its ludicrous amounts of content and the ridiculously varied character roster. In that sense, I’m very grateful for the (very unexpected) Smash Bros. 3DS demo back in 2014, because due to it giving you access to just 5 characters and a single stage, it reminded me of how Smash Bros’s core platform fighter gameplay on its own is incredibly fun and addictive. And that demo I had such a great time with was of the INFERIOR version of Smash 4 – which itself doesn’t play nearly as well as Smash Ultimate does! In terms of pure gameplay, Ultimate really does feel like Peak Smash Bros: fast-paced, but not overwhelming, skill-based, but not autistic, easy to learn, yet hard to master. The characters are also way better balanced than in past Smash games, with there probably being at least something like 40-50 characters who you could conceivably solo-main and still win Super Nationals with.

Let’s also not take for granted just how ridiculously rich and varied the character roster is, on a purely conceptual level: you got the likes of a speedy fox wielding a laser gun and a bunch of sci fi gadgets, a black 2D man weaponizing his work history, a paint-splatting kid who can transform into a squid, a fat cosplaying crocodile, a lightning-fast electric rat, a Big pterodactyl-dragon space pirate, a showboating cat wrestler, a cute little puppy and a dominatrix witch wielding 2 pairs of guns and summoning monsters from hell to assist her! Oh, and aside from the returning Melee clones and the new Echo Fighters, these characters are also all incredibly unique in terms of how they play, with so much hidden depth to them, not to mention the countless little nods and references to the games they’re from that have been snuck into their movesets, their taunts and their animations. Characters who become Smash Bros. fighter invariably are represented so, SO well, a big reason why people are so desperate for their favorite characters to make it into the roster.

And what the hell, let’s talk Quantity for a second as well: NOT counting the Paid DLC, you still got a mind-boggling 76 (!) characters, 103 (!!) stages and over 900 (!!!!!!!!!) songs. Seriously, the game is worth full price just for its soundtrack alone. Despite its gargantuan size, it’s also quite the smartly designed package: forcing you to unlock the vast majority of the characters encourages you to try out new fighters while working towards unlocking your main, the Spirit system enables a ridiculous number of video game characters to get at least SOME representation (Reinhardt Schneider from Castlevania 64 being a Spirit was one of my favorite video game surprises in recent memory), while also giving the game an excuse to find smart and appropriate uses for its countless items and game modes.

Sure, Ultimate does have its obvious flaws: while it’s my absolute favorite couch multiplayer game, the Online multiplayer is still shockingly bad in various ways, arguably WORSE than Smash 4’s For Glory (the GSP was a *very* unfortunate addition), the Story mode was pretty much a hyper-repetitive Worst Case Scenario, and despite the title of “Ultimate”, past series staples like Trophies and Event Matches have been cut. That said, I’ll argue that every feature cut by Ultimate had been showing signs of diminishing returns ever since it debuted in Melee, and I found Ultimate’s early-game gameplay loop to be the most enjoyable since Melee, so all the changes and tweaks were ultimately very successful. And on the whole, I think that Ultimate DOES live up to its name, being easily my favorite game in the series so far, as well as one of the Switch’s greatest games.

Based Morality Score: Neutral


4) Xenoblade Chronicles 3

In case my titanic writeup didn’t make it obvious, I have A LOT to say about this game, so the real challenge here is making my summary both fair and reasonably comprehensive. Ultimately, Xenoblade 3 is very much a XenoGOAT game, and is bolstered by all the series’ trademark strengths: you got an enormous, stunning and well-designed world that it’s a pleasure to explore, a God-Tier soundtrack, a thoroughly engrossing story that’s full of unforgettable moments and twists, a wonderful cast of characters, and one of the best JRPG combat systems in existence.

In some ways, Xenoblade 3 straight up represents the culmination and perfection of everything Xenoblade has come to represent, with various mechanics having been refined to the point of becoming the absolutely best version of themselves that they can be. Unique Monsters for example, could not have been handled any better, and in terms of sidequests XB3 pretty much outclasses the other numbered entries in the series, and in fact comes close to rivaling Xenoblade X, the series’ sidequest specialist.

That said, Xenoblade 3 also ended falling behind its predecessors in a number of crucial areas: the world of Aionios might be amazing by most standards, but compared to Bionis, Mira and Alrest, it comes up a bit short. The soundtrack is incredible overall, boasting an absurd number of all-time great songs, but when it comes to specifically the area themes, only something like 50% are true bangers. And while the story has some of the highest highs in the series’ history, it eventually runs out of steam and stumbles its way to the finish line, leaving WAY too many questions unanswered in the process.

Keep in mind, most of my problems with Xenoblade 3 are only actually problems due to me comparing XB3 directly to some of my all-time favorite games. Even most Elite JRPGs would not stand a chance of surviving such intense scrutiny – but Xenoblade 3 not only survives, it even holds its own, ensuring that the Xenoblade trilogy ends up as my favorite video game trilogy BY FAR. Also, the end of Chapter 5, along with the beginning of Chapter 6? Peak Fiction!

Based Morality Score: +2/-2

 

[Christi Junior]

3) Super Mario Odyssey

As far as I’m concerned, Breath of the Wild beating out Mario Odyssey to become THE top singleplayer Switch game is one of the great injustices of this generation, because I consider this latest flagship Mario platformer to be easily, objectively better than either of the open world Zeldas. Whereas BotW sacrificed so much of what made Zelda great (dungeons, music, story etc) in order to chart its bold new course, Mario Odyssey actually managed to successfully Have It All, to become the best of both worlds.

Odyssey somehow matches the incredible variety and off-the-charts fun factor of the linear Galaxy, even while returning to the far more non-linear, open-ended world design of Mario 64 and Sunshine – in fact, I’d argue that Odyssey is the SUPERIOR open world platformer, not just because its worlds are bigger and more interesting, but also because Odyssey doesn’t do stupid shit like kick you out of the world every time you nab a major collectible (like 64 did) or arbitrarily restrict your freedom and choice to the point of the game no longer being truly open, just slightly unfocused (Sunshine).

The new Cappy transformations are just such an awesome addition, allowing Mario to transform into everything from a T-Rex to a Tank, and being just the kind of showstopper mechanic that this game needed to compete with Galaxy. It also brings back all sorts of great ideas from past games. Sunshine’s hardcore pure platforming segments is one such example, but an even better one is how Odyssey took the super neat 2D segments from the Galaxy games, and elevated them to a whole new level: Odyssey’s throwback 2D platformer sections are even at their worst delightful trips down nostalgia lane, and at best these 2D platforming challenges are mini-masterpieces in their own right (New Donk City Festival FTW!). Moreover, Odyssey boasts what’s easily the greatest selection of 3D Mario boss battles so far (there’s even a giant, realistic Dark Souls dragon!), and by far the strongest postgame too.

Real talk, out of all the games on this Top 30 List, I consider Odyssey the single most Perfect one. The few nitpicks I do have, about stuff like forced motion controls for certain actions and gripes about Peach acting like a bitch during the ending, are easily overlooked, and while I do feel Odyssey wasn’t necessarily designed around 100% Completion (similarly to BotW and arguably Xenoblade 2), hundred percenting this game is still way less of a pain than hundred percenting Mario motherfucking Sunshine. However, what I really recommend is a 503 Moon run (500 Moons to unlock the True Final Level, + the 3 Moons you get for beating it), which IMO is some of the most fun you can have with any game, period.

Based Morality Score: Neutral (-1 if Bitchy Peach truly bothers you)


2) Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Speaking of Perfect games, Xenoblade 2 is definitely NOT one of those. This game suffers from various technical problems, persistent pacing issues, and some TRULY dogshit tutorials. In a number of ways it represents a real step backwards from Xenoblade 1, and it’s certainly the most unpolished of the Xenoblade games. And yet….

While Xenoblade 2 undeniably suffers from both more frequent and lower lows than Xenoblade 1, it also soars to higher highs; repeatedly so, during its triumphant final few chapters. This is such a thoroughly magical, enchanting JRPG, and it just blew me away in so many ways: its story, which moved me to tears and shook me to my core; its soundtrack, LITERALLY MY FAVORITE VIDEO GAME OST OF ALL TIME, which on its own makes Xenoblade 2 a landmark game; the characters, making up possibly my all-time favorite JRPG party; the world, one of the greatest in all of vidya; the combat system, offering near-limitless customizability and just being so insanely fun and satisfying once you actually start mastering it – and so much more.

Additionally, despite its initially shallow and clichéd Shonen anime story, Xenoblade 2 is ironically enough the perfect antidote to various tired JRPG clichés – this is a game where it’s the VILLAINS who are ultimately out to Kill God, where the expansionist empire is actually remarkably benevolent, and where personal trauma rather than religious fervor is what truly drives the one seemingly religious villain. The story is also at its core far darker and more provocative than that of Xenoblade 1 – it is ultimately not a single bad guy or a lone evil faction that’s the cause of the world’s ills, it might be human nature itself that will inevitably doom us all. In fact, the world we live in might itself be testament to the cursed cycle that we’re doomed to repeat. Heavy stuff, especially for the Big Titty Sword Waifu game. And the way this all ends up connecting to Xenoblade 1 (a rare case where the developers Lying about a game’s story pre-release was actually fully justified) is just pure genius, making Xenoblade 2 work perfectly as both a standalone story AND a direct sequel to the first Xenoblade game.

I started this mini-writeup talking about Xenoblade 2’s flaws, which are real and numerous. But whenever I think about this game (and since 2017, no game as occupied my mental space quite like this one), it’s never any of those flaws that spring to mind – it’s all the wonderful moments, the tears and the laughter, the sense of awe and wonder. And of course, Pyra being Best Girl, forever.

Based Morality Score: +2/-1


1) Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition

This might seem like a boring choice (coming from me, at least), and it’s not even a brand new Switch game, just a remastered Wii title – but seriously, how could I not give what’s easily the best version of my all-time favorite game the top spot here? Back when it first came out on the Wii, people used to say that Xenoblade’s only real weakness was the Wii’s weak-ass hardware – and while the Switch is no powerhouse either, it IS a massive upgrade over the Wii, and an actual HD console. Along with Xenoblade’s superb art direction, capable on making it shine even on extremely underpowered hardware, and the main cast’s potato faces being fixed, the jump into HD meant that Xenoblade 1 was able to bless us with a stunning range of absolutely gorgeous areas and breathtaking vistas. Hell, I’d go as far as to say that Xenoblade 1 boasts my all-time favorite world in all of gaming – it truly has EVERYTHING.

And that could be said for the game as a whole. I like to compare Xenoblade 1 to Ocarina of Time – many if not most aspects of the game have been surpassed by specific later entries in the series, but OoT remains the one game to do EVERYTHING well. And so it is with Xenoblade 1 as well; even its weakest elements compared to other Xenoblade games, like the combat, the characters and the sidequests, still range from pretty good to outright great when judged on their own merits, and in a surprising amount of ways Xenoblade 1 still remains the best of the best. Its world is incredible, it has the most consistently fun and rewarding exploration outside of Xenoblade X, it’s still the best-paced and the most instantly accessible Xenoblade game, its soundtrack is second only to Xenoblade 2 and unlike that game, XB1 actually has a protagonist who can scream in rage with the best of them!

Then there’s Xenoblade 1’s story, which while not as deep or profound as Xenoblade 2’s, and suffering from various classic JRPG clichés that account for its negative-leaning Based Morality score, is absolutely impeccably told, and enormously entertaining and engaging from start to finish. The twists are legendary – mention Prison Island or the Mechonis Core to a Xenoblade fan, and he’ll be able to rant and rave for hours – and the foreshadowing is some of the best I’ve seen in any medium, to the point where replaying Xenoblade for the first time had me constantly being stunned by how almost every scene had been recontextualized by my knowledge of the game’s deepest secrets.

Sure, there are flaws, and even this Definitive Edition doesn’t get everything right – but like with Xenoblade 2, this is just such an incredible experience that the few shortcomings don’t even matter. In so many ways, Xenoblade is the best of all worlds: the perfect marriage of JRPGs and Western RPGs, of fantasy and sci, of a linear story-driven experience and open world game design. It’s the game that did what should have been impossible: give me the same feeling stepping onto the Bionis' Leg in 2011 as stepping onto OoT’s Hyrule Field gave me back in 1998. And even today, it remains my favorite video game.

Based Morality Score: +1/-2

 

[salty_apollyon]

wow that sure took a while, i really have to stop sitting on my ass and try some of these, lots of them i've already played as you might know by now but other i've been interested in trying like pikmin 4 or astral chain(which right now i don't remember if you wrote about)

others i'd rather forget they even exists purely because of how awfully wrong localizer antics rub on me and you can also probably figure out which games im talking about

shit at this point i should really have an actual writen backlog because i keep forgeting about some of these games i've yet to play

 

[Christi Junior]

Astral Chain was #18 on the list. I probably wrote some stuff about it on Fedi as well years ago, but with the atrocious search engines there (Baest had the best one, and that's now gone) I haven't been able to recover any of that. So this thread was a good opportunity to rectify my neglect of various notable games.

 

[Christi Junior]

UPDATE!

22) Bayonetta 3

Yeah, I told you niggas that this game was all but assured to make my Top 30 once I actually got around to finishing it. Bayonetta 3 is Bayonetta at its absolutely wildest, most exuberant and most over-the-top, and if you’re familiar with these games you’ll know that’s really saying something. This is a game full of sensational “Holy shit, this fucking awesome!” set pieces (dat frog aria!), a stunning assortment of kickass weapons and abilities, and combat that’s generally supremely enjoyable in addition to being phenomenally flashy.

Also, while I know that plenty of people are absolutely fed up with Multiverse storylines at this point, I do feel that it’s actually a concept that fits extremely well with the Bayonetta franchise, given its particular mix of silliness, absurdity and pure epicness. Hell, I’d actually have liked to see the game do more with its multiverse-hopping concept – the alternate worlds that you visit are actually surprisingly basic settings all things considered, like modern-day Japan, Ancient Egypt and Fr*nce. Seriously, no futuristic sci-fi planet? No dinosaur-filled lost world? Seriously, imagine just how fun a Prehistoric Bayonetta design could be, bone in hair and all. Oh well, at least the game still gave use some really nice Alternate Bayonetta designs.

Of course, part of the reason I’m so accepting of the game’s Multiversal leap is that the story in Bayonetta games have for me always been by far the weakest aspect of them – both Bayonetta 1 and 2 had moments where they just completely lost me, and I really failed to understand how certain plot threads connected. Ironically, I actually found Bayonetta 3 to have the MOST coherent story in the series so far – though that doesn’t necessarily mean the story good.

Having taken so long to finish Bayonetta 3, I’d eventually become aware of most of its truly controversial story moments, and well, yeah, I can see how the ending in particular would outright ruin the game for certain long-time Bayonetta fans. You could definitely say that the game does a number of its core cast members dirty – but I’d also argue that it likewise does some really good things for a number of these characters, especially Bayonetta herself beating the Lesbian allegations in the most triumphant of ways (though this should have already been obvious to non-faggot Bayo fans – her and Jeanne’s theme is after all called “Friendship”, not “Dykes”).

Moving over from the well-established characters to the game’s most notable newcomer, I suspect that a lot of people feared the worst when they first saw Viola’s character design, but happily, there’s pretty much NOTHING Feminist about this character at all, Viola instead being the Bayonetta series’ answer to DBZ’s Future Trunks, her character mirroring the cooler Trunks in a startling number of ways. She’s also not really a girlboss at all, often acting as a straight up comic relief character. I’m still not gonna say that Viola is a great addition to the game or anything, as she’s not nearly as fun to control as Bayonetta (perhaps it makes sense in-universe that Viola’s moveset is absolutely puny in comparison to Bayo’s, but it definitely makes for inferior gameplay), but Viola stages aren’t actually all that numerous anyway, so I hardly view her presence is severely undermining the overall experience.

And on the whole, I found Bayonetta 3 to be an absolute trip, in the best sense possible. Also, I should mention that the game is quite meaty and rich in content, to the point where it took me something like 20 hours to beat even with me mostly curbing my completionism ‘tism, which I’d say is very good for such an action-packed game. You could argue that its ranking on this list is being somewhat inflated by the fact that I played through the game on the Switch 2, whose backwards compatibility comes with the added perk of absolutely locking Bayo 3’s framerate to 60 FPS, while on the Switch 1 the game would often fail to maintain its 60 FPS target. That said, I grew up playing 25 FPS European N64 games, so I am NOT at all sensitive to these things, and on the Switch 1 I did actually reach one of the sections with the worst performance issues without being bothered by it, so I feel quite confident in saying that the game would easily make at least my top 25 even if I had done the full playthrough on the original Switch.

Based Morality Score: +1/-1