Topic: Nintendo Switch --OT--

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I'll list my current favorites that I've played on the system alphabetically. I expect this list to look a bit different after next year, but I love every game on my list.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - A brilliant rethinking of open world game design and the modern, exploratory overhaul the Zelda series desperately needed.

Catherine: Full Body - A messy, complicated look at gender, sex, relationships, and infidelity, this little Atlus classic smoothly combines life sim elements with deceptively simple puzzle game mechanics.

Cuphead - Possibly the best action-platformer released since Contra 4, this game combines a phenomenal reproduction of classic American "rubber hose style" animation with tight controls, creative bosses, and supremely addictive gameplay.

Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition - The long-awaited Switch port of this game is a masterpiece of optimization, and one of the best RPGs on the system. DQXI had already improved on the hit-or-miss design and mechanics of DQ VIII to offer a more enjoyable adventure, but this port fixed the original version's notoriously dinky synthesized soundtrack, added QoL improvements that made the game even funner, and tooled around with and improved nearly every aspect of the game. That's not to mention the beautiful 2D mode and hefty amounts of added story content. Short of a straight-up remake, it's difficult to imagine how S-E could have improved more on this version of the game. The painstaking optimization for a far weaker system does lead to a version of the game that looks worse than what released on other platforms, but it's beautiful, and, dare I say, the most visually pleasing game on the platform. As someone who isn't a huge DQ fan, I was still hugely impressed with this title.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Another Nintendo property that enjoyed a dramatic reimagining, the traditionally very archaic and narrative-lite strategy series sees its densest and most ambitious entry to date. It's hard to overstate how different this game is from previous FE titles. I was delighted, though: the Persona-esque school setting and calendar system works really well here, too; the cast in this game is the best in the series; and I appreciate the various ways in which this game was made to feel like a fully-fleshed out JRPG. Oh, and there's so much narrative content here, and the game just demands to be replayed so that the player can appreciate how the kingdom-shattering events that unfold might have been different, and to understand the mindset and ideologies driving the various factions in the war that consumes the second half of the game. I do think the weapon triangle should have had more of a presence, though, as units in this game don't feel as distinct as they did in previous entries, and the divine pulse mechanic feels like it was tacked on at the last second. Still, I'm so happy Intelligent Systems and Koei-Tecmo took the risks they did and created such a memorable modern-gen Fire Emblem game.

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle - Imagine XCOM, but replace the tedious base-building and randomized maps with a lengthy campaign full of puzzles, exploration, and maps properly designed for each unique battle encounter. Now replace the slow crawl of inching random soldiers forward with iconic Nintendo characters (and rabbids cosplaying as iconic Nintendo characters) dashing and zipping around battlefields with balletic grace. And the ugly realism is replaced with a vibrant, gorgeously-realized cartoon world. What seemed like a historically bad idea when leaked turned out to be one of the best exclusives on the system.

Super Mario Odyssey - Exploratory 3D Mario returns! This time as more of a collectathon where Mario explores various large, dense zones, which hide tons of secret challenges and delightful setpieces. While I don't like the main story campaign as much as certain other previous 3D Mario games, it easily has the best post-game in the entire series, and the game proper continues long after the end credits initially roll. This game is also another looker, and runs at a smooth 60fps.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 - A proper home console sequel to the PS3 classic that makes some subtle, but incredibly effective changes to the formula of that game that really made me feel connected to this rag-tag squadron. Side stories are now unlocked when characters fight alongside one-another, Fire Emblem style, and the stories themselves explore and develop each of the smaller characters who find themselves under your character's command. It was just so incredibly rewarding 100%ing this. The story is really good, too. There's still the recognizable jank factor that made some people cold on the original game, but, as far as I'm concerned, this is one of Sega's best releases this generation.

Xenoblade 2 + Torna: The Golden Country - Maybe I'm cheating a bit, but given the fact that Torna was released as premium expansion DLC for XC2, I think it deserves to be counted. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is an uneven but emotional and incredibly epic sequel to the rather uneven Wii original that improves on that first game in a number of ways. The OST is amazing, the pacing is (usually) really good, and, unlock the original, heart-to-hearts are actually not a pain to unlock. Additionally, all of your rare blades have narrative content to unlock, and the combat system, while perhaps overly complicated, is fun and combines rhythm game elements, rather like a Paper Mario game. The DLC prequel is a good deal shorter, but, for my money, it's the best Xenoblade game ever made, and is a clear improvement on XC2 in a number of ways. Together, these two campaigns provide hundreds of hours of entertainment and vast, beautiful landscapes to get lost in.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana - The Switch port isn't ideal, but unfortunate framerate and resolution issues can't take away from how excellent the core game is. Adol Christin, the legendary explorer who the player controls throughout the Ys series, is stranded on a mysterious island after the ship he's on crashes. Gradually, he and a party of other capable warriors rescue survivors, start a settlement, gradually come to learn about each-other's lives, explore dungeons, fight enormous bosses, and eventually are forced to fight to save the entire human race. This game combines twitchy action combat with a suite of addicting progression systems, Zelda-like overworld exploration (classic Zelda), and interesting plot elements and character development to create an experience I couldn't put down until I had fully completed it.