With the Nintendo Switch 2 right around the corner, my brain has not stopped racing around with the idea of rebuilding a physical collection of games.
In the most recent console generations, I have been a digital-first kind of consumer. When it comes to physical retail releases of games, I can count the amount I have for both my Xbox and PlayStation on my two hands. The games barely take up any room on the entertainment stand (especially compared to the consoles). On the flip side, my digital library requires exponentially more hands and fingers to count.
Then comes the Nintendo Switch, a console I have had such an odd relationship with over the last 8 years since it released.
I pre-ordered a day-one unit from Amazon and equally waited outside a Target overnight until they opened at 10AM in hopes of snagging one with colored Joy-Con controllers (I was unsuccessful, so another set of grey Joy-Cons it was). I loved the console, and even remember slacking off a little bit in the office that day to have it setup on my desk at Harmonix to set it up and play some games.
However after a year or so, the charm of the console dried up for me. In my heart, I was still a living room gamer, not a handheld one, so my interest in playing on the Switch continued to dwindle month by month and year by year, only to be briefly reignited by major releases such as Animal Crossing, Pokemon games, and the occasional Mario game. Not even long two-hour train ride commutes could jog my interest in continually playing between the big tentpole video game launches.
Slowly over time, my Switch started to collect more dust than the average person’s set of Guitar Hero and Rock Band instruments as it sat unused in a storage bin for years on end.
An example to show how little I have purchased, let alone played to any degree on the console:
From the original Nintendo Switch launch to today, I have purchased only a few games physically for the console: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 1-2 Switch, Mario Kart 8, Ring Fit Adventure, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. My full library, including physical and digital copies, only totals about 25 games, if that.
It really wasn’t a console that really latched onto me. At least… until recently!
As my routines have shifted and life being what it is for me now (a lot changes in eight years!), I have started to fall back in love with the Nintendo Switch and handheld gaming in general. Animal Crossing has become part of my regular daily routine again and newer games like Fantasy Life i are becoming the focus of the rest of my free time for playing games. There’s just something much more freeing about being able to play games on my terms: wherever and however I want.
Then comes the tangible aspect of it all. Clicking in my cartridge for Mario Kart 8 to go back and replay that game in anticipation of Mario Kart World reignited a small flame in me for building out a physical game collection again. Maybe I am getting older, but the fact that I “own” this game feels just as great as the freedom of being able to play these games on my own terms. The excitement around the few physical games I have accumulated over the years prompted me to take a trip to my local games store and pickup a few copies of games for my Switch (and my future Switch 2). Hades, being the big notable one I picked up: a game I love on my Xbox, but have struggled to find the right flow state of playing it on my TV. It just feels so right playing this game on a handheld.
Right now, I have a list of about 50 games that I want to get physical copies of. Currently, the list is only of games for the original Nintendo Switch, and not the Switch 2, but I am sure over time I will start to build out an even more comprehensive list. They’re mostly first-party titles, with some small exceptions.
Really, the list is built around the idea of either:
- These are Switch exclusive games I cannot play anywhere else.
- These are games that have that “magical” Nintendo feel to them, and it would feel wrong to me to play it anywhere else.
- These are games I just want to have another copy of to have “on-the-go” should I be traveling or whatever it may be.
With that in mind, the list has boiled down to the following (in alphabetical order):
- Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp
- Big Brain Academy: Brain vs Brain
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
- Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
- Detective Pikachu Returns
- Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
- Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
- Game Builder Garage
- Hollow Knight
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- Kirby Star Allies
- Kirby’s Dream Buffet
- Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe
- Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD
- Luigi’s Mansion 3
- Mario & Luigi: Bothership
- Mario Golf: Super Rush
- Mario Strikers: Battle League
- Mario Tennis Aces
- Mario vs Donkey Kong
- Metroid Dread
- Metroid Prime Remastered
- New Pokemon Snap
- Paper Mario: The Origami King
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
- Pikmin 1 + 2 Bundle
- Pikmin 3 Deluxe
- Pikmin 4
- Splatoon 3
- Pokemon Brilliant Diamond
- Pokemon Champions
- Pokemon Legends: Z-A
- Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX
- Pokemon Scarlet
- Pokken Tournament DX
- Princess Peach: Showtime!
- Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon + DLC
- Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection
- Super Mario 3D All-Stars
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
- Super Mario Party
- Super Mario Party Jamboree
- Super Mario RPG
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- WarioWare: Get It Together!
- WarioWare: Move It!
- Yoshi’s Crafted World
I think it’s a very solid list for a starting point of “must haves” for myself. To add some commentary to a few items on the list:
- Advance Wars 1+2 – I do not know how I have not yet played this game. I remember when I was growing up that I would obsessively stare at all the screenshots and information around this game in every Nintendo Power magazine… dreaming of playing this game. But alas, I never ended up getting a copy of it. I think I owe it to myself to finally play sometime in the near future.
- Donkey Kong Country Returns & Tropical Freeze – To keep it simple: I have never played these games. They look fun enough to give them a shot should I ever come across them.
- New Pokemon Snap – In all fairness, I own this digitally and just haven’t started it yet… However, something about getting a physical copy of it still excites me enough to make it feel worth purchasing twice. I was a huge fan of the original Pokemon Snap and want to play the new one.
- Paper Mario: The Origami King & The Thousand Year Door – I loved the first Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64, and have yet to play the series since it released. I am really looking forward to jumping back into these games sometime soon.
- The Legend of Zelda – I have barely touched this franchise. That fact alone just feels odd to me. I think it’s finally time I solve this issue and truly play through the games available to me once and for all so I can finally understand all the references my friends and colleagues throw around as it relates to these games. It’s also worth mentioning that the upgrades to both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are going to make those games especially feel great to play.
- Shovel Knight & Hollow Knight – Both of these feel like Nintendo games to me, even if they aren’t made or published by them. I’ve never played either to any meaningful amount but have heard wonderful things about them.
We’ll see how long it takes for me to fully get through this list, both adding to my collection and playing all of these games. It’s a loft goal for sure, and one with a non-insignificant time and financial investment, but I do think it is both achievable and going to be a fun road to go down.
I’ll be sure to keep things up to date here as things progress in this next generation of Switch gaming and my collection (and backlog) grows!
