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Discussion Where does the Switch sit in the pantheon of Nintendo hardware for you?

bixente said:
I feel like the N64's library suffered from lack of balance way more imo.

Such as almost non-existent rpg presence.
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Brock Reiher said:
I love N64, but the most common criticism of it is lack of genre diversity. It has plenty of sports, racing, and platforming games because that’s what the console does well. But compared to Saturn and PlayStation (and SNES) there are huge gaps in genres that don’t fit into those categories, the most obvious being RPG. N64 has like 5 RPG games— three of them star Nintendo characters, and one of the others is Quest 64.
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PixelKnight said:
This just doesn’t make sense to me. The N64 only got a few hundred games in total. There were very few 2D platformers compared to the Switch, almost everything I loved on SNES was gone, almost no RPGs or strategy games. If the Switch lacks balance, the N64 was just woeful in that regard, even though it did get the sports and arcade game ports of the time.
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All of you are definitely right. N64's RPG lineup was absolute shit. But that's the only genre that was lacking on the system. With just "few hundreds of games" of library, N64 actually beats or ties with Switch in several genres.

This can only be proven with some list wars.
Sports: Well this one is a given. Nintendo literally had "N64 Sports" banner in sports games and Nintendo actually published several serious sports games, such as Ken Griffey baseball and Kobe Bryant NBA. N64 had all sports, both arcade and realistic versions, including the biggest omissions on Switch: NFL and NHL.

Racing: N64's racing library is pretty legendary. Nintendo made not one but TWO kart games, plus a new full 3D F-Zero title. They also brought Cruisin games to Switch. Third parties provided insane amount of racers as well: Top Gear Rally, Extreme-G, Ridge Racer, Carmageddon, Beetle Racing, Rush...

Extreme sports: One genre that needlessly died. N64 was the golden age for it, not only third parties had a tons of them (from Tony Hawk to Snowboard Kids), Nintendo also published 3: Excite Bike 64, Wave Race and 1080. I don't think Switch got any other than Tony hawk's 1+2, which were remakes of N64 games.

Fighting: Honestly the genre is very much alive, they did Switch dirty. Switch still got 2 MK games, 2 new SNK titles (1 port) DBZ, Naruto, MHA arena fighters (if you count them), Pokken, Blazblue, DNF Duel, UNIB. N64 with smaller library had similar amount of fighters: 2 MK games, Killer Instinct, Clayfighter 3, Flying Dragon, God Wars, Deadly Arts, Fighters Destiny, Dark Rift, Bio Freaks, Mace the Dark Age. Popularity of arcade really helped N64 here.

3D platformers: Nintendo isn't at fault here, third parties pretty much ignored the genre. Switch got Mario Odyssey, Bowser's Fury, Kirby & forgotten land, third parties provide Pac-Man world, Crash, Spyro trilogies, Crash 4, Sonic Forces and Frontiers. Two spongebob games. Indies did the heavy lifting here: Hat in Time, Lucky's World, Yooka Layle, Penny, Demon Turf, Kao the Kangaroo. Tbh, N64 was the golden age of the genre. Nintendo had total of 4 3D platformers and from the third parties we had: Conker, Rayman 2, Tonic Trouble, Rocket Robot on wheels, Space Station Silicon valley, Glover, Earthworm Jim 3D, Goemon, Gex 3 and many more I can't recall...

And that's just five of the genres. N64 actually can go toe to toe with Switch with other genres as well. Like, N64 actually had a pretty robust FPS lineup, including the ones with full deathmatch multiplayers. Switch had its own share of FPS games but still none of them offer proper deathmatch modes. Space shooters too, as Switch is still waiting for its own Star Fox. And let's not forget wrestling. N64 was a total wrestling monster. Switch was screwed by Take Two, as they ditched it after failing in one wrestling game.

I apologize in advance if i have forgotten important games here (especially on N64 front) but the point still stands: Switch, and the whole generation Switch is in, missed some important genres. Not because people no longer want them, they absolutely do, but because there are no developers to make them. I mean, Activision literally had two developers that are good at above genres (Toys for Bob and Vicarious Visions) and forced them to assist CoD development, which Switch still haven't got a single entry of.
 
It's top 2

I consider SNES to be better

but god damn some of yall underrate the Wii so much
 
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1. GameCube

I mean, come on. TTYD, Wind Waker, Melee, Super Monkey Ball, Kirby Air Ride, Prime, Double Dash, Luigi's Mansion. System was a technical beast with some bangers and a great controller.

2. Nintendo 64

This is where I spent most of my childhood gaming. It's the system that realized Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Banjo, and many other beloved franchises in my life. Controller sucked but the games made up for it.

3. Wii

I actually liked the motion controls; had loads of fun with Wii Sports. Galaxy is still the best 3D Mario after 3D World, Mario Kart Wii was phenomenal, and while Brawl wasn't great, I really loved the Subspace Emissary.

4. Switch

Interesting hybrid concept with some exceptional titles like BotW, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Odyssey, Mario Wonder, Smash Bros Ultimate, and loads of others. Only downside is it's a bit long in the tooth hardware-side and the Joycons kinda suck.

5. Nintendo DS

Loved this thing as a kid. I lived on ACWW, New Super Mario Bros, Kirby Super Star Ultra and Mario Kart DS.

6. Wii U

This system brought us 3D World and Tropical Freeze, the best platformers in existence. The rest wasn't memorable to me.

7. Nintendo 3DS

This was a New Leaf machine, mostly. I can't even remember what else I played on it.

I left out the more retro systems as I was too young to appreciate them, but I did play them.
 
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Without nostalgia, Switch is the best.

Snes, Gamecube, DS and Wii are also all great. Not like they have made a bad console really. With nostalgia NES would be up there. And I really like Wii U in many ways.
 
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Impossible to separate from the context of where I was in life when I got it. The Switch is my post-college console, and its lifespan has been long enough to also be my "I'm a parent and I'm not really playing video games" console.

I've also always been a primarily portable gamer, so I can't really rank it against the N64, the GameCube, or the Wii. I'd put it above the 3DS and Gameboy Color but below the DS, which is maybe the console I've played the most collective hours.
 
9-Volt said:
All of you are definitely right. N64's RPG lineup was absolute shit. But that's the only genre that was lacking on the system. With just "few hundreds of games" of library, N64 actually beats or ties with Switch in several genres.

This can only be proven with some list wars.
Sports: Well this one is a given. Nintendo literally had "N64 Sports" banner in sports games and Nintendo actually published several serious sports games, such as Ken Griffey baseball and Kobe Bryant NBA. N64 had all sports, both arcade and realistic versions, including the biggest omissions on Switch: NFL and NHL.

Racing: N64's racing library is pretty legendary. Nintendo made not one but TWO kart games, plus a new full 3D F-Zero title. They also brought Cruisin games to Switch. Third parties provided insane amount of racers as well: Top Gear Rally, Extreme-G, Ridge Racer, Carmageddon, Beetle Racing, Rush...

Extreme sports: One genre that needlessly died. N64 was the golden age for it, not only third parties had a tons of them (from Tony Hawk to Snowboard Kids), Nintendo also published 3: Excite Bike 64, Wave Race and 1080. I don't think Switch got any other than Tony hawk's 1+2, which were remakes of N64 games.

Fighting: Honestly the genre is very much alive, they did Switch dirty. Switch still got 2 MK games, 2 new SNK titles (1 port) DBZ, Naruto, MHA arena fighters (if you count them), Pokken, Blazblue, DNF Duel, UNIB. N64 with smaller library had similar amount of fighters: 2 MK games, Killer Instinct, Clayfighter 3, Flying Dragon, God Wars, Deadly Arts, Fighters Destiny, Dark Rift, Bio Freaks, Mace the Dark Age. Popularity of arcade really helped N64 here.

3D platformers: Nintendo isn't at fault here, third parties pretty much ignored the genre. Switch got Mario Odyssey, Bowser's Fury, Kirby & forgotten land, third parties provide Pac-Man world, Crash, Spyro trilogies, Crash 4, Sonic Forces and Frontiers. Two spongebob games. Indies did the heavy lifting here: Hat in Time, Lucky's World, Yooka Layle, Penny, Demon Turf, Kao the Kangaroo. Tbh, N64 was the golden age of the genre. Nintendo had total of 4 3D platformers and from the third parties we had: Conker, Rayman 2, Tonic Trouble, Rocket Robot on wheels, Space Station Silicon valley, Glover, Earthworm Jim 3D, Goemon, Gex 3 and many more I can't recall...

And that's just five of the genres. N64 actually can go toe to toe with Switch with other genres as well. Like, N64 actually had a pretty robust FPS lineup, including the ones with full deathmatch multiplayers. Switch had its own share of FPS games but still none of them offer proper deathmatch modes. Space shooters too, as Switch is still waiting for its own Star Fox. And let's not forget wrestling. N64 was a total wrestling monster. Switch was screwed by Take Two, as they ditched it after failing in one wrestling game.

I apologize in advance if i have forgotten important games here (especially on N64 front) but the point still stands: Switch, and the whole generation Switch is in, missed some important genres. Not because people no longer want them, they absolutely do, but because there are no developers to make them. I mean, Activision literally had two developers that are good at above genres (Toys for Bob and Vicarious Visions) and forced them to assist CoD development, which Switch still haven't got a single entry of.
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I agree with some of your points, especially regarding wrestling games - I had so much fun with them. The big difference between the two systems though is the indie scene populating the Switch with so many quality titles that simply have no equivalent on the n64.
 
9-Volt said:
All of you are definitely right. N64's RPG lineup was absolute shit. But that's the only genre that was lacking on the system. With just "few hundreds of games" of library, N64 actually beats or ties with Switch in several genres.

This can only be proven with some list wars.
Sports: Well this one is a given. Nintendo literally had "N64 Sports" banner in sports games and Nintendo actually published several serious sports games, such as Ken Griffey baseball and Kobe Bryant NBA. N64 had all sports, both arcade and realistic versions, including the biggest omissions on Switch: NFL and NHL.

Racing: N64's racing library is pretty legendary. Nintendo made not one but TWO kart games, plus a new full 3D F-Zero title. They also brought Cruisin games to Switch. Third parties provided insane amount of racers as well: Top Gear Rally, Extreme-G, Ridge Racer, Carmageddon, Beetle Racing, Rush...

Extreme sports: One genre that needlessly died. N64 was the golden age for it, not only third parties had a tons of them (from Tony Hawk to Snowboard Kids), Nintendo also published 3: Excite Bike 64, Wave Race and 1080. I don't think Switch got any other than Tony hawk's 1+2, which were remakes of N64 games.

Fighting: Honestly the genre is very much alive, they did Switch dirty. Switch still got 2 MK games, 2 new SNK titles (1 port) DBZ, Naruto, MHA arena fighters (if you count them), Pokken, Blazblue, DNF Duel, UNIB. N64 with smaller library had similar amount of fighters: 2 MK games, Killer Instinct, Clayfighter 3, Flying Dragon, God Wars, Deadly Arts, Fighters Destiny, Dark Rift, Bio Freaks, Mace the Dark Age. Popularity of arcade really helped N64 here.

3D platformers: Nintendo isn't at fault here, third parties pretty much ignored the genre. Switch got Mario Odyssey, Bowser's Fury, Kirby & forgotten land, third parties provide Pac-Man world, Crash, Spyro trilogies, Crash 4, Sonic Forces and Frontiers. Two spongebob games. Indies did the heavy lifting here: Hat in Time, Lucky's World, Yooka Layle, Penny, Demon Turf, Kao the Kangaroo. Tbh, N64 was the golden age of the genre. Nintendo had total of 4 3D platformers and from the third parties we had: Conker, Rayman 2, Tonic Trouble, Rocket Robot on wheels, Space Station Silicon valley, Glover, Earthworm Jim 3D, Goemon, Gex 3 and many more I can't recall...

And that's just five of the genres. N64 actually can go toe to toe with Switch with other genres as well. Like, N64 actually had a pretty robust FPS lineup, including the ones with full deathmatch multiplayers. Switch had its own share of FPS games but still none of them offer proper deathmatch modes. Space shooters too, as Switch is still waiting for its own Star Fox. And let's not forget wrestling. N64 was a total wrestling monster. Switch was screwed by Take Two, as they ditched it after failing in one wrestling game.

I apologize in advance if i have forgotten important games here (especially on N64 front) but the point still stands: Switch, and the whole generation Switch is in, missed some important genres. Not because people no longer want them, they absolutely do, but because there are no developers to make them. I mean, Activision literally had two developers that are good at above genres (Toys for Bob and Vicarious Visions) and forced them to assist CoD development, which Switch still haven't got a single entry of.
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You named four of the only genres N64 does well. I personally wouldn’t include fighting games as an asset to the N64 because Saturn got games like Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers, PlayStation got games like Tekken 3, and as you say N64 got uh… Clay Fighter 3 and God Wars. Switch has the Street Fighter Collection and the Capcom Fighters Collection.

N64 has Star Fox 64 (great game) but that’s all it has. Saturn has countless great shooters like Radiant Silvergun. PlayStation isn’t too shabby either, having decent quality Star Fox style games like Gamera 2000. It isn’t really close imo. Switch has Arcade Archives and Sega Ages.

For the record I put N64 above Switch. It’s the “quality over quantity” console.
 
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Brock Reiher said:
You named four of the only genres N64 does well. I personally wouldn’t include fighting games as an asset to the N64 because Saturn got games like Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers, PlayStation got games like Tekken 3, and as you say N64 got uh… Clay Fighter 3 and God Wars. Switch has the Street Fighter Collection and the Capcom Fighters Collection.

N64 has Star Fox 64 (great game) but that’s all it has. Saturn has countless great shooters like Radiant Silvergun. PlayStation isn’t too shabby either, having decent quality Star Fox style games like Gamera 2000. It isn’t really close imo. Switch has Arcade Archives and Sega Ages.
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MK Trilogy was good on the N64.

But yeah, Switch has so many strong genres:

Visual novel
Point and click
2D platformers
Shmups
JRPG, ARPG, all the RPGs
Puzzle
Roguelike/lite
Metroidvania
Farming/cozy
Action/Adventure
FPS
Beat em up
2D Fighters
 
9-Volt said:
All of you are definitely right. N64's RPG lineup was absolute shit. But that's the only genre that was lacking on the system.
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That’s patently untrue. Strategy games, visual novels, 2D platformers, action games, life sim, and open world adventure games all pale in comparison to the Switch. Not to mention other oddities like Ring Fit Adventure, Pikmin, ARMS, Splatoon, etc. that aren’t even feasible on the N64. Also think it’s a bit silly to dismiss RPGs as “only one genre” when it’s arguably the most widespread and varied genre in the industry.

If you’re gonna list the N64’s strengths, you gotta list out its weaknesses too. And even then, the only genre you brought up that I’d argue is poorly represented on Switch is Extreme Sports.
 
It's the greatest Nintendo Console ever by a mile with the best library of games yet I think me being a kid growing up hiding the nintendo ds under my pillow from ages like 5-11 are untouchable. The amount of fun I had and how it makes me feel to reminisce about those times trumps whatever the switch has accomplished. In my heart the DS era is no.1, in my head the switch is.

I also grew up playing n64, gamecube, gba, wii and appreciate all the consoles - I've gone back to try most of the classics from nes and snes + gb
 
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bixente said:
I agree with some of your points, especially regarding wrestling games - I had so much fun with them. The big difference between the two systems though is the indie scene populating the Switch with so many quality titles that simply have no equivalent on the n64.
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Yeah, as I said, indies do the heavy lifting on Switch. They do what big publishers simply ignore. Like 60% of 3D platformers on Switch are from the indies.
Brock Reiher said:
You named four of the only genres N64 does well. I personally wouldn’t include fighting games as an asset to the N64 because Saturn got games like Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers, PlayStation got games like Tekken 3, and as you say N64 got uh… Clay Fighter 3 and God Wars. Switch has the Street Fighter Collection and the Capcom Fighters Collection.

N64 has Star Fox 64 (great game) but that’s all it has. Saturn has countless great shooters like Radiant Silvergun. PlayStation isn’t too shabby either, having decent quality Star Fox style games like Gamera 2000. It isn’t really close imo. Switch has Arcade Archives and Sega Ages.
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Yeah, compared to Playstation and Saturn, N64 is seriously lacking in some areas. But even with that, N64 managed to build that fighting game library. having the backing of Midway was a blessing.

I excluded straight re-releases on both consoles but yeah, you could count SF compilations for Switch. Still it's a pretty much tie. And the reason for that the baffling omissions on Switch. How could you add Kazuya to Smash and not have a Tekken game on Switch? Where the hell is Soul Calibur, even Wii had one. Virtua Fighter, Dead or Alive, Guilty Gear, King of Fighters they all got new games that skipped Switch.

Also War Gods was pretty sick. The cabinet in my local arcade always had lines on it. Bought the N64 version without even thinking and spent some long hours on it.
 
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It's squarely at the top for me. Certain franchises might've had better showings on other consoles, but on the whole? Especially when accounting for third parties/indies? Peak
 
General Hardware Functionality:

The Switch is easily the best in this arena. It's both a home console and a handheld. The Joy-Cons work as standard controllers or as Wii-style motion controllers. It's versatile and has it all.


Exclusive Library:

The Switch is definitely in the top three here, although I'd rank the SNES and maybe the Wii above it in this regard.


Full Library:

Easily the best of any Nintendo system, no questions asked. You have one of the top three exclusive line-ups in Nintendo history, a treasure trove of ports and remasters of games from the last three home consoles, and just about every game you could ask for from the NES to N64 and GB to GBA via Switch Online. And this is all alongside the best third-party line-up Nintendo has ever had.


Console Software/UI:

Unfortunately, the Switch ranks below the Wii, 3DS, and Wii U in this regard. The menus, UI, and social features are just so lacking in comparison to those three, to the point that it almost feels embarrassing.
 
Switch is number 1 all the way. From 1st party to 3rd I got a few of my dream games and I couldn’t be happier. Well I could be a little more happy I’m sure.
 
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I would 100% without a doubt rank the Switch higher than the N64 and GameCube - and I say this as someone who was hardcore Cubie for years. I think the Switch is a bit higher up than the Wii, 3DS and GB/GBA as well. The Wii/3DS/GB/GBA have some of my favorite games ever, but honestly I would never really consider any of those systems a "main" gaming system for me. I really don't know if the Switch is higher than the SNES and DS yet because those two systems just have an insane wealth of excellent games to play. But I think the one thing the Switch has going for it is its ecosystem. I'm pretty confident the next system will have backwards compatibility with the Switch and I think Nintendo will continue to add more games to NSO as the years go by. The future of Nintendo's ecosystem is just so enticing to me I could see myself no longer needing a second console anymore. Another win for the next gen console would be if publishers ever patched a lot of their Switch ports to run more in line with the big boy console versions.

I know people groan about ports or like to pretend they don't count - but they really do. It really was a no-brainer to port a lot of those WiiU games to the Switch and for the majority of Switch owners they were new games to them. But even ignoring Nintendo there's just a wealth of ports from so many different console generations. Quite a few of my favorite games of all time ended up getting ports on the Switch eventually. I've always been a proponent of keeping your old consoles but the Switch really just makes things convenient. As far as first party games, I do think the majority of them were good games (except for Fire Emblem Three Houses). Probably not my absolute favorite entries in their respective series, but there's a lot of quality gaming there (minus Three Houses).

Overall I'd say if you dont think the Switch has any games to play, then you aren't looking hard enough lol
 
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It should probably be number one, but because I’ve got such nostalgia for the DS it will have to be content in second place among Nintendo systems.
 
9-Volt said:
All of you are definitely right. N64's RPG lineup was absolute shit. But that's the only genre that was lacking on the system. With just "few hundreds of games" of library, N64 actually beats or ties with Switch in several genres.

This can only be proven with some list wars.
Sports: Well this one is a given. Nintendo literally had "N64 Sports" banner in sports games and Nintendo actually published several serious sports games, such as Ken Griffey baseball and Kobe Bryant NBA. N64 had all sports, both arcade and realistic versions, including the biggest omissions on Switch: NFL and NHL.

Racing: N64's racing library is pretty legendary. Nintendo made not one but TWO kart games, plus a new full 3D F-Zero title. They also brought Cruisin games to Switch. Third parties provided insane amount of racers as well: Top Gear Rally, Extreme-G, Ridge Racer, Carmageddon, Beetle Racing, Rush...

Extreme sports: One genre that needlessly died. N64 was the golden age for it, not only third parties had a tons of them (from Tony Hawk to Snowboard Kids), Nintendo also published 3: Excite Bike 64, Wave Race and 1080. I don't think Switch got any other than Tony hawk's 1+2, which were remakes of N64 games.

Fighting: Honestly the genre is very much alive, they did Switch dirty. Switch still got 2 MK games, 2 new SNK titles (1 port) DBZ, Naruto, MHA arena fighters (if you count them), Pokken, Blazblue, DNF Duel, UNIB. N64 with smaller library had similar amount of fighters: 2 MK games, Killer Instinct, Clayfighter 3, Flying Dragon, God Wars, Deadly Arts, Fighters Destiny, Dark Rift, Bio Freaks, Mace the Dark Age. Popularity of arcade really helped N64 here.

3D platformers: Nintendo isn't at fault here, third parties pretty much ignored the genre. Switch got Mario Odyssey, Bowser's Fury, Kirby & forgotten land, third parties provide Pac-Man world, Crash, Spyro trilogies, Crash 4, Sonic Forces and Frontiers. Two spongebob games. Indies did the heavy lifting here: Hat in Time, Lucky's World, Yooka Layle, Penny, Demon Turf, Kao the Kangaroo. Tbh, N64 was the golden age of the genre. Nintendo had total of 4 3D platformers and from the third parties we had: Conker, Rayman 2, Tonic Trouble, Rocket Robot on wheels, Space Station Silicon valley, Glover, Earthworm Jim 3D, Goemon, Gex 3 and many more I can't recall...

And that's just five of the genres. N64 actually can go toe to toe with Switch with other genres as well. Like, N64 actually had a pretty robust FPS lineup, including the ones with full deathmatch multiplayers. Switch had its own share of FPS games but still none of them offer proper deathmatch modes. Space shooters too, as Switch is still waiting for its own Star Fox. And let's not forget wrestling. N64 was a total wrestling monster. Switch was screwed by Take Two, as they ditched it after failing in one wrestling game.

I apologize in advance if i have forgotten important games here (especially on N64 front) but the point still stands: Switch, and the whole generation Switch is in, missed some important genres. Not because people no longer want them, they absolutely do, but because there are no developers to make them. I mean, Activision literally had two developers that are good at above genres (Toys for Bob and Vicarious Visions) and forced them to assist CoD development, which Switch still haven't got a single entry of.
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The N64 was terrible in way more than one genre, I think you pretty much listed the only genres N64 does well in though. You can pretty much remove everything in 2D- platformers, run-and-gun, 2D fighters, scrolling fighters, shmups, Metroidvanias, Plus almost everything rpg-related, from JRPGs, WRPGs, SRPGs, DRPGS. All turn-based and real-time strategy games, almost anything top-down outside Gauntlet, almost anything turn-based, and puzzle games. I’m not sure genres it had a single entry in really count, as otherwise you can list dozens more genres covered in depth by the indie scene on Switch, like VNs, adventure games, puzzles, almost every genre under the sun. Not to mention the few boomer shooters that Switch does have like Doom, Boltgun etc.

N64 excelled in 3D platformers/action games, and the arcadey aspects of sports, racing and 3D fighters. That’s about it. If you weren’t interested in those, you were largely out of luck (with a few exceptions) given its tiny library of games that were twice the price of PS ones. Meanwhile, while I get complaints that Switch has shitloads of rpgs, and the eshop tons of metroidvania titles, the difference is that there’s still thousands of games on the eshop covering almost everything apart from the handful of genres that N64 was focused on. It’s far, far easier to find niche stuff in a huge variety of genres to play on Switch, at a huge variety of prices and with stacks of regular sales and demos, than it was on N64, that lacked variety across a ton of genres while completely abandoning all the 2D ones in the rush to make everything a £50+ 3D game.

I can see the argument that what the N64 excelled at are blind spots in the Switch library, that’s a fair point for fans of that particular handful of genres. I agree with you on lack of developers focused on those genres too- it’s all down to trends in game design and genres getting left behind. Personally I’ve never cared much about sports and racing and ports of arcade fighting games (beyond SFII on SNES), but I do think my friends that wanted those games all decamped to PlayStation pretty quickly, as did I after a few years of N64 and realising the ton of game genres I did want (largely all the 2D genres, rpgs and strategy games) weren’t coming either but were still alive elsewhere.
 
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Over time, it has more and more become my favourite Nintendo console ever.

Like, nowadays, only one game of my Top 10 favourite games of all time (Parasite Eve) is not available on the console. That's just unfathomable.
 
The Switch is definitely up there but, won’t lie, I don’t think any modern system will ever be able to replicate the sort of joy I got from playing games as a kid. It’s not an issue with them or their games. Plenty of games I love and enjoy. But gaming is a bit harder to enjoy now than it was then

I’ve definitely got my biggest library on the Switch but a lot of that comes just from having my own income. I’d have probably gotten close with systems like the DS or GameCube if I had cash to go around. Still, that does count for something because I usually have something to play. It’s honestly kinda rare that I don’t have any game to play in general
 
The Switch is honestly neck and neck with the DS for me, both in terms of having a form factor that immensely appealed to me, as well as having a selection of games that I would consider to be among the best I've ever played. It's just hard to beat the marriage of Nintendo's home console and handheld output, PLUS the incredible indie scene that I previously accessed primarily through Steam.

I don't think anything will ever beat the Nintendo DS, too many formative experiences and nostalgic memories attached to that lovely piece of kit, but that I can say the Switch is comparable says a whole damn lot.
 
Switch is by far my favourite now, got a great selection of classic titles and new games, hybrid nature is great also. In terms of ranking the systems

1.) Switch
2.) 3DS
3.) GameCube
4.) SNES
5.) DS

That’s probably how my top 5 pans out.
 
meatbag said:
The Switch is honestly neck and neck with the DS for me, both in terms of having a form factor that immensely appealed to me, as well as having a selection of games that I would consider to be among the best I've ever played. It's just hard to beat the marriage of Nintendo's home console and handheld output, PLUS the incredible indie scene that I previously accessed primarily through Steam.

I don't think anything will ever beat the Nintendo DS, too many formative experiences and nostalgic memories attached to that lovely piece of kit, but that I can say the Switch is comparable says a whole damn lot.
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common meatbag W
 
I mean it's #1 by a mile, but it stands on the shoulders of all the others

I loved the SNES but it would be weird if Switch wasn't way better than it
 
PixelKnight said:
The N64 was terrible in way more than one genre, I think you pretty much listed the only genres N64 does well in though. You can pretty much remove everything in 2D- platformers, run-and-gun, 2D fighters, scrolling fighters, shmups, Metroidvanias, Plus almost everything rpg-related, from JRPGs, WRPGs, SRPGs, DRPGS. All turn-based and real-time strategy games, almost anything top-down outside Gauntlet, almost anything turn-based, and puzzle games. I’m not sure genres it had a single entry in really count, as otherwise you can list dozens more genres covered in depth by the indie scene on Switch, like VNs, adventure games, puzzles, almost every genre under the sun. Not to mention the few boomer shooters that Switch does have like Doom, Boltgun etc.
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With rare exceptions, I don't give a darn about 2D games or RPGs. That's why the N64's library doesn't stick out like a sore thumb to me like it does a lot of people.

Also, while those genres you listed did suffer on N64, they weren't non-existent, and sometimes had a solid entry or two.

RPG - Paper Mario
Farm sim - Harvest Moon 64
2D platformer - Mischief Makers
2D fighter - Super Smash Bros., Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Mortal Kombat 4, Killer Instinct Gold, ClayFighter 63 1/3rd
Scrolling fighter/Shmup/Metroidvania - zilch, but they weren't exactly the hot hotness at the time; I think the only one the whole gen that was a big deal was Symphony of the Night
Turn-based strategy - Worms Armageddon
Real-time strategy - Starcraft 64, Command & Conquer
Top-down - it indeed didn't have the dungeon crawlers you're thinking of besides Gauntlet Legends, but it did have a couple swell arcade titles in Robotron 64 and Ms. Pac-Man: Maze Madness. The three Bomberman games are also semi-top down.
Turn-based whatever - Pokémon Stadium 1 & 2
Puzzle - Tetrisphere, Magical Tetris Challenge, Wetrix, Pokémon Puzzle League, two Bust-A-Move (Puzzle Bobble) games; Blast Corps is action with puzzle elements as well
 
neil said:
I mean it's #1 by a mile, but it stands on the shoulders of all the others
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Yeah in many ways the Switch is the culmination of Nintendo's video game development and engineering knowledge. And so many classics from the previous hardware are accessible on Switch, and we can only hope that more if not all get ported eventually.
 
Yeah the switch is the best Nintendo console ever made, if we count the the ports and rereleases together with the exclusive games it’s pretty much untouchable.
 
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this is the one

although even as an oldhead I'd argue there's tons I loved about the Wii U — and I'd love to be able to play the games still on my Wii U on Switch
 
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Still no original Donkey Kong game on the system, so.. not that high, I'm afraid. Though I do have the attachment to certain games that were released on Switch, exclusive or otherwise (namely Sonic Mania, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder), also, Smash Ultimate giving me K. Rool in the roster was an amazing feeling! I also remember getting crazy excited with the announcements of N. Sane Trilogy and Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection.

I suppose the SNES remains unbeaten on the amount of games + memories for me, I can put the Switch in the Top 5 still, but who knows if you ask me tomorrow.

  • SNES
  • Wii U
  • Game Boy Advance
  • Wii
  • Switch
 
It's no 3DS/DS.

It's a pretty great little console and device that has a big library, and I'm sure I'll keep mine around for years and years. I just can't really divorce it from the context of my modern life with video games, where I'm going to be playing a lot of the same games elsewhere. Like, hardware wise it's just a tablet with controllers on the sides that can play Nintendo games. I'm not trying to say it's bad hardware and do the whole "I wish they made a more powerful thing!" song and dance. I quite like the hardware; it's just not unique at this point, and it will become even less so as more companies make handhelds with USB-C docks available.

On the contrary, the DS/3DS were at a time where handhelds were totally unique hardware with fun form factors and games made around that. They also released at a time where I couldn't just load up those experiences in different places and different devices. That context matters a lot to me I think, moreso than just nostalgia alone. I think it holds true still today, because my experiences trying to emulate handheld games from those systems always boils down to "it's a much better experience on the unique hardware platform they were built around." I think that really counts for something.

I think there are ideas/vibes there that you can extrapolate to the older home consoles as well, but I haven't really thought that hard about it so I'm not gonna get into it. Just I have thought a lot about the DS/3DS the past couple years and really grown to appreciate their uniqueness as something I really miss about video game consoles in general.
 
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Nintendo is probably what is keeping the gaming industry afloat right now from the malaise currently hitting it. PS5 and XBOX Series are basically PCs, and both of their games are mostly on PC anyways. I don’t even consider them “consoles” anymore.

Switch is the only true console on the market, you can’t play Nintendo games anywhere else except on Nintendo hardware.
 
In terms of impact:
It's definitely up there, probably just behind NES for starting the console gaming era, GB for starting the handheld gaming era, and Wii for its mainstream bonanza. Switch completely nailed its hybrid gimmick and saved Nintendo from financial doom after the Wii U catastrophe. I'd put its impact on the gaming industry in a tier with SNES, N64, and DS.

In terms of first-party games:
I'd argue it's among the best, if not THE best. It's been a legendary lineup for Nintendo's biggest franchises...Mario, Zelda, Smash, Kart. It revitalized the Metroid franchise with Dread, Prime remake, and possibly even MP4 on the way. It brought Kirby into the 3D world spectacularly. Fire Emblem had two solid entries, with possibly a FE4 remake on the way. It sent off the Xenoblade Chronicles series with the fantastic XC3 and its DLCs. Splatoon had a good run. And say what you want about Pokemon controversy, the formula still works and I do think they're continuing to making progress from Sw/Sh to Legends Arceus to SV.

In terms of third-party games:
Third-party support on AAA games still struggles, but even so, Switch has been a powerhouse for JRPGs with big releases/ports for the major franchise tentpoles (Dragon Quest, Persona, SMT) as well as excellent new IPs (Octopath Traveler I+II, Triangle Strategy, Unicorn Overlord, etc.). The handheld factor is proving to be the definitive way to play JRPGs for me. It's also the most desirable way to play indie games as well, which is absolutely at its peak as an industry. The indie collection alone makes missing out on certain AAA third-party titles a bit easier.

In terms of me personally:
NES/GB will likely always hold the most nostalgia for me, simply by nature of being my first gaming experiences as a kid and ultimately starting the path toward this hobby at large. However, the Switch holds a lot of sentimental value for accompanying me through a very turbulent period in my life and was also a comforting salve in a time of fear and seclusion during the Trump/COVID-19 madness.
 
Oscillator said:
With rare exceptions, I don't give a darn about 2D games or RPGs. That's why the N64's library doesn't stick out like a sore thumb to me like it does a lot of people.

Also, while those genres you listed did suffer on N64, they weren't non-existent, and sometimes had a solid entry or two.

RPG - Paper Mario
Farm sim - Harvest Moon 64
2D platformer - Mischief Makers
2D fighter - Super Smash Bros., Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Mortal Kombat 4, Killer Instinct Gold, ClayFighter 63 1/3rd
Scrolling fighter/Shmup/Metroidvania - zilch, but they weren't exactly the hot hotness at the time; I think the only one the whole gen that was a big deal was Symphony of the Night
Turn-based strategy - Worms Armageddon
Real-time strategy - Starcraft 64, Command & Conquer
Top-down - it indeed didn't have the dungeon crawlers you're thinking of besides Gauntlet Legends, but it did have a couple swell arcade titles in Robotron 64 and Ms. Pac-Man: Maze Madness. The three Bomberman games are also semi-top down.
Turn-based whatever - Pokémon Stadium 1 & 2
Puzzle - Tetrisphere, Magical Tetris Challenge, Wetrix, Pokémon Puzzle League, two Bust-A-Move (Puzzle Bobble) games; Blast Corps is action with puzzle elements as well
Click to expand...

Star Soldier Vanishing Earth was a very good shmup on n64 by Hudsonsoft.
 
Clear #1 for me. If you include the retro libraries on the system it blows everything out of the water, but even if you don't I think it is probably Nintendo's best console overall - strong first party stuff with plenty of good third party and indie games.

Nintendo has a strong entry on the platform for pretty much every one of their big franchises - give or two a small handful. You can even legitimately make a case for a lot of their IPs that the Switch has the best entry in that respective franchise. I'm not going to argue with anyone that says that BOTW or TOTK is the best Zelda, or that Odyssey is the best 3D Mario, or even that Dread/Prime Remastered is the best Metroid game. It's (mostly) hit after hit after hit - and even the franchises that don't have a top tier entry tend to have a pretty solid one or a part.

The cadence of releases has also been just super strong. I love the GameCube, for example, but it's way easier to get those fuzzy feelings for it when you're looking back and not thinking about the months and months where almost nothing of interest would be released.
 
Oscillator said:
With rare exceptions, I don't give a darn about 2D games or RPGs. That's why the N64's library doesn't stick out like a sore thumb to me like it does a lot of people.

Also, while those genres you listed did suffer on N64, they weren't non-existent, and sometimes had a solid entry or two.

RPG - Paper Mario
Farm sim - Harvest Moon 64
2D platformer - Mischief Makers
2D fighter - Super Smash Bros., Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Mortal Kombat 4, Killer Instinct Gold, ClayFighter 63 1/3rd
Scrolling fighter/Shmup/Metroidvania - zilch, but they weren't exactly the hot hotness at the time; I think the only one the whole gen that was a big deal was Symphony of the Night
Turn-based strategy - Worms Armageddon
Real-time strategy - Starcraft 64, Command & Conquer
Top-down - it indeed didn't have the dungeon crawlers you're thinking of besides Gauntlet Legends, but it did have a couple swell arcade titles in Robotron 64 and Ms. Pac-Man: Maze Madness. The three Bomberman games are also semi-top down.
Turn-based whatever - Pokémon Stadium 1 & 2
Puzzle - Tetrisphere, Magical Tetris Challenge, Wetrix, Pokémon Puzzle League, two Bust-A-Move (Puzzle Bobble) games; Blast Corps is action with puzzle elements as well
Click to expand...
Yeah fair enough, I did like a bit of Worms. To each their own- at the time the N64 just felt like the most disappointing console I’ve ever had to me. It felt like everything outside Nintendo first party was on PS1 for half the price while N64 was slim pickings across everything outside of a few 3D genres. But still, to each their own, I have no doubt there were literally millions of N64 owners who were happy with it.

It’s partly why I love the Switch so much, and particularly the 2DHD RPGs. It’s like a revival exploring a path other than where the N64 went, alongside stacks upon stacks of indies exploring it too.

Shmups that gen were largely on the Saturn as far as I remember.
 
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It's tough because the DS and the Wii have a lot of games, the latter more so. There's such a breadth of fantastic games just like with the switch. But the switch just hits higher notes I think. Gamecube and SNES have amazing games, the latter boosted by extreme nostalgia.

Hard to not put Switch at the top for me. It put 2 games in my overall top 10 in Odyssey and ToTK with BoTW just outside it. It just has so many franchises on it, even smaller ones like Great Ave Attorney, Advance Wars, Bomberman, etc etc. If you wanted to try out a game or a series the switch is the system to do it.
 
The best console and one of the best electronic devices of the 21st Century with amazing promise for future iterations.

I still keep other consoles around for their unique experiences and feel (3/DS, Wii, GBA, etc.), but my 'desert island' game device is easily the Switch.
 
The Switch is the best console just based off the library and emulators. It's not my favorite console though. Their were no original mario kart or donkey kong games. Metroid Prime 4 still hasn't released yet so I don't have any feelings towards it. I'm not a fan of open world Zelda, even then BOTW is as much as a wiiu title as it is switch.

Paper Mario didn't return back to its roots like I personally wanted it to. Super Mario Odyssey ranks below 64, Sunshine and Galaxy for me. Xenoblade 3 I didn't enjoy as much as the first two.

Sorry if this comes off as negative. The Switch is great but I feel like the Gamecube and Wii had stronger original software during their time.
 
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Top for me. Not perfect, but still the top. I can play a lot of the Nintendo library on it, and I can play it both in handheld(I travel a shit ton) and on a big screen. What more do you need?
 
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