Nintendo Has Dozens Of Great Series, But These Ones Need To Join The Switch 2 Roster
We're a year into the life cycle of the Nintendo Switch 2, and though the catalog of games available for it is steadily growing after this much time, there are still a handful of pretty iconic Nintendo series that haven't gotten a moment in the sun yet on the NSW2.
But with console life cycles lasting years, there's no reason to fear yet! Nintendo knows its catalog of games both new and old have leagues of fans the world over waiting for their next chance to play. Hopefully, I'll be grabbing my JoyCon soon with new games in these series.
While I do acknowledge that some of these games are accessible on the Nintendo Switch 2 via Nintendo Switch Online subscription access to the classic game libraries, I'm listing games I'm like to see full, proper launches for on the console.
10 Kid Icarus
Most Recent Release
Genre
Kid Icarus: Uprising (2012)
Shooter
Though Nintendo is easily the most well-known gaming company out there these days, that doesn't mean every game they make will have the commercial success of titles like those in the Mario or Zelda series. Smaller titles that are near and dear to the hearts of gamers are everywhere throughout Nintendo's history, and one of the biggest of them all has been Kid Icarus.
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Posts By Guy CohenYou've definitely seen the iconic characters like the titular Kid Icarus himself or the Goddess of Light Palutena in other hit Nintendo titles, but the Kid Icarus series has only seen a handful of games so far since its debut in 1986. It's high time for Nintendo to shine new light on this cult classic.
9 Dr. Mario
Most Recent Release
Genre
Dr. Mario (1990)
Puzzle
Okay, I admit they'd probably need to add a bit more to the gameplay than just the matching puzzles that we all loved with Dr. Mario, whose medical license we'd love to take a look at someday. But with Dr. Mario on every handheld console Nintendo has launched so far, we're due for a Switch 2 game.
Dr. Mario saw players playing a speedy Tetris-like game, with capsule pills dropping from the top of the screen for you to match and clear out your side of the board. It's a fun, competitive puzzle game we can see getting a lot of love on the new generation of consoles!
8 Super Smash Bros.
Most Recent Release
Genre
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)
Fighting
Just because the classic arcades of yesteryear are all but gone doesn't mean people's passion for getting intense in fighting games has gone anywhere! The Smash Bros. games have always been competitive, and as one of the first games to enter the mainstream competitive sphere, I'd love another chance to fight my friends.
The competitive scene around the Super Smash Bros. titles has always been fierce, and with the console lacking a good fighting title so far, it's high time for Smash Bros. to return. Though I'm not sure where to go from bringing the entire roster of fighters from every previous Super Smash Bros. title so far, I am sure that Nintendo will find a way to keep us brawling with the Bros.
7 Paper Mario
Most Recent Release
Genre
Paper Mario: The Origami King (2020)
RPG, Puzzle
If the 2024 remake of the 2004 classic Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door proved one thing, it's that we'll never get tired of different ways to experience the worlds in Mario games. Debuting with Paper Mario for the Nintendo64 in 2000 and seeming to come and go since, we're long overdue for a new Paper Mario title.
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Posts By Kyle ChamaillardThe charming 2D style still has a home on modern consoles, serving as a change of pace for the regular, over-the-top 3D Mario titles that came with the jump in console power. There have only been six Paper Mario games so far, but plenty of us are ready for number seven on the Switch 2 someday, hopefully soon.
6 WarioWare
Most Recent Release
Genre
WarioWare: Move It! (2023)
Mini-Games
Nintendo loves a good spin-off game, and what better character to use as the mascot for a series of quick and zany mini-games than Wario? If you love fast pacing and silliness in your quick games, then you're probably familiar with these collections, renowned for their memorably quirky flavor.
You're given all kinds of simplistic directions in these games that fly by faster and faster as the rounds go on, so the replay value in them will never be lost. Plus, now that we've got the mouse functionality with the Switch 2 JoyCon, who knows what kind of fun new games Nintendo could cook up?
5 Pikmin
Most Recent Release
Genre
Pikmin 4 (2023)
Adventure, Puzzle-Platformer
Icons of the GameCube era who've earned their staying power in the years between game entries, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want another Pikmin game sooner than later. These iconic, colorful little guys are so emblematic of the pure, simple fun of Nintendo games.
You spend Pikmin games wandering through lush planets, collecting all kinds of items and solving creative puzzles with the use of your Pikmin, since the different colors all denote different abilities your little pals have when interacting with the world around them. The last game came out later in the Switch's life cycle, but I'll still be waiting for a Switch 2 game nonetheless.
4 Mario Party
Most Recent Release
Genre
Super Mario Party Jamboree (2024)
Party Games
The first Mario Party title back on the Nintendo64 took my family by storm when it launched, bringing cartoon party game shenanigans into my life for the first time, and I've spent the last few decades straining my relationships by challenging the people I love to a 30-round match in the Mario Party thunderdome.
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Posts 1 By Dan ConlinYou haven't lived until you've watched the light leave someone's eyes as you steal their star and sink them into last place in these games. You don't know competition until you're in a mini-game with someone who needs to win so they can buy a star on their next turn because they're right freaking there. We deserve more than just a port of Jamboree, Nintendo!
3 Super Mario
Most Recent Release
Genre
Super Mario Odyssey (20xx)
Adventure, Puzzle-Platformer
Mario is Nintendo's flagship character, its mascot, and one of the most recognizable fictional characters on the whole. Plenty of what the brand has become was build on Super Mario games, and we're long overdue for a fun new adventure for everyone's favorite plumber!
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Curious what classic Nintendo series should return on Switch 2? Subscribe to the newsletter for focused coverage, analysis, and deep dives into potential Switch 2 game launches, roster possibilities, and what fans are asking for. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.Super Mario Odyssey was a vibrant, charming new take on where the Super Mario games can go in the new generations of console technology, showing off all kinds of cool features on the first Switch. With the excitement around the Super Mario movies still at a fever pitch, it seems like the perfect time to announce a new Super Mario game, too.
2 A New Mainline Zelda
Most Recent Release
Genre
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)
Adventure
Nintendo definitely knew it was going to knock the 2026 gaming conference season out of the park with the last-minute trailer being an announcement for a full Ocarina of Time remake, and though I'm definitely excited about it as a 30-something year old who grew up on the series, I'm also looking forward to the inevitability of a new installment in the Zelda timeline.
While not everyone loved the open-world style of the modern Zelda games, with an Ocarina of Time remake on the way later this year, it'd be a great time to announce there's also a new title in the works for the Switch 2. We've gotten a mainline Zelda game on every home console so far, so it'd be weirder for Nintendo not to do one now.
1 Animal Crossing
Most Recent Release
Genre
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)
Life Simulation
Even if you weren't a fan of the Animal Crossing series before the 2020 global shutdowns, I bet you fell in love with this charming animal paradise when Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched and skyrocketed to success, almost immediately becoming Nintendo's second-best selling game of all time (behind only Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which spanned a decade across two home consoles to earn the title).
Eight years elapsed between the previous game in the series, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, debuting on the Nintendo 3DS and the much-hyped launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch. And with that much love around the games, a new entry in the series on the Switch 2 feels more like a when type of announcement than an if.
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