Summary
With the Nintendo Switch 2’s Jul 24, 2025 launch, Nintendo has somewhat officially sunset its original hybrid console. Despite finding a unique middle ground between its similarly successful home console and portable handheld systems, the Nintendo Switch’s eight-year time as Nintendo’s hardware focus has brought a supremely substantial number of industry-defining experiences.
From genre-invigorating new installments and uniquely timed social software to hardware-defining launch titles, every year of the Nintendo Switch’s market dominance — from 2017 to 2025 — has been one filled with some of the very best video game software that the industry has seen.
Despite its place as a launch title for the Nintendo Switch (and a cross-platform release alongside the Wii U version), the acclaim of Nintendo’s minimalist fantasy open-world experiment as"one of the greatest games ever made"has remained stoic throughout the near-decade since its release.
Considering the jam-packed software lineup of the Nintendo Switch’s first year on the market, the seemingly undeniable industry-defining quality ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildis all the more apparent. With first-party system sellers likeMario Kart 8 Deluxe,Super Mario Odyssey, andSplatoon 2sitting alongside more experimental titles such asARMS,Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, and1, 2 Switch, the fact thatThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildremains so revered is a testament to its quality.
Although the promotion and release of a newSuper Smash Bros.title is seemingly always a momentous occasion, the scale of having every returning fighter plus notable newcomers available to fight with and against madeSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s release all the more impressive. While it may have been excusable forSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s expansive roster to have papered over any cracks in gameplay, the tried-and-true platform fighting of the series has been lauded as being so refined thatSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateremains"arguably the best entry in the franchise".
Although multiple critically lauded titles were released in 2018, the exuberant scope and tightly wound gameplay ofSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateis seemingly untouchable not only in the fighting genre but in the video game industry as a whole. Although 2018 provided players with a slew of first-party ports and sequels of best-in-class experiences, such asDonkey Kong Country: Tropical FreezeandBayonetta 2, bolstered by genre-defining third-party support withOctopath TravelerandUndertale, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s industry-capturing hype-cycle and mechanical fluidity are so impeccably created that not much can compete against it.
Although Nintendo themselves are prone to releasing some of the most graphically intensive and expansively astounding titles on their home consoles, 2019’s release ofDragon Quest 11 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Editionbrought"one of the most beautiful games available on the Nintendo Switch"to its already ballooning software library. Beyond the acclaimed quality of the role-playing game and its commercial success,Dragon Quest 11 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition’s success on the Nintendo Switch has made it a hardware-defining installment.
Beyond that, the game’s Luminary protagonist went on to make their way intoSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s industry-spanning fighting roster, with such an inclusion seemingly a testament not only to theDragon Questfranchise’s JRPG dominance butDragon Quest 11’s continued prominence and acclaim. Especially considering the Nintendo first-party big-hitters that were released in 2019 — such asPokemon Sword and Shield,Fire Emblem: Three Houses, andSuper Mario Maker 2— the fact that Square Enix’s enhanced port of their 2017 instant-classic created such ripples in the Nintendo Switch ecosystem is commendable.
AlthoughAnimal Crossinghas always been a Nintendo staple, 2020 was the year that the cozy, cutesy social simulation title effectively became one of the hardware company’s most recognizable intellectual properties. Launching"at a time when many people were stuck indoors and looking for an escape",Animal Crossing: New Horizonsbecame not just the quintessential Nintendo Switch game of 2020 but arguably the quintessential video game overall for the year.
Especially considering that Nintendo brought many new experiences to the Nintendo Switch in 2020, withPaper Mario and the Origami KingandHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, alongside third-party modern classics likeOri and the Will of the Wispsdropping on the system, the social-centered fun ofAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsbeing so tied to the system’s success is all the more impressive.
Despite its position as a front-running Nintendo property and its protagonist Samus retaining a key role in Nintendo’sSuper Smash Bros. platform fighting series,Metroidremains a relative cult classic. However, with the June 06, 2025 release ofMetroid Dread, Nintendo produced not only thebest-selling installment in its genre-creatingMetroidfranchisebut arguably"one of the best games of 2021."
Although it faced steep quality competition from first-party series — withMario Golf: Super Rush,Warioware: Get It Together!, andNew Pokemon Snapbringing many quintessential Nintendo franchises into the fold — and third-party behemoths likeShin Megami Tensei 5,Metroid Dread’s reinforcement of the now-popular Metroidvania genre solidified its place within the Nintendo Switch ecosystem.
Despite its relative obscurity in the video game industry,Xenoblade Chronicles 3remains not only one of the quintessential role-playing games on Nintendo hardware butalso one of the best RPGs of the decade so far. While Nintendo has consistently focused on producing smaller-scale, quality titles, Monolith Soft’s 2022 installment in its much-reveredXenoblade Chroniclessubseries produced thebiggest launch the series has seenwhile providing the Nintendo Switch with one of the most expansive open worlds on the hardware.
Considering that Nintendo provided players with a plethora of AAA experiences in 2022 — withKirby and the Forgotten Land,Pokemon Legends Arceus,Splatoon 3, andBayonetta 3launching throughout the year —Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s tightly wound mechanics and expansive open world aided the series' ascension into the upper echelons of Nintendo’s first-party franchises.
After nearly 20 years of consistent aesthetic and gameplay homogenization throughout Nintendo’sNew Super Mario Bros.subseries of 2D platformers, Nintendo’s mascot was arguably in need of a visual and mechanical revitalization. As a result,Super Mario Bros. Wonder"revamped various aspects of the classic 2DMarioformula"and provided players with a truly unique experience on the Nintendo Switch.
Although incredible video games found their footing in 2023 — such asPikmin 4,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, andSea of Stars— the indisputable heart and quality of Mario’s first wholly unique 2D platforming title in nearly a quarter-century is not just emblematic in its cross-generational promotion with the Nintendo Switch 2 but in its position as one of the most creative experiences on Nintendo’s original hybrid console.
Despite its humble beginnings and seemingly casual game systems,Balatroeffectively"captured the gaming world’s imagination"by storm when it launched on July 30, 2025. Nominated for Game of the Year and leaving the Game Awards as abest independent game award-winner,Balatro’s unique roguelike take on poker play dominated the world of video games in 2024.
With steep competition from Nintendo’s first-party offerings —Mario and Luigi: Brothership,Mario Party: Jamboree, andThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomsimilarly launched in 2024 —Balatrowas able to command discussion in the video game industry throughout the year, and its scrappy influence will no doubt expand as time rolls on.
While Nintendo’s 2025 ambitions are firmly focused on theJune 5 launch of its new Nintendo Switch 2 console, the"massively immersive action RPG"and formerly Wii U-exclusive experience ofXenoblade Chronicles Xfound a solid place within Nintendo’s first-party offerings to original Nintendo Switch players. 2025’sXenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Editionnot only bolstered an already seemingly phenomenal Monolith Soft title with improved performance and presentation but also brought one of the Wii U’s best unique titles over to the Nintendo Switch with added content.
Although Nintendo’s software sights are firmly placed on the aforementioned Nintendo Switch 2,Xenoblade Chronicles Xoutpaced Nintendo’s own first-party offering for the beginning of the year,Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, to dominate not just first-party discussion but general Nintendo Switch software conversation overall.
