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jeremyf

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B-Tier Nintendo Franchises I Wish Would Come Back

Over two years into the Nintendo Switch's life, it feels like the big hitters are all accounted for. Zelda, Mario, Smash Bros., Animal Crossing... everything you would expect is accounted for. But as any Nintendo fan knows, their less popular franchises can be just as fun. We've seen that almost anything can find an audience on the Switch, so this would be a great time to give some love to the little guys. Here are the B-Tier Nintendo series that I want on the Switch, alphabetically.

List items

  • -2021 UPDATE: THEY'RE DOING IT-

    -2022 UPDATE: ???????-

    I've only put a few hours into the first Advance Wars, but I could easily see why it would get a following. Who says war has to be hell? It can be fun, too! Regrettably, we live in the timeline where Fire Emblem has reached peak anime saturation and taken over Nintendo's strategy output. Intelligent Systems will probably just keep making those for the foreseeable future. I would welcome the return of Advance Wars so long as they keep the face rubbing stuff out of it. Until then, the original games and their spiritual successors will have to do.

  • The first Chibi-Robo is an adventure game where you explore a house from a toy's-eye view. It has a very small cult following, and everything with the character afterwards has been various levels of embarrassing. It seems like he's gone for good at this point, since none of the new directions they took stuck. They could try remastering the original game as a last-ditch effort to scrape together an audience for the little guy.

  • Surely I've professed my love for this series enough by now? Seeing the Collection of Mana made it obvious that they should rip that exact thing off for the Mother series. If I had the full trilogy in one place with an officially localized Mother 3, I could die right then and there. If they want to get crazy, they could remake EarthBound Beginnings in the claymation style of the concept art. For the 30th anniversary? Please?

  • Out of Nintendo's whole catalog, it feels like F-Zero has been punished the longest. It's been over a decade since Captain Falcon was in anything outside a crossover. They keep claiming that they need a good twist to make a new F-Zero, but that's just not true. Simply adding online play would be the only thing you need to modernize the series. If Nintendo isn't planning on another Mario Kart for the Switch, this would fill that gap.

  • I've never played Kid Icarus: Uprising because at a certain point I became entirely 3DS-averse. I did play some of the original, which is a painful experience. The tone and character of Masahiro Sakurai's interpretation deserves to be on a platform with decent controls. He's expressed disinterest in returning, so get someone else and let him take a vacation.

  • Speaking of mediocre NES games, NES Remix was a great way to experience some of those for the perfect amount of seconds. We've entered a new stage of Nintendo grossly overvaluing these games, so they might as well make it somewhat fresh. It beats throwing in a savestate alongside Donkey Kong Jr. Math every month. If they want to get creative, I would be open to putting twists on some of these games. Think Pac-Man Championship Edition, but with Clu Clu Land or Ice Climber.

  • Anyone outside of Nintendo knows that Paper Mario has been WRONGED. We went from the most creative side of the Mario mythos to meaningless battles and copy-pasted Toads. From what I can tell, the writing and visuals have actually stood up in these new games. They just need a strong identity and good gameplay to lean on. A new RPG with proper battles and the partner mechanic is the perfect place to start. From there, the only ingredient is love.

  • -2022 UPDATE: THEY'RE DOING IT!!!-

    When it comes to Pikmin, you either love it or you don't really care. I happen to love the series, especially Pikmin 3. I can barely say a bad word about it, so what's the deal? There was that Miyamoto quote about the fourth game being almost done, then there was that 3DS game, and here we are years later. At the very least, they should port Pikmin 3 to the Switch. It's one of the best games for the Wii U, but one of the few that hasn't come over yet.

  • -2021 UPDATE: THEY'RE DOING IT-

    At this moment, the Pokémon fanbase is almost literally torn in two. A relaxing photo expedition is the perfect way to heal the Pokémaniacs' tortured souls. Everyone loves this game. The Pokémon Company's resistance to making another one is astounding. There are so many ways to advance the concept, the game practically makes itself. And don't worry, the precedent is set - the original game didn't have all the Pokémon either.

  • You know those mediocre NES games I was talking about earlier? Well, Punch-Out isn't one of them. The gameplay has hardly aged a day, and the Wii reboot perfectly preserved the original spirit. I would be interested to see a fighting game where you can play as all the boxers. Their ridiculous windup animations could put a new twist on the genre. Or you could think up a bunch of new characters and do it all again. Punch-Out never gets old.

  • Star Fox Zero still bums me out. Had it taken a different direction, it could have been a fresh start for the series. Instead, it's the awkward guy at the party you avoid at all costs. Barring crossovers, I think Fox has been put back in hibernation. It's so easy to imagine what a great follow up to Star Fox 64 would look like. Apparently, actually making it is near impossible Prove me wrong, Nintendo.

  • -2021 UPDATE: THEY'RE DOING IT-

    I see WarioWare as the bizarre cousin to Mario Party. Whether it's minigames or microgames, both squeeze every idea out of the system's control scheme. But Wario and friends are oddballs, which makes them more endearing. My favorite entry is actually Smooth Moves for all the wacky ways it used the Wiimote. I'd say they should do the same with Joy-Cons, but I don't know if those are a thing anymore. Regardless, a console WarioWare is long overdue.

  • -THEY PORTED IT-

    The Nintendo/Platinum collaboration is still going strong with Astral Chain and Bayonetta 3 following. While the iron is hot, please give The Wonderful 101 another chance! I won't say it's the best Wii U game, but it's one of the most interesting. What it lacks in polish it makes up for in style and humor. It translates Hideki Kamiya's trademarks into a toylike world of superheroes. I don't know if a port or a sequel would work better, but I'd like to see this game in more people's hands.