Jubenhimer
Member
We're now 2.5 years into the Nintendo Switch's life. So far we've had ups and downs, but it's safe to say the system is leagues beyond the absolute critical and commercial disaster that the Wii U was. So with that said, how would you rank each of the Switch's 3 years?
2017 - The Switch started off with a bang. The long awaited Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild finally arrived after numerous delays, and was just as bit amazing as everyone expected. While the game was available on the Wii U, most people just bought the Switch version. Alongside that, the system launched with the decent, yet grossly overpriced 1-2 Switch, and the suprise hidden gem, Snipperclips. And the hits just kept coming. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe game out and brought all the DLC and major improvements over the original version of the game. Then Summer gave us the 1-2 punch of ARMS and Splatoon 2. Finally, we ended with another Wii U port, Pokken Tournament DX, Fire Emblem Warriors, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and Super Mario Odyssey, which was equally as hyped and excellent as Breath of the Wild, and like BotW, was also nominated for GotY, but BotW actually won. So yeah, the Switch couldn't have gotten off to a better start, and it was a fantastic first year for the console. A+
2018 - With how good 2017 was, 2018 was always destined to look lackluster in comparison. Not that it was a bad year, but it was obviously a buffer year and transitional period after the stellar launch 2017 brought. Nintendo's first party lineup was fairly mediocre. Half of it was Wii U ports, the other half was lower budget games that were fleshed out with more content over the years. Nintendo Labo released to decent reviews and solid success. Super Mario Party, while still lacking in some areas, was a nice return to form for the series that had suffered with the dreaded Car mechanic for years, Pokemon Let's Go! ended up being a lot better than what people initially anticipated. And Smash was the big showstopper title that everyone was waiting for, and it didn't disappoint. So while it was fairly lacking in first party games, third party support was a big improvement. The Switch saw a lot of indie titles, and AA multi-platform games in 2018, several exclusives like Octopath Traveler, even a few ports of older AAA titles and remasters. So overall, it was a decent year that if nothing else, kept the system afloat. B-
2019 - While the year isn't quite over yet, so far it's been a great year for the Switch. Not as good as 2017, but still really good none the less. Similar to last year, 2019 had a bit of a mediocre start. Yoshi came out after being delayed from last year, and the Nintendo Switch Online exclusive Tetris 99 became a surprise hit. Then we had Box Boy + Box Girl, and the Labo VR Kit. And that's it as far as new first party games were concerned. Fortunately, June onward, picked up with Cadence of Hyrule and Super Mario Maker 2 hitting June, July was packed with Marvel Ultimate Aliance 3 and Fire Emblem Three Houses. This month sees the release of Platinum Game's Astral Chain, and coming in September we have Zelda: Link's Awakening, with Luigi's Mansion in October, and finnally Pokemon Sword and Shield in November. That's not getting into potential tricks Nintendo could still have up their sleve. Likewise, third party support is also solid this year, perhaps moreso. Indies are doing really well as always, and the Switch is now starting to regularly get multiplatform AA titles like Crash and others. Plus more exclusives like Travis Strikes Again, Daemon X Machina, Ninjala, an others. We're not done yet, but so far, it's a solid A
So far, all three years for the Switch were good in their own way. 2017 was a fantastic start, 2018 was a down year, but still managed to be okay, and 2019 is a great rise up.
2017 - The Switch started off with a bang. The long awaited Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild finally arrived after numerous delays, and was just as bit amazing as everyone expected. While the game was available on the Wii U, most people just bought the Switch version. Alongside that, the system launched with the decent, yet grossly overpriced 1-2 Switch, and the suprise hidden gem, Snipperclips. And the hits just kept coming. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe game out and brought all the DLC and major improvements over the original version of the game. Then Summer gave us the 1-2 punch of ARMS and Splatoon 2. Finally, we ended with another Wii U port, Pokken Tournament DX, Fire Emblem Warriors, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and Super Mario Odyssey, which was equally as hyped and excellent as Breath of the Wild, and like BotW, was also nominated for GotY, but BotW actually won. So yeah, the Switch couldn't have gotten off to a better start, and it was a fantastic first year for the console. A+
2018 - With how good 2017 was, 2018 was always destined to look lackluster in comparison. Not that it was a bad year, but it was obviously a buffer year and transitional period after the stellar launch 2017 brought. Nintendo's first party lineup was fairly mediocre. Half of it was Wii U ports, the other half was lower budget games that were fleshed out with more content over the years. Nintendo Labo released to decent reviews and solid success. Super Mario Party, while still lacking in some areas, was a nice return to form for the series that had suffered with the dreaded Car mechanic for years, Pokemon Let's Go! ended up being a lot better than what people initially anticipated. And Smash was the big showstopper title that everyone was waiting for, and it didn't disappoint. So while it was fairly lacking in first party games, third party support was a big improvement. The Switch saw a lot of indie titles, and AA multi-platform games in 2018, several exclusives like Octopath Traveler, even a few ports of older AAA titles and remasters. So overall, it was a decent year that if nothing else, kept the system afloat. B-
2019 - While the year isn't quite over yet, so far it's been a great year for the Switch. Not as good as 2017, but still really good none the less. Similar to last year, 2019 had a bit of a mediocre start. Yoshi came out after being delayed from last year, and the Nintendo Switch Online exclusive Tetris 99 became a surprise hit. Then we had Box Boy + Box Girl, and the Labo VR Kit. And that's it as far as new first party games were concerned. Fortunately, June onward, picked up with Cadence of Hyrule and Super Mario Maker 2 hitting June, July was packed with Marvel Ultimate Aliance 3 and Fire Emblem Three Houses. This month sees the release of Platinum Game's Astral Chain, and coming in September we have Zelda: Link's Awakening, with Luigi's Mansion in October, and finnally Pokemon Sword and Shield in November. That's not getting into potential tricks Nintendo could still have up their sleve. Likewise, third party support is also solid this year, perhaps moreso. Indies are doing really well as always, and the Switch is now starting to regularly get multiplatform AA titles like Crash and others. Plus more exclusives like Travis Strikes Again, Daemon X Machina, Ninjala, an others. We're not done yet, but so far, it's a solid A
So far, all three years for the Switch were good in their own way. 2017 was a fantastic start, 2018 was a down year, but still managed to be okay, and 2019 is a great rise up.
