The Best Games Stranded on 3DS and Wii U, and How Nintendo Can Bring Them Back for Switch

It’s the end of an era for Nintendo fans: Online play for 3DS and Wii U games has officially ended. I adore the 3DS and Wii U libraries, and even though Nintendo has already brought so many great games from past consoles to Switch, there are still a ton of amazing Nintendo games I don’t want to see get left behind now that the eShop is closed and the online servers are shut off for good.

To take it a step further, Nintendo has a proven track record of adding something to its remakes and remasters to sweeten the pot a bit — whether its a new mode, games bundled together, or improvements to the controls — so I’m going to pitch what enhancements should come along with each game I want to see get another shot on Switch.

3DS and Wii U Games I Want On Switch

For this week’s NVC column, The Best Games Stranded on 3DS and Wii U, and How Nintendo Can Bring Them Back for Switch

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes with Local Multiplayer

A Link Between Worlds follows A Link to the Past’s footsteps in pretty much every way, so why not keep the tradition going with a remake? In 2003, Nintendo re-released the SNES classic on Game Boy Advance, and packed in alongside it was Four Swords, the Zelda series’ first real crack at multiplayer. It was real pain to access at the time — you needed a GBA link cable, multiple copies of the game, and a GBA for each player — but it was really cool to see two Zelda adventures packaged together like that.

I’d love to see the same treatment for the 3DS’ pair of original Zelda games: A Link Between Worlds and Tri Force Heroes. A Link Between Worlds is my favorite top-down Zelda game, released in a pre-Breath of the Wild era when Nintendo was just beginning to tinker with series conventions. The non-linear approach to dungeons scattered across Lorule, inventive item rental system, and memorable original characters like Ravio, Hilda, and Yuga really make A Link Between Worlds stand out.

Meanwhile, Tri Force Heroes is an awesome multiplayer Zelda game that I actually prefer to either Four Swords game. It ditches Four Swords’ competitive treasure hunting elements and doubles down on cooperation, introducing a shared team health bar, creative puzzles that require participation from all three players, and the novel Totem mechanic that involves stacking three Links on top of each other. Playing with strangers was at times more frustrating than fun, but if a Switch remake added local co-op into the mix, Tri Force Heroes could change its reputation from an often-ignored footnote to a memorable multiplayer adventure.

Kid Icarus: Uprising, BUT with Better Controls

Whenever I bring up my love for Kid Icarus: Uprising, I’m almost always met with the same response: “The controls suck!” I know, they’re not ideal. Holding the 3DS with one hand while aiming Pit’s shots on the touch screen was fine at best, and unplayable at worst. Nintendo even released a custom plastic stand alongside Uprising to help improve the comfort somewhat.

But if you got past the controls you’d find that Uprising offered a lot, like a fully-voiced, hilarious story, thrilling on-rails shooter levels that run circles around Fox McCloud’s best adventures, and a surprisingly robust online multiplayer mode with its own unique take on team deathmatch. Uprising is simply packed with excellent content, and legendary Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai’s fingerprints are all over it. All that’s in the way are the controls. If Uprising got an HD remake with twin stick controls and option gyro aiming, I’m sure more people would come to love one of my favorite Nintendo games of all time.

Kirby: Planet Robobot and Kirby: Triple Deluxe Double Pack

Last year, we got an excellent enhanced remaster of Kirby’s Return to Dreamland, which added an extra epilogue and a ton of subgames. Now that Return to Dreamland, Star Allies, and Forgotten Land are all available on Switch, the only modern mainline Kirby games still missing from the console are the 3DS’ Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot. Kirby has a habit of showing up a lot at the end of a Nintendo console’s life, so I think it’s possible we could see a remaster of the pink puffball’s 3DS platformers in the style of Return to Dreamland Deluxe.

I could honestly take or leave Triple Deluxe. The Hypernova ability never really grabbed me, nor did the new Archer, Beetle, Bell, and Circus copy abilities. But it would still pair nicely with Planet Robobot which is the true star here. Released to little fanfare near the end of the 3DS’ life in 2016, Planet Robobot is secretly one of the best Nintendo platformers out there. Planet Popstar is invaded by robots, giving every level an extremely cool mechanical look and feel. Plus, Kirby can pilot a giant mech suit and infuse it with his trademark copy abilities, meaning there’s more variety here than in almost any other game in the series. The Robobot Armor opens up possibilities for well-hidden collectibles, epic boss battles, and surprisingly clever puzzles, and it’s the perfect antidote for Kirby naysayers who claim the series is too simple.

Xenoblade Chronicles X to Get the Whole Series on Switch

Speaking of giant mechs, I’m genuinely surprised we’ve gone this many years without a Nintendo Switch port of Xenoblade Chronicles X. This was one of the most technically ambitious games on Wii U, to the point where players could download Data Packs to enhance the game’s textures and loading times. It was tough to fit those on the console without an external hard drive, and it was near-impossible to find other players in the online multiplayer lobbies due to the Wii U’s tiny install base, so Xenoblade Chronicles X is well overdue for a Switch port where series fans can experience it to the fullest. For the cherry on top, X is the only Xenoblade Chronicles game that’s not on Switch, and I love when an entire series is available in one place.

Samus Returns with Metroid Dread’s Art Style

Samus returned in a big way at E3 2017 when Nintendo teased Metroid Prime 4 for Nintendo Switch and revealed Metroid: Samus Returns for 3DS. We’re obviously still waiting on that first part of the announcement to come to fruition, but Samus Returns launched later that year and was a pretty great reimagining of the Game Boy’s original Metroid 2. Nintendo generally stays authentic to the original when it remakes a game but Samus Returns bucked that trend by introducing entirely new level design and mechanics. Samus Returns was Metroid Dread developer MercurySteam’s first outing with Nintendo’s galactic bounty hunter, and an HD Switch port would fill the Metroid gap nicely until Retro Studios is finally ready to unveil Prime 4. I always felt that Samus Returns was a little bit cramped on the 3DS’ small screen and limited shoulder buttons, so bringing this adventure up to Dread’s level of quality would be a huge win.

NES Remix and SNES Remix

NES Remix was one of the coolest games Nintendo made for Wii U. Playing the original Donkey Kong as Link instead of Mario feels like something you’d do on a flash website at the school library, not something you’d find in an official Nintendo game. But Nintendo’s desperation to make anything catch fire during the Wii U era led to some unprecedented risks with its franchises. And while the Switch era is better by almost every measure, Nintendo’s unabashed willingness to put out experiments like this highlighted the Wii U era. After NES Remix 1 and 2, SNES Remix felt like the logical next step, but it just never happened. With the Switch era seemingly barreling towards an end, Nintendo should revisit this franchise with either a simple port, or better yet, a full-fledged sequel.

Tomodachi Life with Miitopia’s Enhanced Mii Maker

Tomodachi Life is a cult classic for a reason, and it’s the game that finally took full advantage of the Miis. Thanks to Tomodachi Life, I’ve lived in an apartment building with Reggie Fils-Aime, Barack Obama, Princess Zelda, and so many more people and characters that shouldn’t all go together, but it just works. It was only held back by the Mii Maker itself, which hadn’t seen much improvement at the time since its origins on the Wii. But in Grezzo’s Switch remaster of the 3DS RPG Miitopia, we got a completely revamped Mii Maker that allowed players to truly run wild with impressive – and often terrifying – creations. A Tomodachi Life remaster with Miitopia’s Mii Maker would significantly improve a game that’s already really charming.