10 Best Nintendo Switch Exclusives Of 2019
What were the console's high-points this year?
2019 has been a banner year for Nintendo.
While it hasn’t had a release on the scale of Breath Of The Wild and probably isn’t on the level of PlayStation’s 2018, the company have definitely had twelve months worth celebrating.
It’s seen some mega franchises join the Switch for the first time, some brilliant new IPs and some great titles from old favourites. There’s games which make full use of the motion control abilities of the console, games which use it lightly, and games where it’s ignored completely in favour of a proper console gaming experience.
As is typical of Nintendo, there’s a wide range of titles this year to enjoy.
After the Wii enjoyed massive success but was firmly labelled a party console, the follow up release of the WiiU was a huge flop. With the Nintendo Switch though, they’re firmly back in the big leagues, competing with Xbox and PlayStation.
They have some of the most recognisable franchises in gaming, and even better, they’re churning out some of their best entries in years.
Combined with the stellar rise of some newcomers, it’s not hard to see why Nintendo have enjoyed staggering sales in 2019.
10. The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening
If you want to consider New Super Mario Bros U an honourable mention, you can, as including a WiiU port when there were so many fresh games this year seemed against the spirit of the list. Link's Awakening though, as a 'proper' remake of a classic Zelda game, does make the cut.
There's definitely a cynical viewpoint to be taken over remakes of old games, but when it's done so lovingly, as Link's Awakening was, it never feels like a cash grab. When it's sandwiched between Breath Of The Wild 1 and 2, it's hard to argue that remakes stifle creativity too.
Link's Awakening managed to reinvent the pixelated appearance of the original without tilting too close to modern design which might have surrendered the classic aesthetic. The whole game is gorgeous, playing out like plastic toys in a living diorama.
Every inch of the original has been lovingly recreated and then built upon in a fresh way. For Zelda veterans, it retained that sense of nostalgia while simultaneously offering up a new experience. It was perhaps a little short, especially after we'd been spoiled by Breath Of The Wild, but the world was so fun to just exist in, if only briefly.