Let's Build The Ultimate Switch Collection - Worthwhile games that aren't first party Nintendo

[whatever I feel like]

Well we are all dying to hear your catcore recs because it is a genre where the Switch library is well-known to be lacking

SM3DW but its disallowed due to OP's preferences.

 

[whatever I feel like]

That being there's little of worth on the Switch outside of the big name first party stuff.

Are you retarded or something? People listed like a hundred games. If you hate multiplats then really you shouldn't buy any console at all because none have exclusives. The PS5's exclusive list is infamously small enough to be counted on fingers and (possibly now, haven't checked) toes and Xbox Series literally has zero.

 

[Buttigieg2020]

There have been a bunch of great recommendations, don't get me wrong. Stuff I had never heard of, and stuff I had completely forgotten about, but there's really no equivalent to, say, Dementium, GT Advance, or ZombiU? It's a shame really.

Is there any specific reason for it, or is it just the stereotype that Nintendo fans don't buy third party?

I’ve never heard anyone look at those games fondly before lol. I was always told those were just platform gimmick games. I have good news though:



If you want mediocre horror and racing games Fatal Frame and Horizon Chase exist.

 

[Two Dollars]

Something I found before making the OP was some debate on if the Switch was end-of-life, or if it was middle of its life. The arguments tend to go back and forth. It feels as though the "Switch pro" has become a bit of a meme with how often it's predicted to show at some direct and then doesn't.

The overwhelming albeit unconfirmed consensus is that the Switch 2 (not Pro) will be out late next year; now the debate is whether Nintendo will continue making Switch 1 games after the successor is out, especially since it’ll almost definitely be backwards compatible.

Mario Kart 8 is a hard pass for me. Sonic All Star Racing Transformed spoiled me, and Mario Kart appears to have been spinning its wheels since the DS. Maybe they made a huge leap from old games, but I've not seen it if they have.

I’m going to assume “spinning its wheels” means they got worse or didn’t change enough, in which case… what?? DS and Wii are fan favorites, and 8 is widely considered to be the best in the series, with each game after DS having pretty major changes in gameplay. 7 is the only one that wasn’t adored by fans (and Tour if you count mobile).

Originally I did plan to update the OP as more recommendations came in, but it's sounding more and more that what I assumed was just ignorance on my part is actually the case. That being there's little of worth on the Switch outside of the big name first party stuff. The DS and 3DS, hell, even the Wii had some interesting stuff outside of first party. That doesn't seem to be the case for the Switch?

If the giant library of first party games don’t count for some reason and multiplats also don’t count, then what are you looking for? Your criteria seems needlessly restrictive.

There have been a bunch of great recommendations, don't get me wrong. Stuff I had never heard of, and stuff I had completely forgotten about, but there's really no equivalent to, say, Dementium, GT Advance, or ZombiU? It's a shame really

I’ve never heard of those first two, and the third was a flop. Again, oddly specific.

Is there any specific reason for it, or is it just the stereotype that Nintendo fans don't buy third party?

This thread has been full of third party recommendations, I don’t know what to tell you

 

[Calandrino]

Something I found before making the OP was some debate on if the Switch was end-of-life, or if it was middle of it's life. The arguments tend to go back and forth. It feels as though the "Switch pro" has become a bit of a meme with how often it's predicted to show at some direct and then doesn't.

Looks like it's really a-comin' circa 2024. I fear what it means for my existing games, and what they're going to do to evict me off of Switch 1. I don't trust Nintendo to not pull a Nintendo. Consider that your Steam account is definitely going to outlive Switch compatibility (later rather than sooner I hope).

There have been a bunch of great recommendations, don't get me wrong. Stuff I had never heard of, and stuff I had completely forgotten about, but there's really no equivalent to, say, Dementium, GT Advance, or ZombiU? It's a shame really.

There's really not... blame the lack of hardware gimmick perhaps, and platform homogeneity in general, since the 3DS was getting interesting exclusives practically right up to death. Incidentally Dementium is on Steam now. I've read retro and arcade games tend to sell better on Switch, so a lot of Steam indies along those lines get ported to Switch but not other consoles, or to consoles but not Steam. I think it's the same for certain other nerd/niche/weeb things. It's probably the system of choice if you like VNs and naked anime girls, probably has some actual exclusives even.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

8 is widely considered to be the best in the series

It's no DD/DS, I don't know why it gets jacked off so much, the mechanics feel less tight, and something about the canera positioning is just off.

It's probably the system of choice if you like VNs and naked anime girls, probably has some actual exclusives even.

Or at the very least, less censored versions than other consoles.

 

[Two Dollars]

Looks like it's really a-comin' circa 2024. I fear what it means for my existing games, and what they're going to do to evict me off of Switch 1. I don't trust Nintendo to not pull a Nintendo. Consider that your Steam account is definitely going to outlive Switch compatibility (later rather than sooner I hope).

Ignoring that the Switch eShop will stay in full service for another 7+ years (look at every other shop for comparison), accounts don’t “go down”, or at least they haven’t yet. Even the Wii and DSi still let you redownload purchased games today.

 

[skykiii]

I like to plug Burgertime Party every chance I get. As far as I know, nobody talks about this game but its actually really fun, and I believe it is actually Switch exclusive.

 

[IDanceonTrannyGraves]

You can literally get every Saga game except Saga Frontier 2 for Switch.

FF 1-12

Chrono Cross

Legend of Mana

Phoenix Wright 1-6 (from January)

NFS and Burnout Paradise are both available.

There are multiple visual novels available.

The Danganronpa games are available.

Multiple horror games like RE and Fatal Frame are available.

Multiple shmups like Batsugam, Tiger Heli, and Dimension Drive are available.

Just look on Play Asia.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Are you retarded or something? People listed like a hundred games.

This thread has been full of third party recommendations, I don’t know what to tell you

I’ve never heard of those first two, and the third was a flop. Again, oddly specific.

Incidentally Dementium is on Steam now.

Normally I'd mock your reading comprehension, but since multiple people have said it, I guess I messed up.

There are lots of recommendations, some great ones. I'm thankful for them. There are some I'll definitely look into if I get a Switch, or think about for PC if I don't.


What I was referring to with the games I listed, and what I was hoping to see more of, are games that were made for the Switch. Even if they got ported later, they were made with that system in mind.

ZombiU was a third party WiiU exclusive. It did eventually get ports, but those ports were inferior because the two screens and inventory management mechanics were clearly missing. Even though it supposedly wasn't very good, it was unique at least. Dementium, kind of the same thing. They were made with the DS in mind first and foremost. The ports were not good. Resident Evil Revelations is a 3DS game that got ports to "HD" systems later.

Even multiplats had variants back in the day. Resident Evil DS is my favourite version of the game because it's the original Resident Evil with some quality of life updates and a remix campaign with touch screen sections. Earth Defense Force Portable was the early EDF games ported to the Vita with some additions and I put a lot of hours into it. Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes was more than a straight port of the original. etc.

As Calandrino said

There's really not... blame the lack of hardware gimmick perhaps, and platform homogeneity in general, since the 3DS was getting interesting exclusives practically right up to death.

I had assumed, wrongly, that there were a bunch of exclusive or semi-exclusive hidden gems and oddities on the system. Games like Tokyo Jungle (PS3), Dylan's Rolling Western (3ds), and Heroes of Ruin (3ds). Games that are at least interesting, even if they aren't the best the system has to offer.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

I had assumed, wrongly, that there were a bunch of exclusive or semi-exclusive hidden gems and oddities on the system. Games like Tokyo Jungle (PS3), Dylan's Rolling Western (3ds), and Heroes of Ruin (3ds). Games that are at least interesting, even if they aren't the best the system has to offer.

There's a lot like that, just not fitting the criteria of 3rd party exclusives, most are at least on PC too.

 

[Two Dollars]

I had assumed, wrongly, that there were a bunch of exclusive or semi-exclusive hidden gems and oddities on the system. Games like Tokyo Jungle (PS3), Dylan's Rolling Western (3ds), and Heroes of Ruin (3ds). Games that are at least interesting, even if they aren't the best the system has to offer.

There are plenty of those, but you said no first party. Why does Dillon count?

 

[whatever I feel like]

are games that were made for the Switch.

What does that even fucking mean. Even if they look weird the joy-cons have the same button layout as every other modern system. There is no "making games for it". Or, if you mean with the Switch as the primary market, there's a shit load of them. Pretty much every Japanese game in the thread that wasn't a re-release was aimed at Switch.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

There is no "making games for it".

Switch does have some unique features, but I don't think there's many good games that utilize them.

Here's some of them. There's probably a list of games utilizing HD Rumble too. Technically anything not on mobile that utilizes touch screen inputs may count too, depends on what he really means by "games made for it".

 

[whatever I feel like]

Switch does have some unique features, but I don't think there's many good games that utilize them.

Here's some of them. There's probably a list of games utilizing HD Rumble too. Technically anything not on mobile that utilizes touch screen inputs may count too, depends on what he really means by "games made for it".

Is it all waggle shit? If so, nobody cares. There are games that use it but they're exercise games and Wii-alikes.

 

[Two Dollars]

Switch does have some unique features, but I don't think there's many good games that utilize them.

Here's some of them. There's probably a list of games utilizing HD Rumble too. Technically anything not on mobile that utilizes touch screen inputs may count too, depends on what he really means by "games made for it".

There are two reasons why “hardware-specific gimmick games” and third-party exclusives are basically nonexistent now compared to something like the DS.

First, games generally have to work in both console and handheld mode, which means things like motion controls, IR camera, and touch screen have to be optional. Occasionally you’ll get something like Super Mario Party where the heavy reliance on motion means you can’t play in handheld mode, or one of those phone ports that requires handheld mode because of the touch screen, but the vast majority of games can’t risk exclusively relying on those gimmicks. Or you might get something like Pokemon Quest where it can technically be played with a controller but was very clearly designed around a touch screen.

Second, modern dev technologies are so advanced now that porting between systems is easy, assuming the second system is powerful enough. Barring exclusivity deals or simply not giving a shit, there’s no reason why a third party dev wouldn’t want to port their Switch game to another system for easy money.

Also, it’s worth pointing out that third parties frequently make Switch exclusive games, but they’re usually published by Nintendo. Off the top of my head, some of these include Snipperclips, the Bayonetta series, and every single Pokemon and Kirby.

 

[Calandrino]

Normally I'd mock your reading comprehension, but since multiple people have said it, I guess I messed up.

Nah I think you were pretty clear, the situation just is what it is. You can play House of the Dead Remake with touch controls! fwiw

I thought I was getting a Switch for the amazing exclusive SMT5 but watching ten seconds of gameplay footage nixed that idea.

Multiple shmups like Batsugam, Tiger Heli, and Dimension Drive are available.

Alright, found the other Tiger Heli fan (probably powerleveling here)

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

Is it all waggle shit? If so, nobody cares. There are games that use it but they're exercise games and Wii-alikes.

No, it's like some kind of sensor. The only sort of interesting use was for a Brain Age type game though.

There are two reasons why “hardware-specific gimmick games” and third-party exclusives are basically nonexistent now compared to something like the DS.

First, games generally have to work in both console and handheld mode, which means things like motion controls, IR camera, and touch screen have to be optional. Occasionally you’ll get something like Super Mario Party where the heavy reliance on motion means you can’t play in handheld mode, or one of those phone ports that requires handheld mode because of the touch screen, but the vast majority of games can’t risk exclusively relying on those gimmicks. Or you might get something like Pokemon Quest where it can technically be played with a controller but was very clearly designed around a touch screen.

Second, modern dev technologies are so advanced now that porting between systems is easy, assuming the second system is powerful enough. Barring exclusivity deals or simply not giving a shit, there’s no reason why a third party dev wouldn’t want to port their Switch game to another system for easy money.

Also, it’s worth pointing out that third parties frequently make Switch exclusive games, but they’re usually published by Nintendo. Off the top of my head, some of these include Snipperclips, the Bayonetta series, and every single Pokemon and Kirby.

Yeah, that makes sense, I'm not surprised there's so few of such games.

 

[Str8Bustah]

How has this thread gone 3 pages with only one mention of Astral Chain? It's literally the one game worth buying a switch for because for whatever reason it just can't be consistently emulated well.

It also happens to be one of the best games on the switch, as well as the last good game platinum has made to this point. No, Bayo 3 is not a good game.

 

[BananaSplit²]

How has this thread gone 3 pages with only one mention of Astral Chain? It's literally the one game worth buying a switch for because for whatever reason it just can't be consistently emulated well.

@Judge Dredd specifically mentioned third-parties and Astral Chain, while developed by Platinum, is a Nintendo's IP. I personally liked it too.

Also I wholly agree with @Two Dollars 's post on the fact third-parties these days won't bother making games based on a console's gimmicks, like it could be clearly seen in the 2000's, given how console hardware has been homogenized and the concept of exclusivity is a thing of the past for them. There is the Fit Boxing franchise (published by Imagineer in Japan, Nintendo in the West) and Ace Angler Fishing Spirits (by Bamco, with the fishing rod accessory) that could fit the bill of what he's asked, but they're the rare exceptions.

I saw him mentioning about port variants, and the Switch does have some of those.
For example, the EDF games on Switch are the definitive editions by including the difficulty medal feature of 5 (completing a mission on Hard counts for Easy & Normal too) thus lowering a damn lot the number of times to replay the same levels for each class if you care about completion. EDF3 on Switch also included a manual reload button, Pale Wing class available from the start, and the look of the cave levels from the Xbox360 version while retaining the extra Vita contents.
Generally, Switch versions of previously released games will be the "Complete editions" by including all the past DLCs, such as One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 (and the other old musous by Koei Tecmo), Catherine Fullbody, Resident Evil 5 & 6, Disgaea 4 & 5, Talos Principle, Gundam SD G Generation Genesis, Super Robot Wars V & X (the cheat DLC is still separate tho), etc.

Ultimately, it's about whichever platform looks to be the most tailored to someone's personal tastes in vidya, and if you like portable systems enough to look past certain technical issues. Namely the framerate and graphic quality, because I wouldn't even recommend a Steam Deck if those two criteria were someone's highest priorities. You don't buy a handheld mainly for its firepower.