Port Authority: 5 Games That Should Be Ported To The Nintendo Switch
2017 has been an interesting year for Nintendo. It started with rumblings in the gaming industry of a new console on the horizon. Still licking their wounds after the failure of the ill-promoted and, eventually, ill-fated Wii U console, Nintendo had some work to do. People were insinuating that they were soon to go the way of Sega — beaten out of the hardware race and relegated to strictly making software titles for their competitors. There was no notion of Nintendo themselves having such intentions, but after the Wii came out to historic sale numbers, despite being marketed towards the casual gamer (i.e. your grandparents and your nephews/nieces that ask if you have games on your phone), only to be followed by a console that most didn’t even realize existed, it gave that same feeling I remember when the Dreamcast came out. Yeah, it’s not bad, but it’s not good enough to justify buying over these OTHER consoles.
Then comes the rumors of something called “the Nintendo NX”. First off, that might be the coolest codename I’ve heard for a Nintendo console in forever, so my attention was immediately caught. The question then became, what is it?
Well, in March, we finally found out. The Nintendo Switch. A hybrid console. Want to play it on your large flat-screen TV in your decked out home entertainment system, just like your XBox One and PlayStation 4? Feel free. What made it stand out was something those other two consoles can’t, and that’s taking it on the go. Have a trip to go on and need to kill some time in the midst of it? Pop that Switch out of the dock and take it with you. See, the Switch itself is about the size of a mid-range Android tablet, along with 2 detachable Joy-Con controllers. The dock that comes with serves as its means to play on your TV, also doubling as a charger for the console and the Joy-Cons. That diversity alone allows it to compete with the XBox One and PS4, while still allowing it to have its own lane, making it traditional and niche at the same time.
The biggest thing that stood out was the launch, though. Unlike other contemporaries, it didn’t launch with a bunch of A-list titles. In fact, it launched in a fashion that I personally brand as a “soft launch”. Get it clear — the Wii U did horribly. Worse than anyone could have predicted since The Virtual Boy decades ago. So it essentially launched with one blockbuster title, that being The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. As stated in my last article, that one title was enough for most to get the console, luckily, but my friend sold me his after being done with that one game.
Which brings along the inspiration for this article: while new games are being developed for the console, which games would be great fits to port to the Switch? Nintendo has already shown that they are open to porting titles that already exist on other consoles, with games like NBA 2K18, L.A. Noire, Stardew Valley, Thimbleweed Park, DOOM, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim already available.
Here are my personal picks (a wishlist, if we’re to be completely honest) of games that I feel would be a perfect fit on Nintendo’s new console.
- Undertale
Yeah, you’re going to see a good number of PC titles on this list. Not because I’m a big PC gamer (I’m not…I’m trying to get into it, but the transition is a rough one as I grew up a console gamer), but because there’s a lot of games on PC that aren’t completely reliant upon flashy graphics and multi-millon dollar marketing campaigns, rather banking on cult-like followings, amazing stories and concepts, and mastering of niche sensibilities. Sounds like the Switch to me. Undertale, developed by Toby Fox, was released on Steam in 2015 as “the RPG game where nobody has to die” (later changed to, “where you don’t have to destroy anyone”, because rap songs aren’t the only targets of clean versions, it seems). Controlling a small child who fell off of a mountain into an underworld ran by monsters, it’s on you to decide how you want to explore and learn about this new world. Want to help them solve their problems and befriend them? You can. Want to murder everything moving? You can do that as well. Just know…that whatever you do, there are rewards and consequences for them all. and a simple reset won’t let the game forget it. The game was recently ported to PS4 and PS Vita, almost a year after its release on PC, so outside of a possible exclusivity deal with Sony (not sure if it exists or not), I don’t see why this couldn’t happen.
2. West of Loathing
Yep, another PC title. Now, I get it. That title picture above doesn’t look too exciting. A stick figure in a cowboy hat with a beer and a revolver next to a sign. Trust me…West of Loathingis much more than meets the eye. It’s easily one of the funniest games I’ve ever played in my life, while still implementing a lot of adventure and RPG elements. If you’re lucky enough to be born in the late ’80s like I was, your adolescent years may have been spent online playing games on NewGrounds.com, and this game holds the same type of spirit as those early-to-mid ’00s Flash games. A good mix of silly and complicated/mature humor, exploration, choices in the game that WILL affect the ending (much like Undertale above)…the replay factor is through the roof. Nintendo…make this happen.
3. Bully: Scholarship Edition
Seeing L.A. Noire available for the Switch made me happy for one big reason — it alludes to the fact that we might be able to look forward to getting more titles from Rockstar Games on the Switch in the future. GTA VI, anyone? Maybe even a little Red Dead Redemption 2? A man can wish. That being said, while L.A. Noire is a great game, I would’ve strongly preferred that icebreaker game to have been none other than Bully. The prospect of controlling Jimmy Hopkins as he causes mischief throughout Bullworth Academy on the go might have pulled in more sales than L.A. Noire will in the end. Depending on how L.A. Noire does, though, this one is still a possibility, so I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed and my hopes high.
4. Fallout 4
Another company I’m excited to see working with Nintendo as a third-party developer is none other than the hometown development team at Bethesda Softworks. Seeing them porting Skyrim over to the Switch was a huge surprise, and as much as people try to make it seem like the Switch is an “underpowered” console, I would have assumed it as being impossible, but lo and behold, it holds up extremely well. So why not bring their other blockbuster title, Fallout 4, and have them in the mix? I’ll admit, I’m a major Fallout fan. I’ll also admit, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Fallout 4 (Bethesda, PLEASE bring Obsidian’s team into the fold so we can get some of the RPG spirit back into the game, a la Fallout: New Vegas!), but it IS the latest game in the series, and with Fallout 4 VR coming soon, it’d only make sense to bring something to the Switch as well. Just make sure you include all the DLC as well, without it costing $100 like you did before. It’s been a while…$60 should be good enough.
5. LISA: The Painful
The final entry on the list is a BIG wish. One of those games that I don’t expect to end up on the Switch, but Nintendo could benefit BIG from if it did. LISA: The Painful RPG was developed by Dingaling Productions (yes, that was the real name of the company, even though it has changed twice since) as the second game in the LISA series. The first game in the series, LISA (or LISA: The First, as it’s now known) was more of a story-driven exploration game, telling the story of the namesake of the title. A young girl named Lisa Armstrong, living with her older brother, Brad, and their abusive father, Marty, explores the areas surrounding her house as she attempts to run away. The game was dark and uncomfortable, often insinuating that her father not only beat her, but sexually abused her as well. The game ends with her suicide as she can never escape the damage her father has done. Enter LISA: The Painful. This game follows the story of Brad, beginning in his childhood where he, too, is mentally and physically abused by his father. Flash-forward to the future, where Brad is living in a post-apocalyptic world where only men now exist, middle-aged and addicted to a drug called “Joy”, which helps him forget his painful memories. In the midst of this, he finds an abandoned baby girl, whom he names Buddy, and vows to raise her and keep her safe. It says it’s his “second chance”, likely taking the blame for not being able to protect his sister and prevent her suicide. It goes well…until it doesn’t. He returns home one day to find out that Buddy’s been kidnapped. And that’s where you, the player, finally come into play.
Look here…this game WILL tug at your heart strings. It WILL cause you to make some tough decisions (i.e. having a gang spare your party member’s life by giving them your items or losing a limb, or keep your items/limbs and have the gang kill your party member AND having to fight them afterwards). This game WILL have some disturbing images (nothing Dark Web-level, of course, but the animations get weird). It WILL make you laugh quite often (as long as you enjoy dark humor, but it has a lot of silly humor as well). And you WILL love this game. There’s a certain level of heart put into this indie title that I haven’t seen since the aforementioned Undertale. The risque themes do make it seem tough to sell to Nintendo as a title, but at the same time, if Nintendo is trying to appeal to a LARGE fan base (LISA has so many dedicated fans, there’s multiple fan games presented as sequels to the original trilogy) and prove that the Switch isn’t just a “toy for kids”, this game would be a shining example of them catering to mature gamers who love deep, meaningful stories. They can even include LISA: The Joyful, the final game in the trilogy, as DLC if they’re smart about it.
Enjoy this article? Agree with the picks? Got any other port suggestions? Give it a 👏 and let us know in the comments.
