Today, we’re going over some of the most overlooked major games on Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo recently commented on the Switch 2’s high price, confirming that the company will continue to support the current console for those who aren’t ready to make the move just yet. With that said, it seems like Nintendo Switch has at least another year of support left – with games like Rhythm Heaven Groove and Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream coming in 2026. So even though it isn’t quite the end of its life cycle, we figured it’s a good time to go over some of the most overlooked Nintendo releases. With this list, we’re targeting high-quality games that aren’t discussed as often as they should be.
There are tons of great games on Nintendo Switch, so it makes sense that a few of them have fallen off in terms of public discussion in recent years. The Metroid series is a perfect example of this – players are very much looking forward to Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but the current Metroid entries on Nintendo Switch are of incredibly high quality and are great ways to get into the series for the first time. Metroid Prime Remastered is a somewhat unusual part of Nintendo history – it’s a full-fledged remake that doesn’t cost $60, which is a welcome disruption of Nintendo’s typical release strategies. It’s got beautifully restored graphics and lightning, smooth gameplay, and plenty of accessibility with different difficulty options. First-person shooter games are personally one of my least favorite genres (you can attribute that to years of playing Nintendo games and not much else), but Metroid Prime Remastered made me appreciate it much more. Its lock-on system makes you feel more in control – if your aim isn’t good, you don’t have to worry too much about being unable to hit your enemies. The game is short but sweet, hitting a balance where it doesn’t overstay its welcome but it does leave you wanting more. Now if only we could get Metroid Prime 2 and 3 on Switch next…
WarioWare: Get It Together is one of the most overlooked and forgotten major Nintendo Switch games. It released in 2021, flew under the radar, and is almost never discussed in public spaces. It’s a shame, too, because this is a solid game – it’s best played as an in-between of sorts, though. If you’re playing other games that are difficult or require lots of thinking, WarioWare is a great way to pass the time and turn your brain off for a while. It has over 200 microgames, a ton of different characters to pick from, and several unique multiplayer modes. No online play is a bummer, but all the multiplayer options make WarioWare a good game to boot up with real-life friends if you only have a limited time to play something. You could say that WarioWare: Move It is overlooked as well, and that’s definitely true to an extent – but the required motion controls mean that you can’t very well play the game in handheld, which makes it a bit tougher to play spontaneously.
Even though the Xenoblade Chronicles series is topical right now with the release of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition earlier in the year, it’s still rather underrated and overlooked in the grand scheme of things. As a trilogy, the Xenoblade series is one of the absolute best RPG experiences you can get on the Switch – or any console, really. And every entry in the series is strong – Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is an excellent remake of the first game. Though its combat is a little flat, the story and voice acting are top-notch. As a launch year Nintendo Switch game, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 suffers from a few technical issues and uneven voice acting, making it the most controversial entry in the series by far. That said, those willing to learn its combat and stick it out through some of its rougher story patches finish Xenoblade 2 thinking it’s the best game in the series. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and its DLC wrap up the trilogy nicely with high-quality gameplay, voice acting, and graphics. Not to mention the fact that all three games have a great soundtrack! It’s best to play the games in this order: Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, Future Connected, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Torna: The Golden Country, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and then Future Redeemed. That’s hundreds of hours of content all together.
If you want to talk about overlooked first and second-party Switch games, almost nothing beats out Kirby’s Dream Buffet. We’re not necessarily saying this game is super high-quality, but it seems wrong to write on this subject without mentioning one of HAL Laboratory’s most forgotten games. It’s light on content, but it has plenty of charm. It fills a similar niche as WarioWare; if you’re looking for a substantial game experience, you won’t find it here, but it’s good to play between other games if you want to play something mindless. The online servers are just about completely dead – you’ll almost never find another player, and they’ve been like that for a long time. Kirby’s Dream Buffet is very much overshadowed by every other Kirby game on the console, so we figured it’d be worth a mention here even though it’s nowhere near as good.
Paper Mario: The Origami King hasn’t been forgotten, but aspects of it are certainly overlooked. To describe it in a single sentence: everything but the battles are absolutely excellent. Indeed, The Origami King has an impeccable presentation, some of the best music in the entire Mario series, gorgeous graphics and backgrounds, and surprisingly decent character moments for a modern Paper Mario game. Unfortunately, the game’s battles are its biggest weakness. Every fight takes place on a ring, and you have to line up all the enemies on the ring so you can attack them all in a straight line. It’s an interesting concept the first time around, but you’ll soon realize you need to spend time shifting the ring around every time you fight an enemy. The concept soon grows tiresome, and it doesn’t help that this game also doesn’t include leveling up. It’s a shame, because if The Origami King just had a normal Paper Mario battle system, it would be considered one of the very best games in the series. But if you can overlook the tedious battle system, the rest of the game is excellent and absolutely underrated.
ARMS is infamous for how overlooked it is. It’s a little sad, because it’s packed with creative designs, colorful graphics, and some great music too. Even Min Min’s inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate wasn’t enough to revive this game – but despite that, it actually sold quite well and shipped 2.72 million units. That’s not bad for a new franchise, and there’s always a chance that we see a second ARMS someday down the line. The biggest problem with the original ARMS was its lack of content. In terms of multiplayer, you could play both online and locally. But in terms of single-player content, there was pretty much only Grand Prix mode and not much else. If we ever do receive a sequel one day, it’d be interesting to see how Nintendo expands and iterates on the idea. Players really thought ARMS was shaping up to be the next Splatoon – it even included events similar to Splatfests – but in the end it just couldn’t get there, and now it’s mostly forgotten and rarely discussed as far as major Nintendo games go.
Wrapping up our list is Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training for Nintendo Switch, which is in fact so overlooked that it never released in America. It’s a definite step down from Brain Age: Concentration Training on Nintendo 3DS, with a reduced emphasis on lectures, fewer activities to choose from, and a much simpler presentation. It’s a neat little gimmick regardless, though, with plenty of Sudoku puzzles to solve if you’re into those. We don’t imagine we’ll ever see another Brain Age game in the United States – but as for other regions, it’s possible we’ll see another entry on Switch 2. Possibly with mouse controls!
That wraps up our picks for the most overlooked Nintendo Switch games. Which major titles do you think flew under the radar? Feel free to let us know in the comments down below. Some honorable mentions of overlooked games that didn’t quite make the full list – Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, Pokken Tournament DX, and Astral Chain.
