8 games we want for the Nintendo Switch 2020 release lineup

Nintendo has made something perfectly clear for 2020. They intend to stick to the Nintendo Switch for the long haul throughout the year and continue to push excellence on the system. They already have Animal Crossing: New Horizon and a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the way, but outside of that, we don’t know a lot about what Nintendo has up their sleeve. With that in mind, we certainly have our opinions on what we’d like to see out of the Nintendo Switch this year. Here are 8 games we want for the Nintendo Switch 2020 release lineup.

F-Zero

It has been 17 years since an F-Zero game was released on a Nintendo console, and it is time. If Nintendo Switch is to sit on the top of the gaming world as the best console in history, it has to top the software lineup of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. While the Switch has passed SNES in lifetime unit sales, many hold the 1990s console to be the best. F-Zero was a launch title on the SNES and showcased some of the most cutting-edge racing gameplay ever witnessed. Nintendo keeps taunting us F-Zero fans with Captain Falcon's inclusion in the Smash Bros. series, even adding an F-Zero part to World of Light in Ultimate. These pitiful fan service offerings won't do any longer. Nintendo has until the end of 2020 to release an F-Zero, or else we’ll... just wait another year. Sigh.

Nintendo Labo

Nintendo’s line-up of creative cardboard DIY accessories for the Switch is definitely the kind of innovative interactive product that the company is known for. We’ve seen things like remote control bugs, robo-boxing backpacks, and music making pianos, but we feel like they’ve barely touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to crafty concepts. The possibilities are basically limitless when it comes to potential products, but in particular we’d love to see them come out with something that plays into Nintendo’s long legacy, like a make your own R.O.B. the robot, or maybe a cardboard NES Zapper or Super Scope 6. No matter what they come up with, we just think it’s too good an idea to get just one batch of products.

Kid Icarus

Maybe one of the most interesting Nintendo games on the entire DS lineup was Kid Icarus: Uprising. It was such a strange amalgam of things with on-rails shooter sections, action hack n' slash levels, and weapon collection and equipment grinding. It also suffered from some of the weirdest controls ever, requiring a special stand just to keep your hands from cramping for anything past a short session of play. Even despite that setback, Kid Icarus: Uprising had one of the most cheeky, lighthearted, and fun narratives of pretty much any modern Nintendo game. Right now, the Kid Icarus franchise is relegated (like so many Nintendo IPs) to appearances in the Smash Bros series, but even there, Pit and Palutena have such a fun rapport about them with Palutena giving Pit the lowdown on all his foes. We would love to see them get another chance at their own game on the Nintendo Switch. Even if it was just an HD remaster of Uprising, streamlining the overall issues of control with that game and turning it into something easier to enjoy would be wonderful.

A new Super Mario RPG from the Octopath Traveler devs

There's been a rich history of Super Mario RPG games dating back to the 1996 original classic. The Nintendo Switch is very much in need of one of these games, whether it's something out of the Paper Mario series or something from the Mario & Luigi series (though the latter might be a little difficult, given Alpharad's recent bankruptcy). So yes, we have hope that a new Mario RPG will grace the Nintendo Switch. Bonus points if it comes out of a collaboration with Square Enix, reuniting the two forces that made the original Super Mario RPG happen all those years ago. It's not like Square Enix isn't short on RPG developers. We certainly loved 2018's Octopath Traveler. It would be incredible to see that development team put something together with Nintendo's roster of characters.

Mother (Earthbound)

Earthbound, also known as Mother 2 in Japan, was a critical hit when it originally released for the SNES. Despite the fact that Mother 3 saw a Japanese release, we never once saw any kind of westernized release to let fans continue the story that Shigesato Itoi set out to tell.  While we have our doubts that anything will ever come of an official western Mother 3 release, that hasn’t stopped us and many others from wanting a new game set in the series. We’ve got some spiritual successors coming out, sure. But being able to dive right back into the same world, and experience those characters again is something that I would absolutely love to see announced for the Nintendo Switch. Heck, I’d even go for a remaster of the original games at this point. Just give me more Earthbound.

Uniracers

As far as we know Uniracers is the only unicycle-based racing game to ever hit the market. When it made its debut on the SNES, it became an instant cult classic. Players would compete on insane tracks full of loop de loops, massive jumps, and dangerous obstacles all while busting out fancy tricks in order to boost their score and their speed. In a somewhat odd way, Uniracers could be considered a precursor to the Tony Hawk series. We’ve often wondered why it has yet to get a sequel or reboot of any sort, especially nowadays when the market is ripe for nostalgic content with modern design concepts. Uniracers is just too good of a game to be left in the dust permanently and hopefully Nintendo will figure that out sooner rather than later.

Super Mario Sunshine

Super Mario Sunshine is a classic game from Nintendo's flagship franchise, but a lot of younger players may have missed out on this hidden GameCube gem. There are some rumors circulating about a potential Sunshine HD remake coming to Switch, and that would be delightful. Mario with a water-powered jetpack really opened up some amazing level design, and the secret levels in Sunshine changed how 3D Mario platformers would be designed going forward. While some people may want a sequel to Mario Odyssey, or even Mario Galaxy, we would love to be able to play Super Mario Sunshine on the go or docked with the Nintendo Switch. Please understand, Nintendo.

A new Mario sports game

Every time a Mario sports game is made, it's usually way better than it has any right to be. Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games... These are all such gimmicky takes on the Mushroom Kingdom, and yet they've served up some of the most enjoyable cooperative and competitive experiences out there. At the top of the heap will always sit Mario Kart, but even the bottom of the barrel - games like Mario Strikers (Soccer) and Mario Sluggers (Baseball) - offer a pretty good time. It may very well be time for another Mario sports game on the Nintendo Switch. We did see Mario Tennis Aces and Mario and Sonic at the Olympics Tokyo 2020 in 2019, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is continuing to be a great seller for the Switch. Even so, we’d like to see yet another Mario sports game come to the console in 2020. Mario Golf would absolutely be at the top of the list, but we'd welcome something out of the ordinary like dodgeball or volleyball as well.

These are our picks for the games we would love to see land on Nintendo for the Switch’s 2020 video game calendar. What about you? Is there a title or franchise you’ve been craving from the Nintendo universe? What do you want to see come to Nintendo Switch this year? Let us know in the Shacknews Chatty comment section below!

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.