Nintendo franchises we want to see return on Switch 2

We’re just days away from the very first Nintendo Switch 2 Direct. We’re expecting to learn plenty about upcoming games for the highly-anticipated console, and that list will likely feature beloved Nintendo franchises. But what about the lesser-known franchises? The dormant ones, the ones that received minimal or no love on the original Switch? There are several old school Nintendo franchises that we think deserve new life on the Switch 2.

Nintendo franchises we want to see on Switch 2

Ice Climbers

The Nintendo Switch era saw a lot of major franchises reach new heights, but many games didn't even make it to basecamp. One such IP that I think needs to see a new entry on Switch 2 is Ice Climbers. The game was featured in last year's Nintendo World Championships:: NES Edition, and I hope that is just the tip of the iceberg. It's time for Nana and Popo to climb back to the top of mountain-based platforming gameplay. Do it, Nintendo. It's time for a brand new Ice Climbers.

F-Zero

The F-Zero franchise did receive a shot of boost power with the release of F-Zero 99 for Nintendo Switch Online, but die hard fans of the racing game series want a proper sequel to the last home console release. F-Zero GX for GameCube was released in 2003. It's time for the Big N to show us the true power of Nintendo Switch 2, and there is no better IP to use to showcase higher quality graphics and solid frame rates than the race of the 26th century.

Kid Icarus

Kid Icarus missed the entire Switch generation, and probably for good reason. Kid Icarus: Uprising was a bit too technical in the way it used the touch screen and top screen for its on-rails shooting, so that game never looked like one that would be easy to port. Even so, it's not like Nintendo has forgotten these characters. After all, Pit and Palutena (the playable character and goddess of Kid Icarus) appeared in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. They may have been benched for the entirety of the first Switch, but we think it's time to make a comeback, whether with a port of Uprising that uses the new Joy-Con's optical functionality, or in a new adventure altogether... Maybe something 2.5D from the folks at MercurySteam (Metroid 2: Samus Returns/Metroid Dread)?

Star Fox

When nearly every Nintendo first-party series under the sun was given a Nintendo Switch game, it makes the absences that much more conspicuous. Even with the low standards of the Wii U, Star Fox Zero was a dismal effort, so it probably shouldn't be too surprising that Fox McCloud and company weren't invited to the Switch party. Still, his presence is sorely missed.

When Star Fox is at its best, it stands among Nintendo's best franchises. These are games that always try to be innovative with its on-rails space shooting formula. Sure, many of those innovations don't work. The Zelda-esque Star Fox Adventures didn't hit with every fan, the stylus controls of Star Fox Command were an acquired taste, and the less said about the gyroscopic tilt controls of the aforementioned Star Fox Zero, the better. Still, when this series is at its best, there's nothing out there like it and we're hopeful that Nintendo is ready to try again with the furry heroes of Star Fox.

Earthbound

The demand for new and translated versions of the Mother/Earthbound games have been a chorus that has been sung by the internet for decades at this point. To its credit, Nintendo did make the first and second game available on Nintendo Switch Online as EarthBound Beginnings and EarthBound. However, Mother 3 is still considered by many to be the best, and was so asked for, and so undelivered, that it has become a meme when it comes to Nintendo releases. Even then, what if we had an all new Mother/EarthBound RPG? Those games are still novel, and Nintendo has some pretty good studios specialized in making RPGs in its lineup these days. Whether by new game or remaster/remake, we'd love to see EarthBound make a fresh appearance on Switch 2.

Punch Out!

While boxing may not be the mainstream sport that it was back when Mike Tyson was in his prime, Iron Mike himself is as popular as he’s ever been. What better way to keep that train rolling, and see the return of a beloved game, than to roll out Punch-Out!! 2 for the Nintendo Switch 2? I envision characters returning and new rivals, but for the love of all that is sacred do not include anyone from the Paul family.

Wario Land

Can the insatiable greed of Wario ever truly be contained? Lord knows Nintendo tried to keep his baser impulses under control during the Switch generation, keeping the mustachioed miser to a pair of WarioWare titles. Of course, there are old-school fans that remember his platforming days, which carried the same creative spirit as the Mario titles with a totally different formula.

Wario Land is overdue for a comeback. In fact, the last true entry in the series was the motion-controlled Wario Land: Shake It on the Wii. That was in 2008! Whether it sticks to its Mario-esque roots or uses a gimmick in the way that Shake It did, the Wario Land series is overdue for another true sequel. After all, the success of Pizza Tower proves that the gaming public is hungry for the kinds of adventures that Wario used to be known for having.

Chibi Robo

There are mascots and heroes that have come to define Nintendo over the past several decades. They're the characters that end up playable in a Smash Bros. game. Then there are the lesser mascots, the ones doomed to be an Assist Trophy. However, that doesn't make their games any less fun. Take Chibi-Robo, for instance. A full decade has passed since his last title and the time has arrived for a comeback.

Chibi-Robo is remembered for spreading joy around the home, where players would collect Happy Points and make life generally easier for surrounding humans. There was fun to be had in completing Chibi-Robo's various tasks before his battery would run out. Sadly, original developer Skip Ltd. is no more, having closed its doors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The team has since resurfaced as Tiny Wonder Studio and is currently developing koROBO on PC, though that does leave an opening for a new studio to come in and keep the Chibi-Robo series going. It'd be fun to see some new blood step up to the plate for the Switch 2 generation and have Chibi-Robo freshly charged for a new audience.

Golden Sun

The last Golden Sun game to come out was the second one, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, and that game came out in 2010. So why would Nintendo bring this franchise back? Well, the Golden Age games are great RPGs for one, and for two, Camelot Software, which made them, still works with Nintendo. They mostly work on Nintendo's sports games and just released Mario Golf: Super Rush in 2021, but it's also worth noting that the first two Golden Sun games made their way to Nintendo Switch Online's classic library with the inclusion of the Game Boy Advance section. Fans who didn't know about Golden Sun had a chance to try it fresh. Such being the case, we'd like to see it get a proper update, whether through a new entry or maybe a Square Enix 2D-HD-style remake.

Nintendogs

Nintendogs was a generation-defining game and the perfect use case for the DS' unique design and features. It was the rare game that caught on with non-gamers. It was cute, wholesome, and a great iteration of the pet care subgenre. A new Nintendogs would not only smash the nostalgia button for 2000s kids, but present a fun way to adapt the series to the Switch 2's hardware. Perhaps I could swing my Joy-Con to throw a frisbee, or use the alleged mouse-like feature as a laser pointer for my digital cat.

Pilotwings

While the Pilotwings franchise may have peaked in its first entry for Super Nintendo, the series seems fit for a reboot. The original game release showcased the super power of SNES with groundbreaking gameplay experiences and an excellent variety of modes. It would be great to see what Nintendo could bring to the table in 2025 with a new Pilotwings entry.

Brain Age

Recent trends in the United States show that many citizens are in desperate need of a new Brain Age game. Our brains have atrophied since the release of these games during the DS era. While a new entry on Nintendo Switch 2 may not need to take advantage of the better graphics, I do think the potential for mouse-like Joy-Con gameplay could help bring the touch-based DS game to the Switch 2 era in style. It's an A+ idea.

ExciteBike

What's more exciting than bikes? ExciteBike. It's the original, the beloved, the track-making, full-throttle race to beat your best time and crash out everything that gets in your way. And geez, it hasn't gotten any love since ExciteBike: World Rally in 2009 (which was not very good). ExciteBike was a pioneer of side-scroller racing. I don't think it would be outlandish to ask it to return to that (after all, it worked for the Trials series). Either way, Nintendo knows, too, because they put an ExciteBike track in Mario Kart 8: Deluxe and it's fabulous. Whether side-view or behind-the-vehicle racing, if we could get another great dirt bike game from the Big N this next generation, that'd be awesome.

Wave Race

Racing games these days seem to be limited to race tracks, wheels, and if you’re lucky, some sort of extreme sport equipment like bikes or skiing. Back in 1996, Nintendo released Wave Race 64 for the Nintendo 64, a sequel to the Game Boy title of a similar name. It pitted players against one another in a race on Jet Skis across a variety of gorgeous ocean stages. The game featured stunning visuals, fantastic handling, and water physics that even by today’s standards are unbelievable.

With the ongoing success of Mario Kart, the proof that returning racing games work with F-Zero 99, and Nintendo’s big catalogue of stellar titles, it makes sense for Wave Race to be brought forward to a modern audience. It’s time, Nintendo.

Diddy Kong Racing

Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and other members of the mighty Kong family might be in Mario Kart, but we still have fond memories of what Rare and Diddy Kong Racing did for the arcade kart genre. The fact that most levels could be traversed via kart, boat, or airplane. each with their own advantages and disadvantages, was an impressive feat at the time, and though Mario Kart has certainly transformed how we race around its mesmerizing tracks, we still pine for the options of Diddy Kong Racing. It'd be cool to see what that three vehicle style would look like today, with the level of polish Nintendo gives to games like Mario Kart 8. It's also different enough that we feel it deserves its place alongside Mario Kart in the new generation.

Elite Beat Agents

Elite Beat Agents may be a relic of a different time at Nintendo, but with the announcement that the Rhythm Heaven franchise is returning in 2026, it's time to ask for a new EBA. The gameplay was tailored for the touch-based DS systems, but Nintendo can figure out a way to make a new and compelling gaming experience. Bring back the Elite Beat Agents with a whole gang of new music to pull from.

Donkey Kong Country

Mario might dominate the side-scrolling platform game genre with his 2D entries, but there’s another Nintendo mascot that has done them well: Donkey Kong. With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Switch 2, what we really need on the Big N’s new handheld-console hybrid is another Donkey Kong Country game.

While Rare was the team behind the game, we don’t necessarily need them to be involved in it. What we do need are the brutal tracks, the mine cart sections, and all of the collectibles we’ve come to expect from a Donkey Kong game. Given the fact that the Super Nintendo World has a Donkey Kong section, we think it’s time that Nintendo gives the players what they want: more Donkey Kong and his wacky family.

StarTropics

StarTropics is the kind of adventure game that is often fondly remembered by those who know of it, but it's also kind of an overlooked gem. It came out in 1990, which put it just a couple years after Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, but one year before A Link to the Past on the SNES. It shows a lot of that in-between state. It's a tropical island adventure in the vein of Zelda that features numerous lands to explore, dungeons to solve, monsters to beat, and more. What's more interesting, is that StarTropics exhibited an odd form of piracy protection related to one of its puzzles. To stop piracy, StarTropics originally came with a letter that tied into its story and, at the right time, revealed a code that players could use to solve a mystery in the game. StarTropics had other interesting puzzle mechanics and solutions, but, but it hasn't seen anything new beyond its original release and re-releases on things like Virtual Console and the Nintendo Switch Online library. We think there's room for more than one adventure franchise on Nintendo's slate, and StarTropics would be a very interesting name to see again on a new game.

ARMS

ARMS was Nintendo's swing at a brand-new IP built from the ground up for the original Switch. While the wacky fighter didn't grow into another juggernaut franchise for The Big N, it still had some fun ideas in the way it used motion controls, and has developed a cult following. A new ARMS on the Switch 2 would be a vote of confidence from Nintendo and an opportunity to apply all the lessons learned from the first game.

Adventures of Lolo

A frequently overlooked NES gem, the Adventures of Lolo puzzle game franchise should find new life on Switch 2. Yes, you can play the original game on Switch Online, but imagine the level of detail that could be applied to the franchise's puzzle formula. The people may not even know they want Lolo, but we all need more Lolo. It's time for Nintendo and Hal Laboratory to do the needful and revive this once great puzzle game series.

Mario Paint

This 90s throwback is precisely the kind of game that we could see Nintendo wanting to bring out of the cellar and reimagine for a new era. There is an entire generation of children who have not only never played Mario Paint; they haven’t even heard of it. If the Switch 2 uses any sort of stylus, mouse, or just wants to give us an excuse to use the touchscreen, Mario Paint would be a fun way to get everyone’s creative juices flowing.

Eternal Darkness

Eternal Darkness is one of the rare instances of Nintendo dipping its toe into more mature-leaning content. One of the biggest departures that the Switch made was targeting an older demographic of gamers, so what better time to revive the GameCube horror IP? Nintendo didn’t develop the original Eternal Darkness, and they could partner with a talented third-party studio to bring it back.

Pushmo

The Pushmo series is among the most underappreciated puzzle series in gaming today and it's been far too long since Nintendo has released one of these games. For those who may not remember these games, the original Pushmo was released as a digital-only 3DS eShop title in 2011. Put together by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, the idea was to help main character Mallo reach trapped children by pulling out giant structure pieces and platforming from place-to-place. It was a deceptively simple premise and one that allowed for custom creations.

Pushmo caught on through word-of-mouth, which led to sequels like the 3DS' Crashmo and the Wii U's Pushmo World. Unfortunately, Pushmo appears to be a thing of the past, as the last game in the series (Stretchmo) was released on the 3DS back in 2015. With a full decade having passed, the time is certainly right for Mallo to make a comeback with a new Pushmo title.

Captain Toad

To be honest, it's absolutely bonkers that we haven't seen more of Captain Toad in recent years. What started as a silly minigame in Super Mario 3D World was so beloved it grew its own legs and got its own game with Treasure Tracker on the Wii U. That game also got ported to the Switch in 2018, but it feels like a really fun idea that's kind of just been left behind. And that's weird considering how much folks love Captain Toad. It's even weirder when you think about how prominent the main Toad in The Super Mario Bros. Movie portrayed by Keegan-Michael Key was. Yeah, they don't outright call him Captain Toad, but come on. He's pretty captainly. With that in mind, we want our captain back in the Switch 2 generation. There's still puzzles to solve and treasure to track!

Those are the Nintendo franchises that we’d love to see on the Switch 2. While it’d be ambitious to expect all of them to make a comeback, surely we’ll see at least a few, right?

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_