1080° Snowboarding will provide plenty of entertainment, particularly in two-player mode. The controls do a good job of making you feel like you are weaving, sliding and jumping your way down snowy courses, whilst sound effects, rumble and decent animation help enhance this experience. The main problem is the low number of tracks and competing against a single opponent makes playing the courses in Match Race similar to just tackling them in Time Trial. The tracks are very enjoyable to play, whether alone or with a friend, and the other game modes add some variety. This is still one of the best snowboarding games around, but if you're flying solo then you might want to consider something with a bit more meat on the bone.
Wave Race 64 is a game with subtle, simple controls that still feels fantastic, and great water physics that combine with effective audio to immerse you in the action as you speed around on the water. It's thoroughly enjoyable to play through the Championship and further thrills and, yes, spills, can be found in the Stunt mode and Time Trials, the latter offering plenty of replay value. Throw in the ability to race a friend in two-player mode and Wave Race 64 is almost as impressive now as it was in the '90s. Highly recommended.
Sitting in a vehicle moving along a set path as you take photographs might not seem like much fun, but Pokémon Snap quickly proves to be a highly enjoyable, if short-lived, experience. The quest to find a few more Pokémon or score better to open up new stages or get a useful item keeps you engaged for the game's brief duration and the variety of creatures and their actions keeps things interesting when replaying stages. There are only 63 Pokémon to find, and it can be cleared very quickly, but there's plenty of opportunity for new and improved (or funnier) photos with each playthrough. There may not be much reason for an immediate return once you have snapped 'em all, but whenever you do, this spin-off's inhabitants will surely bring a smile to your face.
With 30 racing craft and 24 exciting tracks, there's a lot of fun to be had with F-Zero X. An enjoyable multiplayer mode, the crazy unpredictable nature of the X Cup and trying to improve your times in the Time Attack and Death Race modes all add to the replayability. The visuals can look a bit basic at times, but the smooth frame rate and the speed at which you're hurtling around the tracks help to make up for this. If you are in any way a fan of the racing genre this game cannot be recommended any more highly. It's one of the finest non-Mario games that Nintendo has ever made and deserves your attention. Dare we say it? This is the best game in the F-Zero series.
Majora's Mask is a rich, complicated game and quite distinct from its predecessor despite appearances. As with Ocarina, the existence of the 3DS remaster only serves to highlight the game design shortcomings of the N64 original, but even if that updated version remains the 'easiest' way to get into the game - especially for newcomers - that doesn't render the original version 'unplayable' or undesirable. The fact is Majora's Mask is still magnificent, delivering the usual Zelda blend of action and adventure through a skewed, surreal lens that feels thrilling to this day and remains unique in the series. With music, visuals and characters that create an incredible mood, Majora's Mask turns watching the end of the world approach into a pleasurable experience.
For those who never got to experience the game back in the '90s there was always the chance that EarthBound was over-hyped bobbins, a game that couldn't possibly live up to its reputation as a quirky, 16-bit masterpiece. However, as so many have discovered in the years since it's become more widely available, Mother 2 (as the coolest kids call it) is still a touching, engaging, genuinely brilliant adventure to go on - a lengthy experience that's wonderfully humorous and fun from start to finish. It remains an absolute must-play for any Nintendo fan and fortunately it's much easier to play nowadays than it was for a long time. If you've never had the pleasure, get stuck in immediately and finally understand why bands of fans won't pipe down about Mother 3.
Granted, the Switch certainly isn't short of shooters (or even decent shooters, for that matter), but Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax nevertheless is worth a look; it's an incredibly fun and action-packed game that you can enjoy with up to three friends and boasts plenty of options that can be tweaked to make the experience as easy or challenging as you'd like. Throw in some engaging extra modes, great presentation and a healthy dose of self-aware humour and you've got a package that will keep you entertained for quite some time. Fans of the genre should definitely check this one out.
You have to grind for upgrades and replay stages to ensure you've met the requirements to unlock the next, but Sky Force Anniversary keeps the action entertaining. Trying to acquire each of the medals on.
Overall, Prehistoric Isle 2 can provide some fun, but we wouldn't class this as a 'must-play' title amongst the many shmups currently on Switch.
There are already a number of Hi-Score chasers on Switch, but Arcade Archives Sky Skipper has gained attention because it's such a rare title.
SNK's The Super Spy is an impressive looking game for its time, providing first-person action as you work through floors of terrorists, fighting your way to victory.
Other instalments provide a fuller experience and, even if this particular take appeals, it was soon improved upon by its Special update. Samurai Shodown V can still provide fighting fun, but with so many decent fighting games already on Switch it is far from a must download.
It plays a lot like the other Psikyo shmups that are on Switch, but that's no bad thing considering how well put together they are. Gunbird 2 also adds a risky close-range move and some new point scoring opportunities. Finding ways to improve your score adds replayability, but even if you have no interest in high-score chasing there's a lot of fun to be had here. There are multiple endings courtesy of the wacky cast of characters and a good range of enemies, while the frantic action and a number of options to consider when attacking make each playthrough an enjoyable experience, whether playing alone or with a friend. Gunbird 2 joins the growing list of great shmups on Switch, and shouldn't be missed if you're a fan of the genre.
Despite being a useful tool in your training, Pocket Rumble's arcade mode is slight, but in multiplayer the game excels thanks to a diverse (albeit small) lineup of characters. Fighting games can be complicated things, off-putting to newcomers with their wide array of moves and techniques, but Cardboard Robot Games has crafted a fun and easy to learn experience here, bundled up in a wonderfully nostalgic audio-visual imitation of the old Neo Geo Pocket Color brawlers. By employing just two attack buttons and simplifying the special moves, it may not offer as much depth as some fighting games, but there's still enough to keep even a genre veteran happy here. As newcomer friendly as the game is, timing and correct move choice are still key, so experience is undoubtably a factor. Working well with any controller, the game is good fun and perfectly suited for quick bursts of play, whether that be in online battles or playing tabletop against friends. Admittedly the Switch is not short of decent fighting games, but Pocket Rumble still provides great entertainment.
Like most fighters in the ACA Neo Geo range, there isn't much appeal in the Hi Score or Caravan modes, but that doesn't really matter when the regular game is so enjoyable. Like its predecessor, The Last Blade 2 seemingly simple combat system has a lot of depth allowing for plenty of options in fights with the good selection of fighters and different fighting modes.
Should the many re-releases of the NES version failed to have impressed, there's nothing here that will win you over, but for fans of the game, Arcade Archives Donkey Kong is something of an ultimate release.
The 19 (plus four) characters provide a good variety of options for the fighting and the battles are as fun as ever thanks to the usual range of offensive options and evasive manoeuvres. The fun out of bounds victories from the first Real Bout game have gone and there's been a change to the multi-plane system, but there's still plenty of fighting thrills to be had here. Real Bout 2 is ultimately a better game, but Real Bout Fatal Fury Special is still a solid fighter that can provide plenty of entertainment.
Samurai Shodown III feels like a step back compared to the second game with characters dropped and some fights ending quickly; strange compared to the slower (but exciting) pace of before.
Though perfectly functional, the controls of Ninja-Kid do not always feel natural, sometimes requiring thought to perform the required actions. Get going, however, and the variety of enemies and different tactics employed to eliminate those enemies makes for some enjoyable gameplay .As the challenge increases, survival gets quite samey at the beginning of the stages, but Arcade Archives Kid-Ninja still provides a fun highscore-chasing challenge.
Sengoku 3 ditches the nifty character-switching ability of the previous instalments, but makes up for it with a wide-array of attacking options. Gameplay remains straightforward, but it's immensely satisfying to string together attacks to take out the waves of enemy forces. Decent presentation and good enemy variety (and their different attacks) leads to enjoyable playthroughs whether solo or with a friend. For Switch-owning fighting fans, Sengoku 3 is an excellent choice of scrolling beat 'em up.