Your favorite year for Switch?

[Kippito]

Just looked through my Switch collection and reminisced about my life over the last 5 years and how the Switch fits into it. I started putting the games in chronological order (the order I personally obtained them)

2018
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Super Mario Party
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Super Mario Odyssey

2019
Tetris 99
Friday the 13th The Game

2020
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Luigi's Mansion 3
Paper Mario - The Origami King
Star Wars Episode I Racer

2021
Dragon Ball Z Kakarot
Mario Party Superstars

2022
Grand Theft Auto Trilogy
Lego Star Wars - The Skywalker Saga

Even though 2019 was the year that added the least to my collection, I can't help but feel grateful that I had my Switch and those two Online games to help me get through a horrifically tough time in my life. 2019 probably takes the cake for my favorite Switch year! Now it's about to be April 2023 and there's absolutely nothing on the horizon that I'm looking forward to playing! Maybe that's all she wrote!

What about you all? Do you have a specific year where you felt owning a Switch meant more to you?

[Steelmaker]

As somebody who bought it at launch, the first year is the only one I would consider great. The rest of them have either been ok or disappointing.

Year 1:

Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Super Mario Odyssey
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Splatoon 2
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Fast RMX
Snipperclips
Arms

And I know I'm leaving some out. There has been NO OTHER year in the Switch's life cycle that's come close to the launch year.

[dyne]

Going by some first party and "AAA" NA releases, bold being what I bought

2017 had Arms, MK8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and BotW

2018 had Bayo 1/2, Captain Toad, DKC:TF, Octopath Traveler, Torna

2019 had Astral Chain, FE Three Houses, Luigi's Mansion 3, NSMBU Deluxe, Super Mario Maker 2, Yoshi's Crafted World

2020 had Animal Crossing, Hyrule Warriors, Paper Mario: TOK, Pikmin 3 Deluxe, Super Mario 3D All Stars, Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE, XC's Definitive Edition

2021 had Bravely Default 2, Metroid Dread, Supermario 3D World + B'sF, TLoZ: Skyward Sword

2022 had Bayo 3, Kirby and TFL, Splatoon 3

As far as what year was "best" from this list I would have to say the first was packed. I have a decent Wii U library and skipped all of the rereleases except Captain Toad, MK8 (once the dlc hit) and Tokyo Mirage Sessions.

That being said my "retro" and indie selection on Switch is MASSIVE and that's too much of a list to pin down which year was best.

[ChadFL]

I have a spreadsheet of Nintendo 1st (and quasi-1st) party games on the Switch by year and Metacritic score. Note - these are by North America release year. I've edited the list to include only games >80 on Metacritic.

So, basing it purely off the 1st party games, the answer seems obvious to me - launch year 2017. Nintendo dropped their two biggest 3D games of this generation (until Tears of the Kingdom) in Odyssey and BOTW, and also released Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Throw in Splatoon and Xenoblade 2 for good measure. The other years are for the most part fairly similar to me.

I would put 2022 as the worst year. It's seemed clear to me for awhile that Nintendo has been holding back this past year and change for their next console.

2017:
Super Mario Odyssey 97
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 97
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 92
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle 85
Splatoon 2 83
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 83

2018:
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 93
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze 86
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker 82
Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee! 80
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country 80

2019:
Fire Emblem: Three Houses 89
Super Mario Maker 2 88
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening 87
Luigi's Mansion 3 86
Ring Fit Adventure 83
Tetris 99 83
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe 80
Pokemon Shield/Sword 80

2020:
Animal Crossing: New Horizons 90
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition 89
Pikmin 3 Deluxe 85
Super Mario 3D All-Stars 82
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE 81
Paper Mario: The Origami King 80

2021:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD 93
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury 89
Metroid Dread 88
Mario Party Superstars 80

2022:
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 89
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope 86
Kirby and the Forgotten Land 85
Pokemon Legends: Arceus 83
Splatoon 3 83
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes 81

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

I have a spreadsheet of Nintendo 1st (and quasi-1st) party games on the Switch by year and Metacritic score. Note - these are by North America release year. I've edited the list to include only games >75 on Metacritic.

So, basing it purely off the 1st party games, the answer seems obvious to me - launch year 2017. Nintendo dropped their two biggest 3D games of this generation (until Tears of the Kingdom) in Odyssey and BOTW, and also released Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Throw in Splatoon and Xenoblade 2 for good measure. The other years are for the most part fairly similar to me.

I would put 2022 as the worst year. It's seemed clear to me for awhile that Nintendo has been holding back this past year and change for their next console.

2017:
Super Mario Odyssey 97
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 97
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 92
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle 85
Splatoon 2 83
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 83

2018:
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 93
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze 86
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker 82
Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee! 80
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country 80

2019:
Fire Emblem: Three Houses 89
Super Mario Maker 2 88
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening 87
Luigi's Mansion 3 86
Ring Fit Adventure 83
Tetris 99 83
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe 80
Pokemon Shield/Sword 80

2020:
Animal Crossing: New Horizons 90
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition 89
Pikmin 3 Deluxe 85
Super Mario 3D All-Stars 82
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE 81
Paper Mario: The Origami King 80

2021:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD 93
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury 89
Metroid Dread 88
Mario Party Superstars 80

2022:
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 89
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope 86
Kirby and the Forgotten Land 85
Pokemon Legends: Arceus 83
Splatoon 3 83
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes 81

For 2017 you left off Arms, 1-2 Switch, and while not 1st party, you also had the very underrated exclusives Fast RMX and Golf Story.

2017 was by far the Switch's best year and its not close which...honestly is kind of sad.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

For 2017 you left off Arms, 1-2 Switch, and while not 1st party, you also had the very underrated exclusives Fast RMX and Golf Story.

2017 was by far the Switch's best year and its not close which...honestly is kind of sad.

I did leave them off. I ended up only including games with an 80+ on Metacritic both for not wanting to make the post too long and because I wanted to limit it to the best Switch games. But yes, if I didn't omit the lower scored Nintendo games, 2017 would have included Arms, among others. There were quite a few good 3rd party titles that year as well.

I haven't looked at 3rd party releases by year very much, but the gap between 2017 and the rest probably closes with those factored in. Seemed like it took developers a little more time than Nintendo to pump out great titles, so from 2018 onward was when the better 3rd party games came out.

[bradnoyes]

As often is the case with Nintendo systems, the launch year of the Switch was by far the best. To this day the first year of the GameCube is probably still my favorite year of gaming. Smash Bros. Melee, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, REmake, Eternal Darkness, Luigi's Mansion, Rogue Squadron...so many good games. At Wind Waker fell just outside the launch year. It was all downhill from there.

[ThisIsJonny]

Tbh, at least for me, the Switch has been underwhelming overall.

I basically have it only for exclusives (Mario, Pokémon, Zelda, etc).

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by bradnoyes

As often is the case with Nintendo systems, the launch year of the Switch was by far the best. To this day the first year of the GameCube is probably still my favorite year of gaming. Smash Bros. Melee, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, REmake, Eternal Darkness, Luigi's Mansion, Rogue Squadron...so many good games. At Wind Waker fell just outside the launch year. It was all downhill from there.

Given how the Switch lineup post-Tears of the Kingdom is all but non-existent, I suspect the first year of the Switch successor will likewise be its strongest 1st party year. Seems clear Nintendo is saving all of its upcoming announcements for the next console.

On the positive side, Nintendo consoles usually gets the better 3rd party games after the 1st year. The Switch was certainly that way, which made up for the lack of great 1st party titles after launch.

[xbs2034]

I feel like 2017 was the only weak year (first party wise the first compelling exclusive was Mario Odyssey as the others were also on Wii U or just didn’t interest me, and third party support was way more limited as some companies were naturally hesitant about supporting it after Wii U’s flop), but ever since then it’s had a ton of games every year. I guess I’ll say 2019 was my favorite year overall though.