The Nintendo Switchs best feature? Letting me play all the games that came before it

Date:
Sat, 05 Mar 2022 14:00:29 +0000

Description:
Only with Nintendos newest console could I play the classic NES and SNES
games of old.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

The Nintendo Switch is the Swiss army knife of games consoles. Its a portable handheld, as well as a home box. It caters just as well to kid-friendly platformers and gut-wrenching shoot em ups, as it does to turn-based strategy games.

For me, one of the Nintendo Switch s greatest triumph has been introducing me to all the games that came before it. I wasnt born for the classic Nintendo era. The original Metroid, Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong Country, and all the other iconic games Nintendo super fans talk about to this day, have always looked ancient to me. I can appreciate they have a place in gaming history, but I never played them with my own hands.

The Switch changed that. Nintendo Switch Online comes bundled with a library of NES and SNES classics. The original Mario games are there, the first few Zeldas, Star Fox, Ninja Gaiden, EarthBound, F-Zero, and more. Its a greatest-hits of Nintendo that has dragged me into the world of 8- and 16-bit gaming. Easy access (Image credit: Nintendo)

Its so easy to start playing these Nintendo classics. Theres no fiddly (and likely illegal) emulator to install, no hardware to buy. If I have a sudden craving for 2D platforming, I can load the SNES app thats already installed
on my Switchs home screen, and boot up Super Metroid in seconds. With the games ready and waiting, Ive no excuse to avoid them, or inconvenient installation work to get through just to get them running on modern hardware.

Theyre cheap, too. So long as you keep up your Nintendo Switch Online subscription, which is more affordable than its rivals, youll have access to them for as long as you want. They might not be free, but they're pretty
close to it.

Besides ease of access, the portability of the Switch has kept me coming back for more SNES goodness time and again. The ability to pick up and put down
the games whenever I want means Im engrossed in them. When Draygon pincers me to death for the fifth time in Super Metroid, I dont need to throw my controller across the room in disgust. I can step away from Samuss troubles
to pick up the game later, during a convenient moment cooking dinner, or sitting idly on the sofa. The easier a game is for me to access, the more likely Ill actually dive in. No better alternative (Image credit: Shutterstock/Vantage_DS)

The Switch isnt the only way to play older Nintendo games. The popular SNES and NES microconsoles that launched in 2016 both came bundled with a collection of built-in games, spanning most of the classics and some that are yet to be ported to the Switch. The cute replica models were praised for bringing the games to a modern audience, and faithfully emulating them for
new players to experience for the first time.

But that ship has sailed. Nintendo halted production of both mini consoles in December 2018, meaning you have to pay a pretty penny on the second-hand market, or pay through the nose at a retailer to pick them up now. Even if they were still affordable, Im not sure theyd be my platform of choice. I
want to play the classic Nintendo games I missed out on, not experience every dated design flaw of the consoles. Id much rather use the Switchs Joy Cons than the NESs rigid, oblong controller to stamp on Goombas. A better way to play (Image credit: Nintendo)

For the most part, the Switch ports are faithful adaptations, but they do introduce one essential feature I couldnt do without. Taking a nod from the emulators Ive disparaged above, each includes an overlaid save state system that lets you record your progress wherever you are. That means you wont lose hours of progress after a pesky Bobo drops you to zero health Kirbys Dream Land, or be forced to replay an entire level because one, tiny, honest platforming mistake has sent you back to the beginning.

Although certainly a product of contemporary gaming, which is, for the most part, more forgiving than the NES and SNES games of old, Im a willful user
and abuser of save states. Weve moved on from finite lives and painfully unforgiving level design. Even games like Elden Ring, which make their brutality central to their appeal, are meticulously designed so as never to feel unfair. Use as many save states as you want, I say. I wouldnt be playing older games without them. Game preservation (Image credit: Nintendo)

As much as the Switch has encouraged me to explore Nintendos back catalog,
the publisher is no hero of game preservation. Its decision to close the Wii
U and 3DS eShops by next March will effectively remove access to many older games that arent available elsewhere. Hundreds of NES and SNES games are currently available on the digital storefronts, many of which arent listed in the Switchs comparatively meager collection of classic titles. When the
eShops disappear next year, those games, and many other download-only indie gems, will go within them.

I may never have got around to playing them, but Ill be sad to see them go. The Nintendo Switch opened the door to 8- and 16-bit gaming for me by
lowering the barrier of entry. Heres hoping Nintendo keeps porting classics
to the Switch and sees the value in historical accessibility. Find the best Nintendo Switch games



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/the-nintendo-switchs-best-feature-letting-me-pl ay-all-the-games-that-came-before-it/


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