There are a *ton* of games I played before on different consoles that I would pay for again if they were ported to Nintendo Switch. I absolutely loved these games, so I’d pretty much throw money at the companies involved if they brought the games to Switch. (I’ve also included one indie game that I’d love to play for the first time.)
Golden Sun
I very fondly remember seeing the cover art for Golden Sun on the GameBoy Advance when I was with my dad at an electronics store as a child. I instantly gravitated towards it, and I’m so glad I did. Golden Sun is one of my comfort series that I go back to over and over again. I love the art, the concept of using Psynergy (special elemental abilities) both in battle and to solve puzzles in the environment, and the fantastic music by Motoi Sakuraba.
Unfortunately, we were left hanging with a cliffhanger with the ending of the third entry in the series, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. It’s been over a decade, but the Golden Sun fan base is still going strong. There was even an event on Twitter for the 20th anniversary!
Ever since the Switch came out, when I watch Nintendo Directs, I get massively disappointed not seeing an announcement for a port of the first three games in the series plus a conclusion to it as well. I’d shell out a ridiculous amount of money for a special edition with plushies, figures, and other miscellaneous merchandise. Some awesome individuals have made mock-ups of ideas for special editions.
I’ll continue to hope for Golden Sun to make its way to Switch. It may be a long shot, but there are a ton of fans who’d love to see it.
Tokyo Xanadu
I mention this a lot, but I’m usually terrible at action based combat. I generally compensate for this by grinding until I’m over-leveled by about 10 levels. (Unless the game doesn’t use leveling… 😭) Tokyo Xanadu does have a leveling system, thankfully, and it’s one of my favorite games. I played it on my Vita, and it reminded me of the Persona series a little bit in that you play as a high school student who joins a team to resolve a sort of supernatural mystery. You socialize with your teammates during free time, and help NPCs by completing quests. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, but I wish I’d gotten a chance to play the enhanced eX+ version on my portable consoles.
Stella Glow
A very music-focused game, Stella Glow is a tactical RPG in which you must gather the few remaining Witches, who are the only people capable of using song magic to break a curse. The game reminded me of the Luminous Arc series. I loved the voice acting and of course the music was fantastic as well. It has a standard ending and a true ending, in addition to fourteen individual endings that you can obtain on top of the standard or true ending by maxing out a character’s affinity levels. I don’t see many people mention this one, but it’s still one of my favorites.
Persona
The Persona series is one of my absolute favorite series. I’m fairly certain this must be one of the most requested series for being ported to Switch. The music tends to be very “toe tapping” – there’s a reason we got three different rhythm games for the series, after all – and it has one of my favorite systems for interpersonal relationships. My favorite is probably 4, as that one has my favorite cast overall. I first played 3 on the PSP, and so I played the version with the option to play as the female protagonist. I want to see at least 3, 4, and 5 ported to Switch with added female protagonists for 4 and 5. It is a little strange to me that we had a female protagonist in the older game and they did not continue with that in the newer games. I’ve always liked seeing the mythology behind the series’ Personas, and the trivia I learned from the school segments was fascinating (some of which were obscure Japanese references). Persona 5 Strikers is available on Switch, so perhaps there’s hope for the main games?
Trails/Kiseki
We already have The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III and IV on Switch, but we still need the first two (I played them on Vita but like having a complete series on the same console and would pay for them again). I also would adore the complete Trails in the Sky series on Switch; I was only able to play the first two games in the series on PSP and Vita. The Kiseki universe is enormous, and has interconnected plot and characters. They are incredibly immersive experiences, with a large amount of character interactions between not only the main cast but the NPCs as well. I cried at the end of the first Trails in the Sky because I got so attached to the characters and the ending was dramatic (not so much traumatic).
We are also extremely fortunate to have additional Trails games coming to Switch (Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure) thanks to the Geofront Fan Translation Team and NISA! We’ll also be getting Trails into Reverie and Boundless Trails.
I’m grateful for the content we’ll be getting for the series in the near future, and hope to see even more on Switch someday soon.
Tales
Tales of Phantasia was my first Tales game. I loved it, and bought the DVD for the Anime as well as some of the figures. I really liked the art and the music (also composed by Motoi Sakuraba!), and although I usually prefer turn based games, I enjoyed playing Tales of Phantasia. I’ve played a few other Tales games before, and was saddened to not see Tales of Arise on Switch. I hope to see an announcement for it at some point, but we’ll have to see what happens there.
Chaos Rings
Chaos Rings was first released on smartphones back in 2010, and that’s how I first played it. The battle system was turn-based, and it had an interesting “genes” system where you had a chance of acquiring a monster’s gene/ability after defeating it. You’d then equip that gene and be able to use the ability associated with it. (I guess it’s a little like Blue Mages in Final Fantasy, which would make sense since this series was also published by Square Enix.) There were multiple games in the series, and the first one was available in the West on Vita at one point through PlayStation Mobile (which is unfortunately no longer available – thankfully I still have it downloaded on my Vita 😉). It looks like you can still get the third one on iOS at least, but in the interest of game preservation and fun, I’d like to see all of the games come to Switch.
Fate/Extra
We’ve got Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star on Switch, as well as Everyday 🎶 Today’s MENU for EMIYA Family, but I’m still waiting on Fate/Extra. I first played it on PSP and bought it again on Vita. And I’d buy it again on Switch. The game had you choose your character’s gender, and you would also choose your “servant,” which is a spirit of sorts who was a major historical figure in their lifetime. You choose between the Saber, Archer, or Caster classes, which will also somewhat impact the difficulty level, and you’ll battle other “masters” in a virtual world for the Holy Grail. Battles consist of six-turn-per-round “rock-paper-scissors” combat where you initially have to guess what your opponent will choose for their turn unless you have beaten that enemy repeatedly or gathered sufficient information on them. I feel like there’s at least a chance for this to come to Switch, given that there are already two games from the Fate series on the console.
Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time
Another game that I played on PSP and enjoyed enough to purchase again on Vita, Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time is another title I would gladly pay for a third time on Switch. I really liked the character interactions that eventually led to individual character endings for the game. (Apparently there are more than forty different endings! 😮) I also liked having cute little fairies called “familiars” that could assist you in battle; depending on which familiar you create, they’ll have a different personality. You use their skills in battle and they can scan enemies, block attacks, and more. The system for learning abilities was another aspect of the game that I enjoyed; you’d acquire spellstones and equip them on a character. You could equip multiple copies of a spellstone to learn the skill faster, and then other characters could use the stones. The art was really pretty, too. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen a new entry since this was ported to the PSP in 2012.
Suikoden
If I remember correctly, my first Suikoden game was Suikoden Tierkreis on the DS. Eventually, I played I and II on PSP/Vita as a PSOne Classic. I really enjoy – or at least don’t mind – grinding for levels or collecting a bunch of items (or even party members). You can gather up to 108 characters for your party in this series, which I didn’t mind too much, although the character development could have used some work. I really love turn based RPGs, and the Suikoden series is a classic. I felt it was pretty unique with the castle level upgrades and character recruitment.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony is yet another classic game remake that I first played on the PSP. I still have my physical guide for the game. I really liked the character design, both in terms of the portraits and the sprites. I thought it was a cute game, and it was fairly short for a JRPG at about 30 hours, which can be a real plus if you’re short on time.
Mega Man Battle Network
My brother played the Mega Man series first when we were kids, and I saw him playing Battle Network at one point and thought it looked really neat. (It was indeed.) I loved having Lan explore the real world while Mega Man got things done in the virtual world. You use different “Battle Chips” in a deck of sorts to defeat viruses in the virtual world, and you could also battle other NetNavi/AI avatars. The series was so successful that there were six games published plus some side games. I’d buy them all again in a heartbeat for Switch.
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
I played the PSP remake of Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (and I still have the decent sized paperback guide for this one, too). One of my favorite features of this tactical RPG is the CHARIOT system, where you could rewind battles and create split timelines with the different choices you make. You can end up with the Lawful, Chaotic, or Neutral routes depending on your decisions. I also like games that let you change your characters’ classes, and this game has a decent amount of classes – with some locked behind different routes! 😯 It’s a cool game and I enjoyed it.
Utawarerumono
I don’t cry about much, but I sobbed at some of the events that occurred in this tactics RPG/visual novel combination of a series. I played Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth on my Vita, and it’s a very emotional, gut-wrenching series that gets you attached to the characters and then has bad things happen to them. Despite the emotional roller coaster the series put me through, I’d still grab a box of tissues and set them down next to me in preparation for playing the games all over again on Switch.
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Another Story
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone say they’d like this game on Switch, and it seems super unlikely for it to happen, but you never know – the revival of the Sailor Moon series could make some Switch game happen. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Another Story was a turn based RPG for the SNES released in 1995. In terms of other Sailor Moon video games, there were other SNES and Gameboy games, but more recently there was a bizarre Italian exclusive DS game in 2011 called Sailor Moon: La Luna Splende, which was a strange puzzle/platformer game. If they made that happen, surely there’s hope for Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Another Story or just a Sailor Moon game in general? 🥺🌙
BattleCakes
This is the only indie on this list, and it was a game I instantly thought of when I decided to write this article. I was sad to not see it coming to Switch (yet?) because it looks adorable. BattleCakes is an RPG where you play as a (customizable) cupcake who engages in turn based combat against their opponents. There’s a mechanic called “Battle or Befriend,” which, as the name implies, allows you to (not) choose violence against enemies – including bosses! It looks ridiculously wholesome and sweet. I’d love to be able to play this, but it’s currently only available on PC/Mac/Xbox One. 😢 🧁
Now I really want to replay every single one of these after writing this article and taking a stroll down memory lane. We’ll see if I can make the time – I may get out my PS Vita and DS Lite (with the GBA slot) and play them again! 🥰
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