Summary
Nintendohas become known forpushing the boundaries of gaming into bold new spheresall the way back since its entry into the video game market in the 1970s. Arguably no company has done more for the now multi-billion dollar industry, helping establish both home console and handheld gaming with their innovative designs.
These risky innovations haven’t always paid off, with notable missteps such as theVirtual Boy, thePower Gloveand, more recently, theWii U.Nintendoset themselves back on course in impressive fashion with theNintendo Switch,but that didn’t mean they were done experimenting. These games, exclusive to theNintendo Switch,stand out for their novelty, ingenuity, and experimental nature.
Probably the most popular game on this list,Tetris 99created quite a splash with puzzle fans when it launched onNintendo Switchin 2019. The iconic game ofTetrisis synonymous withNintendo’s success ever since being packaged with the originalGame Boyback in 1984.
Still, the idea ofreenvisioning it to chase the battle royale trendseemed like a pretty esoteric one, but the end result was greater than the sum of its parts.Nintendohas tried to recapture that formula with other popular classics, but none proved quite as good asTetris 99.
HAL Laboratoryis one ofNintendo’s most trusted development partners, being the team behind theKirbyseriesand the originalSuper Smash Bros.series. They have a few other less notable properties, the most significant being theDS-exclusive seriesBoxBoy!
Theplucky puzzler made its leap toSwitchlike so many other handheld exclusives withBoxBoy! + BoxGirl!The game essentially involves the protagonists extending and dropping off parts of their cube-shaped bodies to solve a series of puzzles.
Another lesser-knownNintendoseries,Endless Ocean Luminoustargets a serene and relaxing experience. Players are meant to bedrawn in with the promise of exploration,but the overall structure of the game is a lot more directionless than players are typically used to.
The primary objective is to document all the wildlife in the ocean — similar to games likePokemon Snap butwithout the fantastical elements. It’s a pretty zen endeavor, but it’s certainly not for everyone.
Most likely intended as the next evolution in the incredibly lucrativeNintendogsseries,Little Friends: Cats & Dogsdidn’t quite reach that lofty bar despite an improvement in graphics and gameplay features.
Like its inspiration,Little Friends: Cats & Dogsis avirtual pet simulator,with players able to design their ideal companion and then take care of them. Gameplay revolves around ensuring they have enough food and taking them for walks — and dressing them up in dapper outfits (of course).
5Butto Bird
Animated Aerial Conflict
The mechanics ofButto Birdaren’t especially experimental; it’s a fairly accessible dogfighting game, consisting of evasive flying maneuvers and firing weapons. Where the developers did take a bit of a punt on finding a target audience was in the outlandish theme and art style.
Players take control of a bird with a minigun strapped to its back to compete in the various PVP modes.Butto Birdcertainly has a lot of flair and character beyond what is typical of the genre.
1-2-Switchwas essentially designed as a tech demo toshowcase all the features of the consoleand the innovative ways developers could use the Joy-Con controllers. Sadly, much like theWii U, third-party developers ignored many of the quirky options, leaving it as nothing more than a bare-bones party experience.
The subsequent sequel,Everybody 1-2-Switch,attempted to capitalize on the trend of large multiplayer experiences and social media content to elevate the experience, but this ultimately fell flat as well.
Nintendohad such high hopes forArms,releasing it very early on in theSwitch’s life-cycle, hoping to capture a dedicated player base to rival the likes ofSplatoonor evenOverwatch. It is a very innovative fighting game with a high-skill ceiling, but it ultimately failed to find enough of an audience.
The fighting game community largely rejected the central game mechanics, which were built around theSwitch’s motion controls. Although it was one of the best implementations of motion controls, that ship had somewhat sailed with theWii,andArmswas unfortunately doomed to be another failed experiment.
2Battle Calculator
Time Attack Arithmetic
An obscure pull for sure, but how could it go without mention? Similar to the number round of classic British quiz showCountdown,Battle Calculatorgenerates a random number that players must then race to input an equation that equals that number exactly.
There are two main modes: head-to-head, which supports up to four players, and a time attack mode in which solo players are put on a strict time limit. The calculator includes a host of advanced mathematical operations and integers, allowing adept players to input quick shortcuts to victory.
Nintendo Labois not only the most ambitious experiment withSwitchhardware; it’s the most disappointing that it didn’t find an audience either, as the possibilities were boundless. TheNintendo-designed sets included punchboards that could be assembled into a fishing rod, a camera, a fully functional piano — even a VR headset — and much more.
Fans didn’t take much to the aesthetic, but it was a truly impressive feat.What hurts the most is the untapped potential, with the usually protective Nintendo inviting fans to try out their own creations. The software allowed players to develop their own programs, and as the cardboard accessories proved, practically any periphery could be home designed to maximize the experience.
