Well, apparently someone out there must have been reading my articles as two game franchises from my first list (Bioshock and XCOM) are officially coming to the Switch soon. So I figured this would be a great time to talk about 3 more gaming franchise that I would love to see brought to the Nintendo Switch. This is my third list, but make sure you check out my first and second lists as well. Without further ado, let’s jump into this!
3. Jet Set Radio Series
The Jet Set Radio games are an action and sports series of games that has remained a cult favorite with it’s fans. Jet Set Radio and it’s sequel Jet Set Radio Future take place in a dystopian future where corporations use military police to suppress expression and free speech as gangs try to fight back by covering the city with their art. The games follow the adventures of the roller-skating graffiti gang called the GGs led by the main protagonist Beat as they seek to become the top gang in the city of Tokyo-to.
The game play had a blend of roller skating, platforming, and graffiti which resulted in a unique, yet fun experience. As Beat or another member of the GG gang, you get the chance to tag various parts of the city while enjoying the easy to learn skate maneuvers that allowed you to pull off various tricks with ease. The controls were not perfect as floaty controls made platforming difficult, it was solid in every other aspect.
Players also get the chance to recruit more members to the GG gang by taking them on in a competition involving copying tricks their opponent pulls off along with tagging them with graffiti several times. Some levels are also primarily composed of rails and surfaces that the character can grind focusing more on allowing players to rack up high scores and pull off flashy tricks. You also get to take on rival gangs, police, and even military opponents in your quest to tag the city of Tokyo-to for the GGs.
Jet Set Radio’s art style was a blend of cell shading and anime that was gorgeous. The game perfectly captures the look and feel of a futuristic Tokyo while simultaneously capturing the oppressive feel of a city ruled by fascism. Most of all, I loved the various tags that you get to paint the city with as you unlock a variety of different artwork over your play through.
The music of Jet Set Radio was probably my favorite thing about the game. As the series is named after the pirate radio station that blast tunes in Tokyo-to. Soundtracks for both games were full of catchy tunes that remain on my playlist to this day.
As of now, this franchise has been dead for 17 years. There was talk of a revival a few years back, but ultimately Sega shot it down. Since my only option for playing these games are on Dreamcast or X-Box, I would love to be able to play this series on the Nintendo Switch,
2. Fallout (Bethesda)
Fallout by Bethesda is a game that needs little to no introduction. The Fallout series under Bethesda has sold millions of copies over various system over the past decade. Outside of the mess that was Fallout 76, this franchise has been one of the most popular in recent years.
The Fallout series is all about choice no matter how absurd the decisions made by the player. Do you want to rescue a caravan of merchants being attacked by raiders? Be a hero and save the day. Or maybe you would prefer to set off a nuke wiping an entire city from the face of the earth. You can do that as well. The possibilities are endless with the Fallout games ensuring everyone has an experience unique to them.
Aside from the RPG and story elements of the series, Fallout’s gameplay is addictive. Players can either play the game like a traditional first-person shooter or they can utilize the V.A.T.S. system which allows you to stop time and aim at the weak points of enemies to varying degrees of success depending on many different factors. Exploring dungeons for new weapons and armor never gets old as you are constantly finding interesting and sometimes absurd items at each location. Later games even allow players to build their own bases consisting of trash and scraps found in the game’s world.
The fact this series hasn’t been ported to the Nintendo Switch baffles me. Bethesda ported Elder Scrolls: Skyrim to the Switch a long time ago despite being released after some of the Fallout games. With the recent PR nightmare that came with the most recent Fallout entry, I believe releasing some of these games to the Switch could go long way to gaining back favor from their fans as well as gain some new ones.
1. Persona
The Persona games are turn-based RPGs that also include a social simulator not seen in any other franchise. The combat is one of the best, fair, and exciting turn-based systems ever. It is essential for players to take the time to plan out when, how, and where to attack.
The story in each game is incredible. The characters are also memorable and are fleshed out making players actually care about them. I personally felt like I was saying goodbye to close friends by the end of each adventure. This is very important as a big part of the gameplay is having relationships with various people in the world so having engaging characters is essential.
The “calendar” mechanic draws you into the experience as you must manage your time carefully between your studies, chores, friends, extra-curricular actives, and exploring dungeons. I found myself obsessively planning out my schedule to make sure that I had as many opportunities to engage in activities as possible. I even found myself playing “New Game Plus” which is something I don’t usually do just so I could go back and complete any storylines or engage in any relationships that I may have missed.
Atlas refuses to give any hint on whether they plan to release this series to the Nintendo Switch despite already releasing a spinoff to Persona 5 on the system back in March. Whenever asked, they just tell fans to keep requesting a port while committing to nothing. I am not sure what they are waiting for as the popularity for the Persona series is greater than ever and would surely be very popular on the Switch.
That concludes my third entry of 3 gaming franchises that I would love to see brought to the Nintendo Switch. I have plenty more list to come so stay tuned for my next few installments. Do you agree with my list? Let us know in the comments! Thank you for stopping by Switchwatch.co.uk. See you next time!
