Fire Emblem: Three Houses was arguably Nintendo’s best game of 2019. The strategy RPG was the best-reviewed title Nintendo released that year and is the highest-selling entry in the long-running series thus far (over 2.29 million units were reported sold as of September 2019).

Meanwhile, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was the zenith of Nintendo’s 2018 lineup. The game came out in December that year and has become one of the crown jewels in the Nintendo Switch software library. This entry in the venerable fighting game franchise brought back every fighter who had ever been playable in the series’ history and added several new faces. In fact, new characters continue to be added to the game via DLC, and it’s generally a pretty big event every few months when a fresh fighter is revealed to be joining the roster.

And so, when Smash Bros. series mastermind Masahiro Sakurai announced this past week that Byleth—the player character of Fire Emblem: Three Houses—was joining Smash Bros. Ultimate, it was a little like peanut butter and chocolate joining forces to create a delicious treat. 

The Nintendo Switch has a become a fantastic system for fans of indie games old and new. Plenty of independent developers have had significant success putting their games on the system. It’s always great for Nintendo fans when games like Gris or Hollow Knight release on Switch as console exclusives (timed or otherwise), but it’s almost equally awesome when titles like Celeste or Wargroove come out alongside other platforms on day one. And even though it can be disappointing to have to wait, it’s nice to get some titles (like Limbo or Super Meat Boy) that skipped out on Switch or other Nintendo platforms on initial release. Better late than never!

However, there are certain indie games that have yet to come to any Nintendo platform, and, sadly, some of the most foundational and well-respected titles in the indie gaming revolution’s pantheon are included in this category. Several of these games seem tailor-made for Nintendo’s audience and the Switch’s particular strengths, and I think it’s about time some of them landed on this popular platform to find a welcoming new group of fans (and probably plenty of returning fans eager to revisit these gems).

Less than a week after their latest Nintendo Direct set the internet (and Chibi-Robo) on fire, the company made more waves by introducing a new line of interactive experiences for the Switch. Dubbed Nintendo Labo, these upcoming kits combine the Switch’s unique hardware capabilities with lo-fi construction materials (think cardboard and string) to deliver a new take on DIY tinkering and STEM edutainment. The early kits look really cool, and Labo has a lot of potential to expand Nintendo’s purview. I also think it’s an interesting evolution of some key elements of the company’s storied history.

The rumors about a January 2018 Nintendo Direct started what feels like eons ago, back in the simpler days before Nintendo had resorted to setting Chibi-Robo ablaze to sate the clamoring masses’ thirst for answers. Even without the leaks and insider tips, it always made sense for a Direct to drop this month. With Switch’s software and sales successes in 2017, everyone’s been wondering what’s in store for the new year.

In the midst of the many 100-plus hour new games that sucked my time and life force away in 2017, I found time to finally experience an older, shorter title that I’d had my eye on for some time. Undertale seemingly came out of nowhere in 2015 and inspired a lot of LOVE from critics and a diehard community of fans drawn to its quirky charms. In 2017 it finally was pried from the clutches of the PC gaming intelligentsia and released for PlayStation 4 and Vita, giving non-elite console gamers the world over (such as myself) the chance to experience firsthand what all the fuss was about.

Hats off to Nintendo for its unrelenting first-year salvo of Switch software. From Breath of the Wild to Arms to Splatoon and so on, they had one of their strongest years yet and captured a lot of the gaming community’s mindshare in the process. And it all culminated in the launch of Super Mario Odyssey, which marks their iconic mascot’s first return to the open-ended, exploratory style of Mario 64 since 2002’s Super Mario Sunshine.

I was late to the Persona party. My entry point into the series was 2012’s Persona 4 Golden for the PlayStation Vita, an expanded and enhanced port of the original PS2 title. Over my 100-plus hours with the game, I fell hard for the its many charms and soon was obsessed. I went back to play Persona 3, Catherine, and other related titles while I counted down the seconds until the next series entry would arrive.

During the long development cycle for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, franchise overseer Eiji Aonuma repeatedly spoke about breaking the series’ conventions. With the game’s release this year after many painful delays, it became clear that Aonuma’s stated aims weren’t mere lip service.

At the height of my Rocket League obsession, I tried desperately to get the game working on my Vita through Remote Play. It semi-worked a few times, but more often than not Remote Play let me down, and this was no exception. When I was lucky enough to get the game playing on the device, it was saddled with dropped frames, artifacting, and connection issues.  Now that it’s come to Switch, I’ve finally got the portable Rocket League setup I dreamed of back then, and it’s as glorious as I had hoped.

Nintendo showed off their latest mobile game yesterday, finally giving fans a first look at the Animal Crossing game they first teased about a year and a half ago. In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, you will start out by stumbling into a management position for a humble, undeveloped campsite. You’ll live in an RV, bond with fellow campers, and slowly gather the resources to build your fledgling campsite into… well, whatever your ideal version of a campsite is. In short, it looks like a slightly scaled-back and streamlined take on the full Animal Crossing experience, and it looks awesome.