Now that 2024 is here , the countdown is on . Rumors suggest that the Nintendo ’s Switch long - awaited successor is coming by the end of the year . While there ’s no official word from Nintendo on that yet , there ’s well reason to think it could happen . The current card of Switch game for 2024 is looking thin , so one could reasonably hazard that developers may be off working onSwitch 2 gamesby now .

As I begin to ruminate on the Switch ’s wildly successful aliveness span , I ca n’t aid but think   about what abounty of gamesits yield to Nintendo fans . I ’m not just talking about Mario and Zelda games either . Most of Nintendo ’s franchise have been represented in some bod , even if some were just rereleases or oddball spinoffs . We ’ve run across Animal Crossing , Metroid , WarioWare , and even F - Zero get raw games on the scheme . Nintendo left virtually no rock unturned this propagation , as it turned just about every enfranchisement it had into a cash cow .

Despite its extensive library , there are still a few holes . Some cardinal Nintendo franchises have yet to grace the organisation , even in the form of an old game remaster . While titles like Advance Wars and Big Brain Academy made a comeback , heavy batter like Star Fox have apparently skip the Switch solely . With perhaps only calendar month leave in the organization ’s life span , these are the biggest Nintendo serial that could drop the Switch unless a last - second outlet is on the horizon .

Star Fox

Of every major Nintendo series that has yet to do to throw in any manakin , Star Fox is the most surprising omission . The space shooter has been a staple of Nintendo console ever since 1993 . The series has appeared on almost every Nintendo organisation since the Super Nintendo , only missing the Nintendo Wii . It seems like we wo n’t get one on the Switch at this rate , and that relieve oneself sense to a degree . The Wii U’sStar Fox Zerowas a commercial nonstarter , likely leaving Nintendo with stale human foot .

Even so , we ’ve seen that the Switch has been capable to elevate even the most niche franchises thanks to its massive install root word . An improvedStar Fox Zerorerelease could have rehabilitated the series . Perhaps Nintendo is saving that for its final gamble on the program . If not , there ’s always hope that it getstheF - Zero 99treatment .

Earthbound

At this dot , Earthbound ’s absence seizure on a mod Nintendo system is a bit of a meme . It ’s not even that players are clamoring for a new entry in the niche RPG series ; they ’ve simply been begging for a port wine of its third launching , Mother 3 . For a few years prior to the Switch ’s life , it feel like Nintendo was build up to that moment . AsurpriseEarthbound Beginningsreleasein 2015 feel like mesa - setting for aMother 3revival channelize into the Switch geological era , but that never come .

There ’s still a sliver of Bob Hope that we might see Earthbound on the Switch in some anatomy this year . This year marks the serial ’ 30th anniversary and somevague events are plannedto celebrate it . That includes some merch drops and collaborations . While games are n’t mentioned on the day of remembrance webpage , this is credibly the in effect promise we ’ve had since 2015 for a revival of some sort . If the year goes by withoutMother 3launching on Switch , either as a full remake or a Switch Online retro rerelease , we may be looking at the true final stage for the dormant series .

Punch-Out!!

At this peak , I do n’t think many multitude really gestate a new Punch - Out ! ! game from Nintendo . It ’s in the same boat asDuck Hunt — a retro series that we ’re comfortable looking back at with vestal nostalgia . But it ’s a little surprising Nintendo opted to decamp the serial solely on Switch . Nintendo bear witness its readiness to make a motion - controller boxing game ahead of time in the Switch ’s life sentence withArms , so Punch - Out ! ! seemed like a logical ( and more bankable ) next step . That never happened , nor did any form of throwback embrasure of its Wii episode .

Punch - Out ! ! may have been a fatal accident of what I call the Switch Lite effect . When Nintendo give up its lower - tier system , which ditched detachable Joy - Cons , the system move away from motion - controlled game entirely . Titles likeMario Party SuperstarsandWarioWare : Get It Toegther!prioritized traditional push button controls to ensure they could run on all systems . Perhaps that excuse why we never got a Punch - Out ! ! game . If that has you feeling blue , might I recommend watching Summoning Salt ’s fantastic two - hour documentary about the history ofMikeTyson ’s Punch - Out!!speedruns ?

Rhythm Heaven

While the Rhythm Heaven series might seem as corner as they come , it ’s still a bit of a surprisal that it has yet to appear on the Nintendo Switch . The flakey rhythm method of birth control secret plan serial publication has a farsighted story on Nintendo systems , appearing on the Game Boy Advance , Nintendo DS , 3DS , and even the Wii . It seemed like the kind of game that could get a small - budget surprisal launch on Switch during some random Nintendo Direct . That never happened though , andindies likeMelatoninwere allow for to piece up where the series left off .

Rhythm Heaven is one of those embarrassing franchises that found itself fall back in Nintendo ’s transition from separate handheld and home console table markets to a unified system . game likePushmothat were specifically designed for on - the - go play have disappeared on Switch as Nintendo call on cabinet - quality game into full-bodied portable experiences . Perhaps there just is n’t a lot of blank leave in Nintendo ’s first - party agenda for a fast rhythm method of birth control game that takes a few hours to complete .

Kid Icarus

For a tenacious time , Kid Icarus was hardly even debate a “ Nintendo franchise . ” It had two entries in the publisher ’s early days , but it went cold-blooded after 1991’sKid Icarus : Of myth and Monsters . Interest in the serial would come back when the serial ’ fly Heron , Pit , made his agency toSuper Smash Bros. Brawl , but few were really clamoring for an actual revival meeting . What would a advanced Kid Icarus game even look like ?

That mindset would shift in 2012 thanks toKid Icarus Uprising , a furor hitNintendo 3DS titlethat stands as one of the companionship ’s most originative output . It would reimagine the series as a mythical third - person gun full of aerial battles and some on - rail segments . It ’s a wildly ambitious biz that made great use of the 3DS and one that result fans thirsty for more . regrettably , it ’s been over a decade now since that release . Uprisingwouldn’t turn Kid Icarus into a top - tier serial publication , and there ’s no reason to think it ’ll become one anytime soon ; a novel Switch deed would have been its best shot at that . Perhaps it ’ll make a comeback on Nintendo ’s next organization as a direction to crowd the new tech .

Dr. Mario

I fully acknowledge that this plectron is one that perhaps only I worry about , but it ’s worth cite disregardless . ton of Mario spinoffs have made their way to flip-flop over the age , from Mario Maker to Strikers . There ’s one that has n’t though : Dr. Mario . The puzzle serial publication has been abstracted on Switch outside of its appearance on the Switch Online NES app . rather , Nintendo would essay to twist it into a fluid biz with2019’sDr . Mario World . That statute title would reimagine the franchise as a sense of touch - establish puzzler with sundry results . It seems like that exit is why we never got a dedicated Switch installment .

Do we really want a new Dr. Mario game ? Perhaps not look at how manygreat puzzler gamesare on the Switch , but Dr. Mario is a flack for fans of the literary genre . In fact , Dr. Mario : Miracle Curewas one of my most - act games on Nintendo 3DS . It was a solid understudy that I return to any time I was in - between big release or wanted a casual experience to apprehend into . Arcade - based Nintendo games like that have been lacking on Switch as the company focalise on console - caliber titles , but I hope Nintendo can discover a fashion to return to its roots on its next console table . Series like Dr. Mario are the kind of portable staples that a portable gimmick needs .