Happy Monday, folks, and welcome to the Weekly Video Games Thread.
It’s finally happening, people. We’re only a week and a half from the release of Nintendo Switch 2. I’m sure that there will be plenty of prompts to come that get into it, but with relatively little time left, I’d like to honor its predecessor. And I’d like to do it in a way that brings back one of my favorite prompts: the music recommendation. Because the Switch wasn’t just an era of Nintendo having unabashed creativity alongside unparalleled commercial highs; it was also a time of really, really good soundtracks. Let’s share some of our favorites!
Here are the rules: if its initial release was on Nintendo Switch, whether or not it was an exclusive, it counts. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. So Skyward Sword HD doesn’t make the grade because it’s just reusing the original soundtrack, but the Link’s Awakening remake and Xenoblade Chronicles remaster don’t so they do. Shovel Knight and its expansion Plague of Shadows both wouldn’t count because those came out before the Switch, but Specter of Torment and King of Cards would. Heck, the first of those was a launch title! As for how early access counts? As a librarian obsessed with correct cataloging, I genuinely don’t know. I mean, Hades was in early access on Steam for almost two years before its official release, and I’m pretty sure that soundtrack was finalized beforehand. Oy, this shouldn’t be that confusing, so while I keep debating this internally, enjoy just a few of my favorite pieces.
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons, “K.K. Chorinho”
- Animal Well, “Manticore”
- ARMS, “Grand Prix (Title)”
- Balatro, “Main Theme”
- Bowser’s Fury, “Bowser’s Fury”
- Celeste, “Reach for the Summit”
- Chants of Sennaar, “The Cogs of Science”
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses, “Between Heaven and Earth”
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land, “The Wastes Where Life Began”
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, “Hyrule Castle”
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, “Main Theme (Field) 1”
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (2019), “Tal Tal Heights”
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, “Title”
- Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, “Laser Eyes”
- Luigi’s Mansion 3, “Boss DJ Phantasmagloria”
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, “Mid Boss Mayhem”
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, “Squeaky Clean Sprint”
- Metroid Dread, “Kraid (Phase 1)”
- New Pokémon Snap, “Blushing Beach (Day)”
- Paper Mario: The Origami King, “Thrills at Night”
- Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (2024), “Battle – Chapter 6”
- Pikmin 4, “Blossoming Arcadia”
- Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, “Academy Ace Tournament”
- Pokémon Sword & Shield, “Storming Rose Tower”
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, “Main Theme”
- Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, “Something’s off in Moominvalley”
- Sonic Mania, “Lights, Camera, Action! (Studiopolis Zone Act 1)”
- Splatoon 2, “Inkoming!”
- Splatoon 3, “Til Depth Do Us Part”
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder, “Wonder Flower: A Very Special March”
- Super Mario Odyssey, “Jump Up, Super Star!”
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, “Galeem”
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, “We Ain’t Came to Lose”
- Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania, “Mad Forest”
- WarioWare: Get It Together, “Penny’s Song”
- Xenoblade Chronicles 2, “Tantal”
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3, “Moebius Battle”
- And a special shoutout to Ape Out, with its incredible procedurally generated drum solo. I’ll leave it to you to play the game and find your own groove.
Of course, there are plenty of games I haven’t played enough to pick. Unicorn Overlord! Super Mario RPG! Penny’s Big Breakaway! World of Goo 2! And enough Mario sports games to shake a golf club at!
And whether or not you want to drop in some tracks, what did you play this weekend? I played Deltarune, which DOES NOT COUNT because Chapter 2 came out on Switch like four days later. Chapter 3 + 4 would count, though, since they’re launching with Switch 2 as perhaps the wildest launch game of all time that wasn’t a firework simulator. But I digress.