As of March 2023, theNintendo 3DSeShop has officially closed down, meaning players can no longer purchase content on the system. This is quite the detriment for both 3DS fans and game developers whose projects will likely fade into obscurity. However, there’s still an opportunity for many titles owned by Nintendo to find a new home on the Nintendo Switch.
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Many games have already seenre-released on the Switch, such as 3DS titleslikeMonster Hunter GenerationsandHyrule Warriors Legends. Still, plenty of iconic Nintendo titles from the handheld console would delight fans who have moved onto Nintendo’s current-gen console. These titles would be the most exciting for longtime Nintendo players.
10Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
TheMario & Luigiseries takes Nintendo’s most iconic brother duo and inserts them into the world of RPG battles. The franchise has mostly remained on handheld platforms like the 3DS or the GameBoy Advance, but that recently changed in 2023. With GameBoy Advance games coming to Switch Online,Mario & Luigi: Superstar Sagais now on Nintendo Switch.
Hopefully, this will open the door for Nintendo to port other beloved titles in the franchise on their latest console. One of those isMario & Luigi: Dream Team, which was released in 2013 aspart of Nintendo’s Year of Luigi. The only thing currently preventing the re-release ofDream Teamis the closure of the game’s developer, AlphaDream, in 2019.
9Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
Another entry in Nintendo’s Year of Luigi was the long-awaited sequel toLuigi’s Mansion,titledLuigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. It was one of the best-selling titles for the 3DS, and involves Luigi exploring various haunted mansions rather than one like in the original title. It also introduced online co-op into the popular Luigi-centric franchise.
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Nevertheless,Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moonwas followed up byLuigi’s Mansion 3, which released exclusively on the Switch. However, since Nintendo later ported the originalLuigi’s Mansionto the 3DS alongsideDark Moon, perhaps it’s not out of the ordinary that Nintendo would do the same forLuigi’s Mansion 3’spredecessor.
8The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
ManyZeldatitles on the 3DS were ports, such asOcarina of Time 3DandMajora’s Mask 3D. However, the console was also home to one fan-favorite, albeit sometimes forgottenZeldatitle:A Link Between Worlds. The game is a direct sequel to the SNES titleThe Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, often considered one of the best in the series.
A Link Between Worldswould also find a cozy home with other top-downZeldatitles on the Switch, such as the remake ofLink’s Awakeningwhich released in 2019. SinceA Link Between Worldsreleased in 2013,perhaps 2023 would be the perfect timefor Nintendo to announce a 10-year anniversary release of the beloved sequel for the Nintendo Switch.
7Pokemon X & Y
Remakes have had a recurring presence in thePokemonfranchise sincePokemon FireRed & LeafGreenin 2004. They’ve been common in most generations, with the Nintendo Switch recently being home to bothPokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, as well as the spin-off titlePokemon Legends: Arceusset in an ancient version of Gen 4’s Sinnoh region.
Although Nintendo is obligated to get to Gen 5’sBlack & Whitebefore the firstPokemongames on the 3DS,many fans are likely eager to seeX & Yget re-made. Particularly, this could reintroduce the mechanic of Mega Evolution into thePokemoncompetitive scene, which has greatly missed the mechanic since Gen 7.
6Metroid: Samus Returns
Technically,Metroid: Samus Returnswas already a port in it of itself. Released in 2017,Samus Returnsis a remake ofMetroid II, which originally released in 1991 for the original Game Boy. Prior to the release ofMetroid Dreadfor the Nintendo Switch,Samus Returnswas the series' official return to the 2D platformer genre.
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ForMetroidfans, a lot of time has passed since Nintendo promisedMetroid Prime 4for the Switch. Hopefully, anotherMetroidrelease like portingSamus Returnswould hold fans over until the release of the long-anticipatedMetroid Primetitle.Samus Returnswas even developed by the same team who worked onMetroid Dreadon the Switch.
5Fire Emblem: Awakening
TheFire Emblemseries was completely revived on the 3DS withFire Emblem: Awakening, which centered on iconic characters like Lucina, Chrom, and Robin (who are all playable in the Switch’sSuper Smash Bros Ultimate). The series has since continued on the Switch with titles likeFire Emblem: Three Houses, as the latest 2023 gameFire Emblem Engage.
However,givingFire Emblem: Awakeninga second-lifewould be greatly adored by longtime fans of the franchise. The game even features many cinematic sequences that would look great rendered in HD compared to the 3DS’s tiny screen. Additionally, they could re-include the DLC packs that are no longer available to purchase on the 3DS eShop.
4Kid Icarus: Uprising
Fans ofKid Icarus: Uprisingaren’t the only ones hoping for a Switch port. The game was created bySuper Smash Brosdirector Masahiro Sakurai, who expressed recently on his YouTube channel thathe would like to see the 3DS game ported onto the Switch. After all,Kid Icarus: Uprisingowes its redesigns of characters from Pit’s inclusion inBrawl.
Nevertheless, the title has remained one of Nintendo’s best narratives of the past 10 years, though many potential fans were turned off by its handheld controls. Perhaps, with more streamlined control schemes on the Nintendo Switch, more fans will gravitate towards the game’s lovable characters and intense gameplay, as well as its online modes.
3Bravely Default
Bravely Defaultis an RPG for the 3DS which originally released in Japan in 2012. It wasn’t until 2014 that the title made its way over to North America, where critics were very complimentary of its design and narrative. It has since been followed up with two sequels: one on 3DS, andBravely Default IIdebuting on the Switch in 2021.
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However, given that the originalBravely Defaultremains a 3DS exclusive, perhaps it’d be useful for fans who caught onto the series withBravely Default IIto experience the game on the Nintendo Switch. A re-release could also gain the attention of fans of the first game, who have maybe abandoned their 3DS systems in favor of the Nintendo Switch nowadays.
2Tomodachi Life
Given how popularAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsis on the Switch, one can only imagine how popularTomodachi Lifewould be as well. The simulation game centers on a system’s Mii characters occupying an apartment building, where they can interact, fall in love, play, and build friendships with one another.
However, the game was criticized upon release for not including same-sex relationships, which Nintendo promised to fix if they ever made a sequel. Sadly, that hasn’t happened yet, althoughMiitopiareleased for 3DS and was later ported to Switch, which carries over many ideas fromTomodachi Life, so hopefully aTomodachi Lifeport isn’t impossible.
1Dillon’s Rolling Western
Among the many titles that players won’t be able to purchase and download once the 3DS eShop closes isDillon’s Rolling Western. The eShop exclusive centers on Dillon, a cowboy armadillo, defending helpless frontier villages from monsters. The series was praised enough to warrant two additional sequels that released on the 3DS in 2013 and 2018.
The protagonist Dillon has even made an appearancein theSuper Smash Brosseries as an Assist Trophy, despite his series' impending death. Hopefully, Nintendo will do the right thing with a lot of 3DS eShop exclusives, and port the threeDillon’s Rolling Westerntitles on the Nintendo Switch eShop, or even potentially release it with physical copies.
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