TheNintendo Switch 2has surprised us all with how powerful the hardware is, but after a launch with few games to play, the system remains a bit barren. Luckily, it didn’t throw away its younger sibling’s game collection and is compatible with nearly every Switch title.
One of thebest featuresof the Switch 2 is how amazing it is at running original Switch titles better than ever. More than half of the reason to get the console is to play your favorites in their best form. Even if you are bored with these old titles, there are plenty of ways to mix them up that will have you feeling just as you did on day one.
9Do A 100 Percent Playthrough
Becoming A Completionist
For some, completing a game is as simple as reaching the credits, but for die-hard collectors, no game is over until they have seen and done everything the game has. By completing 100 percent of a game, you can get many more hours out of the title than a casual playthrough, and you may even be rewarded by the developers for truly appreciating everything they worked on.
While doing this in a content-packed title such asXenoblade Chronicles 3may be a more grindy task than a regular playthrough, it will be worth it if you really enjoyed your first playthrough. Completing a game to 100 percent gives you a feeling like no other, with a sense of pride that just seeing the credits lacks.
8Play With Others In Multiplayer
Better Together
There’s no better way to enjoy an old classic than sharing your joy with someone you love. Many of Nintendo’s own first party titles have some sort of multiplayer feature and playing a game with a friend creates an entirely new experience, even if you have both played it solo before, as no two people play a game the same.
For the games thatdon’t have multiplayer,it’s your time to get creative! An easy way is to swap the controller with another player when you die, like the old-school Super Mario Bros. multiplayer. If you really want to experience something interesting though, grab your Joy-con 2 controllers and pass one to another player and try to beat a single-player game while both of you control the same character with different buttons.
7Try Out The Hardest Or Easiest Difficulty
A Change Of Pace
Whenever you first play a series, you will likely start with normal difficulty to get used to the gameplay for the first time. The Switch was home to a lot of gamers' first time experiencing various series. Now that the Switch 2 is here, if you are bored bywaiting for more games,it’s time to go back and take on the challenge that awaits by upping the difficulty. Harder difficulties test your skill and, after beating the title once, you should be more than ready to take the hardest head on.
If you happen to be on the opposite side of the gaming spectrum where you play every game with the most brutal difficulties you can, you may want to take it easy for a day by playing through the game in easy mode. Easy modes can help you appreciate the difficulty of the harder options and even help you focus on other aspects of the game, such as the story, at a reasonable pace.
6Hunt For Secret And Rare Events
Take Your Time
Even if you have done literally everything in every single one of your old Switch titles, there is a large chance that there are many secrets still hiding. Game developers love hiding small Easter eggs or secrets in their titles and there are countless little details in nearly every game and hunting for them in your favorites can be a blast.
For example, many Pokemon fans adore a thing known as Shiny hunting. This involves them searching for rare Shiny Pokemon which have unique color palettes for the original Pokemon making them a flex of sorts, as you have to work hard to even get a single Shiny. Looking for rare things like this can really show you a side of a game you have never experienced and bring even more fun to what you thought was a finished journey.
5Become A Photographer
Taking Lakitu’s Job
Taking a game slower and appreciating the stunning visuals on the Switch 2 is one way that you’re able to feel more relaxed than ever. A common thing in Nintendo’s titles is a dedicated photo mode that allows you to snap almost free cam-like photos in your favorite digital worlds. You could give yourself a goal to take a picture of every major location or event, to create a photo book of brand-new memories by messing around with composition, angles and even filters.
Games such asThe Legend of Zelda: BOTWand TOTK even reward you with the Hyrule Compendium, saving and keeping all your photos of every creature, weapon and enemy and rewarding you for completing it. Even if the game itself does not have a photo mode, you can use the capture button to catalog everything yourself and share the photos with your other devices.
4Do A Nuzlocke
One Life Is All You Get
Originating in thePokemonseries, a Nuzlocke makes everything in your game feel difficult by imposing rough rules. In Pokemon a Nuzlocke makes it so that if a Pokemon faints they are essentially dead, being unable to be used again. Meanwhile, you are also limited by how many Pokemon you can catch to one per route. This can be a tough but invigorating way to experience these games, and it isn’t just limited to Pokemon.
Even games such asSuper Smash Bros. UltimateandThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomcan have a Nuzlocke work out, despite the different gameplay. For example, every time you lose with a character in Smash or every time a weapon breaks in TOTK you could consider them no longer usable. Playing games this way, you will be surprised how much more valuable everything becomes, and it can be a genuine challenge.
3Randomize Certain Elements
Making Things Different
When playing through a game normally isn’t enough, one of the best ways to make it feel fresh again is to remove all your freedom of choice. If a game ever gives you a decision instead of choosing the option you always do, leave it up to chance by randomizing all the options.
By using an online randomizer, you can put things such as party members, weapons or even movement options into a pool and then generate an entirely unique way to play every single time. This can be especially fun to shine a spotlight on elements that you never use in regular playthroughs. Some games even have randomized elements built in, such as Pokemon which has the Surprise Trade, where you can send off your Pokemon to another player in return for one of theirs.
2Attempt A Speed Run
Gotta Play Fast
One of gaming’s most popular areas has always been the task of beating them as fast as possible in a speed run. There are many elements to a speed run that make it super refreshing, from learning strange techniques, competing with others to seeing yourself improve run after run. It’s one of the easiest ways to get more mileage out of those titles you loved back on the Switch.
With the Switch 2’s increased power, even if you have done a speed run before, you will be guaranteed to get a better time, as the faster load times will save you minutes. Speed running for world records may not be for everyone, but even by just setting yourself a personal best time that you want to achieve, it can be super satisfying and makes you understand the game in a whole different way.
1Try To Beat The Game With No Deaths
Making The Impossible, Possible
When you play a game enough times over, it will start to become easy as you know exactly how to beat every level or challenge. One way to change that is through putting a handicap that makes you play more cautiously, beating the game in a single life. By limiting yourself to this restriction, things will feel very different.
For games that have no concept of death, such asAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, you could instead twist this to remove certain elements from the game, such as not being able to fish or collect bugs. Regardless of how you do it, imposing a challenge which stops you from playing normally will test your knowledge of the game and make it almost as if you are experiencing the game for the first time all over again.
