Summary
TheNintendo Switch 2is a great console. It builds on pretty much everything the original Switch established, just with a bigger screen, better graphics, and (hopefully, as time will tell) better Joy-Con.
Despite all thetechnicalimprovements it makes, there are still a few things missing that would take it from great to excellent. Little things that gave previous Nintendo consoles personality. If Nintendo wants to make the Switch 2 truly memorable, it needs to revive these things from its previous console iterations.
10Themes
No, Dark and Light are not ‘themes’. Many people, including myself,hoped the Switch 2 would launch with more themes, as these were missing from the original Switch’s entire lifecycle. Unfortunately, they’re not here yet. But there’s still time, Nintendo!
Remember how great themes were on the 3DS? The themes not only had wallpapers, but the matching music and sound effects too. I had a Twilight Princess-themed home screen. It was perfect. Please can you do us all a solid and bring them back, Mr. Nintendo?
9PictoChat
Times were simpler when we had PictoChat. You could draw messages or pictures for your friends, or, my favourite, colour in the entire screen black and then use the eraser to draw. My drawings weren’t any good, but you can look online and find somemasterpiecesthat people used to draw on there.
Can you imagine the kind of art we’d see nowadays if PictoChat was added to the Switch 2? Not only would it just be fun to have, but we’d see some serious creativity.
8Badge Arcade
Okay, the gacha in the 3DS’ Badge Arcade was pretty bad, but when youdidget a badge you really wanted, man, did it feel good. Remember my Twilight Princess 3DS theme? I decorated my home screen with a badge of Wolf Link and Midna as well. Great times.
The Badge Arcade would be a great addition to the Switch 2 - even if we don’t have themes, we could decorate the home screen to make it personal. Nintendo could even make animated badges. How cool would that be?
If we get the Badge Arcade back, we also need Arcade Bunny. Release him!
7Styluses
Most people forget the Switch, and now the Switch 2, evenhavetouch screens. Very few games use the touch screen feature properly, but you can use it when you’re on the home screen, scrolling the eShop, or looking at Nintendo Switch Online.
When you have to use your finger to do that though, it just feels like something is missing. And that something is a humble stylus. Let’s bring it back to keep Switch 2 screens clean everywhere.
Yes, you canbuy third-party stylusesand Super Mario Maker 2 even had its own special edition stylus, but the Switch 2 doesn’t come with one as standard or have a built-in slot to store one, and that’s what I’m getting at here.
6Nintendogs
Nintendogs. Need I say more? This little game series took the world by storm in the early to mid 2000s. But somehow, a Nintendogs game never came to the original Switch. It’s time for the Switch 2 to change that.
The closest we ever got to Nintendogs on Switch was Little Friends: Dogs & Cats, but that just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
One of the biggest barriers to the original Switch not receiving a Nintendogs game was the lack of a built-in microphone, which is necessary for a lot of the gameplay, but you know what the Switch 2 introduced?GameChat. And a built-in microphone.Come on, Nintendo, you know you want to.
5StreetPass
Ah, StreetPass. Pretty much everyone loved StreetPass. With this enabled on your 3DS, you could take it with you and receive Miis from other 3DS users while you were out and about. It created a sense of community, as you could see the games they were playing, and share your own too.
While the Switch 2 is a lot bigger than a 3DS, it’s still designed to be portable. You can take it with you on a plane or a train, so why couldn’t it be a contender for a successor to StreetPass?
4Music
Music is a pretty basic request, and one I can’t believe we have to make. While the Switch 2 has a few more sound effects than the original Switch, it’s still nowhere near on the level of the likes of the Wii.
The Wii music is legendary, adding personality to every part of the home screen and menu. The Switch 2 would only getbetterif it had some of this flair, so it seems like a no-brainer for this to be added. We don’t have it on launch, but perhaps with a future software update, we might.
3Game Dioramas
When you hovered over a game on the 3DS, the top screen would populate with a 3D, diorama-like image of the game. These were custom-made for pretty mucheverygame on the 3DS. In comparison, the Switch and Switch 2 have… a static image of the cover art.
I know this is a big ask, and one we’ll likely never get considering the amount of work it would take, especially post-launch, but could you imagine if we did? It would make the Switch 2 home screen lookamazing.
2Miiverse
RIP Miiverse, we’ll always remember you. Miiverse was a social network you could use on the 3DS or Wii U to post drawings or messages on different gaming communities within the network. You’ve probably seena fair few memes that came out of it.
While it’s become a bit obsolete with the prominence of other social media, it was still a novelty to have a Nintendo-specific one and a fun way to share your thoughts on anything and everything Nintendo. The Switch 2 could bring it back in a new way, letting us all share our experiences with the console and its new games.
1Flipnote Studio
If you’ve ever seen the animations people made with Flipnote Studio, you’ll know exactly why it needs to come back to the Switch 2. It came with the DSi, and then returned as Flipnote Studio 3D on the 3DS, and allowed you to create sequences of drawings and turn them into animation.
People made animations to music, recreated scenes from games and movies… the creativity was endless. There’s stilla subreddit dedicated to animations made using Flipnote Studio, with people sharing their creations regularly. If Flipnote Studio were to be revived on Switch 2, we’d definitely see a huge burst of creativity.
