The Nintendo Switch Needs These 10 Classic DS and 3DS Games ASAP

There’s no denying the Nintendo Switch’s popularity and might. Not only has it brought a variety of new experiences to delighted players, it has also proven an excellent, new platform for older games.

Nintendo has already flipped through its old Wii U catalog to bring games such as Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, Bayonetta 1 and Bayonetta 2 to the Switch and found an eager audience for the games of the past. Now, other companies are beginning to look even further back into their handheld history. Last month, Capcom released the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy for the Switch so that new and old fans could experience some of the best adventure games ever to come to the Nintendo DS. That followed the release of another cult favorite DS game: The World Ends With You: Final Remix.

That got us thinking of other old handheld games that we would love for publishers to bring to the Switch. Many classic series like Fire Emblem and Pokemon are already announced to continue on the Switch, but still, there are plenty of old games and entries that we are dying to play again.

First up, here are the DS games I really want on my beloved Nintendo Switch.

Before the wave of rhythm games took over my wallet and living room space, there was a quirky, charming little handheld game called Elite Beat Agents. Using the novel touch screen of the DS, you timed taps and swipes in time with the music to make three mysterious agents dance and…save the world? While the story didn’t stand the test of time, the memory of good times with this game did. There are several well-regarded rhythm games on the Switch like Cytus Alpha and Thumper, but there was something about the bite-sized nature of Elite Beat Agents that leaves me pining for a re-release or new sequel.

Some of the millions of people who still purchase Grand Theft Auto V may have forgotten that arguably the biggest franchise in video games history once had a game on the Nintendo DS. And it was great. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars released in 2009, near the end of the console’s life cycle, and it still is considered one of the best games on the system. A lot of that is due to its development by Rockstar Games. Seeing as how Dan Houser, cofounder of the studio and cowriter on all of the GTA games, is also credited with writing Chinatown Wars, it’s clear that they saw this as a serious entry into the series and not just a throwaway handheld title. It would be excellent to see this storytelling come to the Switch.

The DS was home to several fantastic turn-based/action games starring our favorite plumbers. Both Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story are considered among the best games on the system. It seems only fitting that they should also make their way to the Switch, possibly in a bundle similar to the Phoenix Wright trilogy. There is a wrinkle in the future possibility of these games, as Inside Story was recently announced as being ported to the 3DS. The continued competition between the Switch and the 3DS is a current roadblock for some of these titles, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

Switch owners were blessed with the release of Wargroove a few months ago, and while it is a charming turn-based strategy game, it’s also a complete knock off of the beloved DS game Advance Wars: Dual Strike. I spent hours with that DS game. While I’m enjoying Wargroove and am glad to have it, it also wouldn’t hurt to have that little bit of nostalgia come to my Switch.

In February, Nintendo again gave us what we didn’t know we wanted in the form of a Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake, but why stop there? The DS was home to two games, which revived the cel-shaded art style of Wind Waker: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. While both may be lower on many people’s list of the best Zelda games of all time, they are still pretty great in their own right. They would make a fine bundle for Switch owners.

Earlier this year, rumors arose that a Japanese Professor Layton game called Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy, might mark Layton’s first appearance on the Switch. While this is good news, we should not forget that Professor Layton has many older, devilishly-difficult puzzle games under his belt that would be very welcome on the Switch. This wishlist of mine might be getting a bit ahead of itself as other rumors tell that Professor Layton and the Curious Village, the first game in the series, is already on its way to Switch.

Along with these DS titles that should come to the Switch, there are just as many Nintendo 3DS games that should make the leap. As I mentioned, the odds of these games coming any time soon are slimmer in that the 3DS is still a viable platform. And though new games announcements for the handheld have almost stopped completely, Nintendo surely doesn’t want to be in such direct competition with itself. Still, here are a few 3DS games that, someday, should definitely come to the Nintendo Switch.

It’s been almost six years since the release of Link Between Worlds and that seems like plenty of time to release it yet again. Before Breath of the Wild could go even further, Link Between Worlds shuffled up the classic Zelda formula by taking what many consider to be the best game in the series, Link Between Worlds, and adding new mechanics, a new story and whole new experience. Wouldn’t it be great to relive that on a Switch? Definitely.

For all my talk of 3DS games not coming to Switch, it seems almost criminal that Pushmo hasn’t made the jump yet. Pushmo is a platform puzzler in which a player manipulated pixelated blocks in order to leap to a goal. It’s a tidy concept with enormous potential. But even more than that, it had a robust puzzle creation and sharing platform, not unlike Mario Maker, where puzzle master could try and stump those brave enough to try. Pushmo seems perfect for the Switch, and if it’s not already in development, I will launch a Change.org petition to make it so.

The newest game on this list is a revamping of one of the oldest of Nintendo classics. Metroid: Samus Returns takes players back to the origin of “Metroidvania” style gameplay in a highly regarded title, seen as one of the best new Metroid games in years. Because it came out less than two years ago, this one probably isn’t getting an update any time soon. But would it be all that terrible for Nintendo to sneak it onto the eShop? Nah, it wouldn’t be bad at all.

If it isn’t clear from this list, I’ll spell it out for you: I love puzzle games. And in the past decade, one of the best forms of puzzlers I’ve enjoyed has been Picross games in which you use logic and grids to create pixelated images. Some compare it to Sudoku, but I think it’s much better and more interesting. One of the most interesting Picross games ever is Picross 3D, which initially launched on the DS in 2009 and spawned a 3DS sequel in 2016. May I have them all and more on my Switch, please? I will pay you money for them. Please, I beg you, take my money.