What Was The Best Switch Moment Of 2023?

A New Mainline Mario Revealed!

The wait for a new Mario felt like a long one (2D or 3D), so seeing the initial reveal for Super Mario Bros. Wonder at the end of the June Direct was a feeling unlike any other. Sure, there had been some rumblings that Nintendo was cooking up something else for its mascot, but to see a game that was actually new (but not ‘New’) really was something special.

Let’s not forget that this is the first time we got to see that expressive animation, the Talking Flowers, the Wonder effects! It was also the first time that we saw Elephant Mario, but you can’t have too much of a good thing, we suppose…

Surprise! F-Zero 99 Exists!

F-Zero was one of those franchises like Kid Icarus and Star Fox that you hear people throwing around before a Direct and think to yourself, “Nah, there’s no way.” As it turns out, there was some way.

F-Zero 99 might not be the full remaster or new entry that many die-hard fans of the high-octane racing series were desperately hoping for, but it is F-Zero, and it is good. The September Direct announcement took us a little by surprise — “That’s our baby. In a battle royale?” — but it was one of the few genuine surprises of the year, and one that we were pleased to see pay off.

Paper Mario Is On His Way

This is another one that had been bandied about a fair number of times in the past. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on Switch had begun to feel like a pipedream before it unfolded in the September Direct earlier this year.

Of course, that 2024 release date means that we don’t know whether it will live up to our expectations just yet (it probably will), but we are still pretty darn pleased with the announcement.

Best Switch Game Moments

Metroid’s New Rain

The first time landing on Tallon IV in Metroid Prime Remastered was likely to be a different memorable experience for different people. For some of us at Nintendo Life, this was our first time stepping into Samus’ first-person world and the moment was filled with excitement at what was ahead. For those of us who were more well-versed in the game, however, the excitement was over something a little more niche: rain.

The fact of the matter is that Nintendo had managed to make one of the finest-looking remasters we have seen on Switch, so seeing something as standard as rain look this good was really saying something. But come on, watching those droplets ping off of Samus’ Arm Cannon really is ace.

Tears of the Kingdom’s Epic Opening

There’s no messing around with Tears of the Kingdom’s opening. The black screens with ‘Nintendo Presents’, ‘The Legend of Zelda’, ‘Tears of the Kingdom’ are carried over from Breath of the Wild, yes, but they still ooze with confidence. This is a company that knows it has created a banger.

From there, it just gets bigger and better. The walking tour through the tunnels under Hyrule Castle, the gradually increasing music, the weird goopy stuff all over the walls (no, we didn’t know about Gloom at the time). It’s all just flipping awesome. Forget 2023, as we say down below — this opening is one of Nintendo’s best. Ever.