Before we begin, some housekeeping. For the most part, we’ve gone with the initial release date of whichever platform a game debuted on. However, since the dates in different regions sometimes span several years (hi, Super Mario World), below are the events where we’ve taken small liberties to accommodate a particular worthy preference. Complaints to the usual address.
In some cases, we’ve included honorable mentions and notable non-Switch recommendations. You’ll also notice that the excellent Atari 50 collection and Hamster’s Arcade Archives series are great hits from the early years (and we had to get creative in 1972-75 – please let us know in the comments if you have any suggestions for those early years). Overall, we think you’ll agree that the wealth of historical titles available to play on Nintendo’s tiny console is pretty impressive.
So, enough. Let’s get started… Well, no Very much The beginning, but certainly much closer to it than we are now. Come back to Minnesota in 1971 and travel through time and space with us now…
Publishers: Gameloft / Developer: Gameloft
Created as an educational tool for students at a Minneapolis high school, The Oregon Trail is an ‘edutainment’ text-based adventure popularized by pioneers in the mid-1800s to teach American children about the dangers of diarrhea. Like many of the games above this list, the original game is available to play online for free (via Oregon Tourism Board websiteno less), but it’s available on Switch in an updated, improved form courtesy of Gameloft.
Unfortunately, we haven’t played it, but let us know in the comments if you’ve experienced diarrhea-related death on Switch.
Publishers: Atari / Developer: Digital Eclipse
We promise not to spoil too much from here on out, but pickings were slim in the early 70s, so you’ll have to forgive us for using Atari’s seminal. Bang A few years from 1972.
Given the game’s enduring, global popularity, it’s fitting that it has three entries. Digital Eclipse’s version in the Atari 50 collection is as authentic as you can believe, and it won’t be the last time we lean on that particular collection, as you’ll soon find out.
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Publishers: Atari / Developer: Digital Eclipse
The archetypal block-breaker game, Breakout You see a ‘ball’ bounce off a pong-like paddle at the bottom of the screen and use it to break rows of bricks above. Atari’s Nolan Bushnell wanted something like a single-player version of Pong, and that was Breakout.
A huge success, it would inspire the 1978 Tito game, which we would soon play…
Publishers: Atari / Developer: Digital Eclipse
War A great pack-in title that came with every Atari VCS/2600 system from its release in 1977 through 1982. Although the box claims to have ’27 video games’, this may seem a bit far-fetched by modern standards (those 27 titles are made up of different modes for a handful of games), titles such as Tank And Jet The collection also featured many gamers’ introduction to competitive multiplayer at home.
Publishers: Skill / Developer: Skill
In a broader cultural sense, perhaps more so than Mario or Pac-Man, Space Invaders and ‘video games’ are synonymous. Only one of those three has its own emoji on your phone’s keyboard, and it’s not the portly plumber or the yellow pie dude. Taito’s shooter has been cited as an inciting incident in the origin stories of many celebrities in the games industry, including Shigeru Miyamoto.
Space Invaders is a must-read, and luckily you can read it on Switch.
Publishers: Atari / Developer: Digital Eclipse
Atari 50 comes back to the rescue with this vector-visual masterpiece, which gave you the freedom to go where you wanted, aim and avoid the titular space-based obstacles that fly every which way by firing your ship’s rockets. The inertia of your craft and the precise physics and controls still appeal today, and serve as callbacks to very early video games like this one. Space Battle! and Nolan Bushnell’s own computer location.
Publishers: Bandai Namco / Developer: Bandai Namco
Another of gaming’s icons, known even by those who have never held a joystick or pad, Pac-Man’s maze-based actions with his ghostly foes (Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde) are designed as a non-violent alternative. BLASTY-BLASTY war games Atari and Taito received great acclaim. We’d argue that chasing down your enemies and trapping them in a confined space couldn’t be a quieter antidote to Space Invaders, but arcade-goers in the early 80s just couldn’t get enough.
Honorable Mentions: Missile Command, Adventure
Publishers: Hamster / Developer: Nintendo
Mario (or rather Jumpman) may seem a little limited in his abilities (and death by one short fall is very old school), but Donkey Kong is still a fun game. Harder than the NES port, it becomes more addictive as you try to improve your high scores. For those who prefer the vertical orientation of the game and the OG arcade cabinet, this TATE Mode-compatible Arcade Archives release is a ‘Final Edition’. A handful of display options and its three versions, along with Hamster’s usual ranking systems and online leaderboards, make it a great choice for high score chasers and the perfect ratio of stickers.
Honorable Mentions: Galaga, Frogger Defender, Tempest, Centipede
Publishers: Hamster
Sneaking into Japanese arcades in December 1982, Namco’s Xevious offered an unconventional take on arcades at the time and stands alongside the mighty Space Invaders as one of the most influential entries in the shooter genre. We’re more partial to the autostereoscopic 3D Classics version on 3DS, but the Switch version offers TATE mode in all its glory.
Fun fact: Xevious is unlockable in Star Fox: Assault on the GameCube. No, it’s not on the Switch. Sorry, we brought it up.
Honorable Mentions: Donkey Kong Jr., Burger Time, Millipede, Tik Tok
Constant Number: JostMrs. pac-man, pit
Publishers: Hamster / Developer: Nintendo
A Mario Bros. game might be the extra bonus mode you didn’t get to play in all those GBA Super Mario ports, but it’s a notable release and one you can enjoy in its original arcade glory on the Switch.
While it doesn’t enjoy anywhere near the success of Donkey Kong, it’s a notable entry in Nintendo’s canon, and it’s a great addition to Mario and Green-Mario Luigi does some plumbing-adjacent work for a change in the sewer.
Honorable Mentions: Elevator Action, Track & Field
