I’ve been recently thinking about a bunch of titles that didn’t see the light of day in the Nintendo Switch yet. These include mostly classics that are not retro, nor bleeding edge, but I’m sure would make a great comeback in the Switch, if given the chance.

• Call of Duty

Microsoft did commit to bringing Call of Duty to Nintendo platforms after their acquisition of Activision, so chances are decent that something will finally land. But whether it’s a new entry or a remaster of classics like World at War or Modern Warfare 2 (the OG, not the reboot), that’s still up in the air. Those two in particular would be perfect for handheld sessions or docked TV multiplayer.

• Konami Classics

Konami’s relationship with Nintendo goes way back, yet they’ve been weirdly absent on the Switch, outside of collections like Castlevania Anniversary Collection and Contra. But no Gradius V, no ReBirth series ports, no 3D Castlevania. I’d be very interested in a Switch version of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, both previously released for the PS2.

• “Ultra” versions of Street Fighter Alpha and Darkstalkers

Ultra Street Fighter II was a pleasant surprise when the Switch launched: it’s wild Capcom didn’t continue that trend. An “Ultra Street Fighter Alpha” with extra characters and sharp sprite work would be a dream come true. Imagine Alpha 2 Gold as the base! Darkstalkers is also criminally underused, and the Switch would be perfect for an upgraded version.

• More Resident Evil, not “Cloud” versions

Cloud versions = ticking time bombs. Even if they look good, they break the promise of physical/ownership longevity. What we really need are ports like Resident Evil 2 Remake, RE3, or even RE7 that are actually optimized for Switch 1 and/or Switch 2, even if it means graphical downgrades. The Switch already handles RE4, RE5, RE6, Revelations 1 & 2, and Zero just fine, so it’s not far-fetched.

• Mario 3D All-Stars

Mario 3D All-Stars being pulled from digital shelves felt very anti-Nintendo, even though it’s 100% Nintendo behavior. They created fake scarcity, then made it vanish.

I could keep going on forever, as I’d be also keen on seeing some other classics such as Namco’s Soul Calibur and Tekken titles coming to the Switch. But I think I made my point already and I can only hope these big studios would eventually realize they’re missing some big opportunities there.