The Switch has been a bit of a dream console in terms of ports of old games. We even got Final Fantasy VII! FINALLY. We got the Witcher 3, Stardew Valley, and a ton of other greats. But there are a lot of games from the past that I'd love to give another spin on new hardware. Some of them are too obvious to list (Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, Xenosaga, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Final Fantasy 6, and virtually any Nintendo/Rare game). Here are a few of the less obvious ones - note, the list isn't comprehensive (there's WAY more than this I want on Switch) and it's not a ranking:
1. Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast)
This is my third favourite game of the last 20 years (My favourites are Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade Chronicles X). This game, like the aforementioned two, has a vast world with a lot to explore. This game changed my life, it really did! Few times have I had such a sense of adventure. Also, floating islands and airships are just beyond cool. There are cities through the world of different cultures, it is easy to fall in love with the thing. This game has my favourite moment of any game of the past 20 years - that is the whole Daccat's Island scenario and building up your Island base. Some elements have made their way into other RPGs, Xenoblade Chronicles has some uncanny similarities: building Colony 6 and bringing people in (though the Suikoden games do something like this too); but then the whole reunification on Fallen Arm is very much like a scaled-down Daccat's island scenario taking place over a smaller timeframe. The story is wonderful and FILLED with heart-warming moments as Vyse and company bring hope to a stagnant world slowly being conquered by an Empire.
2. Rune Factory Frontier (Wii)
The closest game to this one is Stardew Valley, but I enjoyed Rune Factory Frontier more. There are a few issues I have with the game, most notably that the farming part is slower because of animations and a kind of botched Runey system. Fix those two issues I have, and this game is one I'd love to sink 200 hours into. Or make an updated version of it with multiplayer, then Stardew Valley has nothing! =)
This is one of my favourite games of the last 20 years, and I'd love to play it again.
3. Suikoden 1 and 2 (PSX)
I brought these up earlier. These games are a mix of warfare and epic storytelling that goes beyond just a party battling through a story. In this game, you get to control armies. As I mentioned earlier, it has a fortress you build up by inviting people from throughout the world. Speaking of these towns, Suikoden executes it the best - Skies of Arcadia the next best - and Xenoblade Chronicles is still good, but Colony 6 doesn't feel as important or central to the story as the towns you build in Suikoden and Skies of Arcadia. The Suikoden games feel like part of a vast history in a vast world. Few games match the epic scale of this story, it's like Ogre Battle and Final Fantasy Tactics meet something in the middle of Chrono Trigger and FF6 (the battle system has elements of both). I'd LOVE to play these again on Switch. Suikoden 2, particularly, is something more RPG fans need to experience.
4. Little King's Story (Wii)
Move over Pikmin, this is how it's done. Two of the games have town-building elements, how about Kingdom building? That's the whole point of this game, attack, conquer, prosper, build, increase your cities, make everything fantastic. This is one of the many creative Wii games that really breathed life back into the video game industry after years of stagnation. When Nintendo spoke of revolution, it was games like this. You spend a lot of time building and managing things, it's not all combat. Something unique I'd like to play again.
5. Terranigma (SNES)
This game made up part of the last hurrah of the SNES (Barring Harvest Moon which came out in like 1998?) alongside Donkey Kong Country 3, Kirby Superstar, and others. This was actually a big time for SNES because, while many people used fire adaptors to get foreign games over in the past, emulators were becoming a thing, and translation guides were more prevalent. I feel Terranigma kind of got lost in this mix. But it is, IMO, one of the very best games on the SNES, and one of the best action RPGs ever released. Like earlier games on this list, this game has a lot to do with building. You go on quests, get items required, defeat bosses, and other people will start expanding the world. The progress of the game is pretty much: restore the continents > then help life evolve to humanity > Sort out the problems of people and advance human culture and technology through the games > welcome to the advanced world, now complete the major story arcs. It's not a grind and progress process like it sounds - as there is drama and conspiracy stories, and weaving plot lines... AND, the stakes rise proportionally with the growth of technology and the growth of human populations in the world. Like RPGs of the era, this game opens up as it progresses, but this one REALLY opens up in a big way; unlike FF6 and such, older locations remain relevant as the game progresses.
I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.
